THE SCHLIEFFEN PLAN is Named the Winner of The Arthur Goodzeit Book Award

By: Jun. 05, 2015
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The Schieffen Plan: International Perspectives on the German Strategy for World War I, edited by Hans Ehlert, Michael Epkenhans, and Gerhard P. Gross and translated by Major General David T. Zabecki, USA (Ret.), has been named the winner of The Arthur Goodzeit Book Award given by the New York Military Affairs Symposium. The Arthur Goodzeit Book Award was instituted in 1991, and named after the late Arthur Goodzeit, a long-time member of NYMAS and first editor of theNYMAS Newsletter. It has been awarded annually to an original work in military history which, in the opinion of the members of the NYMAS editorial committee, is of unusual value.

For generations, historians have considered Field Marshal Count Alfred von Schlieffen's writings to be the foundation of Germany's military strategy in World War I and have hotly debated the reasons why the plan, as executed, failed. The Schieffen Plan brings international scholars together to reassess Schlieffen's work for the first time in decades, offering new insights into the renowned general's impact not only on World War I but also on nearly a century of military historiography. The contributors draw on newly available source materials from European and Russian archives to demonstrate both the significance of the Schlieffen Plan and its deficiencies. They examine the operational planning of relevant European states and provide a broad, comparative historical context that other studies lack.

The book is part of The University Press of Kentucky's Foreign Military Studies series which features original works, translations, and reprints of classics outside the American canon that promote a deeper understanding of international military theory and practice. "We were honored to hear about the The Schlieffen Plan receiving the Arthur Goodzeit Book Award," said series editor Roger Cirillo. "With the series, we seek to promote a broader international perspective on military theory and practice, and this award goes a long way toward bringing these voices into a conversation with U.S. military historians."

Hans Ehlert, Michael Epkenhans, and Gerhard P. Gross are historians at the Bundeswehr Center of Military History and Social Sciences (ZMSBw) in Potsdam, Germany. Major General David T. Zabecki, USA (Ret.), is the author of The German 1918 Offensives: A Case Study in the Operational Level of War and editor in chief of the four-volume encyclopedia Germany at War: 400 Years of Military History. He is an honorary senior research fellow in the War Studies Programme at the University of Birmingham, United Kingdom.



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