In the wake of World War I, the German Army lay in ruins - defeated in the war, sundered by domestic upheaval, and punished by the Treaty of Versailles. A mere twenty years later, Germany possessed one of the finest military machines in the world, capable of launching a stunning blitzkrieg attack that shredded its opponents in 1939-1940. Military historian Richard M. Citino shows how Germany accomplished this astonishing reversal and developed the doctrine, tactics, and technologies that its army would use to devastating effect in World War II. -- From the back cover.

U.S. Army Chief of Staff's Professional reading list, 2017. Military Reading List: Army 2017. Originally published: Boulder, Colo. : Lynne Rienner Publishers, c1999.

Introduction: The German army from collapse to rebirth -- Seeckt and the rebirth of doctrine -- Seeckt: doctrine and reception -- The Reichswehr as military school -- Exercises and wargames -- The Changing of the guard -- The Army and the "new objectivity" -- Toward the new era -- From Reichswehr to wehrmacht -- Conclusion: Ten days that shook the world.