For God and Kaiser

[Bassett] sets out 'to explore whether the Habsburgs army s reputation for inefficiency, incompetence, general unreliability, and even cruelty, is at all justified.' Calling to his aid an impressively broad array of sources, he demonstrates with engaging verve that it is not. Adam Zamoyski, Literary Review --Adam Zamoyski Literary Review (06/01/2015) In his superb new book, For God and Kaiser, Richard Bassett examines the central role the imperial army played in Austria. While this fighting force was undeniably in dire straits by 1914, he argues that it has gotten something of a bum rap. For several centuries, it displayed a remarkable capacity to adapt and innovate. Bassett believes that the army expressed the idea that dynastic, cultural and economic relations were more important than national identity. Indeed, the army became a remarkably successful tool for state formation and provided cohesion even as nationalism became a greater force. . . . Bassett deftly describes how Austria s army differed from its European counterparts. William Hay, The National Interest --William Hay The National Interest John Keegan, perhaps the greatest British military historian of recent years, felt that the most important book that remained unwritten was a history of the Austrian army. Richard Bassett has now successfully filled the gap, and few could be better qualified to do so. John Jolliffe, the Spectator--John Jolliffe Spectator (06/20/2015)