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For God and Kaiser: The Imperial Austrian Army, 1619-1918, by Richard Bassett
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The definitive history of Austria’s multinational army and its immense role during three centuries of European military history
Among the finest examples of deeply researched and colorfully written military history, Richard Bassett’s For God and Kaiser is a major account of the Habsburg army told for the first time in English. Bassett shows how the Imperial Austrian Army, time and again, was a decisive factor in the story of Europe, the balance of international power, and the defense of Christendom. Moreover it was the first pan-European army made up of different nationalities and faiths, counting among its soldiers not only Christians but also Muslims and Jews.
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Bassett tours some of the most important campaigns and battles in modern European military history, from the seventeenth century through World War I. He details technical and social developments that coincided with the army’s story and provides fascinating portraits of the great military leaders as well as noteworthy figures of lesser renown. Departing from conventional assessments of the Habsburg army as ineffective, outdated, and repeatedly inadequate, the author argues that it was a uniquely cohesive and formidable fighting force, in many respects one of the glories of the old Europe.
- Sales Rank: #1476193 in Books
- Brand: imusti
- Published on: 2016-04-05
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 7.80" h x 1.90" w x 5.10" l, .0 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 616 pages
- YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS
Review
[Bassett] sets out 'to explore whether the Habsburgs army s reputation for inefficiency, incompetence, general unreliability, and even cruelty, is at all justified.' Calling to his aid an impressively broad array of sources, he demonstrates with engaging verve that it is not. Adam Zamoyski, "Literary Review"--Adam Zamoyski"Literary Review" (06/01/2015)"
John Keegan, perhaps the greatest British military historian of recent years, felt that the most important book that remained unwritten was a history of the Austrian army. Richard Bassett has now successfully filled the gap, and few could be better qualified to do so. John Jolliffe, the Spectator--John Jolliffe"Spectator" (06/20/2015)"
In his superb new book, "For God and Kaiser," Richard Bassett examines the central role the imperial army played in Austria. While this fighting force was undeniably in dire straits by 1914, he argues that it has gotten something of a bum rap. For several centuries, it displayed a remarkable capacity to adapt and innovate. Bassett believes that the army expressed the idea that dynastic, cultural and economic relations were more important than national identity. Indeed, the army became a remarkably successful tool for state formation and provided cohesion even as nationalism became a greater force. . . . Bassett deftly describes how Austria s army differed from its European counterparts. William Hay, "The National Interest"--William Hay "The National Interest ""
About the Author
Richard Bassett was staff correspondent for the London Times in Vienna, Rome, and Warsaw during the closing decade of the Cold War. He lives in London.
Most helpful customer reviews
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful.
In Our Time an Army to Know and Study
By Tom Rozman
Author Richard Bassett has done a great service for many current political and military leaders. He has provided them a study on what a military establishment can do to maintain some semblance of society and life worth living for a diverse people against almost impossible odds for three hundred years. Most remarkable is that this Army gave its allegience to a power that spoke for all the diverse peoples in the lands that comprised Austria-Hungary. It secured the dynasty and thereby its people against forces and foes that more than once in that 300 years threatened to destroy it and take apart the lands of the empire. But in a manner beyond heroism it prevailed until 1919. Then it was dismembered and what followed proved horrific beyond imagination--and yet already we forget and appear on a path to possibly worse. The old kaiserliche und koenigliche Armee may have been eliminated in retrospect for all of the wrong reasons.
How does an Army secure its dynasty and thereby its lands and people for three centuries against the most powerful forces in Europe during that period? This study examines the amazing and entertaining epic story of how that was done by the Imperial and Royal Army in its dynastic, military, political, and social context. Again, it is an epic story that captures the reader as effectively as Tolkiens', even Sienkiewicz' Trilogies. The battle and campaign summaries alone are stories that grab the imagination. It does it so well that the old k. und k. Armee almost comes alive to the reader--a living breathing organism worthy of reflection and great respect, for if anything, this was a most human institution with all that that humanity entails. And yet, from private soldier to general officer it fully reflected the diverse people of the empire--people of Bosnian, Croatian, Czech, Dutch, English, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Irish, Jewish, Polish, Romanian, Serbian, Slovakian, Slovenian, Spanish, Swiss and others that virtually to the end were loyal and prepared to do battle for the dynasty. Interestingly, it was well in advance of the U. S. Army as a force, that though diverse, proved again and again to be effective, able to win and when beaten withdraw and return to the fight another day.
To tell this story, this is an extremely well crafted work. And it breathes the empire. My experience as an Army dependent for 18 years and a soldier for over 27 years with family from the lands of the old empire, bears this out. I have been privileged to travel to the countries that have formed from the empire some 30 times. I have spent many months experiencing the culture, the people and the land. I also took an early interest in the k. und k. Armee and have studied it at length. This book is true to my experience and study and has added much additional perspective for which I am greatful to the author.
The k. und k. Armee, though very human as an institution, was a great establishment. As the author shares, many artifacts of literature, military technology, music, military fashion that became part of the American and other Armies culture and traditions, derive from it --even my alma mater borrowed from that tradition--so in many ways the k und k. Armee was an army we came from.
I highly recommend this work to any practioner in national political or diplomatic career and especially to professional soldiers--the read will enlighten and expand horizons. As well, the student of military history will gain much from reading this book. Given the current situation in Eastern Europe, "For God and Kaiser" puts much of today's situation in perspective.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful.
A vastly underrated army finally gets its historical due.
By Joseph R. Martan
I'm partial to the old Imperial Army because I think it has gotten bad press over the decades. Fact is, it was the Austrians who destroyed Frederick the Great's reputation for invincibility and it was the Austrians who were Napoleon's most implacable foe and who inflicted the first major defeat upon him at Aspern-Essling in 1809. It is significant that Napoleon also acknowledged the Habsburg armies were his most dangerous enemies. As for Prince Eugene - this superb soldier's achievements are sometimes forgotten - here we find out why he is considered one of the greatest of 18th century generals who could defeat the Ottoman Turks and the French of Louis XIV with equal aplomb. This book fills a badly needed place in the library of any serious military history buff. My only complaint is that the author could have spent a few more pages on the military bands - certainly they were the best in Europe (and our own US Marine Corps Band when founded was based on the treatment that Joseph II decreed for the band of the "Deutschmeister" regiment) and it was Maria Theresa's 1741 decree requiring every regiment in her army to establish a regimental band which was the real impetus in the development of the concert bands we have today. This is real nitpicking. On the whole, this is an excellent book.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful.
both the praise and criticism are on point
By David Tooke
As has been said well by others here, for anglophone readers this book has a lot of good, interesting stuff about a largely neglected piece of European military history. Anyone interested in Europe from 1500 to 1914 is aware of the military importance of Austria, but anglophone historians tend to know the least about her history even compared to Russia. And there is a lot of hindsight bias -- since Austria-Hungary was in decline (politically and militarily, though not necessarily economically, except by comparison to what Germany was accomplishing) after 1848, it is easy to assume the inevitability of collapse.
Sometimes Bassett's fault are the flip side of his virtues. He is an enthusiast. If he weren't, the book would not be interesting. He wants us to understand that the image many of us have, of a kind of pitiful helpless giant of a power that could never win a battle, much a less a war, is not correct. As Bassett points out, Austria's army won many battles, though now that I think of it, i can't think of a truly successful war. But that is part of what he (and I) find attractive about Austria. She didn't need to win aggressive wars and didn't fight them often (attempting to suppress the dual heresies of calvinism and revolutionary France are arguable the exceptions, and 1914 is such a vexed subject let's leave it aside). Bella gerant alii, tu, felix austria, nube. She was a "satisfied power".
The book has its faults. He is covering the dynastic, diplomatic, military (sometimes at the regimental level) history of a polyglot empire over four centuries. He cannot be an expert on it all. No doubt errors of nomenclature and dating have crept in. And his treatment of 1914could not have been really good without overwhelming the scope and intention of the book.
The only criticism the Austrian reviewer made that I really do worry about is his point, which i very much noticed while reading the book, that Bassett occasionally seems to give at least some credence to what are close to "conspiracy" theories -- the French were behind Mayerling, maybe the Germans were behind the assassination of Franz Ferdinand and perhaps a few more. To be fair to Bassett, he does say that these are
unproven, murky, etc., but in my view such matters are better confined to a suggestive footnote OR given full treatment of the evidence.
In short, the book has some tendentiousness but is nonetheless illuminating, entertaining in many places. The author set himself a bit of an impossible task. May I recommend AJP Taylor's book on the Habsburg empire to readers of Bassett? Taylor being, of course, one of the best examples of an extremely tendentious, know it all of a biased historian, who nonetheless (or because of that) is a great figure -- insightful, consistent and a writer who truly brings history to life.
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