'Aussie Rick'’s Comments (group member since Jun 12, 2009)

'Aussie Rick'’s comments from the THE WORLD WAR TWO GROUP group.

The August theme page is up and ready to go - the Italian theatre during 1944:

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

The August theme read is any book or books of your choice, which can include a novel, that covers the Italian Theatre during 1944 (land, air or sea).

Jerome wrote: "An April 2025 release:

by Phil Craig
Description:
Packed with fresh and surprising stories, 1..."

Another interesting book to keep an eye-out for!

Some very good titles there. Thanks for the notification, Mike!

Jerome wrote: "A January 2025 release:

by Adrian Bridge
Description:
On 8 February 1945, over 50,000 Briti..."

Something a bit different - should be an interesting account!

Dj wrote: "I found a book that has been out of print for some time. Kindle to the rescue and not a crippling price

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

Hitler's Spanish Legio..."

I managed to snaggle a decent HB edition a few years back, hard to find at a decent price!

Nice review Rowan, thanks for sharing!

Thanks for posting those details, Darya. Sounds like a pretty interesting book!

Idyllic until the Japanese arrived. Great post Jonny!

This new release arrived in the mail this morning and I'm keen to read it as soon as I can squeeze it into my schedule; "The Road Past Monchy: Fighting the First World War at Arras, 1914–1918" by Terence Loveridge.

The Road Past Monchy: Fighting the First World War at Arras, 1914–1918 by Terence Loveridge

Andrea wrote: "Hi, I've just read about this book Villers-Bocage Through the Lens, it seems like it's regarded as the best book about the events of 11-14 June 1944. Has anyone here read it? Is it w..."

I haven't read that title but the publishers' books on Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge were excellent books!

My copy of "Normandy: the Sailors' Story: A Naval History of D-Day and the Battle for France" arrived today, looks pretty interesting!

Normandy: the Sailors' Story: A Naval History of D-Day and the Battle for France by Nick Hewitt

Margaret wrote: "My Australian father-in-law was captured at the Battle of El Alamein and sent to an Italian POW camp. Here is his story from a 1945 newspaper. https://mwalkeristra.blogspot.com/202......"

Thanks for that link Margaret, very interesting!

From the Russian perspective these two volumes are excellent accounts:

The Road to Stalingrad: Stalin's War with Germany, Volume 1 and The road to Berlin (Stalin's war with Germany),Volume 2 by John Erickson

Some great books being mentioned here, all sound like excellent reads!

Some classic (older) accounts and still some of my favourite books on the subject are these titles:

Barbarossa by Alan Clark

Hitler Moves East 1941–1943 and Scorched Earth: The Russian-German War 1943-1944 by Paul Carell

Dipanjan wrote: "I have just started to read this one..

"

Sounds like an interesting book Dipanjan, I hope you enjoy it!

"Fall of the Double Eagle" - Final statement in regard to Austrian-Hungarian casualties in the 1914 campaigns:

"In all, the army lost 1,269,000 soldiers to all causes in little more than four months of fighting in 1914; some 995,000 of those casualties had been incurred against Russia. The butcher's bill included 155,000 dead (representing more than 12 percent of the army), 480,000 wounded, 285,000 seriously ill, and 348,000 missing, some of whom were actually dead. The army lost an average of over eight thousand men every day during the 1914 campaigns. Of the 50,000 active and reserve officers mobilized in August 1914, 22,000 had become casualties by the end of the year. Even though the Eastern Front had received 1,340,000 fresh soldiers as replacements by the end of December, at the turn of the year the average strength of infantry divisions battling the Russians was only 5,000 riflemen, equivalent to a strong regiment."

Fall of the Double Eagle: The Battle for Galicia and the Demise of Austria-Hungary by John R. Schindler

"Fall of the Double Eagle" - Talking about Austrian-Hungarian casualties:

"It was impossible to mask the full extent of the debacle. Some Habsburg troops made it across the San as early as September 12, while others took three more days to reach the safety of the left bank. From the approximately 900,000 Austro-Hungarian troops committed to battle against Russia in Late August, only slightly over half of them reached the safety of the San in mid-September. In three weeks of fighting, Conrad had lost approximately 420,000 men, including over 100,000 killed, about 100,000 in Russian captivity, and some 220,000 wounded. The overall loss was equal to the size of the Austria-Hungary's prewar standing army. This was a disaster without precedent in military history. In three weeks, Conrad had destroyed his country's army, losing half of Galicia in the process. Russian casualties surely exceeded 250,000 - figures are even sketchier than for Habsburg forces - but the tsar's huge empire, with its vast manpower reserves and far larger standing army, could absorb such losses better than the Dual Monarchy could."

Fall of the Double Eagle: The Battle for Galicia and the Demise of Austria-Hungary by John R. Schindler

I recently purchased a copy of "Bold Venture". I may have to consider looking out for a copy of "Target Hong Kong".