New Reads

[Rick]

"An Expendable Squadron" The Story of 217 Coastal Command 1939-1945 by Roy C. Nesbit.

A decent overall view of the responsibilities of the said squadron. Did not know Coastal Command was tasked with bombing harbors although it does make sense.

 

"Guns Against the Reich" Memoirs of an Artillery Officer on the Eastern Front by Petr Mikhin.

Very interesting. Although at times he reads like an "Artillery Super Sleuth" the young officer overcame many challenges. The problems with Stalin's (I'll paraphrase) No Retreat Order and with the NKVD were his worst times.

 

[Rick]

The Memoirs of Field Marshal Kesselring by himself. Disappointing but understandable as he wrote it while in prison after the war. Did not, imo, deal with higher decisions made by Hitler, OKW, etc.

[Rick]

"Sacrifice on the Steppe" The Italian Alpine Corps in the Stalingrad Campaign 1942-1943.

I would say this book is a must read.

A short quote from pages 157-158; "...Lt. Giorgio Gaza, commander of the 253 co., Val Chiese Battalion, recalled an unusual moment during a snowstorm in which he offered to help Ugo Bodei, an alpino in his company who had exposed his private part while urinating, attempting to shield it from the wind with his hand. "I was passing by, I saw him, and immediately realized the grave risk he was taking(it was -40 degrees) therefore I immediately intervened. He was standing. On my kneesin front of him, I rapidly removed my gloves, treated him in the manner needed, placing the "part' in question back where it was warm and buttoned his pants; an operation he couldn't have managed anymore, having hands paralyzed by the cold.

35 years later, the Lt., the alpini, and the alpini's son meet. The Lt. was congratulated by father and son on a first rate "rescue operation."

[RETAC21]

Red Army by Ralph Peters, probably the best WW3 novel of the 80s

 

 

[Stuart Galbraith]

N

On 3/9/2021 at 10:48 AM, RETAC21 said:

Red Army by Ralph Peters, probably the best WW3 novel of the 80s

 

 

Nah, its The Chieftains innit?  😄

Seriously though, that is very good. Thanks for the link I could do with a good bedtime story.

Edited March 10, 2021 by Stuart Galbraith

[Rick]

"Bankrupting the Enemy"  The U.S. Financial Siege of Japan Before Pearl Harbor, by Edward S. Miller. Published by Naval Institute Press. A superb look at the U.S. economic policy prior to W.W.2.

From the last paragraph.  "Unfortunately for Japan, its leaders chose a war that brought upon it far more economic devastation than any sanctions, along with great loss of life and untold misery. Although struggling along under bankruptcy without going to war was a dreary prospect, a third course was open to Japan: renouncing imperial aggression in return for thawing of the (economic) freeze. One may wonder, what if Japan had endured the freeze long enough to ascertain that Germany could not win and had then abandoned the Axis, perhaps even joined the Allied side as it had in 1914? It would have prospered mightily by selling ships, machinery, and other goods to the Allies. It would have emerged after the war as the strongest regional power, with a world-class navy, an overflowing treasury, and a zeal for industrial modernization, just as colonial empires in Asian were crumbling. It might have shored up China against Communism. A cooperative Japanese commercial  " 'empire' " in East Asia, economically buoyant and trading internationally on a grand scale a generation sooner, could have changed the course of history in the twentieth century and beyond."

Now that is a What If topic!

Edited March 14, 2021 by Rick

[Rick]

"Modern Warfare in Spain" edited by James Cortada. This book is a selected collection of observations made by U.S. Army attache Col. Stephen Fuqua during the Spanish Civil War. Interesting comments on air - ground support and anti-tank gun vs tank.

[shootER5]

On 3/9/2021 at 4:48 AM, RETAC21 said:

Red Army by Ralph Peters, probably the best WW3 novel of the 80s

 

 

 

I loved that book. I originally had it in paperback and eventually bought the hardcover version, which I still have.

[Stuart Galbraith]

The Dark Beneath by JS Law. Bit of an odd one this, a female detective in the Royal Navy, whom successfully catches a serial killer but finds her career on the rocks, is requested to investigate the apparent suicide of an officer on board HMS Tenacity, a Trafalgar class attack submarine. Its a little eclectic, its not entirely believable, but the lead character is great, its a fast moving plot, and the ending on it is entirely believable. The author actually served on T Boats, and he does a successful job creating an atmosphere of claustrophobia of what it must be like to be trapped on a submarine, not least with a murderer.

It hovers somewhere between Tom Clancy attention to detail, and a plot reminiscent of Patricia Cornwalls 'Scarpetta' series. I rather enjoyed it, though im not sure it will appeal to everyone. Probably all submarine and crime fiction fans.

[DogDodger]

On 3/27/2021 at 3:28 AM, Rick said:

"Modern Warfare in Spain" edited by James Cortada. This book is a selected collection of observations made by U.S. Army attache Col. Stephen Fuqua during the Spanish Civil War. Interesting comments on air - ground support and anti-tank gun vs tank.

Thanks for posting this; will definitely look this up. The US Army drew the conclusion from the Spanish Civil War that basically the power of defensive weapons such as the antitank gun had grown paramount, and therefore that the tank remained an auxiliary for aiding the infantry. It'll be interesting to read these reports.

Always heard good things about Red Army but never got around to reading it.