
For God and Kaiser
The Imperial Austrian Army, 1619-1918
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Narrated by:
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Aaron Blain
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By:
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Richard Bassett
The definitive history of Austria’s multinational army and its immense role during three centuries of European military history.
Among the finest examples of deeply researched military history, Richard Bassett’s For God and Kaiser is a major account of the Habsburg army told for the first time in English. Bassett shows how the Imperial Austrian Army, time and again, was a decisive factor in the story of Europe, the balance of international power, and the defense of Christendom. Moreover it was the first pan-European army made up of different nationalities and faiths, counting among its soldiers not only Christians but also Muslims, and Jews.
Bassett tours some of the most important campaigns and battles in modern European military history, from the 17th century through World War I. He details technical and social developments that coincided with the army’s story and provides fascinating portraits of the great military leaders as well as noteworthy figures of lesser renown. Departing from conventional assessments of the Habsburg army as ineffective, outdated, and repeatedly inadequate, the author argues that it was a uniquely cohesive and formidable fighting force, in many respects one of the glories of the old Europe.
The book is published by Yale University Press.
©2015 Richard Bassett (P)2019 Redwood AudiobooksListeners also enjoyed...




















Critic reviews
“Ground-breaking history…few aspects of Austria's colourful history escape Bassett's eagle eye in a book that brilliantly fills a gaping hole in Europe's history.” (BBC History)
“Superb new book.” (The National Interest)
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History of the Habsburg Army and Dynasty.
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A Excellent book!
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The narration is a little jarring, it sounded a lot like "small phrase"..."small phrase"..."small phrase" Almost like the pause button was getting pushed after every 3 words.
It was still a good read/listen
Good book. Narration not the best.
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The History of the Austro-Hungarian Empire
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This book not only does a great job of showing that there's more to the armies of the Habsburg's then losing battles and backwards thinking. It is in fact an army at the head of many advancements in military technology and Innovative tactics. And is an force that has been at the forefront of many of the battles military historians still study today. The book also does a great job of showing that history is just as much of a force driven by individual personalities as it is driven by centrifugal forces around it.
As a word of caution though this book is not for the faint of heart. As this book is an analysis of the Armed Forces of the Habsburg's it will not go unduly out of its way to explain the political or economic history surrounding these events nor to the other nations it is involved with. Highly recommend knowing the history around this subject so you can have a full experience with this book.
An in-depth look at an often marginalized force
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Good story, bad narrator.
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Good as the Austrian soldier might have been, Bassett's recount of Hapsburg campaigns is a linty of catastrophes. Defeats even come when competent generals are in command. Basset eludes to the absence of a competent Austrian military staff, but he does not explain why this was systemic and why after centuries of screw-ups the Empire did not address the problem.
Bassett does a good job of situating the Austrian military within the larger historical framework of the Thirty Years War, Napoleon and WWI. Much of the book is a description of troop movements that becomes bewildering to an audio listener. Have maps at hand. Bassett is at his weakest suggesting that the Germans might have colluded with Serbians in the assassination of Frans-Joseph in order to force Austria into a war to settle the Balkans.
The biggest let down of this audio book is Aaron Blain's narration. He lacks inflection and has the infuriating habit of leaving long pauses between sentences. This audiobook sounds like a string of bullet points. I almost quit this book, but slightly increasing the speed to reduce the pauses made it a tolerable listen. Still Blain mispronounces many words and there are numerous jarring sound splices where it is clear that overdubbing was used to correct flubs of names and places.
Good soldiers, rotten generals
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The reader was somewhat uninflected, but always upbeat and he crush about a million very difficult to pronounce German, Hungarian, Czech, and Croat names and places was stunning
Thick and biased but excellent
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Interesting book, narration drives you crazy!
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Good book with a lot of information
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