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New Release Books on WW2
Out in reprint by Osprey today: 
Tanks: 100 Years of Evolution by Richard OgorkiewiczSynopsis:
From an internationally acclaimed expert in the field comes a detailed, analytical and comprehensive account of the worldwide evolution of tanks, from their inception a century ago to the present day. With new ideas stemming from the latest academic research, this study presents a reappraisal of the development of tanks and their evolution during World War I and how the surge in technological development during World War II and the subsequent Cold War drove developments in armour in Europe and America, transforming tanks into fast, resilient and powerful fighting machines.
From the primitive, bizarre-looking Mark V to the Matilda and from the menacing King Tiger to the superlative M1 Abrams, Professor Ogorkiewicz shows how tanks gradually acquired the enhanced capabilities that enabled them to become what they are today - the core of combined-arms, mechanized warfare.
This was re-released in paperback this month by Helion:
Magyar Warriors. Volume 1: The History of the Royal Hungarian Armed Forces 1919-1945 by Dénes BernádSynopsis:
The Hungarian armed forces (known as the Honvedseg) were built up in the 1930s, their expansion gaining momentum once Hungary became free of the strict post-WWI Trianon treaty limitations in August 1938. Politically, Hungary was looking for a strong ally, who would help it to recover at least some of the territories containing sizable Magyar ethnic populations that had been lost after the First World War. Initially, in the mid-1930s, Italy gave political assistance and supplied military material, then - on the eve of WWII - Germany also lent support.
In November 1938, Hungary managed to peacefully recover a chunk of its former territory from Czechoslovakia, followed by the Sub-Carpathian area during a brief border war in March 1939, then the northern part of Transylvania from Rumania in August 1940. Later, in April 1941, the Bachka region and parts of Baranya were also taken back from the dismembered Yugoslavia, in a swift military action. The rub was that Hungary was sucked into the cauldron of the Eastern front, and soon the Honveds (Hungarian soldiers) found themselves deep in Soviet territory, outgunned and outnumbered by the Red Army. Later on, from August 1944, the beleaguered Honvedseg had to fight against the mighty Soviet army in defense of its own territory. Alongside tiny Croatia, Hungary remained the last German ally up to the bitter end.
This comprehensive reference, to be published in two volumes, and the fruit of over twenty years of meticulous research, strives to provide a complete picture of the Hungarian armed forces between the years 1919-1945. It starts with a brief history of the Magyars, describes the political situation in Hungary before and during WWII, the building of the armed forces, the growth of domestic arms manufacturers, the organization of the armed forces units and how they changed during the war. The various campaigns of the war are described in great detail, illustrated with many photographs and maps.
This, the first volume, contains approximately 550 photographs, many previously unpublished, as well as numerous tables and maps of the various campaigns. The authors drew on official Hungarian and German archives, and a multitude of private sources, both from individuals living in Hungary and Hungarian emigres from the Western Diaspora. The result of this Herculean effort is a two-volume series destined to be the reference work on the topic, a must for people fascinated by military history, or generally interested in the 1100-year-long rich history of Hungary and its Magyar Warriors.
*Volume 2, to be published in 2011, will cover all small arms, artillery, soft-skin and armored vehicles, motorcycles, as well as aircraft, the insignia, markings and camouflage of armored vehicles and aircraft, both of Hungarian indigenous design and those supplied by Germany and Italy, complete with technical data, production and delivery figures. An extensive selection of b/w photographs and color plates will be included.
Dimitri wrote: "This was re-released in paperback this month by Helion:[book:Magyar Warriors. Volume 1: Th..."Appealing but a bit expensive.
Assignment: London: A WWII Novel of Naval Intelligence and SpiesThis title is now available on amazon in paperback and Kindle/e-book formats. It is a sequel to Assignment Bletchley: A WW2 Story of Navy Intelligence, Spies and Intrigue and the 2nd in a series of WWII assignments of fictitious Commander Anthony Romella, USN.
London, April 1942
U.S. Navy Commander Anthony Romella is handpicked to serve under the U.S. Embassy’s Naval Attaché in London.
Working with a top secret element of the British Special Operations Executive at Bletchley Park, Tony is clandestinely deployed to a French resistance cell near the German U-boat base at Lorient.
In London, Tony becomes deeply engaged in a puzzling and suspenseful counter-intelligence operation which calls heavily upon his ingenuity.
Tony's love affair with a Royal Navy Officer, the widow of a British fighter pilot, is turned upside down when Tony discovers human intelligence of the pilot’s capture by the Germans.
The multifaceted role Tony plays in this demanding, fast-paced wartime environment, make this a compelling novel that is difficult to put down.
Just found out this one comes out in May:
Island Of Fire: The Battle For The Barrikady Gun Factory In StalingradIt was originally published by Leaping Horseman, but that version is probably pretty hard to get at a good price. The new version is published by Stackpole. Goodreads doesn't have the new version listed yet, so the picture is of the original.
I have a signed number copy of the first edition Marc but I'm sad to say I actually haven't read it yet. I have nearly all the books published by Leaping Horseman and this has been one of my favourites so far:
Besieged The Epic Battle For Cholm by Jason D. Mark
'Aussie Rick' wrote: "I have a signed number copy of the first edition Marc but I'm sad to say I actually haven't read it yet. I have nearly all the books published by Leaping Horseman and this has been one of my favour..."They look like they publish some really interesting titles, but with hefty price tags! Kinda like Helion, J.J. Fedorwicz and a few others.
They are high quality books but pretty expensive. I think Stackpole will be re-releasing them at a different price level.
A November release:
by Bruce GambleDescription:
In early 1942, while most of the American military was still in disarray from the devastating attacks on Pearl Harbor and the Philippines, a single squadron advanced to the far side of the world to face America's new enemy.
Based in Australia with poor supplies and dubbed the Kangaroo Squadron, the pilots and crew faced tropical diseases while confronting numerically superior Japanese forces. Yet the squadron proved remarkably resilient and successful, conducting long-range bombing raids, armed reconnaissance missions, and rescuing General MacArthur and his staff from the Philippines.
Before now, the story of their courage and determination in the face of overwhelming odds has largely been untold. Using eyewitness accounts based on personal diaries, letters, new interviews, and memoirs as well as Japanese sources historian Bruce Gamble brings to vivid life this dramatic true story.
But the Kangaroo Squadron's story doesn't end in World War II-the very first B-17 downed in combat has recently been recovered from jungle swamps. The intertwined stories of the Kangaroo Squadron and the "Swamp Ghost" are filled with thrilling accounts of aerial combat, an epic jungle survival story, and the powerful mystique of an abandoned bomber that compelled men to possess it at any cost.
And a December release:
by Kevin WilsonDescription:
The year 1943 saw the beginning of an unprecedented bombing campaign against Germany. Over the next twelve months, tens of thousands of aircrews flew across the North Sea to drop bombs on German cities. They were opposed not only by the full force of the Luftwaffe, but by a nightmare of flak, treacherously icy conditions, and constant mechanical malfunction. Most of these courageous crews were either shot down and killed or taken prisoner by an increasingly hostile enemy.
This is the story of the everyday heroism of these crews in the days when it was widely believed that the Allies could win the Second World War by air alone. American pilots had a special role in the “Dambusters” campaign in particular. Even before the attacks on Pearl Harbor, scores of eager pilots travelled across the Canadian border to train with other future “Dambusters,” all eager to take part.
Authoritative and gripping, Airborne in 1943 brings these remarkable men and women to vivid life.
Thanks for posting the info on those two books, Jerome. Two more for the wish list!
Yes, two potential additions to the library indeed!
Two more "buy-on-sight" additions to the pile.
Here's a freshly released book that deals with the war on the Eastern Front.Operation Don's Main Attack: The Soviet Southern Front's Advance on Rostov, January-February 1943 by David M. Glantz
SUMMARY
With the defeat and destruction of German Sixth Army at Stalingrad all but certain at the end of 1942, the war on the Eastern Front took a definitive turn as the Germans struggled to erect a new defensive front to halt the Soviet juggernaut driving west. 'Operation Don’s Main Attack' is the first detailed study of the dramatic clash of armies that followed, unfolding inexorably over the course of two months across an expanse of more than 1,600 kilometers.
Using recently released Russian archival material never before available to researchers, David M. Glantz provides a close-up account, from both sides, of the planning and conduct of Operation Don — the Soviet offensive by the Red Army’s Southern front that aimed to capture Rostov in January–February 1943. His book includes a full array of plans, candid daily reports, situation maps, and strength and casualty reports prepared for the forces that participated in the offensive at every level.
Drawing on an unprecedented and comprehensive range of documents, the book delves into many hitherto forbidden topics, such as unit strengths and losses and the foibles and attitudes of command cadre.
Glantz’s work also presents rare insights into the military strategy, combat tactics, and operational art of such figures as Generals Eremenko and Malinovsky and Field Marshal Erich von Manstein.
A uniquely informed study of a critical but virtually forgotten Soviet military operation, 'Operation Don’s Main Attack' offers a fresh perspective on the nature of the twentieth century’s most terrible of wars.
KOMET wrote: "Here's a freshly released book that deals with the war on the Eastern Front.Operation Don's Main Attack: The Soviet Southern Front's Advance on Rostov, January-February 1943 by [a..."
Thanks for posting the details on Grantz's new book Komet, happy to say that I have a copy on order already :)
I saw this new Australian release out on the shelves today, I will try and pick up a copy next week:
An Australian Band of Brothers, Don Company, Second 43rd Battalion, 9th Division by Mark JohnsonDescription:
This riveting book follows a small group of Australian front-line soldiers from their enlistment in the dark days of 1940 to the end of World War II.
No ordinary soldiers, they were members of Don Company of the Second 43rd Battalion, part of the famous 9th Australian Division, which — during campaigns in Tobruk, El Alamein, New Guinea, and Borneo — sustained more casualties and won more medals than any other Australian division. It is an evocative and detailed account of the day-to-day war of three infantry soldiers whose experiences included night patrols at Tobruk, advancing steadily through German barrages at Alamein, charging enemy machine guns in New Guinea, and repelling Japanese charges on Borneo.
Inspired by American historian Stephen Ambrose’s landmark book, Band of Brothers, about the US Army’s Easy Company of the 506th Regiment, Mark Johnston, one of our best military historians, here gives an Australian company the same treatment. Using the frank and detailed personal letters, diaries, and memoirs of three Australian soldiers, he brings to life their campaigns, battles, and interactions with their comrades and enemies. His book is a unique and powerful account of the everyday experiences of a small unit of Australian soldiers on the front line.
"Inspired by American historian Stephen Ambrose’s landmark book, Band of Brothers, " Oh dear! :-)
I think Mark Johnson's book may be a bit different :)
'Aussie Rick' wrote: "I think Mark Johnson's book may be a bit different :)"And published by UNSW and the Uni's do tend to have high standards. For me the title is an obvious selling point. Looking forward to your eventual thoughts
Yes, I wonder sometimes how much say the author has in the title when it comes to marketing.
This one is a bit in the future, release date in November 2018 (UK) but I am sure a few members will want to keep an eye out for it:
Landing on the Edge of Eternity: Twenty-Four Hours at Omaha Beach by Robert KershawDescription:
Before World War II, Normandy's Plage d'Or coast was best known for its sleepy villages and holiday destinations. Early in 1944, German commander Field Marshal Erwin Rommel took one look at the gentle, sloping sands and announced "They will come here!" He was referring to "Omaha Beach"--the prime American D-Day landing site. The beach was subsequently transformed into three miles of lethal, bunker-protected arcs of fire, with seaside chalets converted into concrete strongpoints, fringed by layers of barbed wire and mines. The Germans called it "the Devil's Garden."
When Company A of the US 116th Regiment landed on Omaha Beach in D-Day's first wave on 6th June 1944, it lost 96% of its effective strength. Sixteen teams of US engineers arriving in the second wave were unable to blow the beach obstacles, as first wave survivors were still sheltering behind them. This was the beginning of the historic day that Landing on the Edge of Eternity narrates hour by hour--rom midnight to midnight--tracking German and American soldiers fighting across the beachhead.
Mustered on their troop transport decks at 2am, the American infantry departed in landing craft at 5am. Skimming across high waves, deafened by immense broadsides from supporting battleships and weak from seasickness, they caught sight of land at 6.15. Eleven minutes later, the assault was floundering under intense German fire. Two and a half hours in, General Bradley, commanding the landings aboard USS Augusta, had to decide if to proceed or evacuate. On June 6th there were well over 2,400 casualties on Omaha Beach - easily D-Day's highest death toll.
The Wehrmacht thought they had bludgeoned the Americans into bloody submission, yet by mid-afternoon, the American troops were ashore. Why were the casualties so grim, and how could the Germans have failed? Juxtaposing the American experience--pinned down, swamped by a rising tide, facing young Wehrmacht soldiers fighting desperately for their lives, Kershaw draws on eyewitness accounts, memories, letters, and post-combat reports to expose the true horrors of Omaha Beach.
These are stories of humanity, resilience, and dark humor; of comradeship and a gritty patriotism holding beleaguered men together. Landing on the Edge of Eternity is a dramatic historical ride through an amphibious landing that looked as though it might never succeed.
Kershaw jr. does Normandy, Beevor does Arnhem...what a great year to rekindle the big ETO battles !
Quite true Dimitri!
Jonny wrote: "So long as there's not too much overlap with 
D-Day: Piercing the Atlantic Wall"Good point, Jonny. If you read the latter. I'll consider the new book a 2-in-1 deal then ;-)
Just received a notification from Amazon today that this book is coming out earlier than originally mentioned:
Patton's Last Gamble: The Disastrous Raid on POW Camp Hammelburg in World War IIPrevious release date was May 1, now it's April 3.
Hammelburg castle and town were turned into the NATO urban warfare training area, I went through the course in 1984.
An October release:
by Peter MargaritisDescription:
On September 15, 1944, the United States, in its effort to defeat the Japanese Empire, invaded a tiny island named Peleliu located at the southern end of the Palau Islands. The Paulas lay in the main line of the American advance eastward. The Pacific High Command saw the conquering of this chain as a necessary prelude to General Douglas MacArthur's long-awaited liberation of the Philippines.
Of all the Palaus, Peleliu, the second southernmost, was the most strategically valuable. It boasted a large flat airfield located on a relatively low plain at its southern end. If it was taken, it could be used as a major airbase from which the Americans could mount a massive bomber campaign, against the Philippines if needed, and eventually against Japanese home islands. Except for the airfield, Peleliu was a typical tropical island, covered by dense jungle and swamps, with many coconut, mango, and palm tree groves.
The main amphibious assault was to be made by the famed First Marine Division under the command of Major-General William Rupertus. He was confident that victory would be theirs in just a few days, convinced that the Japanese defending the island were relatively weak and underprepared.
They were drastically wrong. The Peleliu campaign took two and a half months of hard fighting, and a week after landing, having sustained terrific losses in fierce combat, the First Marines were withdrawn. The division would be out of action for six months, with the three rifle regiments averaging over 50% casualties - the highest unit losses in Marine Corps history.
This book analyzes in detail the many things that went wrong to make these casualties so excessive, and in doing so, corrects several earlier accounts of the campaign. It includes a detailed account of the presidential summit that determined the operation, details of how new weapons were deployed, enemy strategy and command failure in what became the most controversial amphibious operation in the landing in the Pacific during WWII.
Hard to pass up a book on Peleliu! Thanks for posting the details Jerome.
Just heard about this one today from the author himself:Two Flags Over Iwo Jima: Solving the Mystery of the U.S. Marine Corps' Proudest Moment
Hammel has written some really good books on the USMC, so this one should be worth picking up as well.
Should be an interesting book, thanks for posting the details Marc.
Jerome wrote: "An October release: by Peter Margaritis."
Sweet ! a blank in my Pacific collection under construction!
Eric Hammel is a good guy, and great historian. We used to have the same literary agent.
Hardly new but no reviews on GR. 
Female Administrators of the Third ReichAnd found this review. http://www.history.ac.uk/reviews/revi...
Looks to be a very interesting book on a little discussed subject.
A Thousand and One: A Flight Engineer Leader's War from the Thousand Bomber Raids to the Battle of Berlin
https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-en...
https://www.bombercommandbooks.com/
Should make for very interesting reading, thanks for posting those links 4ZZZ.
This July 2018 release may interest a few members within the group:
The First Bridge Too Far: The Battle of Primosole Bridge 1943 by Mark SaligerDescription:
For the very first time, the Battle of Primosole Bridge is brought to life in a well-researched narrative solely dedicated to one of the bloodiest and hardest fought battles for British airborne troops of World War Two.
Primosole Bridge in Sicily (13-16 July 1943) provided the stage for the first instance of opposing elite paratroopers parachuting into battle and then fighting each other in a see-saw battle raging under the blazing Mediterranean sky. It’s a story of courage and determination. A story of legendary military units and their commanders. A story that now, on the eve of its 75th Anniversary, finally needs to be told.
The British paratroopers of the famed Parachute Regiment’s 1st Parachute Brigade, known as the ‘Red Devils’, fought their equally esteemed German paratrooper opponents, known as the ‘Green Devils’, in a battle of attrition central to the entire success of the Allies’ first invasion of Hitler’s Fortress Europe. These two sets of elite Devils fought each other to a stand-still in Hellish conditions. The paratroopers found themselves cut-off behind enemy lines with dwindling ammunition and ever-growing enemy forces encircling. Their courage and determination in standing up to overwhelming odds allowed the ground forces to arrive and capture the bridge in the nick of time before it was destroyed. The hard-won experience gained by the 1st Parachute Brigade was again tested only a year later at the Battle of Arnhem, the battle christened a bridge too far. It was in fact an almost identical battle, but on a larger scale, to the ferocious fight that the British paratroopers had faced only months previously. The Battle of Arnhem is well documented. The Battle of Primosole Bridge, which provided the foundations for the men and planning for the legendary events at Arnhem, is virtually unheard of and needs to be told at last in order to honour the sacrifice of the Britain’s unsung war heroes.
A November release:
by Craig W H LutherDescription:
Sunday, June 22, 1941: three million German soldiers invaded the Soviet Union as part of Hitler’s long-planned Operation Barbarossa, which aimed to destroy the Soviet Union, secure its land as lebensraum for the Third Reich, and enslave its Slavic population. From launching points in newly acquired Poland, in three prongs—North, Central, South—German forces stormed western Russia, virtually from the Baltic to the Black Sea. By late fall, the invasion had foundered against Russian weather, terrain, and resistance, and by December, it had failed at the gates of Moscow, but early on, as the Germans sliced through Russian territory and soldiers with impunity, capturing hundreds of thousands, it seemed as though Russia would fall.
In the spirit of Martin Middlebrook’s classic First Day on the Somme, Craig Luther narrates the events of June 22, 1941, a day when German military might was at its peak and seemed as though it would easily conquer the Soviet Union, a day the common soldiers would remember for its tension and the frogs bellowing in the Polish marshlands. It was a day when the German blitzkrieg decimated Soviet command and control within hours and seemed like nothing would stop it from taking Moscow. Luther narrates June 22—one of the pivotal days of World War II—from high command down to the tanks and soldiers at the sharp end, covering strategy as well as tactics and the vivid personal stories of the men who crossed the border into the Soviet Union that fateful day, which is the Eastern Front in microcosm, representing the years of industrial-scale warfare that followed and the unremitting hostility of Germans and Soviets.
Hmm...a vital distniction to the sales pitch would be Martin Middlebrook on the first day of the Somme, or on the first day of the Kaiserschlacht ?
That's going to be one brick of a book.
Jonny wrote: "That's going to be one brick of a book."Not as big as this brick, coming in at over 800 pages:
Barbarossa Unleashed: The German Blitzkrieg Through Central Russia to the Gates of Moscow, June-December 1941 by Craig W.H. Luther
'Aussie Rick' wrote: "Jonny wrote: "That's going to be one brick of a book."Not as big as this brick, coming in at over 800 pages:
[bookcover:Barbarossa Unleashed: The German Blitzkrieg Through Central Russia to the ..."
I'd be wary of that one as it's a Schiffer publication.
But if a brick is what you're looking for, pick up one of these big boys:
Kursk: The Battle of ProkhorovkaThis one weighs in at 1662 pages.
I share your concern with Schiffer publications but this one isn't like their usual standard and the author has a pretty good track history with his previous books plus it has received some very good reader reviews, but having said that I am yet to read it :)
'Aussie Rick' wrote: "I share your concern with Schiffer publications but this one isn't like their usual standard and the author has a pretty good track history with his previous books plus it has received some very go..."Well, I certainly hope it doesn't let you down as it looks like a good one.
My biggest disappointment with Schiffer was their book; "Tiger Ace", which I think we both had similar thoughts on.
Tiger Ace: The Life Story of Panzer Commander Michael Wittmann by Gary L. Simpson
Oh geez, that one was a real piece of garbage!
Marc wrote: "But if a brick is what you're looking for, pick up one of these big boys: Kursk: The Battle of ProkhorovkaThis one weighs in at 1662 pages."
That's how you can spot a good Kursk book: it will stop a Tiger's shell.
THE WORLD WAR TWO GROUP
Books mentioned in this topic
Air War Varsity (other topics)D-Day Dakotas: 6th June 1944 (other topics)
Airmen of Arnhem (other topics)
Into the Firestorm: The Allied Heroes Who Flew World War II's Most Daring Missions (other topics)
Into the Firestorm: The Allied Heroes Who Flew World War II's Most Daring Missions (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Scott McGaugh (other topics)Scott McGaugh (other topics)
Scott McGaugh (other topics)
James M. Scott (other topics)
James M. Scott (other topics)
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I agree with AR--Scott's book on the Doolittle Raid was excellent. Definitely looking forward to this one!