{"product_id":"cross-of-iron-the-rise-and-fall-of-the-german-war-machine-1918-1945-9780805083217","title":"Cross of Iron: The Rise and Fall of the German War Machine, 1918-1945","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA riveting account of the origins and development of the German army that breaks through the distortions of conventional military history\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAcclaimed for his revisionist history of the German Army in World War I, John Mosier continues his pioneering work in \u003ci\u003eCross of Iron\u003c\/i\u003e, offering an intimate portrait of the twentieth-century German army from its inception, through World War I and the interwar years, to World War II and its climax in 1945. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWorld War I has inspired a vast mythology of bravery and carnage, told largely by the victors, that has fascinated readers for decades. Many have come to believe that the fast ascendancy of the Allied army, matched by the failure of a German army shackled by its rigidity, led to the war's outcome. Mosier demystifies the strategic and tactical realities to explain that it was Germany's military culture that provided it with the advantage in the first war. Likewise, \u003ci\u003eCross of Iron\u003c\/i\u003e offers stunning revelations regarding the weapons of World War II, forcing a reevaluation of the reasons behind the French withdrawal, the Russian contribution, and Hitler as military thinker. Mosier lays to rest the notion that the army, as opposed to the SS, fought a clean and traditional war. Finally, he demonstrates how the German war machine succeeded against more powerful Allied armies until, in both wars, it was crushed by U.S. intervention. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe result of thirty years of primary research, \u003ci\u003eCross of Iron\u003c\/i\u003e is a powerful and authoritative reinterpretation of Germany at war.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA former film critic and member of the Camera d'Or jury at the Cannes Film Festival, \u003cb\u003eJohn Mosier\u003c\/b\u003e is currently a professor of English at Loyola University, New Orleans. His background as a military historian dates from his role in developing an interdisciplinary curriculum for the study of the two world wars, a program funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. He lives in Jefferson, Louisiana.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"St. Martins Press-3PL","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50872831803666,"sku":"9780805083217","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_d8aaf615-3cde-4c22-96fe-304d264d175c.jpg?v=1737912604","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/cross-of-iron-the-rise-and-fall-of-the-german-war-machine-1918-1945-9780805083217","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}