ABSTRACT
J. E. Craig's comprehensive research, skillful presentation, and humanistic perspective have blended to present a scathing indictment of the deleterious effect of the military on every aspect of German life, particularly after 1871. In the Federal Republic, militarism is a favorite whipping boy of professors grimly determined both to master Germany's past and not to be outflanked from the left by their colleagues in the GDR, for whom scholarship must serve the cause of revolution. The army's contribution to the latter process was conditioned by military requirements. Geography and strategy alike demanded that Germany be able to mobilize her land forces as quickly as possible. In Germany the symbols and celebrations commemorating seemingly unbroken strings of victories tended to strike affirmative notes, reinforcing good memories and smoothing away recollections of hard marches, short rations, lost comrades, fear, and diarrhea.
