Unleashing Absolute War: Clausewitz and Hitler's Philosophy of War

A leading expert reexamines history to offer a stunningly original portrait of Hitler as a competent military commander and strategist.

The First Soldier: Hitler as Military Leader (2018) by Stephen G. Fritz is a meticulously researched exploration of Adolf Hitler’s role as a military strategist during World War II. That Hitler saw World War II as the only way to retrieve Germany’s fortunes and build an expansionist Thousand-Year Reich is uncontroversial. But after Germany’s humiliating defeat, numerous German generals published memoirs claiming that their country’s brilliant military leadership had been undermined by the Führer’s erratic decision making. The author of three highly acclaimed books on the era, Fritz upends this characterization of Hitler as an ill-informed fantasist and demonstrates the ways in which his strategy was coherent and even competent.

Fritz's nuanced analysis allows readers to understand how Hitler’s unique combination of charisma, ideology, and tactical insight initially contributed to his early successes but later led to significant strategic failures. A necessary volume for understanding the influence of World War I on Hitler’s thinking, this work is also an eye-opening reappraisal of major events like the invasion of Russia and the battle for Normandy.

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For our discussion, please read in advance Chapter 1 (Clausewitz, Hitler, and Absolute War). You can find the PDF here.

About the author:

A professor of history at East Tennessee State University, Stephen G. Fritz has dedicated much of his career to understanding the complexities of Nazi Germany, the experiences of German soldiers, and the impact of Hitler's leadership on the course of the war. His scholarship has ranged from liberal politics in the late 1920's Weimar Republic to the rise of Nazism, from the influenza epidemic of 1918-19 in Germany to the origins of the Holocaust.