“One of the most important emerging issues in military history is the impact of strategic theories on the conduct of war. In this book, Wallach focuses on the writings of Karl von Clausewitz and Alfred von Schlieffen to determine the extent to which they influenced the German conduct of the two world wars. Wallach recognizes the distinction between conduct that merely conforms to certain ideas and that which is affected by those ideas, and is careful not to overstate his case. His conclusions, therefore, are all the more convincing. They enhance understanding of the doctrinal underpinnings of the army's unique position in German politics as well as those principles that guided its operations.... [this] is a clear, well-written, and valuable contribution to the knowledge of those conflicts.”– Choice