Sources: Germany at War: 400 Years of Military History

Germany at War: 400 Years of Military History. Ed. by David T. Zabecki. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2015. 4 vols. acid free $415 (ISBN: 978-1-59884-980-6). E-book available (978-1-59884-981-3), call for pricing.

This four-volume set seeks to explain and define 400 years of German military history. Early on the editor explains what he means by “Germany,” stating “for our purposes, Germany is defined as the Federal Republic of Germany today, its predecessor states, and the component kingdoms and principalities that combine to form Imperial Germany” (xxxvii). This was an important distinction to make given the unique history of Germany as a united nation. There are many books that cover German military history, however, many of those only focus on specific periods or states of Germany.

Germany at War contains over 300 entries in alphabetical order that seek to provide the reader with a comprehensive understanding of the individuals, events, places, and equipment relevant to German military history. These entries cover events from the “Thirty Years War through today’s Bundeswehr” (xxxvii). The 300+ entries are reference entries typically between 5 and 7 paragraphs. At the end of each entry is an additional reading suggestion, which is very beneficial to this series. These suggestions do a good job of introducing the reader to material that goes more in-depth on the topic. Each volume contains an index and table of contents.

This set does not offer anything new to the field of Germany military history; however, it does a good job of compiling information together into one location. While there are other works that compile sections of German military history into one edited work, this one covers a unique timeline others do not. One fault I have with this work is the alphabetical listing of the entries. It would have been more accessible had it been divided chronologically. The choice to divide it alphabetically means that information about World War II is mixed with information about Imperial Germany or the Thirty Years War. The work contains some pictures and illustrations that add to the readers’ understanding of the topic.

The work provides a straightforward overview of the topic and the entries are enough to give the reader an understanding of the person, place, or event they are discussing. I would recommend this collection to community college libraries or high school libraries. A larger university will already have most of the material contained within these volumes so it will not be as useful.—Michael Hawkins, Adjunct Reference and Instruction librarian, Kent State University