This fascinating new study from renowned World War II historian Robert Forczyk tells the story of the birth of the Wehrmacht from 1935 to Case Green, the German occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1938.

When Adolf Hitler became Reich Chancellor in January 1933, Germany was still trying to dig itself out of a deep hole brought about by defeat in the First World War, years of domestic political discord and the global economic depression. The Treaty of Versailles had stripped Germany of territory and reduced its military to little more than a well-armed police force. To the German people who voted him into office, Hitler was a populist leader who could lead the nation back to unity, stability and prosperity. Although alarmed by some of Hitler's Nazi Party (NSDAP) rhetoric, European leaders hoped for the best and optimistically looked to Hitler as a potential partner in crafting a new post-war peaceful order in central Europe. Most German army officers supported Hitler because he stood for a strong nation and restoring Germany's military capabilities, which aligned well with their own organizational interests. However, the average German voter, European leaders and even Germany military leaders would soon learn to their dismay that peace and stability were not part of Hitler's agenda for the nascent Third Reich. Instead of honoring existing diplomatic agreements, Hitler ignored or trampled them, one after the other, while clearly directing a rapid and massive re-armament program in Germany. By the time of the Munich Crisis in September1938, it was clear that Hitler was not only intent upon challenging the existing order in Europe, but overturning it.

Case Green: the Birth of the Wehrmacht examines the period from Hitler's announcement of rearmament in 1935 to the occupation of Czechoslovakia in considerable detail, demonstrating how Hitler used these early successes to consolidate his own power in Germany, browbeating his domestic opposition and forging the newly created Wehrmacht into an effective fighting force. Much of what Hitler accomplished in the period 1936–39 was done through bluff (by exaggerating his military capabilities) and deceit (claiming no more territorial demands), while simultaneously pushing Germany's economy toward the point of expand or collapse. Military, political/diplomatic and economic factors are interwoven to provide a coherent overview of the critical trends and events in this period, including the growth of the new Panzer arm, as well as competing priorities with the Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine. Other factors, such as the growing resistance to Hitler in the German officer corps and the belated Anglo- French rearmament are also included, as well as decision-making in London, Moscow and Rome, to produce a military-focused history of this critical period, which served as an immediate precursor to the outbreak of the Second World War.