THE WORLD WAR TWO GROUP discussion

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BOOK DISCUSSIONS > New Release Books on WW2

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message 801: by 'Aussie Rick', Moderator (new)

'Aussie Rick' (aussierick) | 20068 comments This title is due out for release in July 2013 and I'm sure it will interest a number of members here in the group:


Rendezvous with Destiny How Franklin D. Roosevelt and Five Extraordinary Men Took America Into the War and Into the World by Michael Fullilove by Michael Fullilove
Description:
The remarkable untold story of Franklin D. Roosevelt and the five extraordinary men he used to pull America into World War II

The period between Hitler’s invasion of Poland and the attack on Pearl Harbor was the turning point of the twentieth century. When war broke out in Europe in 1939, Americans were eager to isolate themselves from the conflict. Franklin D. Roosevelt wanted to help the democracies, but he was hemmed in by congressional and public opposition and frustrated by a lack of information. How could he obtain the intelligence he required when he was trapped in Washington? Distrusting the State Department, he instead sent five men on special diplomatic missions to Europe. Their missions took them into the middle of the war and exposed them to the century’s leading figures— and Roosevelt along with them.

First off the mark was Sumner Welles, a chilly patrician who traveled around Europe in the spring of 1940. In summer of that year, after the fall of France, William “Wild Bill” Donovan—war hero and future spymaster—visited an isolated UK at the president’s behest to determine whether Britain could hold out against the Nazis. Donovan’s report helped convince FDR that the country was worth backing.

After he won an unprecedented third term in November 1940, FDR threw a lifeline to Britain in the form of Lend-Lease and dispatched three men to help secure it. Harry Hopkins, the frail social worker who became the whirling dervish at the center of the New Deal, was sent to explain Lend-Lease to Winston Churchill. Averell Harriman—a handsome, ambitious railroad heir—was charged with delivering the aid to London. Roosevelt even put to work his rumpled, charismatic opponent, Wendell Willkie, whose visit to London was a public relations triumph. Then, in summer 1941, Hitler ordered the invasion of Russia. Hopkins returned to Britain to confer with Churchill and traveled to Moscow to meet with Joseph Stalin. Hopkins’s mission gave Roosevelt the confidence to gamble on aiding the Soviet Union.

Roosevelt’s five emissaries are unforgettable characters. Taken together, their missions plot the arc of America’s transformation from a reluctant middle power into a global leader. Drawing on vast archival research, historian Michael Fullilove has rescued these men and their missions and given them back to history. At the center of everything, of course, is FDR himself, who moved his envoys around the globe with skill and élan. Rendezvous with Destiny is narrative history at its most delightful, stirring, and important.

Reviews:
"From 1939 to 1941, with Europe at war and the United States strongly isolationist, Roosevelt sent five exceptional men to Europe as his personal envoys to assess, among other issues, America's role. Rendezvous with Destiny is a fascinating and well-written account of a little-known chapter that was crucial to the course of World War II and to America’s global leadership." — Henry A. Kissinger

"Michael Fullilove's fascinating book reads as easily as a good novel, but it is also an important history of one of the most crucial decisions of the twentieth century." — Joseph S. Nye, Harvard University and author of The Future of Power


message 802: by 'Aussie Rick', Moderator (last edited Mar 29, 2013 07:05PM) (new)

'Aussie Rick' (aussierick) | 20068 comments For those members who have an interest in the formation and history of the SS, Osprey are releasing this new title in October this year:

Hitler's Elite The SS 1939-45 by Chris McNab by Chris McNab
Description:
The Third Reich's Waffen-SS defended Nazi Germany's Eastern & Western Fronts, and the Allgemeine-SS ran Holocaust concentration camps such as Auschwitz, Dachau, and Buchenwald.

The SS has become the most infamous military formation in history. From its diminutive origins in the 1920s as Hitler's personal bodyguard, by the late war years it grew to a sprawling organization of hundreds of thousands of men, with a field army (the Waffen-SS-Armed-SS) numbering nearly 40 divisions and huge corporate, racial, and political power in the Allgemeine-SS (General-SS). The activities of the SS ranged from the heroic to the horrific; from fighting extraordinary defensive battles on the Eastern and Western Fronts, to running the concentration and extermination camp systems, and providing personnel for the Einsatzgruppen murder squads in Eastern Europe.

Hitler's Elite: The SS 1939-45 tells the complete story of the SS at individual, unit, and organizational levels. Following an explanation of the SS' complex political and social origins, and its growth within the Nazi empire, it goes on to look at both its war record and its wider role in Heinrich Himmler's implementation of Hitler's vision for the Third Reich. As well as providing a combat history of the Waffen-SS from 1939 to 1945, it also explores themes such as ideology, recruitment, foreign SS personnel, training, and equipment. The textual history is brought to life with more than 200 contemporary photographs and colour artworks from Osprey's series titles. As a companion volume to Hitler's Armies and Hitler's Eagles, this book gives a detailed and highly visual insight into one of Hitler's most powerful instruments of policy.


message 803: by Christie (new)

Christie | 336 comments That's a book that I'd be very interested in reading.


message 804: by 'Aussie Rick', Moderator (new)

'Aussie Rick' (aussierick) | 20068 comments Here is a new Australian release that may interest other members. It is due out in a few weeks and covers an event that I had not heard about before:

Rescue at 2100 Hours by Tom Trumble by Tom Trumble
Description:
February 1942. The Japanese invasion of Timor has begun and attempts to evacuate a group of 29 Australian airmen, charged with keeping an airfield operational until the last moment, are thwarted.

Under the leadership of Bryan Rofe, a 24-year-old meteorological officer, the airmen make for remote jungle along the northwest coast. All attempts to rescue the group fail. Malaria-ravaged and starving, these men are taken to the limits of their endurance for 58 days. When a 300-strong Japanese patrol is sent to hunt them down all hope seems lost, until they receive a strange signal from sea – an American submarine has been dispatched to their position. With the Japanese closing in, only courage will keep them alive.

Using diaries of the airmen and wartime records, Rofe's grandson Tom Trumble brings to life one of the greatest stories of survival and escape of the Second World War. From the young man who stepped up to bring his men home and the Japanese soldier sent to hunt down the Australians, to the American submarine captain and the Timorese fisherman who saved them, this is an insight into the extraordinary things that happen to ordinary men in war.

Also posted in the Pacific Theatre thread.


message 805: by Geevee, Assisting Moderator British & Commonwealth Forces (new)

Geevee | 3811 comments Jerome wrote: "Has anyone read this yet? I recommended it to Rick, wonder if anyone else has already read it.


Between Giants The Battle for the Baltics in World War II by Prit Buttar by Prit Buttar"


An update on Jerome's post 597:

Between Giants The Battle for the Baltics in World War II by Prit Buttar by Prit Buttar

Description
During World War II, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia found themselves trapped between the giants of the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany. Over the course of the war these states were repeatedly occupied by different forces, and local government organizations and individuals were forced to choose between supporting the occupying forces or forming partisan units to resist their occupation. Devastated during the German invasion, these states then became the site of some of the most vicious fighting during the Soviet counter-attack and push towards Berlin. Many would be caught up in the bitter fighting in the region and, in particular, in the huge battles for the Courland Bridgehead during Operation Bagration, when hundreds of thousands of soldiers would fight and die in the last year of the war. By the end of the war, death and deportation had cost the Baltic States over 20 per cent of their total population and Soviet occupation was to see the iron curtain descend on the region for four decades. Using numerous first-hand accounts and detailed archival research, Prit Buttar weaves a magisterial account of the bitter fighting on the Eastern Front and the three small states whose fates were determined by the fortunes and misfortunes of war.

About the author
Prit Buttar studied medicine at Oxford and London before joining the British Army as a doctor. After leaving the army, he has worked as a GP, first near Bristol and now in Abingdon. He is extensively involved in medical politics, both at local and national level, and serves on the GPs' Committee of the British Medical Association. He appears from time to time on local and national TV and radio, speaking on a variety of medical issues. He contributes regularly to the medical press. An expert on the Eastern Front during World War II, he previously wrote the critically acclaimed Battleground Prussia: The Assault on Germany's Eastern Front 1944-45 (Osprey 2010).

Due for publication in the UK on 20th May 2013


message 806: by 'Aussie Rick', Moderator (new)

'Aussie Rick' (aussierick) | 20068 comments I have a copy on order and I'm looking forward to reading it as soon as I can as I quite enjoyed his earlier book:

Battleground Prussia The Assault on Germany's Eastern Front 1944-45 by Prit Buttar by Prit Buttar


message 807: by 'Aussie Rick', Moderator (new)

'Aussie Rick' (aussierick) | 20068 comments Here is another new book that sounds quite interesting for those who enjoy accounts about RAF Bomber Command or the mighty Lancaster bomber:

Luck of a Lancaster 107 Operations, 244 Crew, 103 Killed. Gordon Thorburn by Gordon Thorburn by Gordon Thorburn
Description:
No 9 Squadron of Bomber Command converted from the Wellington to the Lancaster in August 1942. W4964 was the seventieth Lanc to arrive on squadron, in mid April 1943. She flew her first op on the 20th, by which time No 9 had lost forty one of their Lancs to enemy action and another five had been transferred to other squadrons and lost by them. A further thirteen of the seventy would soon be lost by No 9. All of the remaining eleven would be damaged, repaired, transferred to other squadrons or training units, and lost to enemy action or crashes except for three which, in some kind of retirement, would last long enough to be scrapped after the war. Only one of the seventy achieved a century of ops or anything like it: W4964 WS-J. Across all squadrons and all the war, the average life of a Lancaster was 22.75 sorties, but rather less for the front-line squadrons going to Germany three and four times a week in 1943 and '44, which was when W4964 was flying her 107 sorties, all with No 9 Squadron and all from RAF Bardney. The first was Stettin (Szczecin in modern Poland), and thereafter she went wherever 9 Squadron went, to Berlin, the Ruhr, and most of the big ops of the time such as Peenemunde and Hamburg. She was given a special character as J-Johnny Walker, 'still going strong' and on September 15 1944, skippered by Flight Lieutenant James Douglas Melrose, her Tallboy special bomb was the only one to hit the battleship Tirpitz. During her career, well over two hundred airmen flew in J. None were killed while doing so, but ninety-six of them died in other aircraft. This is their story, and the story of one lucky Lancaster.

Also posted in the Aviation campaign thread.


message 808: by 'Aussie Rick', Moderator (new)

'Aussie Rick' (aussierick) | 20068 comments This book is due out for release in May this year and should interest WW2 avaiation fans:


Douglas Bader A Fighter Ace's Life by Dilip Sarkar by Dilip Sarkar
Description:
'At last, the definitive account of Bader's career by his most knowledgeable biographer' PROFESSOR PAUL MACKENZIE, author of Bader. Over 90 historic photographs, many have never been reproduced before. The story of Douglas Bader, the RAF fighter pilot who shot down twenty enemy fighters during the Second World War despite having lost both his legs, defies fiction. A fighter ace and highly decorated war hero, he became a household name in the 1950s thanks to the bestselling book and blockbuster film Reach for the Sky which charted his wartime exploits. Indeed, his name remains the one the general public associate most with the Battle of Britain. That he overcame his disability and flew into battle - leading squadrons of Spitfires and Hurricanes in the epic air battle of summer 1940 - is truly remarkable. Bader's first aerial victory - a Messerschmitt 109 - was recorded over Dunkirk on 1 June 1940. During the subsequent Battle of Britain this remarkable airman claimed the destruction of seven more enemy aircraft: Me 110s, Do 17s, Ju 88s and another Me 109 falling to his guns. The legless airman was, of course, rich material for the propagandists, who lost no time in manipulating his exploits to increase Britain's morale. Newspaper reports and radio broadcasts of his aerial victories abounded. Dilip Sarkar has spent the last twenty years researching the life and times of this popular hero and this definitive biography has been written in close co-operation with his fellow wartime pilots.

Also posted in the Personalities of WW2 thread.


message 809: by 'Aussie Rick', Moderator (new)

'Aussie Rick' (aussierick) | 20068 comments Another interesting book due out for release in May this year, I am sure a few members will be keen to read this first-hand account:

Tank Commander From the Fall of France to the Defeat by Bill Close by Bill Close
Description:
Bill Close had a remarkable war. In campaign after campaign, from the defence of Calais in 1940 to the defeat of Germany in 1945, he served as a tank commander in the Royal Tank Regiment - and he survived. His tanks were hit eleven times by enemy shellfire and he baled out. He was wounded three times. He finished the war as one of the most experienced and resourceful of British tank commanders, and in later life he set down his wartime experiences in graphic detail. His book is not only an extraordinary memoir - it is also a compelling account of the exploits of the Royal Tank Regiment throughout the conflict. As a record of the day-to-day experience of the tank crew of seventy years ago - of the conditions they faced and the battles they fought - it has rarely been equalled.

About the Author:
Major Bill Close joined the Royal Tank Regiment as a trooper in 1933 and was posted to the 3rd Battalion RTR in 1934 where he held every non-commissioned rank up to regimental quartermaster sergeant before being commissioned in the field in 1942. He served in France in 1940, in Greece in 1941, in North Africa in 1941-3, and in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany in 1944-5. After retiring from the army he was assistant bursar at Bryanston School and a manager at the electrical engineering firm Racal Redac. He married twice, had three sons and a daughter, and he died, aged 91, in 2006.

Also listed in the European Campaign thread.


message 810: by Geevee, Assisting Moderator British & Commonwealth Forces (new)

Geevee | 3811 comments If people recognise Major Close's name he featured in some of Patrick Delaforce books where the RTR have been involved.


message 811: by 'Aussie Rick', Moderator (new)

'Aussie Rick' (aussierick) | 20068 comments Thanks for that information Geevee, I dare say this may be an interesting book to read by the sounds of things.


message 812: by Geevee, Assisting Moderator British & Commonwealth Forces (new)

Geevee | 3811 comments I think so Rick as Major Close's quotes/memories in Delaforce's books always added to the wider story and painted good pictures on the actions the RTR were involved with.


message 813: by Geevee, Assisting Moderator British & Commonwealth Forces (new)

Geevee | 3811 comments And just found his very interesting obituary: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obitu...


message 814: by 'Aussie Rick', Moderator (last edited Apr 17, 2013 03:48PM) (new)

'Aussie Rick' (aussierick) | 20068 comments What an amazing bloke!

Major Bill Close, who died on Sunday aged 91, was an indestructible wartime tank commander who won two MCs, was wounded three times, and had 11 tanks shot from under him.

Thanks for posting the link Geevee.


message 815: by carl (new)

carl  theaker | 1560 comments Major Close - sounds like a fellow you don't want to
crew with ! Hehe. Good story GV.

Just reading 'No Triumphant Procession', the 3RTR is in the battles of April '45. No specific mention of Close as far as i recall.


message 816: by Singleton (new)

Singleton Mosby | 96 comments 'Aussie Rick' wrote: "I have a copy on order and I'm looking forward to reading it as soon as I can as I quite enjoyed his earlier book:

[bookcover:Battleground Prussia: The Assault on Germany's Eastern Front 1944-45|8..."


Hi Rick, It hought you'd already read and reviewd the book. I quite liked it and gave it 4 stars.


message 817: by 'Aussie Rick', Moderator (new)

'Aussie Rick' (aussierick) | 20068 comments Hi Singleton, I have indeed read his first book and enjoyed it and can't wait for his latest book to be released.


message 818: by Singleton (new)

Singleton Mosby | 96 comments 'Aussie Rick' wrote: "Hi Singleton, I have indeed read his first book and enjoyed it and can't wait for his latest book to be released."

Ah, seems like I was a bit too hasty there. Looking forward to his newest book.


message 819: by 'Aussie Rick', Moderator (last edited Apr 28, 2013 11:59PM) (new)

'Aussie Rick' (aussierick) | 20068 comments Another new book that is due out in a few months covering the conflict between China and Japan:


China's War with Japan, 1937-1945 The Struggle for Survival by Rana Mitter by Rana Mitter
Description:
In Rana Mitter's tense, moving and hugely important book, the war between China and Japan - one of the most important struggles of the Second World War - at last gets the masterly history it deserves

Different countries give different opening dates for the period of the Second World War, but perhaps the most compelling is 1937, when the 'Marco Polo Bridge Incident' plunged China and Japan into a conflict of extraordinary duration and ferocity - a war which would result in many millions of deaths and completely reshape East Asia in ways which we continue to confront today.

With great vividness and narrative drive Rana Mitter's new book draws on a huge range of new sources to recreate this terrible conflict. He writes both about the major leaders (Chiang Kaishek, Mao Zedong and Wang Jingwei) and about the ordinary people swept up by terrible times. Mitter puts at the heart of our understanding of the Second World War that it was Japan's failure to defeat China which was the key dynamic for what happened in Asia.


message 820: by 'Aussie Rick', Moderator (new)

'Aussie Rick' (aussierick) | 20068 comments This looks like a very interesting book although the publication date is in question. It's listed for release in the UK for July 2013:

Rising Sun, Falling Skies The Disastrous Java Sea Campaign of World War II by Jeffrey Cox by Jeffrey Cox
Description:
After Pearl Harbor was attacked, the Japanese forces continued to overwhelm the Allies by siezing resource-rich islands in the Pacific. Allied losses in the early months after America's entry into the war were great, and amongst the most devastating were those who suffered during the Java Sea Campaign, the first major sea battle of World War ll in the Pacific. American, British, Dutch and Australian forces combined to fight the Japanese, but their efforts were disastrous and, by the end of the months-long campaign, they lost ten vessels and more than 2,100 sailors. "Rising Sun, Falling Skies" examines the events and evidence surrounding the Java Sea Campaign to reconstruct battles that, in hindsight, were all but hopeless. The author examines the Allied planning activities, observing where fatal mistakes were made. He uncovers poor decisions and missed opportunities that plagued ABDA forces, and reveals what the Allies gained, irrespective of the destruction they suffered during the campaign.

Listed in the Pacific theatre thread as well.


message 821: by 'Aussie Rick', Moderator (new)

'Aussie Rick' (aussierick) | 20068 comments Another new title and offering something a bit different and I am sure this book will attract a few members here in the group:

Flight By Elephant The Untold Story of World War Two's Most Daring Jungle Rescue by Andrew Martin by Andrew Martin
Description:
The incredible story of Gyles Mackrell and his Burmese, elephant-assisted wartime rescue mission.

In the summer of 1942, Gyles Mackrell – a decorated First World War pilot and tea plantation overseer, performed a series of heroic rescues in the hellish jungles of Japanese-occupied Burma – with the aid of twenty elephants.

At the age of 53, Mackrell went into the ‘green hell’ of the Chaukan Pass on the border of North Burma and Assam. Here, Mackrell and a team of elephant riders rescued Indian army soldiers, British civilians and their Indian servants, from the pursuing Japanese, directing the elephants through jungle passes and raging rivers, and territory infested with sand flies, mosquitoes and innumerable leeches. Those he saved were all on the point of death from starvation or fever: that summer was spent in a fight against time.

Now in Andrew Martin’s hands this never-before-told tale of heroics is given the shape of a suspenseful adventure, a wartime rescue whose facts are the stuff of fiction. ‘Flight By Elephant’ is a gripping chronicle of war and survival, starring everyone’s favourite animal – the powerful, exotic and hugely loveable elephant.


message 822: by Tionne (new)

Tionne | 255 comments Wow! That book sounds fantastic, Rick! Thanks! My TBR pile is ever growing! Kinda like a Hydra. Read one, three more pop up that I want to read! :-) Cest la Vie.


message 823: by 'Aussie Rick', Moderator (new)

'Aussie Rick' (aussierick) | 20068 comments Glad to spread the pain :)


message 824: by 'Aussie Rick', Moderator (new)

'Aussie Rick' (aussierick) | 20068 comments Here is a new title due out in a few months (August) that I am sure will interest a number of the groups members:

Uncle Bill The Authorised Biography of Field Marshal Sir William by Russell Miller by Russell Miller
Description:
In 2011 the National Army Museum conducted a poll to decide who merited the title of 'Britain's Greatest General'. In the end two men shared the honour. One, predictably, was the Duke of Wellington. The other was Bill Slim. Had he been alive, Slim would have been surprised, for he was the most modest of men - a rare quality among generals. Of all the plaudits heaped on him during his life, the one he valued most was the epithet by which he was affectionately known to the troops: 'Uncle Bill'.

Born in Bristol in 1891, the son of a small-time businessman, he was commissioned as a temporary Second Lieutenant on the outbreak of the First World War. Seriously wounded twice, in Gallipoli and Mesopotamia, he was awarded the Military Cross in 1918. Between the wars he served in the Indian Army with the Gurkhas and began writing short stories to supplement his income.

Promotion came rapidly with the Second World War, and in March 1942 he was sent to Burma to take command of the First Burma Corps, then in full flight from the advancing Japanese. Through the force of his leadership, Slim turned disorderly panic into a controlled military withdrawal across the border into India. Two years later, having raised and trained the largest army ever assembled by Britain, Slim returned to drive the enemy out of Burma and shatter the myth of Japanese invincibility which had hamstrung Allied operations in the East for so long.

Probably the most respected and loved military leader since the Duke of Marlborough, he later became a popular and successful Governor-General of Australia in 1953, was raised to the peerage, and died in London in 1970.

This masterly biography has been written with the full cooperation of the Slim family.

Also posted in the Personalities thread.


message 825: by Geevee, Assisting Moderator British & Commonwealth Forces (new)

Geevee | 3811 comments Thanks for the post and the recommendation Rick - another for the TBR :)


message 826: by 'Aussie Rick', Moderator (new)

'Aussie Rick' (aussierick) | 20068 comments I thought you might like this one :)


message 827: by happy (new)

happy (happyone) | 2281 comments AR adds another to my TBR list :D


message 828: by 'Aussie Rick', Moderator (new)

'Aussie Rick' (aussierick) | 20068 comments Glad l could help :)


message 829: by 'Aussie Rick', Moderator (new)

'Aussie Rick' (aussierick) | 20068 comments I am sure this book will interest a few members here in the group:


Tiger I in Action by Jean Restayn by Jean Restayn
Description:
In April 1941, two months prior to operation 'Barbarossa', Adolf Hitler ordered the development of a heavy tank, armed with the famed 88mm gun. This tank became a legend in its own time. Feared by its adversaries and liked by its crews, the Tiger etched its mark in history and the legend carries on, 60 years after the end of the war. This compilation of the two volumes dealing with Tiger units on the Eastern Front, the Western Front, and Africa, features almost a thousand period pictures, mostly unpublished, and more than 80 full-colour plates by the author: tank profiles, details of markings and insignia, camouflage, and a short history of each Tiger unit. This edition has been revised and augmented, with more accurate captions as to dates and locale, together with new illustrations and a chapter on additional units.


message 830: by 'Aussie Rick', Moderator (new)

'Aussie Rick' (aussierick) | 20068 comments This new book also sounds like one that should be read and would be sure to interest a few members here:

Exercise Tiger The Forgotten Sacrifice of the Silent Few by Wendy Susan Lawrence by Wendy Susan Lawrence
Description:
This is the "forgotten" story of the tragic deaths of 946 US servicemen off the coast of England during rehearsals for the D-day invasion. The incident was shrouded in secrecy at the time due to the impending invasion, and only now have the full details of what happened that night been appraised in this new book.


message 831: by 'Aussie Rick', Moderator (last edited Jun 01, 2013 09:15PM) (new)

'Aussie Rick' (aussierick) | 20068 comments This new book by Schiffer which is due out at the end of 2013 sounds pretty interesting and I am sure a few members might like to check it out:

Barbarossa Unleashed The German Blitzkrieg Through Central Russia to the Gates of Moscow June-December 1941 by Craig W H Luther by Craig W H Luther
Description:
This book examines in unprecedented detail the advance of Germany's Army Group Center through central Russia, toward Moscow, in the summer of 1941, followed by brief accounts of the Battle of Moscow and subsequent winter battles into early 1942. Based on hundreds of veterans accounts, archival documents, and exhaustive study of the pertinent primary and secondary literature, the book offers new insights into Operation Barbarossa, Adolf Hitlers attack on Soviet Russia in June 1941. While the book meticulously explores the experiences of the German soldier in Russia, in the cauldron battles along the Minsk-Smolensk-Moscow axis, it places their experiences squarely within the strategic and operational context of the Barbarossa campaign. Controversial subjects, such as the culpability of the German eastern armies in war crimes against the Russian people, are also examined in detail. This book is the most detailed account to date of virtually all aspects of the German soldiers experiences in Russia in 1941.

Also listed in the Eastern Front thread.


message 832: by 'Aussie Rick', Moderator (last edited Jun 01, 2013 09:16PM) (new)

'Aussie Rick' (aussierick) | 20068 comments Damn, another new release that sounds pretty good as well:


Monty's Men The British Army and the Liberation of Europe by John Buckley by John Buckley
Description:
John Buckley offers a radical reappraisal of Great Britain's fighting forces during World War Two, challenging the common belief that the British Army was no match for the forces of Hitler's Germany. Following Britain's military commanders and troops across the battlefields of Europe, from D-Day to VE-Day, from the Normandy beaches to Arnhem and the Rhine, and, ultimately, to the Baltic, Buckley's provocative history demonstrates that the British Army was more than a match for the vaunted Nazi war machine. This fascinating revisionist history of the campaign to liberate Northern Europe in the war's final years features a large cast of colourful unknowns and grand historical personages alike, including Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery and the prime minister, Sir Winston Churchill. By integrating detailed military history with personal accounts, it evokes the vivid reality of men at war while putting long-held misconceptions finally to rest.

Also listed in the European Theatre thread.


message 833: by 'Aussie Rick', Moderator (new)

'Aussie Rick' (aussierick) | 20068 comments One more to add to the ever growing 'to read' list. I think this title may also interest a few other members here in the group:

The Bombing War Europe 1939-1945 by Richard Overy by Richard Overy
Description:
This is the ultimate history of the Blitz and bombing in the Second World War, from Wolfson Prize-winning historian and author Richard Overy. The use of massive fleets of bombers to kill and terrorize civilians was an aspect of the Second World War which continues to challenge the idea that Allies specifically fought a 'moral' war. For Britain, bombing became perhaps its principal contribution to the fighting as, night after night, exceptionally brave men flew over occupied Europe destroying its cities. The Bombing War radically overhauls our understanding of the War. It is the first book to examine seriously not just the most well-known parts of the campaign, but the significance of bombing on many other fronts - the German use of bombers on the Eastern Front for example (as well as much newly discovered material on the more familiar 'Blitz' on Britain), or the Allied campaigns against Italian cities. The result is the author's masterpiece - a rich, gripping, picture of the Second World War and the terrible military, technological and ethical issues that relentlessly drove all its participants into an abyss.

Also posted in the aviation thread.


message 834: by 'Aussie Rick', Moderator (new)

'Aussie Rick' (aussierick) | 20068 comments One more new release for the day, the final book in Bruce Gamble's trilogy covering Rabaul during WW2:

Target Rabaul The Allied Siege of Japan's Most Infamous Stronghold, March 1943 - August 1945 by Bruce Gamble by Bruce Gamble
Description:
As the final book in Bruce Gamble's esteemed trilogy on the War in the Pacific, "Target: Rabaul" picks up where "Fortress Rabaul, " the second installment, leaves off--and sets the stage for the major Allied aerial engagements of 1943-1954, which would result in the defeat of Japan. March 1943, Washington, D.C.: Major General George Kenney, commander of the 5th Air Force, begins to formulate plans for Operation Cartwheel--a mission to neutralize Rabaul, Japan's most notorious stronghold, with the use of unescorted daylight bombing raids against the base and the heavily-defended satellite installations nearby. But the undertaking would prove to be anything but straightforward, and the story of Rabaul's destruction remains one of the most gripping of World War II's Pacific Theater. In "Target: Rabaul," award-winning military historian Bruce Gamble expertly narrates the Allied air raids against the stronghold: the premature celebrations by George Kenney and Gen. Douglas MacArthur; the bequeathing of authority to Adm. "Bull" Halsey; the unprecedented number of near-constant air battles that immediately followed; the Japanese retreat to Truk Lagoon in 1944; and their ultimate surrender to Allied forces in August 1945. This amazing story, one that profiles the bravery and resolve of the Allies in the horrific Pacific battleground, is the turbulent conclusion to an acclaimed trilogy from one of today's most talented nonfiction military authors.

Also posted in the Pacific Theatre thread.


message 835: by Colin (new)

Colin Heaton (colin1962) | 2011 comments 'Aussie Rick' wrote: "For those members who enjoy reading about the USMC and their battles during WW2 this new book may interest a few here:

[bookcover:Voices of the Pacific: Untold Stories from the Marine Heroes of Wo..."


My friend Adam wrote this book, and I proof read it. Excellent indeed and highly recommended.


message 836: by Geevee, Assisting Moderator British & Commonwealth Forces (new)

Geevee | 3811 comments Okay AR stop posting now - my TBR and my bank balance are under siege from you ;)


message 837: by 'Aussie Rick', Moderator (new)

'Aussie Rick' (aussierick) | 20068 comments Some good books eh Geevee!


message 838: by 'Aussie Rick', Moderator (new)

'Aussie Rick' (aussierick) | 20068 comments That's great information about Adam Makos' new book Voices of the Pacific, thanks for letting us know Colin.


message 839: by Geevee, Assisting Moderator British & Commonwealth Forces (new)

Geevee | 3811 comments 'Aussie Rick' wrote: "Some good books eh Geevee!"

They are and thanks again for posting too!


message 840: by 'Aussie Rick', Moderator (new)

'Aussie Rick' (aussierick) | 20068 comments Hmmm, this new book which is due out in a few months may have to be one of those 'have to haves', what do other members think:

Thunder at Prokhorovka A Combat History of Operation Citadel, Kursk, July 1943 by David Schranck by David Schranck
description:
After the defeat at Stalingrad, Hitler had lost his momentum and was looking for a way to regain it. Operation Citadel was the intended means to fulfil that objective. If successful a number of Soviet armies would be destroyed and the front line shortened, allowing for a better disposition of troops and a chance to rebuild Germany's exhausted reserves. This book provides comprehensive coverage of the operational events on both salients. It also includes critical analysis of both sides that points out errors of judgment or application that collectively had an important impact on campaign results. The book is highly annotated to give the reader additional sources to study and to provide additional perspectives to gain as complete an understanding of this critical campaign as possible. Besides an extensive text, the book's key strength is its mapping - 32 full-page colour maps are accompanied by 7 large fold-out sheets of maps, also in colour. Together these specially-commissioned maps provide a remarkably detailed guide to the combat operations. Thunder at Prokhorovka is destined to become an important reference to the Battle of Kursk. 32pp colour maps, 7 fold-out colour maps, 9 tables.

Also posted in the Eastern Front thread.


message 841: by 'Aussie Rick', Moderator (new)

'Aussie Rick' (aussierick) | 20068 comments This new book may be of interest to some members in the group, its not due for release till towards the end of 2013:

Fur Volk and Fuhrer The Memoir of a Veteran of the 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler by Erwin Bartmann by Erwin Bartmann
description:
Like many Germans, Berlin schoolboy Erwin Bartmann fell under the spell of the Zeitgeist cultivated by the Nazis. Convinced he was growing up in the best country in the world, he dreamt of joining the Leibstandarte, Hitler's elite Waffen SS unit. Tall, blond, blue-eyed, and just seventeen-years-old, Erwin fulfilled his dream on Mayday 1941, when he gave up his apprenticeship at the Glaser bakery in Memeler Strasse and walked into the Lichterfelde barracks in Berlin as a raw, volunteer recruit. On arrival at the Eastern Front in late summer 1941, Erwin was assigned to a frontline communications squad attached to 4.Kompanie and soon discovered that survival was a matter of luck - or the protection of a guardian angel. Good fortune finally deserted Erwin on 11 July 1943 when shrapnel sizzled through his lung during the epic Battle of Kursk-Prokhorovka. Following a period of recovery, and promotion to Unterscharführer, Erwin took up a post as machine-gun instructor with the Ausbildung und Ersatz Bataillon, a training unit based close to the eastern section of the Berliner Ring Autobahn. When the Red Army launched its massive assault on the Seelow Heights, Erwin's unit, now incorporated into Regiment Falke, was deployed to the southern flank of the Berlin-Frankfurt Autobahn, close to the River Oder. The German defences soon crumbled and with the end of the Reich inevitable, Erwin was forced to choose between a struggle for personal survival and the fulfilment of his SS oath of 'loyalty unto death' . From the war on the southern sector of the Eastern Front to a bomb-shattered Berlin populated largely by old men and demoralised lonely women, this candid eyewitness account offers a unique and sometimes surprising perspective on the life of a young Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler volunteer.


message 842: by Colin (new)

Colin Heaton (colin1962) | 2011 comments I have interviewed many people from the Waffen SS and a few who were kids in the Volksturm and Hitler Youth. Tragic tale indeed.


message 843: by 'Aussie Rick', Moderator (new)

'Aussie Rick' (aussierick) | 20068 comments This book just went into one of my online shopping trolleys. It's not due for release for another few months but I am sure it will interest a few members here in the group.

The Devil's General The Life of Hyazinth Graf Strachwitz - The "Panzer Graf" by Raymond Bagdonas by Raymond Bagdonas
Description:
This is the story of the most highly decorated German regimental commander of World War II, known as the "Panzer Graf" (Armored Count). An aristocratic Silesian, whose ancestors had faced the Mongols at Leipzig, Strachwitz first won the Iron Cross in the Great War. After fighting with the Freikorps and in between the wars, he was serving with the 1st Panzer Division when the Polish campaign inaugurated World War II.


message 844: by Colin (new)

Colin Heaton (colin1962) | 2011 comments 'Aussie Rick' wrote: "This book just went into one of my online shopping trolleys. It's not due for release for another few months but I am sure it will interest a few members here in the group.

[bookcover:The Devil's ..."


Von Strachwitz was one of two panzer generals to receive the Diamonds. Hasso von Manteuffel was the other. Only 27 men received Germany's highest decoration.


message 845: by 'Aussie Rick', Moderator (new)

'Aussie Rick' (aussierick) | 20068 comments This new book published by an Australian author well known for his books on the Eastern Front may interest a few members here:

Into Oblivion The Story of Pionier-Bataillon 305 by Jason D. Mark by Jason D. Mark
Description:
After 16 months of training and garrison duty in France, Pionier-Bataillon 305 – together with the rest of 305. Infanterie-Division – was sent to the Eastern Front. Little could they know that an inevitable train of events had been set in motion that would lead to their destruction at Stalingrad barely nine months later.

An unprecedented discovery of original material has permitted an examination of the brutal fighting on the Eastern Front through the eyes of one German battalion. Commanded by apolitical officers, reservists mainly, its ranks were filled with older-than-normal recruits. When they arrived on the Eastern Front in May 1942, it was a first time visit for most of them, yet they sensed what awaited them. Everyone knew someone who had been killed in the Soviet Union. Stories about the ferocity of combat on the Eastern Front had reached them through the soldier’s grapevine. They were under no illusions, but still believed they would prevail.

Weeks of monotonous, endless marching were interspersed with terrifying encounters and set-piece attacks. How would this fresh battalion compare with experienced units? Were its men less jaded and more inspired than those that had been at the front since Barbarossa began in June 1941? Was the arrival of a tough, battle-hardened commander enough to compensate for the unit’s lack of combat experience? What effect did the ongoing casualties have on both the soldiers and the battalion’s performance in battle? By exploring and answering these questions and others, this intimate analysis of an ordinary battalion enables the Eastern Front to be seen as never before.

• 620 pages on a high-quality satin (semi-gloss) stock
• 210 x 157mm
• Hardcover only
• 327 photos
• 56 maps and sketches
• 7 aerial photos
• 5 tables
• 3 appendices, including officer biographies and medal lists



The author's web site:

http://www.leapinghorseman.com.au/pro...


message 846: by 'Aussie Rick', Moderator (new)

'Aussie Rick' (aussierick) | 20068 comments This new title may interest a few group members:


The Siege of Brest 1941 A Legend of Red Army Resistance on the Eastern Front by Rostislav Aliev by Rostislav Aliev
Description:
On 22 June 1941, soon after 3am, the first German shells smashed into the Soviet frontier fortress of Brest - Hitler's Operation Barbarossa had begun. Across a massive front stretching from the Baltic to the Black Sea, the Wehrmacht advanced, taking the Red Army by surprise, brushing aside the first stunned resistance, breaking through and taking thousands of prisoners, but the isolated stronghold of Brest held out. The defenders, trapped and without hope of relief, put up a tenacious resistance against an entire German division as the Soviet front collapsed behind them. The Germans had allowed twelve hours to secure the area, but it took them nine days. The heroic defence of Brest has become one of the legends of the Second World War on the Eastern Front, an example of selfless Soviet heroism in the face of Nazi aggression. Rotislav Aliev, in this gripping narrative, describes the fighting in vivid detail, hour by hour, and he strips away the myths and exaggerations that have grown up around this famous story.

Also posted in the Eastern Front thread.


message 847: by 'Aussie Rick', Moderator (new)

'Aussie Rick' (aussierick) | 20068 comments This new book also sounds like it's offering something a bit different:


Blood and Steel The Wehrmacht Archive, Normandy 1944 by Donald E. Graves by Donald E. Graves
Description:
Ordered by Hitler 'to hold, or to die' and to fight 'to the last grenade and round', the German army was a formidable opponent during the 1944 Normandy campaign. This book depicts the experience of that army in Normandy through its own records and documentation. The Wehrmacht Archive is an informative and colourful collection of translated original orders, diaries, letters, after action reports, and even jokes, as well as Allied technical evaluations of weapons, vehicles and equipment and transcripts of prisoner of war interrogations. You will also learn from official documents about the Germans' efforts to cope with Allied air and artillery superiority, create new tactical methods for all arms and maintain discipline in the face of overwhelming odds.

Also mentioned in the European Theatre thread.


message 848: by 'Aussie Rick', Moderator (last edited Jun 20, 2013 07:43PM) (new)

'Aussie Rick' (aussierick) | 20068 comments Another new WW2 title offering something different by the sounds of it:


Storming the Eagle's Nest Hitler's War in the Alps by Jim Ring by Jim Ring
Description:
From the Fall of France in June 1940 to Hitler's suicide in April 1945, the swastika flew from the peaks of the High Savoy in the western Alps to the passes above Ljubljana in the east. The Alps as much as Berlin were the heart of the Third Reich.

"Yes," Hitler declared of his headquarters in the Bavarian Alps, "I have a close link to this mountain. Much was done there, came about and ended there; those were the best times of my life . . . My great plans were forged there."

With great authority and verve, Jim Ring tells the story of how the war was conceived and directed from the Fuhrer's mountain retreat, how all the Alps bar Switzerland fell to Fascism, and how Switzerland herself became the Nazi's banker and Europe's spy centre. How the Alps in France, Italy and Yugoslavia became cradles of resistance, how the range proved both a sanctuary and a death-trap for Europe's Jews - and how the whole war culminated in the Allies' descent on what was rumoured to be Hitler's Alpine Redoubt, a Bavarian mountain fortress.


message 849: by 'Aussie Rick', Moderator (new)

'Aussie Rick' (aussierick) | 20068 comments Here is a new title due out in August that may interest those fans of artillery:


Bracketing the Enemy Forward Observers in World War II by John R Walker by John R Walker
Description:
After the end of World War II, General George Patton declared that artillery had won the war. Yet howitzers did not achieve victory on their own. Crucial to the success of these big guns were forward observers, artillerymen on the front lines who directed the artillery fire. Until now, the vital role of forward observers in ground combat has received little scholarly attention. In Bracketing the Enemy, John R. Walker remedies this oversight by offering the first full-length history of forward observer teams during World War II.

As early as the U.S. Civil War, artillery fire could reach as far as two miles, but without an “FO” (forward observer) to report where the first shot had landed in relation to the target, and to direct subsequent fire by outlining or “bracketing” the targeted range, many of the advantages of longer-range fire were wasted. During World War II, FOs accompanied infantrymen on the front lines. Now, for the first time, gun crews could bring deadly accurate fire on enemy positions immediately as advancing riflemen encountered these enemy strongpoints. According to Walker, this transition from direct to indirect fire was one of the most important innovations to have occurred in ground combat in centuries.

Using the 37th Division in the Pacific Theater and the 87th in Europe as case studies, Walker presents a vivid picture of the dangers involved in FO duty and shows how vitally important forward observers were to the success of ground operations in a variety of scenarios. FO personnel not only performed a vital support function as artillerymen but often transcended their combat role by fighting as infantrymen, sometimes even leading soldiers into battle. And yet, although forward observers lived, fought, and bled with the infantry, they were ineligible to wear the Combat Infantryman’s Badge awarded to the riflemen they supported. Forward observers are thus among the unsung heroes of World War II. Bracketing the Enemy signals a long-overdue recognition of their distinguished service.


message 850: by 'Aussie Rick', Moderator (new)

'Aussie Rick' (aussierick) | 20068 comments I am pretty sure that this future release (November 2013) will attract the attention of a few members. It sounds like a pretty interesting story to me:

A Death in San Pietro The Untold Story of Ernie Pyle, John Huston, and the Fight for Purple Heart Valley by Tim Brady by Tim Brady
Description:
By the time Mark Clark's Fifth Army reached the small village of San Pietro north of Naples in the first week of December 1943, a tough but rapid sweep through Sicily came to a muddy halt. On the slopes of a distant mountain, the death of a single platoon captain, Henry Waskow, epitomized the struggle. "A Death in San Pietro" chronicles the quietly heroic and beloved Captain Waskow and his company as they make their way into battle. Waskow's 36th ("Texas") Division would ultimately succeed in driving the Germans off the mountains; but not before eighty percent of Waskow's company is lost in action. For Americans back home, two of the war's most lasting artistic expression brought horrified focus to the battlefield, already dubbed "Purple Heart Valley" by the men of the 36th. Pulitzer Prize-winner Ernie Pyle's dispatch about Waskow's death and filmmaker John Huston's award-winning documentary of the battle rivets--and shocks--the nation, bringing, as if for the first time, the awful carnage of world war into living rooms across America.


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