Berlin: Christof Links, 2010. 500 S.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the territorial division of the world between the European powers was completed. Not the least and even the leading place in this process was occupied by Germany, whose colonial policy at the end of the XIX century. entered a new stage of its evolution. German historiography has achieved significant results in developing the problems of German foreign policy related to the European direction. In this regard, we can highlight the research of Hans Fenske, Hans-Ulrich Wehler, and Jorg Fish. However, the topic of colonial policy in the African and Asian regions remained secondary for a long time. Changes in the direction of research have occurred in recent decades, when the works of, for example, George Balander, Horst Dreschler, Isabel Huhl appeared.

A significant achievement of the modern historiography of colonialism can be considered the book of the German researcher Susanna Kuss. Her monograph, due to its novelty and relevance, has become a notable event in the scientific community. The author, on the one hand, summarized the existing material on the history of colonial wars, and on the other hand, analyzed their little-studied aspects. The paper, for example, examined the Maji-Maji war in East Africa, which also had a colonial connotation.

S. Kuss in his monograph does not seek to study colonial wars in general. According to her, the purpose of the study is to analyze the types and causes of violence committed in three" major "colonial wars: the" Boxer rebellion " in China (1900-1901), the Herero-Nama War in German Southeast Africa (1904-1907) and the Maji-Maji War in East Africa (1905-1908). The author's position is quite reasonable that not only the motives and intentions, but also the mental and mental predispositions of military personnel became the causes of violent actions in the colonial wars. It is incontrovertible that any war, including a colonial one, is an act of violence; its power cannot be significantly limited by international and legal customs. The German researcher introduces the concept of "extreme violence" into her scientific work and notes that "the so-called extreme violence committed in war (also referred to as excessive or barbaric) has completely distanced itself from the goal of military success. It occurs when resistance is stopped or victory is achieved. These are violent actions that are unnecessary and unnecessary in achieving the goal. Extreme violence can be directed at objects and take the form of requisition, indemnity, looting, or destruction... scorched earth tactics " (p. 11). The author concludes that the violence was the result of special circumstances arising from the conditions of the colonial theaters of military operations.

It is worth noting that the structure of the monograph is quite clear: it is divided into five main sections.

The first chapter justifies the purpose of the research and defines the main terms used in the work ("colonial war", "violence in war"), conducts a historiographical review with elements of its own assessment, and also justifies the methods used in scientific work. As the author of the monograph notes, to explain the types and causes of violence,

S. Kuss. German soldiers in the colonial theater of operations. Escalation of violence in the early 20th century Berlin: Christoph Links, 2010. 500 p.

It uses the concept method of the theater of operations (S. 32), which is used by German troops in the colonial wars. The term "theater of military operations" used in specialized literature is always vague: ordinary reference publications are unfamiliar with it. Another similar concept of "Theater of war" (Theatre de la guerre) further restricts the possibilities for comprehensive coverage of problems. S. Kuss interprets the concept of "theater of military operations" more broadly as the sum of various factors - and includes three important spatial aspects: geographical, social and imaginary space. The novelty of the methodological base of this work lies precisely in the use of the multi-factor approach.

The second chapter of the book contains an extensive factual analysis of the three major colonial wars of the early 20th century mentioned above. The author clearly defines the chronological boundaries of colonial conflicts and highlights their most important periods.

Numerous aspects of the colonial theater of military operations are most fully considered in the third chapter of the monograph. Much attention is paid to the psychology of colonial soldiers. We can agree with S. Kuss that any colonial war is prepared not only politically, but also ideologically. Thus, the author analyzes the psychological attitudes that developed among German soldiers and were associated with the formation of the image of the enemy, characteristic of a particular colonial conflict.

An integral part of any war is the military and naval forces used. It is obvious that the army and navy provided soldiers with weapons suitable for war and institutional knowledge about the conduct of military operations. S. Kuss counts as military knowledge technical information and skills, such as possession of weapons, tactical know-how about various types of combat, as well as certain behaviors - their general principles and legal norms. The German researcher makes a rather unexpected conclusion that most of the German soldiers were not prepared to participate in the colonial war either technically, theoretically,or practically. They were only able to assimilate the information established for European wars, but they were not adapted to the specifics of the colonial ones. The German army gained an advantage in the fight against the local population only at the expense of more advanced weapons. Based on this, S. Kuss emphasizes: "The armament of German soldiers, although it inspired them with a sense of strength and confidence, but in some circumstances it could be deceptive. An important point is the fact that weapons in colonial wars were more than an auxiliary means of warfare, their presence or absence, functioning or not functioning could be more important than tactics " (p. 178).

I would like to note that for the first time for research on this topic, the issue of medical support for German soldiers in the wars for the colonies is sufficiently fully considered in a peer-reviewed monograph. According to S. Kuss, the difficult natural conditions of the colonies led to severe long-term acclimatization, outbreaks of infections among German soldiers, which prevented successful military operations.

She also notes that ethnic issues are an obstacle to the end of the colonial wars. The psychology of local residents was radically different from the European one. The large number of ethnic groups encountered by German soldiers created an unbreakable cultural barrier. It is important to note that in the war in the African colonies, the Germans could not refuse the help of intermediaries from the local population, who knew the geographical, climatic conditions and habits of the rebels. However, the use of local mercenary units encountered certain difficulties: local auxiliary soldiers often used the colonial wars to pursue their own military goals. Along with this, S. Kuss cites the most interesting facts related to the formation of Chinese detachments in Tsingtao. She notes: "Following the example of the Chinese detachment formed in 1899 by Great Britain, with the formation of the German "Chinese detachment", first of all an attempt was made to reduce the cost of maintaining personnel, the participation of German soldiers in patrolling areas was considered too expensive. The use of 120 Chinese soldiers instead of the same number of German soldiers should have saved 36,000 marks annually " (p. 156). In addition, the German authorities tried to find a compromise in the joint existence of German and Chinese detachments. "In order to separate the German detachment from the Chinese, the German administration attached great importance to distinguishable signs regarding organization, location and uniforms. So, the uniforms of Chinese soldiers were half European, half Asian. In summer, they wore khaki uniforms, a wide straw hat and sandals; in winter, a corduroy suit with a Manchu hat and lace-up boots. From arming with low-quality weapons - as was customary in Afri-

ke-it was decided to refuse, since the Chinese army was constantly equipped with the most modern weapons " (p. 157).

We can agree with the author's point of view that in addition to these facts, the wars caused internal changes and fierce disputes in Germany itself. Numerous articles in the press at the beginning of the 20th century about German militarism and debates in the Reichstag also shaped the picture of colonial conflicts. As a result of the colonial wars in Germany, a whole generation of multifunctional soldiers was formed.

It is obvious that the scientific value of a peer-reviewed monograph also lies in the author's involvement in the extensive source material included in the fourth chapter. It contains memoirs, assessments of contemporaries of those events, military reports from China and Africa that testified to the strategy of waging wars, information about the unions of former front-line soldiers. The author provides a valuable catalog of the names of the most significant figures of the colonial wars, as well as a list of the main types of weapons.

After analyzing some aspects of the scientific work, we can conclude that the monograph of S. Kuss is important for further study of the issues of colonialism. The colossal role that Germany played in the colonial wars will remain in the focus of researchers ' attention for a long time to come. Further study of German colonial policy and analysis of German colonial ideology will contribute to the expansion of scientific knowledge on the history of colonialism.

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