A Flawed Genius: Field Marshal Walter Model: A Critical Biography - Rilegato

Stein, Marcel

Rilegato

ISBN 10: 1906033307 ISBN 13: 9781906033309

Casa editrice: Helion & Co Ltd, 2010

Riassunto

Walter Model ranks among the foremost commanders of the German Wehrmacht during World War Two. This is recognized by both German and foreign military historians. But Model was also one of the most brutal German Generals. Whenever he assumed a new command, he showered his staff officers with insults which hurt their dignity and led many of them to request their transfer. The higher Model rose in rank, the more offensive his behavior became.

In the first seven chapters, the author describes the successive stages of Walter Model's career, beginning with his youth and ending with his suicide on April 21, 1945, when he finally woke up to his errors, dissolved his Army Group in the Ruhr Pocket and told his soldiers that they were free to go home.

Walter Model had served with distinction as a junior officer during the First World War. In the Reichswehr and after 1935 in the Wehrmacht, his service altered between troop commands and increasingly important duties in the Generalstab. In March 1938, he reached General's rank with his promotion to Generalmajor.

During World War Two, Walter Model rose to the highest ranks. In the campaigns in Poland and France he was Chief of Staff of a Corps and later of an Army. His first troop command was a Panzer division during the initial phase of the war against Russia. In the winter of 1941 he rose to corps command, a few weeks later he became commander in chief of 9th Army. As of 1944 he assumed command of Army Groups. In the East, he commanded two of the three Army Groups simultaneously and was also responsible for coordination with the third Army Group, making him, in practice, Supreme Commander East. He was then named Supreme Commander West and commanded Army Group B until the end. Chapter eight is a detailed account of Model's active involvement in the worst war crimes. Chapter nine deals with Model's increasingly absurd orders of the day, some of which can cast doubt on his sanity. Chapter ten deals with courts martial convened by him and shows how he was part of the increasing perversion of military justice. The last chapter 'Conclusion' is an analysis of the many aspects of Model's personality.

Researched from a huge array of primary and secondary sources, 'A Flawed Genius' is destined to become the primary biography about Model, a most controversial and complex German military figure.

Su questo libro

Recensione:

This is a well written and researched book. --Windscreen, March 2011

L'autore:

Marcel Stein was born in Berlin on December 2, 1921, as a French citizen. Until 1936 he went to school in Berlin and given the political developments in Germany, he entered Bedales School in England. In 1938 he started studying law and economics at the University of Paris while at the same time completing a reserve officer training program. In 1939 he volunteered for military service, obtained his commission in May 1940 and took part in the battle for France. In 1941 he continued his studies at the University of Algiers, which he had to interrupt after the Vichy government introduced the numerus clausus for Jewish students. In 1942 he escaped to Switzerland and obtained his degrees at the University of Geneva. In 1944 he returned for war service at the French General Staff and at the same time obtained his degrees at the University of Paris. In his professional life, Stein has held executive positions in major French, Swedish and Israeli industrial firms. Between 1974 and 1987 he was deputy general manager of Bank Leumi, Tel Aviv and between 1987 and 1999 he was deputy chief executive of Bank Winter, Vienna, the largest private bank in Austria. After retiring, Stein returned to Israel and engaged in writing a number of books about military history. Among his publications are three books about Manstein, one about Field Marshal Model and one about the Austrian generals who served in the German army after the annexation of Austria. His main area of interest is the perversion of the German officer corps tradition by the Nazi regime. All his books have been widely reviewed in the German-speaking press, both public and professional. This is Marcel Stein s second book to be published by Helion. His first, Field Marshal von Manstein The Janus Head, received widespread critical acclaim.

Su questa edizione

• Editore: Helion & Co Ltd
• Data di pubblicazione: 2010
• ISBN 10: 1906033307
• ISBN 13: 9781906033309
• Rilegatura: Copertina rigida
• Numero edizione: 1
• Numero di pagine: 302