Jackboot Paperback – February 26, 2004

'Jackboot' is at once a history of German militarism and a deep look into the mind and spirit of the men who constituted it. Laffin's stated goal is to give the much-maligned German soldier his proper due, and in this, he succeeds. Initially, he seems to have a deep admiration for his subjects, but as the book continues it becomes clear that his attitude toward the German soldier is more of a grudging respect: "I am no apologist for Germans and especially not for the Prussianistic of them; they are fundamentally a hard race, but it is wrong to allege that the entire army was one of sadists." With that said, he prefaces his book by asserting his belief that all soldiers are "the most genuine and worthwhile people who have ever existed." Laffin spends a significant amount of time examining the German armies of old, namely the Prussians and their immeasurable influence on German militarism. Among the influential personalities covered in depth are; Frederick the Great, Clausewitz, Scharnhorst, Moltke, and Hitler. Although most of the book concentrates on military leaders and campaigns, Laffin does also offer some valuable insight into the lot and mentality of the ordinary soldier "from the ranks."Some reviewers have criticized Laffin's use of generalizations to describe certain aspects of German militarism and it's soldiers. I would argue that if there was ever a case for generalizations to be legitimate, the German military would qualify. For centuries, the German was bred for war, and the single-minded warrior spirit was drilled into them from an early age. They were an honor-driven and martial society that had essentially one way of doing things, and individualism was not a trait that was encouraged. And while there are exceptions to every rule, it seems evident that the average German readily accepted his soldierly fate and eagerly sought the glorious "death of heroes."Previous reviewers have also criticized Laffin's conclusions that the Germans will one day march again. And while I agree that this seems unlikely at the moment, I wouldn't dismiss it arbitrarily. In another book I've recently read;  Fuhrer-Ex:: Memoirs of a Former Neo-Nazi (1996) the author claims that the Bundeswehr is still trained in terms of "racial enemies" and is particularly indoctrinated with fear of a "yellow flood" from China. Just some food for thought. On a side note, am I the only one that thinks its funny that the soldier on the front cover looks like a black guy? Anyhow, I found this to be a solid look into German militarism and the German soldier. Definitely worth the read for anyone interested in the subject.

A brilliant story of a German Infantryman.

I thought the book offers a combination of a good general military history of Prussia and Germany over the last 250 years plus some very interesting insights into German military theory and training. Chapters XVII and XVIII were the most interesting.Chapter XVII argues that the Allies erred in 1918 in not demanding that the German army leadership formally surrender. Instead, the Allies negotiated with Mathias Erzberger and other political leaders of the new Weimar Republic government. This supposedly allowed the Army leaders to formulate the myth that they had not been defeated on the battlefield but had been "stabbed in the back" by a weak civilian government and socialist-dominated populace. It's an interesting argument but I doubt that it would have made much difference. Defeated generals have found ways for centuries, if not millennia, to blame others for their failures.Chapters XVIII and XIX describe the German Army approaches to psychology in the 1920s and 1930s to indoctrinate soldiers for war and select officers for command positions. I don't know if Laffin is correct in his assessment or if he merely got carried away with the subject. He offers a more comprehensive review of the subject than I have found in any other book.

Jackboot John Laffin has over a hundred books to his credit. “Jackboot” tells the story of the German soldier over a period of more than two centuries, from 1713 to 1945. The heavy hand of Fredrick the Great continued to influence German military affairs and the minds of the Prussian officer class long after his death. He did have the virtue of success, something that his would be imitator, Adolf Hitler, cannot claim. Author Laffin brushes over the campaigns and battles, the tactics and weapons to focus on the mind of the German soldier and of his leaders. I found the sections on modern day psychological evaluation to be fascinating. The Germans did not evaluate future combat leaders in the same way that other nations do, not by a long shot. If you are looking for a different sort of a look at the German Army, a long hard look that goes a long way to explain how it was able to withstand the whole of Europe and America in World War II, take a gander at “Jackboot”. You will not be disappointed.