Jackboot : The Story of the German Soldier

"Jackboot" traces the background and influences that have shaped the character of the German soldier from the time of Frederick the Great to the end of World War II. "Every German," declares Laffin, "is a born soldier. He breathes war, he is imbued with it, he glorifies it. He has the virus quality of aggression and fortitude in his blood." These and other qualities, such as manliness, courage and an unfailing response to discipline, even his arrogance, are based on a military tradition that owes its origin to Frederick the Great. The ability of Frederick's army to recover and hit back in the face of tremendous odds is one of the chief qualities inherited by the German army and one which, as at Amiens in 1918 and the Ardennes in 1945, has been demonstrated time and again.