Introduction to the WW2 Site - Please Say Hi Showing 4,501-4,550 of 4,899

['Aussie Rick', Moderator]

Hi Dale and welcome to the group :)

[Mike, Assisting Moderator US Forces]

Welcome Dale, nice to have you join us. A very great service to translate all those books at the expense of brain cell energy! The Eastern Front is so important and so little is known in the West.

[Gary]

Dale Medley wrote: "I have been instructed to say 'Hi' to everyone.

Hi.

Funny thing with me and WW2 books. I spend all day translating Russian-language books on it. When I'm done, I have no brain cells remaining to ..."

Welcome, Dale – I totally get your brain exhaustion – keep up the good work. I hope you find a bit of information here to give you an occasional burst of inspiration to read WWII for pleasure. :-)

[Darin]

Liam wrote: "Yes, welcome to the group, Darin! I'll second Gary's comment above about expense, but I suspect that after majoring in military history you are no doubt already just as hopelessly addicted to books..."

Hey Liam - oh absolutely agree. I've maturely realized I can't own all the books..

For Sealion - from my studies it wasn't so much that the Wehrmacht was lacking talent in 1940 but that of logistics, aerial strategy, naval power, and Nazi ideology.

The Wehrmacht was exhausted, the German Airborne Corps or Fallschirmjagers especially were depleted after Belgium and needed time to refit. Luftwaffe strategy as you know was flawed under Goring but eventually they started winning once they started attacking everything (radar, airfields, industry). However, Hitler's re-directing them to bomb London erased those gains. And despite the amphibious assault would have been a gamble at best, with the sheer size of the Royal Navy. Most likely they would have slaughtered the invasion troops in their landing craft like they did off Crete later in the war. And finally Hitler with his kooky Aryan worldview just thought the Brits would eventually join him and started refocusing the Heer for Russia in the Fall of 1940.

Neat to be in a group that can discuss these things! -Darin

[Derek]

Darin wrote: "For Sealion - from my studies it wasn't so much that the Wehrmacht was lacking talent in 1940 but that of logistics, aerial strategy, naval power, and Nazi ideology."

In 1974 the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst conducted a wargame which exercised the German invasion plan against the British defence plan. The three German and three British umpires unanimously concluded that the initial landings would succeed, but the assault would peter out even before reaching the first hastily-improvised ‘stop-line’ owing to the Kriegsmarine’s inability to protect cross-Channel traffic for reinforcement, resupply and eventually evacuation.

[Gary]

Derek wrote: "Darin wrote: "For Sealion - from my studies it wasn't so much that the Wehrmacht was lacking talent in 1940 but that of logistics, aerial strategy, naval power, and Nazi ideology."

In 1974 the Roy..."

That is fascinating.

[Darin]

In 1974 the Roy..."

Derek - very cool. Do you have a link or source for that 1974 study? I'd love to read it.

Thanks
-Darin

[Derek]

There is a Wikipedia article at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operati... with onward links. I was reminded to look for it by having seen a TV documentary at the time. I have also just had a flick through Derek Robinson's Invasion, 1940: Did the Battle of Britain Alone Stop Hitler? - he also gives much of the credit to a 'silent victory' by the RN but doesn't (as far as I can see) mention the wargame.

[Darin]

Excellent Derek. Very cool - thanks for sharing this. My professors would also have grilled me on this during my Thesis Defense if they had known about it. :)

[Bernice]

I am very excited to be part of this group, and know already that I will be frustrated by my inability to read all the recommended books. (I will for sure read some!) I've published two books on aspects of the war; having immersed myself in details, I've led a double life--the present and a past that seems present.

[Mike, Assisting Moderator US Forces]

Bernice wrote: "I am very excited to be part of this group, and know already that I will be frustrated by my inability to read all the recommended books. (I will for sure read some!) I've published two books on as..."

Welcome Bernice, great to have you join us. We all share the same frustration plus wanting to get more books than our budgets will allow.

[Marc]

Welcome to the group, Bernice.

['Aussie Rick', Moderator]

Welcome to the group, Bernice, we all know how you feel :)

[Gary]

Bernice wrote: "I am very excited to be part of this group, and know already that I will be frustrated by my inability to read all the recommended books. (I will for sure read some!) I've published two books on as..."

Welcome, Bernice – good to have you on board. :-)

[Reshteen]

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to introduce myself and say that It is good to be here. I have been a reader all through my life, but as one's tastes evolve, I discovered my interest for non-fiction, and history, especially of this period -- WW2-- recently. So I'm happy that I have found this group and look forward to being a part of discussions that follow.

[Mike, Assisting Moderator US Forces]

Welcome Reshteen, great to have you join us. Let us know what you are interested in reading and we might have a few suggestions.

['Aussie Rick', Moderator]

Welcome to the group Reshteen, glad you found us.

[Gary]

Reshteen wrote: "Hi everyone,

I just wanted to introduce myself and say that It is good to be here. I have been a reader all through my life, but as one's tastes evolve, I discovered my interest for non-fiction, ..."

Hi Reshteen, welcome. :-)

[Dipanjan]

welcome Reshteen and Bernice to the group

[Dimitri]

Welcome Reshteen & Bernice. Your TBR will become neverending.

[Marc]

Welcome aboard, Reshteen.

[happy]

As usual, I'm a day late and a dollar short on welcoming our new members, but....

Welcome, Welcome Rashteen, Bernice, Dale and anyone I've missed:)

[Vincent]

Joining you because the subject is of interest & i knew of some of you from The History Book Club on Goodreads

[Manray9]

Vincent wrote: "Joining you because the subject is of interest & i knew of some of you from The History Book Club on Goodreads"

Welcome, Vincent.

['Aussie Rick', Moderator]

Hi Vincent and welcome to the group.

[Mike, Assisting Moderator US Forces]

Welcome Vincent, nice to have you join up.

[happy]

Vincent - let me add my welcome to the group

Welcome!

[Marc]

Welcome aboard, Vincent.

[Vincent]

Well - thanks for all the welcomes - I am in the midst of a few books to do an overall WWII history with A World at Arms - Gerhard Weinberg author - as a fulcrum but got occupied with other projects and obligations - will get back to it still this month I hope - in a lighter, sort of, reading g on WWII I saw a Lanny Budd novel by Upton Sinclair who I had always thought of only really for the Jungle so I tried it - they read fast and easy and the first was published in 1940 - so I guess written in 1939 and it is amazing what he foresaw from Nazi Germany. A bit much of a socialist focus but none the less really interesting - Lanny Budd, not to spoil it for anyone, goes thru those years sort of like a clever semi-worldly Forrest Gump - meets everyone etc - anyway glad to be with you all. Hope to add some interesting contributions. and just as a comment I wanted to read the Max Hastings WWII overall book but a historian friend of mine recommended the Weinberg book which is also interesting as it is really going into political reasonings. anyway - glad to be here

[Gary]

Vincent wrote: "Joining you because the subject is of interest & i knew of some of you from The History Book Club on Goodreads"

Welcome, Vincent. Hope you enjoy the discussions.

[Medusa]

Hi all. New member. Lifelong student of military history (and many other things - philosophy and law among them). Looking forward to hearing y’all’s thoughts and having another source for books to read and consider. Cheers.

['Aussie Rick', Moderator]

Hi Medusa, welcome to the group, do you have any particular area of WW2 that interests you the most?

[Manray9]

Medusa wrote: "Hi all. New member. Lifelong student of military history (and many other things - philosophy and law among them). Looking forward to hearing y’all’s thoughts and having another source for books to ..."

Welcome, Medusa. With "y'all's thoughts," are you a fellow Southerner?

[Mike, Assisting Moderator US Forces]

Medusa wrote: "Hi all. New member. Lifelong student of military history (and many other things - philosophy and law among them). Looking forward to hearing y’all’s thoughts and having another source for books to ..."

Welcome Medusa, nice to have you join the group.

[Marc]

Welcome to the group, Medusa.

[Jonny]

Late as usual, but welcome to the party Reshteen, Vincent, Medusa and anyone else I've (inadvertently) dropped from the list.

[Medusa]

Thanks for the welcome. I can’t say there’s a particular area of WW2 that interests me most at this point - over the years I’ve read so much on virtually all of the set piece battles on all fronts, and widely on the war in the air in all theaters too. In the last six months though I’ve read Beevor’s Fall of Berlin and Spanish Civil War, Batalion’s Light of Days, Purnell’s Woman of No Importance, Alexievitch’s Unwomanly Face of War, Tachovsky’s 40 Thieves on Saipan. I highly recommend Unwomanly Face of War and Woman of No Importance. In my lifetime it has been great to see more stories and scholarship about women in war - particularly as a woman I want to hear these stories and bear witness. (For me, bearing witness is one of the most important things we do when we read history ).

Not from the South but lived there a long time and my wife is from there, so certain habits of speech became permanent.

[Gary]

Welcome Medusa!

[Iain]

Hello, my name is Iain and I have recently joined the group and I’m looking forward to participating. Some of the WW2 books that I have read include:
1. They Fought Alone: The True Story of SOEs Agents in Wartime France, by Maurice Buckmaster (2014).

2.Panzer Commander: The Memoirs of Hans von Luck (2013).

3. Der Kapitan: U Boat Ace Hans Rose by Markus Robinson and Gertrude Robinbson (2018). This covers his career across WW1 and WW2.

I’m currently reading (purchased before I joined your Group):
Uncle Bill: The Authorised Biography of Field Marshal Viscount Slim (2013).

I appreciate that you may have discussed some ofr all of these as I’m still getting to grips with the threads. Iain

['Aussie Rick', Moderator]

Hi Iain and a warm welcome to the group. You mentioned some pretty good books there! I hope you find a few things here in the group to interest you.

[Jonny]

Welcome to the group Iain, nave ready for a flood of recommendations!

[Mike, Assisting Moderator US Forces]

Welcome Iain, nice to have you join the group. Those are some good books you listed.

[Manray9]

Iain wrote: "Hello, my name is Iain and I have recently joined the group and I’m looking forward to participating. Some of the WW2 books that I have read include:
1. They Fought Alone: The True Story of SOEs Ag..."

Welcome, Iain!

[Dimitri]

Iain wrote: "Hello, my name is Iain and I have recently joined the group and I’m looking forward to participating. Some of the WW2 books that I have read include:
1. They Fought Alone: The True Story of SOEs Ag..."

Welcome Iain. We've done Hans Von Luck somewhere for sure.

[Marc]

Welcome aboard, Iain!

[Chris]

Welcome to the group!

[Perato]

Welcome welcome Iain, be sure to join the group reads!

[Gary]

Iain wrote: "Hello, my name is Iain and I have recently joined the group and I’m looking forward to participating. Some of the WW2 books that I have read include:
1. They Fought Alone: The True Story of SOEs Ag..."

Hi Iain, welcome to the group. I have bought Viscount Slim's Defeat Into Victory – the story of his victory in Burma, although I haven't had a chance to read it yet. I would very interested to hear your views on his biography you are reading once you have digested it all. I look forward to your review – but no pressure if you don't want to write one. :-)

[Iain]

Thanks Gary. I will definitely write a review. I’m finding Uncle Bill a clearly written and fascinating read.

[BMMHS]

Glimpses of War: Volume 1

Hi everyone

Inspired by the first COVID lockdown, when their monthly live talks ceased, the members and associates of BMMHS, were asked to search their family archives and papers for their own and their family members' experiences of war time – military or civilian, any war, any role. An overwhelming response saw in excess of 220 articles and over 400,000 words from across the globe including the USA, Australia and several European countries. Articles range from the Boer War through the two world wars to the more recent Falklands War in 1982 and Afghanistan.

The proceeds from this book Glimpses of War go to Blind Veterans UK (formerly St Dunstan's) because of its invaluable work supporting military veterans across all the services, many throughout their lifetime. Today it supports visually impaired members aged between 26 and 106.

Major-General Nick Caplin, CEO Blind Veterans UK said: ‘We are privileged to help rebuild the lives of those who have served and lost their sight, and very grateful indeed to the BMMHS for their unfailing support for our mission.’

Glimpses of War volume 1 is now available on Amazon. Volume 2 will be out later this year. Further info on bmmhs.org

‘Highly recommended... from across the different wars of the 20th century comes this unique collection of inspirational narratives of human endurance, daring exploits, fighting spirit and sheer heroism.’ 
Dr Helen Fry, author, historian and broadcaster 

Enjoy the read and its in a great cause!