Robert M. Citino

Robert M. Citino
Born	June 19, 1958 (age 58) Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Residence	United States
Awards	Paul M. Birdsall Prize for Best Book in Strategic Studies Distinguished Book Award, Society for Military History
Academic work
Era	19th and 20th centuries
Institutions	University of North Texas United States Army War College (visiting professor)
Main interests	Military history: History of warfare, World War II
Notable works	Books on the Wehrmacht and the Reichswehr
Notable ideas	Development of the German operational doctrine into the "German way of war"[1]

Robert M. Citino (born June 19, 1958) is an American historian at the University of North Texas. He is a leading authority on modern German military history, with an emphasis upon World War II and the German influence upon modern operational doctrine.^[2]

Citino is an award-winning author on military history, receiving recognition for his works from the American Historical Association, the Society for Military History, and the New York Military Affairs Symposium. The Historically Speaking journal described him as "one of the most perceptive military historians writing today".^[1]

Background

Citino was born and grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, a son of a World War II veteran.^[1] After graduating with Magna Cum Laude with his Bachelor's degree in history from Ohio State University in 1978, he earned his Master's and PhD from Indiana University in 1980 and 1984.^[3] Citino is fluent in German and is a prolific reader of early 20th century German military literature.^[1]

Career

Prior to his position at the University of North Texas, Citino has taught at Eastern Michigan University, West Point, and the Command and General Staff School. He is a fellow of the Barsanti Military History Center, a trustee of the Society for Military History, and a consultant for the White House staff. He has also appeared as a consultant on the History Channel.^[4]

Throughout his career Citino has advocated changing the current nomenclature of German military tactics. Although he uses the word Blitzkrieg on the cover of his books, he has always espoused the view that it should be called by its proper German military term, Bewegungskrieg, or maneuver warfare. Citino has taught courses on Nazi Germany and American military history, including Korea, Vietnam, and the Cold War.^[1]

On March 15, 2013, Citino was awarded the 2013 Distinguished Book Award by the Society for Military History for his work The Wehrmacht Retreats: Fighting a Lost War, 1943. The book explores German losses in key campaigns in 1943—losses which would eventually lead to an erosion of the German military's strategic advantage. It is his second Distinguished Book Award; he previously received one in 2004 for his book Blitzkrieg to Desert Storm.^[5] Citino was a visiting professor at the United States Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania for the 2013–14 academic school year.^[6]

Awards

• Winner of the 2004 Paul M. Birdsall Prize for Best Book in Strategic Studies, American Historical Association for Blitzkrieg to Desert Storm: The Evolution of Operational Warfare^[7]
• Winner of the 2005 Distinguished Book Award, Society for Military History for Blitzkrieg to Desert Storm: The Evolution of Operational Warfare^[8]
• Winner of the 2012 Arthur Goodzeit Award New York Military Affairs Symposium for The Wehrmacht Retreats: Fighting a Lost War, 1943^[9]
• Winner of the 2013 Distinguished Book Award, Society for Military History for The Wehrmacht Retreats: Fighting a Lost War, 1943^[10]

Works

• Citino (1991). Germany and the Union of South Africa in the Nazi Period. Greenwood Press.
• Citino (1994). Armored Forces: History and Sourcebook. Greenwood Press.
• Citino (1999). The Path to Blitzkrieg: Doctrine and Training in the German Army, 1920–1939. Lynne Rienner; Stackpole Books (paperback, 2008)
• Citino (2000). Was the Reputation of the Wehrmacht for Military Superiority Deserved?" In History in Dispute 4, World War II, 1939–1945 Detroit: St. James Press.
• Citino (2001). The Weimar Roots of German Military Planning. In Military Planning and the Origins of the Second World War in Europe. edited by B.J.C. McKercher and Roch Legault. Westport, Conn.: Praeger.
• Citino (2002). Quest for Decisive Victory: From Stalemate to Blitzkrieg in Europe, 1899–1940. University Press of Kansas.
• Citino (2004). Blitzkrieg to Desert Storm: The Evolution of Operational Warfare. University Press of Kansas. ISBN 0-700-61300-5
• Citino (2005). The German Way of War: From the Thirty Years' War to the Third Reich. University Press of Kansas. ISBN 0-700-61410-9 OCLC 61362770
• Citino (2007). The Death of the Wehrmacht: The German Campaigns of 1942. University Press of Kansas. ISBN 0-700-61531-8 OCLC 123485685
• Citino (2007). Military Histories Past and Present: A Reintroduction. American Historical Review vol.112 no.4
• Citino (2008). The Path To Blitzkrieg: Doctrine and Training in the German Army 1920–39. Stackpole Books.
• Citino (2012). The Wehrmacht Retreats: The Campaigns of 1943. University Press of Kansas. ISBN 0-700-61826-0 OCLC 755904583

Notes

1. Yerxa 2011.
2. "Robert M. Citino". New York Journal of Books. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
3. UNT Fellow – Robert M. Citino – Military History Center
4. "Citno, Robert (faculty profile)". UNT. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
5. Distinguished Book Award by Society for Military History
6. Citino offers expertise on military history, The Jackson Sun, October 29, 2015
7. "The 119th Annual Meeting: Awards, Honors, and Prizes". American Historical Association.
8. Distinguished Book Award by Society for Military History
9. The 2012 NYMAS Book Award by New York Military Affairs Symposium
10. Distinguished Book Award by Society for Military History

• Yerxa, Donald A. (2011). "Military History at the Operational Level: An Interview with Robert M. Citino". Historically Speaking. Retrieved May 5, 2016.

External links

• "Death of the Wehrmacht" – 2009 article by Citino at Historynet.com
• Fritz on Citino, 'Death of the Wehrmacht: The German Campaigns of 1942' – Review by the historian Stephen G. Fritz on H-Net
• 'Death of the Wehrmacht: The German Campaigns of 1942' – Review by Richard L. Dinardo of Marine Corps Command and Staff College
• Interview with Professor Robert Citino, via WW2History.com, a web site by the historian Laurence Rees

Videos

• "Kursk, The Epic Armored Engagement": Video on YouTube, via the official channel of The National WWII Museum; session by Citino and the historian Jonathan Parshall at the 2013 International Conference on World War II
• "Fighting a Lost War: The German Army in 1943": Video on YouTube, via the official channel of the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center