Jackboot a History of the German Soldier

The historical events covered in Laffin's Jackboot have been covered by innumerable other authors in countless other books. What Laffin does here, however, is bring them to us in an enthusiastic way, since he is unabashedly fond of his subject matter, the German soldier. His narrative is free from the de rigueur perception of all Prussian-German military history being a cradle of National Socialism. I was most intrigued by the story of the little known WWI general von Lettow-Vorbeck who commanded troops in east Africa against the British, and was undefeated at war's end. The author dedicates the book to this general, and it would be interesting to find out more about him and his campaigns.

'Jackboot' is at once a history of German militarism and a deep look into the mind and spirit of the men who constituted it. Laffin's stated goal is to give the much-maligned German soldier his proper due, and in this, he succeeds. Initially, he seems to have a deep admiration for his subjects, but as the book continues it becomes clear that his attitude toward the German soldier is more of a grudging respect: "I am no apologist for Germans and especially not for the Prussianistic of them; they are fundamentally a hard race, but it is wrong to allege that the entire army was one of sadists." With that said, he prefaces his book by asserting his belief that all soldiers are "the most genuine and worthwhile people who have ever existed." Laffin spends a significant amount of time examining the German armies of old, namely the Prussians and their immeasurable influence on German militarism. Among the influential personalities covered in depth are; Frederick the Great, Clausewitz, Scharnhorst, Moltke, and Hitler. Although most of the book concentrates on military leaders and campaigns, Laffin does also offer some valuable insight into the lot and mentality of the ordinary soldier "from the ranks." Some reviewers have criticized Laffin's use of generalizations to describe certain aspects of German militarism and it's soldiers. I would argue that if there was ever a case for generalizations to be legitimate, the German military would qualify. For centuries, the German was bred for war, and the single-minded warrior spirit was drilled into them from an early age. They were an honor-driven and martial society that had essentially one way of doing things, and individualism was not a trait that was encouraged. And while there are exceptions to every rule, it seems evident that the average German readily accepted his soldierly fate and eagerly sought the glorious "death of heroes." Previous reviewers have also criticized Laffin's conclusions that the Germans will one day march again. And while I agree that this seems unlikely at the moment, I wouldn't dismiss it arbitrarily. In another book I've recently read; Fuhrer-Ex:: Memoirs of a Former Neo-Nazi(1996) the author claims that the Bundeswehr is still trained in terms of "racial enemies" and is particularly indoctrinated with fear of a "yellow flood" from China. Just some food for thought. On a side note, am I the only one that thinks its funny that the soldier on the front cover looks like a black guy? Anyhow, I found this to be a solid look into German militarism and the German soldier. Definitely worth the read for anyone interested in the subject.

When I saw this book I knew I had to read it because it was going to be about the true history of the German Army and not full of anti German propaganda. After the intro there are quotes from some famous germans, mostly from the military, who glorify war. Then the book starts with the Prussian king Frederick William's lust for building up his army in the early 18th century and from there it talks about Pruissa's army conquests and losses all the way up until the 1950's. The book is full of little interesting tidbits about the German military like how they came to look at war and how they trained which is what helped them become the world's best military time and time again through it's history. The book is very easy to read through and you'll be done in no time. I did have some problems with the book like how they only talked about the Prussian army and not the other german armies out there like Austria's. Another thing that really bothered me is that the author wants you not to think about the Germans as Jew hating Nazis but as a war loving people. The author goes on about how all the Germans love war and that's all they want in life, including todays Germans. It is true that the Germans loved war but that was a long time ago and I think that things have changed after all a lot of Germanic cultures also loved war a long time ago but you don't hear anything about the Scandinavians still wanting to go on Viking raids or about the English trying to takeover the seas again. This book might turn people off to the Germans if they think that they all love and want war until each and every one of them is dead, but if you can ignore the author's personal beliefs about Germans loving war then I'm sure that you'll enjoy this informative book.

Finaly! An author who has the courage to give the lorals (and expose the pitfalls) of German soldiers from the 18th century, through WWII. I was aghast to find that in my college senior level WWII history class, our sole text on the Whermacht was written by a former Israeli solidier! As a grand-child of soldiers of Germany, I applaud this book and would recommend it to anyone interested in a realistic, soldiers view, of the German Armies.

An excellant read. Unbiased and objective military analysis...An acurate portrait of Germany's militaristic national character which finds life within its various martial incarnations.