Covert German Rearmament, 1919-1939 : Deception and Misperception (Foreign Intelligence Book Series)

Rating:
Summary: Object Lessons for Weapons Inspectors
Review: During the 1980s the CIA's Office of Research and Development, under its 'Deception Research Program,' conducted conferences on and analyses of strategic deception: its history, theory, and prospects. Barton Whaley, who as an MIT researcher had amassed the world's largest database of political and military deceptions and stratagems, and had authored the definitive account of how Hitler hoodwinked Stalin ("Codeword Barbarossa"), became one of the Deception Research Program's principle investigators.
"Covert German Rearmament, 1919-1939" was originally a research paper, written for the Deception Research Program, on how Germany consistently violated the Versailles Treaty disarmament mandates and prohibitions on rearmament from 1920 to 1935 and got away with extensive deceptions, despite British, French, and American on-the-ground inspectors. Germany collaborated extensively with Soviet Russia to evade Western treaty constraints. The parallels to the post-Gulf War UN inspections of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction deceptions are manifold.
Once Hitler came to power and unilaterally rejected the Versailles limitations, Germany switched to a deceptive strategy of exaggerating its air power and land power while hiding its sea power. Whaley describes how every naval power in the 1920s and 1930s cheated on naval limits, but Germany cheated more, vastly understating the displacement of its capital ships. As a result, the Royal Navy had to deploy two or even three capital ships to challenge the German monsters, such as Bismarck. As a result, Germany completely evade the spirit and the purpose of the naval limitations; to keep fleets in balance and avoid a naval arms race.
By deceptively exaggerating German land and especially air power, Hitler successfully bluffed the British and French over the Austrian Anschluss, the reoccupation of the Rhineland, and most significantly over Czechoslovakia at Munich. Thinking he could bluff again, Hitler invaded Poland, and started the most catastrophic war in history.
About the author: Barton Whaley, among the best-known analysts of deception, is author of "Stratagem, Deception and Surprise in War;" "Cheating and Deception" (with J.Bowyer Bell); "Codeword Barbarossa;" "Soviet Clandestine Communication Nets;" and "The Encyclopedic Dictionary of Magic."

Rating:
Summary: Object Lessons for Weapons Inspectors
Review: During the 1980s the CIA�s Office of Research and Development, under its �Deception Research Program,� conducted conferences on and analyses of strategic deception: its history, theory, and prospects. Barton Whaley, who as an MIT researcher had amassed the world�s largest database of political and military deceptions and stratagems, and had authored the definitive account of how Hitler hoodwinked Stalin ("Codeword Barbarossa"), became one of the Deception Research Program�s principle investigators.
"Covert German Rearmament, 1919-1939" was originally a research paper, written for the Deception Research Program, on how Germany consistently violated the Versailles Treaty disarmament mandates and prohibitions on rearmament from 1920 to 1935 and got away with extensive deceptions, despite British, French, and American on-the-ground inspectors. Germany collaborated extensively with Soviet Russia to evade Western treaty constraints. The parallels to the post-Gulf War UN inspections of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction deceptions are manifold.
Once Hitler came to power and unilaterally rejected the Versailles limitations, Germany switched to a deceptive strategy of exaggerating its air power and land power while hiding its sea power. Whaley describes how every naval power in the 1920s and 1930s cheated on naval limits, but Germany cheated more, vastly understating the displacement of its capital ships. As a result, the Royal Navy had to deploy two or even three capital ships to challenge the German monsters, such as Bismarck. As a result, Germany completely evade the spirit and the purpose of the naval limitations; to keep fleets in balance and avoid a naval arms race.
By deceptively exaggerating German land and especially air power, Hitler successfully bluffed the British and French over the Austrian Anschluss, the reoccupation of the Rhineland, and most significantly over Czechoslovakia at Munich. Thinking he could bluff again, Hitler invaded Poland, and started the most catastrophic war in history.
About the author: Barton Whaley, among the best-known analysts of deception, is author of "Stratagem, Deception and Surprise in War;" "Cheating and Deception" (with J.Bowyer Bell); "Codeword Barbarossa;" "Soviet Clandestine Communication Nets;" and "The Encyclopedic Dictionary of Magic."

Rating:
Summary: Great!! Good thesis paper on the rearmament of Nazi Germany
Review: EXCELLENT. This book, which is really a thesis paper, was very well written. The bibliography, about 7 pages long has many other great references cited. This is an excellent book to start with for those wishing to learn more about the transformation of Germany into a military power between the wars.

Rating:
Summary: Great!! Good thesis paper on the rearmament of Nazi Germany
Review: EXCELLENT. This book, which is really a thesis paper, was very well written. The bibliography, about 7 pages long has many other great references cited. This is an excellent book to start with for those wishing to learn more about the transformation of Germany into a military power between the wars.