2017 - February - Theme Read on any WW2 Battle/Campaign from the Defeated Perspective

[Manray9]

'Aussie Rick' wrote: "Interesting composition, I bet the NCO's were pulling their hair out when dealing with the sailors :)"

One sailor, fighting with the Marines at Bataan, asked his NCO "Hey Sarge, how do you put the bullets in this thing?"

['Aussie Rick', Moderator]

Manray9 wrote: "'Aussie Rick' wrote: "Interesting composition, I bet the NCO's were pulling their hair out when dealing with the sailors :)"

One sailor, fighting with the Marines at Bataan, asked his NCO "Hey Sar..."

Poor bastards!

[Manray9]

From John Gordon's Fighting for MacArthur: The Navy and Marine Corps' Desperate Defense of the Philippines.

After the fall of Bataan, American resistance was left to the fortified islands at the mouth of Manila Bay. These were: Corregidor (Fort Mills), Caballo (Fort Hughes), El Fraile (Fort Drum) and Caraboa (Fort Frank). To begin reduction of the American forts, the Japanese brought in an artillery army under a lieutenant general (Kishio Kitajima). These guns spanned a range from 75mm field pieces to 240mm howitzers. One interesting fact: the Japanese artillery force included the 1st Observation Balloon Company which deployed two WW I-type tethered balloons manned by trained artillery observers with telephone connections to battery controllers. These balloons were based at the southern end of Bataan, just north of Cabcaben.

This is the only reference I recall having read of observation balloon operations in WW II. Does anyone know of others?

['Aussie Rick', Moderator]

None that I can recall MR9. Very interesting story though.

[Scot]

Hello to everyone, first post over here.

Just finished the book "The night Hamburg died" by Martin Caidin. It's a bit different compared to the usual WWII history book I read because this dealt heavily with civilian perspectives during the bombings of Hamburg and the surrounding area in 1943.

I had high hopes on this one because I had finished and enjoyed the book "The London blitz" by David Johnson not to long ago. Both books deal mainly with civilians and how they prepared for and how they managed the destruction of their cities. While I had a great read about London, sadly the same could not be said about Hamburg. The story was very generic, it seemed like I was often reading what could have happened in the city, the stories often lacked any real detail. There were very few people specifically named which seemed a bit odd for a history book. Also a lack of maps left me in a bad spot because I don't know about you, but I don't know the geography of Hamburg all that well. However it was interesting to read about civilian perspective even if it was about their horrible demise. Overall l think you should read this if you are interested with bombings on German city and their aftermath, but I know there are better books to read than this.

Judging by the fact that only 20 people have logged a rating for the book, I don't expect to specifically discuss this one. The ratings are a bit high, but I would skip this one. 2/5

Sorry I can't do fancy things like link to the book and whatnot, I assume I can't do that from my phone.

['Aussie Rick', Moderator]

Hi Scot,

Thanks for your post and information on The Night Hamburg Died by Martin Caidin, very informative. Here is the link to your book on Hamburg:

The Night Hamburg Died by Martin Caidin

One of the best books that I have read on the subject has been this title:

Inferno: The Fiery Destruction of Hamburg, 1943 by Keith Lowe

[Positive Kate]

Hi Scot, Thanks for heads up on the Hamburg book.

[Jonny]

I've wrapped up
After Hitler: The Last Days of World War Two in Europe
Fascinating, especially with all the face saving machinations behind the scenes, and the fact that the fighting didn't actually end until 20th May!

[Jonny]

Hi Scot

Another one to try would be The Battle of Hamburg: Allied Bomber Forces Against a German City in 1943

['Aussie Rick', Moderator]

Jonny wrote: "I've wrapped up
After Hitler: The Last Days of World War Two in Europe
Fascinating, especially with all t..."

I will have to try and get to this one soon :)

['Aussie Rick', Moderator]

Jonny wrote: "Hi Scot

Another one to try would be [book:The Battle of Hamburg: Allied Bomber Forces Against a German..."

Another excellent recommendation, hard to go wrong with a Martin Middlebrook title!

[Marc]

'Aussie Rick' wrote: "Jonny wrote: "Hi Scot

Another one to try would be The Battle of Hamburg: Allied Bomber Forces Ag..."</i>

I think this is an updated version of that one:

[bookcover:Firestorm Hamburg: The Facts Surrounding the Destruction of a German City 1943 Firestorm Hamburg: The Facts Surrounding the Destruction of a German City 1943

Really excellent book, and it spurred me to pick up a few other titles by the same author.

My review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I've read the Caidin book as well, albeit many years ago. He wrote at a time when there was less emphasis on personal accounts, and he's been accused by many of just making stuff up as well.

[Scot]

Thanx for all the Hamburg suggestions.

[Charles]

Slipping it in on the 28th!

I read D-Day through German eyes: by Holger Eckhertz for my book.

The book is a series of interview transcripts from the mid-1950s with German soldiers that were originally interviewed in 1944 by Holger Eckhertz, a war correspondent for the German military media at the time. He was writing pieces covering the Atlantic Wall at the time of the invasion - mostly puff pieces for consumption on the home front.

I found the book very interesting actually, and possibly one of the most graphic accounts of infantry fighting/combat I have come across. I'm not saying this judgementally, but as a point of observation - none of the books from the Allied perspective have had this level of almost visceral detail to them, nor have a number of the German ones I have read (unless they're fiction, and they've been playing to an audience...).

I think part of this may be because the re-interviews were done so shortly after the conflict, when the experience (and perhaps trauma) was still quite present in many people's minds, and there was also less of a desire to forget the past. Moreover, it came at a time of increasing tension between the USSR and the West, so perhaps there could have been an anti-war motive? Who knows, this is just speculation.

Anyway, some interesting takeaways from the book - British troops carried handcuffs on D-Day (or at least some did), with captured German soldiers handcuffed and guarded, German names for things (Tobruk bunker, "Famo" half-track ), the use of the Goliath UGVs, and some troops were equipped with StG44 rifles on the day.

I thought the copy I had was book one and two, but apparently it was only book one. Look forward to reading book two, when I get hold of it.

['Aussie Rick', Moderator]

Thanks for the details on the book Charles. I had been thinking about getting a copy to read myself when this book was mentioned previously and your post has made me think again about ordering a copy.

[Charles]

'Aussie Rick' wrote: "Thanks for the details on the book Charles. I had been thinking about getting a copy to read myself when this book was mentioned previously and your post has made me think again about ordering a copy."

I know your preference for more tactical/strategic analysis Rick, so yes, probably not one for the collection. It's only a short one (c. 150 pages), so perhaps go to NLA and have a read there?

[Bev]

Charles wrote: "Slipping it in on the 28th!

I read D-Day through German eyes: by Holger Eckhertz for my book.

..."

Scot wrote: "Thanx for all the Hamburg suggestions."

I have read book 2. Here is my review for those who haven't seen it before. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...