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

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

Another great post Tony, scary to think how fragile the communication system was back then.

An excellent book to start with Dipanjan!

"The Reckoning: The Final Defeat of Army Group South, 1944" - The aftermath of the fighting for the Cherkassy-Korsun pocket:

"A more accurate estimate of German losses is that about 59,000 men had been trapped in the encirclement, and of these, about 36,000 managed to reach III Panzer Corps. A further 4,000 - mainly wounded men - were flown out of the pocket, which means the total losses of killed and taken prisoner came to about 19,000, with a further 11,000 wounded. In addition, First Panzer Amy lost about 5,100 killed, wounded or missing, and Vormann's XLVII Panzer Corps a further 5,000. Soviet losses totalled about 80,000 killed, wounded and missing. Armour losses are difficult to assess, as vehicles were often repaired and returned to service only to be knocked out again, and others were lost - temporarily or permanently - to breakdowns or when they became stuck in the difficult terrain, but estimates range from 600 to 850 Soviet tanks and assault guns, and 300 German tanks and assault guns."

The Reckoning: The Final Defeat of Army Group South, 1944 by Prit Buttar

Mike wrote: "Starting this one for the theme:

[book:From the Realm of a Dying Sun,..."

Excellent choice Mike! I have the trilogy ready to read at some stage.

Dipanjan wrote: "I have just finished Greg Anussek's book Hitler's raid to save Mussolini. It is an outstanding book. I would suggest everyone to read it."

Thanks for that update Dipanjan, a book to keep an eye out for then!

Rowan wrote: "I recently finished Guts Glory and Blunder: Noreuil, 1917 - The Forgotten Fight by [author:Andrew F..."

Great review Rowan, thanks for sharing those details with the group.

"The Reckoning: The Final Defeat of Army Group South, 1944" - Currently reading the chapters covering the heavy fighting around the Cherkassy-Korsun pocket:

https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/art...

Great way to finish the book Jonny! Hard to argue with this statement:

"Bomber Command has been misrepresented by a lot of rather ignorant people that know no better, and I might add who would never have come into existence if Bomber Command in this country hadn't won the war."

Excellent bunch of books there Jonny! A bit of reading ahead of you :)

Tom wrote: "Literally on the last 100 pages of last month’s epic read but once finished my theme book will be “Battle for Budapest, 100 days in World War II” by Krisztián Ungváry.

https://www.goodreads.com/bo..."

I hope you enjoy the book as much as I did, keep us all posted!

Simon wrote: "Now that looks interesting !"

Giles Milton is usually a fairly dependable author.

Excellent post Jonny, I appreciated those details on the various bombsights! By the way, Spencer Dunmore's book on Bomber Command is a great account.

Reap the Whirlwind: The Untold Story of 6 Group, Canada's Bomber Force of World War II by Spencer Dunmore

Giles Milton has a new book due out in a few months time; "The Stalin Affair: The Allies' Secret Mission to Wartime Moscow".

The Stalin Affair: The Allies' Secret Mission to Wartime Moscow by Giles Milton
Description:
In the summer of 1941, as Hitler invaded the Soviet Union, Stalin's forces faced a catastrophic defeat which would make the Allies' liberation of Europe virtually impossible. To avert this disaster, Britain and America mobilized an elite team of remarkable diplomats with the mission of keeping the Red Army in the war.
Into to the heart of Stalin's Moscow Roosevelt sent Averell Harriman, the fourth richest man in America and his brilliant young daughter Kathy. Churchill dispatched the reckless but brilliant bon vivant Archie Clark Kerr - and occasionally himself - to negotiate with the Kremlin's wiliest operators. Together, this improbable group grappled with the ingenious, mercurial Stalin to make victory possible. But they also discovered that the Soviet dictator had a terrifying masterplan for the post-war world.
Based on astonishing unpublished diaries, letters and secret reports, The Stalin Affair reveals troves of new material about the most unlikely coalition in history.

Sad news - "The sole living survivor from the sinking of the USS Arizona during the Pearl Harbor attack that brought the US into World War II has now died":

https://www.cbsnews.com/sacramento/ne...

Michael wrote: "Hitler Versus Stalin: The Eastern Front, 1943-1944: Kursk to Bagration Nik Cornish I have chosen this one. It covers 1943 to 1944 . Hopefully it fits the goal of thi..."

Close enough Michael, I hope you enjoy the book :)

KOMET wrote: "In recent years, I've developed an interest in the battles for the Courland Pocket which took place in the Baltic States between the latter part of 1944 and the end of the war in May 1945.

[book:B..."

I actually picked that book up and was considering reading it for the theme month as well Komet!

BA wrote: "So excited for this topic!! Especially since I epic failed the last buddy read (life happens :-)

Here's the book I'm reading for March/April:
[bookcover:Bomber Pilot on the Eastern Front: 307 Miss..."

Nice choice BA, good to see you join in this theme month :)

Excellent choice then! :)

My theme book for April is going to be Prit Buttar's book; "The Reckoning: The Final Defeat of Army Group South, 1944".

The Reckoning: The Final Defeat of Army Group South, 1944 by Prit Buttar

For those keen to start the April theme read on the Eastern Front 1944, the page is ready and open for discussion:

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