THE WORLD WAR TWO GROUP discussion
BOOK DISCUSSIONS
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New Release Books on WW2
'Aussie Rick' wrote: "A new book due out for release on Dresden in Feb. 2020 for those interested: how will this compare to Frederick Taylor ?
That is indeed a good question, only way to find out is one of us will have to read and compare, any volunteers? :)
Lol. I will once it is released and I remember.
I'll volunteer, its only fair that I shoulder this burden on behalf of the group :)
Not yet listed on the Osprey Publishing website, Brian Lane Herder, who's done the Aleutians Campaign, will publish in April on The Naval Siege of Japan 1945: War Plan Orange triumphant
Dimitri wrote: "Not yet listed on the Osprey Publishing website, Brian Lane Herder, who's done the Aleutians Campaign, will publish in April on [book:The Naval Siege of Japan 1945: War Plan Orange triumphant|44452..."Neatly niche... not much solely on this, i think? So I'll stick it on the to buy...
Good one! Had a grandfather on the USS Astoria that spent some time shelling the mainland so I'll have to check it out. Dimitri wrote: "Not yet listed on the Osprey Publishing website, Brian Lane Herder, who's done the Aleutians Campaign, will publish in April on [book:The Naval Siege of Japan 1945: War Plan Orange triumphant|44452..."
A September 2020 release:
by Thomas McKelvey CleaverDescription:
In many popular histories of the Pacific War, the period from the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor to the US victory at Midway is often passed over because it is seen as a period of darkness. Indeed, it is easy to see the period as one of unmitigated disaster for the Allies, with the fall of the Philippines, Malaya, Burma, and the Dutch East Indies, and the wholesale retreat and humiliation at the hands of Japan throughout Southeast Asia.
However, there are also stories of courage and determination in the face of overwhelming odds: the stand of the Marines at Wake Island; the fighting retreat in the Philippines that forced the Japanese to take 140 days to accomplish what they had expected would take 50; the fight against the odds at Singapore and over Java; the stirring tale of the American Volunteer Group in China; and the beginnings of resistance to further Japanese expansion. In these events, there are many individual stories that have either not been told or not been told widely which are every bit as gripping as the stories associated with the turning tide after Midway.
I Will Run Wild draws on extensive first-hand accounts and fascinating new analysis to tell the story of Americans, British, Dutch, Australians, and New Zealanders taken by surprise from Pearl Harbor to Singapore that first Sunday of December, 1941, who went on to fight with what they had at hand against a stronger and better-prepared foe, and in so doing built the basis for a reversal of fortune and an eventual victory.
Jerome wrote: "A September 2020 release:
by Thomas McKelvey CleaverDescription:
In many popular histories of th..."
Sounds like a good one, destined for my shelves.
An October release:
Description:
Operation Tidal Wave tells the story of the bloodiest air battle in the history of war. It is about 1700 airmen who set out to bomb the oil refineries surrounding the city of Ploesti, Romania, on August 1, 1943. Success, they thought, would be a force in ending the war. Success instead was extremely limited and 500 airmen were killed, wounded, captured, or interned. Negligible damage resulted at the Ploesti refineries, and a few months later they were operating at one-hundred percent capacity. To show the asperity of the raid, five Congressional Medals of Honor were awarded, two posthumously.
Looks like two pretty interesting books, thanks for posting the details Jerome.
Actually, the August 1942 Schweinfurt Raid "Black Thursday" was the most costly in terms of men and machines, on both sides.
A May release:
by Dick LehrDescription:
“AIR RAID, PEARL HARBOR. THIS IS NO DRILL.” At 7:58 a.m. on December 7, 1941, an officer at the Ford Island Command Center typed what would become one of the most famous radio dispatches in history, as the Japanese navy launched a surprise aerial assault on U.S. bases on Hawaii. In a little over two hours, more than 2,400 Americans were dead, propelling the U.S.’s entry into World War II.
Dead Reckoning is the epic true story of the high-stakes operation undertaken sixteen months later to avenge that deadly strike – a longshot mission hatched hastily at the U.S. base on Guadalcanal. Expertly crafting this "hunt for Bin Laden"-style WWII story, New York Times bestselling author Dick Lehr recreates the tension-filled events leading up to the climactic clash in the South Pacific skies – frontline moments loaded with xenophobia, spycraft, sacrifice and broken hearts.
Lehr goes behind the scenes at Station Hypo on Hawaii, where U.S. Navy code breakers first discovered exactly where and when to find Admiral Yamamoto, on April 18, 1943, and then chronicles in dramatic detail the nerve-wracking mission to kill him. He focuses on Army Air Force Major John W. Mitchell, the ace fighter pilot from the tiny hamlet of Enid, Mississippi who was tasked with conceiving a flight route, literally to the second, for the only U.S. fighter plane on Guadalcanal capable of reaching Yamamoto hundreds of miles away – the new twin-engine P-38 Lightning with its fabled “cone of fire.”
Given unprecedented access to Mitchell’s personal papers and hundreds of private letters, Lehr reveals for the first time the full story of Mitchell’s wartime exploits up to the face-off with Yamamoto, along with those of key American pilots Mitchell chose for the momentous mission: Rex Barber, Thomas Lanphier Jr., Besby Holmes, and Ray Hine. The spotlight also shines on their enemy target –Admiral Yamamoto, the enigmatic, charismatic commander in chief of Japan’s Combined Fleet, whose complicated feelings about the U.S.—he studied at Harvard—add rich complexity. In this way Dead Reckoning offers at once a fast-paced recounting of a crucial turning point in the Pacific war and keenly drawn portraits of its two main protagonists: Isoroku Yamamoto, the architect of Pearl Harbor, and John Mitchell, the architect of the Yamamoto’s demise.
Lanphier and Barber argued for decades about who finally got Yamamoto. I knew both men. Very interesting perspectives. Curtis Lemay summed it up; "Those two arguing about who got that scalp is like two guys bitching about who really nailed the prom queen."
Here is a new book by Jonathan Trigg that's due out in a few months time and maybe of interest to some group members:
To VE Day Through German Eyes: The Final Defeat of Nazi Germany by Jonathan TriggDescription:
After the collapse of the German Army in the West in August 1944, the western Allies raced towards the borders of the Reich itself, and in the East the victorious Red Army was doing the same everyone believed the war would be over by Christmas. But it wasn t. Somehow, Nazi Germany managed to stave off final defeat until May the following year. In the end the agony was brought to a close with the hammer and sickle flying over the ruins of Berlin. The much-vaunted Thousand Year Reich had lasted just a dozen years, but in that time it had wrought havoc across the globe. With defeat came the wholesale surrender of the once-proud Wehrmacht; hosts of men suddenly found themselves miles from home in territories ravaged by war. Amongst their ranks were thousands of non-Germans from all over Europe, men - mostly ex-Waffen-SS - who had thrown in their lot with the Germans; they were now collaborators and traitors and would return home to face the justice of the victors.
Previous histories have focused on the fate of Adolf Hitler and his cronies, cocooned in the bunker underneath the rubble of Berlin, but on the German side in particular, as defeat loomed this was a battle that would be fought by junior officers and simple soldiers as the Wehrmacht fell apart. Following on from his successful D-Day Through German Eyes; How the Wehrmacht Lost France Jonathan Trigg seeks with this second volume to tell the story of Nazi Germany s final defeat through the voices of the men and women who witnessed it first-hand. This narrative is written from the other side and told as much through the words of the veterans as is possible.
An August release:
by Dan HamptonDescription:
In 1943, the United States military began to plan one of the most dramatic secret missions of World War II. Its code name was Operation Vengeance. Naval Intelligence had intercepted the itinerary of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, the Commander-in-Chief of the Japanese Combined Fleet, whose stealth attack on Pearl Harbor precipitated America’s entry into the war. Harvard-educated, Yamamoto was a close confidant of Emperor Hirohito and a brilliant tactician who epitomized Japanese military might. On April 18th, the U.S. discovered, he would travel to Rabaul in the South Pacific to visit Japanese troops, then fly to the Japanese airfield at Balalale, 400 miles to the southeast.
Set into motion, the Americans’ plan was one of the most tactically difficult operations of the war. To avoid detection, U.S. pilots had to embark on a circuitous, 1,000-mile odyssey that would test not only their skills but the physical integrity of their planes. The timing was also crucial: the slightest miscalculation, even by a few minutes―or a delay on the famously punctual Yamamoto’s end―meant the entire plan would collapse, endangering American lives. But if these remarkable pilots succeeded, they could help turn the tide of the war―and greatly boost Allied morale.
Informed by deep archival research and his experience as a decorated combat pilot, Operation Vengeance focuses on the mission’s pilots and recreates the moment-by-moment drama they experienced in the air. Hampton recreates this epic event in thrilling detail, and provides groundbreaking evidence about what really happened that day.
A September release:
byJames HollandDescription:
The thirty-six-day Battle for Sicily was one of the most dramatic of the entire Second World War. Its conquest involved the largest airborne operations ever witnessed up to that point, daring raids by special forces, the harnessing of the Mafia, attacks across mosquito-infested plains and perilous assaults up almost sheer faces of rock and scrub.
Operation HUSKY, the Allied assault on the island on 10 July 1943, remains the largest amphibious invasion ever mounted in the history of the world, landing more men in a single day than at any other time. More than 160,000 British, American and Canadian troops were dropped from the sky or came ashore that day, more than on D-Day in Normandy just under a year later.
It was a ruthless campaign in many ways: the violence was extreme, the heat unbearable, the stench of rotting corpses intense and all-pervasive, the problems of malaria, dysentery and other diseases a constant plague. This affected all those trying to fight their way across an island of limited infrastructure and volatile landscape, against a German foe who would not give up.
It signalled the beginning of the end of the Second World War. From here on, Italy ceased to participate in the war, the noose began to close around the neck of Nazi Germany, and it marked the first true coalition operation between the United States and Britain. Most crucially, it would be an important learning exercise before Operation OVERLORD, the Allied invasion of Normandy, in June 1944
Oh no, a new book by James Holland, how can I say no :)
'Aussie Rick' wrote: "Oh no, a new book by James Holland, how can I say no :)"Damn, he just keeps adding to Mount TBR!!!
This March 2020 release may be of interest to some group members; "The Conquering 9th: The Ninth US Army in World War II".
The Conquering 9th: The Ninth US Army in World War II by Nathan N. PreferDescription:
The Ninth Army came into existence in May 1944, under the command of General William Hood Simpson, himself a rather unknown but highly successful ground commander. By late August, the Ninth Army was ready to join the crusade in Europe. Known by its radio call sign "Conquer," they landed at Utah Beach, France, on August 28 and 29. They were now at war and ready for their first assignment. It entered the fray in Brittany, taking over from the Third Army. The biggest port in Brittany was Brest, and operations to capture it began mid-August, with the Ninth Army completing what General Patton had begun by late September.
The Ninth Army then moved to the Siegfried Line alongside the First Army. After some inter-army political maneuvering, it was moved to the north flank of the American lines and was the only American army to fight under British Field Marshal Montgomery’s command for several months, until the Rhine River was crossed, playing a small supportive role in the Battle of the Bulge.
It went on to be involved in the reduction of the Wesel Pocket in cooperation with the British; the Rhine Crossing, including Operation Varsity, the airborne drop across the Rhine, the reduction of the Ruhr Pocket, and then the "Race to Berlin." The Ninth reached the Elbe River before it was stopped not by the enemy, but by high command. Following the end of hostilities the army was eventually dissolved, and the book covers the dissolution and the subsequent fate of some of its leaders.
This new history of the Ninth places the contribution of this unsung army into a full history of the war in Europe in 1944–45. It covers all levels of the army’s activities from the responsibilities and duties of the higher echelon, the commanders through to combat stories of the units under its command and Medal of Honor actions.
Picked up a book by Holland at lifeline book fair Ric. Lots of beevor for $5 plus Fitzsimmons and Ham
Alex wrote: "Picked up a book by Holland at lifeline book fair Ric. Lots of beevor for $5 plus Fitzsimmons and Ham"Sounds like a few bargains there Alex, sadly I already have all the Holland, Beevor and Ham books on WW2 :)
This book was released in Jan. 2020 and sounds quite interesting:
The Crew: The Story of a Lancaster Bomber Crew by David PriceDescription:
The Crew, based on interviews with Ken Cook, the crew's sole surviving member, recounts the wartime exploits of the members of an Avro Lancaster crew between 1942 and the war's end. Gloucestershire-born bomb aimer Ken Cook, hard-bitten Australian pilot Jim Comans, Navigator Don Bowes, Upper Gunner George Widdis, Tail Gunner 'Jock' Bolland, Flight Engineer Ken Randle and Radio Operator Roy Woollford were seven ordinary young men living in extraordinary times, risking their lives in freedom's cause in the dark skies above Hitler's Reich.
From their earliest beginnings – in places as far apart as a Cotswold village and the suburbs of Sydney – through the adventure of training in North America and the dread and danger of the forty-five bombing raids they flew with 97 Squadron, David Price describes the crew's wartime experiences with human sympathy allied to a secure technical understanding of one of the RAF's most iconic aircraft. The drama and anxiety of individual missions – to Kassel, Munich and Augsburg as well as Berlin – is evoked with thrilling immediacy; while the military events and strategic decisions that drove the RAF's area bombing campaign against Nazi Germany are interwoven deftly with the narrative of the crew's operational careers.
And for those Peter Hart fans he has a new book due out in May 2020 (UK):
At Close Range: Life and Death in an Artillery Regiment, 1939-45 by Peter HartDescription:
The best way to understand what it was like to fight in the Second World War is to see it through the eyes of the soldiers who fought it. The South Notts Hussars fought at almost every major battle of the Second World War, from the Siege of Tobruk to the Battle of El Alamein and the D-Day Landings.
Here, Peter Hart draws on detailed interviews conducted with members of the regiment, to provide both a comprehensive account of the conflict and reconstruct its most thrilling moments in the words of the men who experienced it.
This is military history at its best: outlining the path from despair to victory, and allowing us to share in soldiers' hopes and fears; the deafening explosions of the shells, the scream of the diving Stukas and the wounded; the pleasures of good comrades and the devastating despair at lost friends.
For those interested I found this online review for the book; "The Crew: The Story of a Lancaster Bomber Crew" by David Price.https://nbmagazine.co.uk/the-crew-by-...
An October release:
by Prit ButtarDescription:
From critically acclaimed Eastern Front expert Prit Buttar, The Reckoning is the third and final part of an epic trilogy covering the bitter course of World War II in Ukraine. Following on from Retribution, in which, under constant pressure from the advancing Soviets, the German Army retreated beyond the Dnepr, The Reckoning sees the Germans pushed back further across the Bug and Dniester and onwards towards final defeat. Large numbers of German troops were encircled in the Cherkassy Pocket, and to a lesser extent in the Kamanets-Podolsk and Brody pockets, while German forces in the Crimea were isolated and ultimately destroyed. The casualties suffered by the German forces were immense, forcing the diversion of an increasing proportion of the diminishing strength of the Wehrmacht to the region; this in turn left almost no reserves elsewhere and thus greatly facilitated the devastating blow that fell upon the German Army Group Centre in the summer of 1944.
This book combines masterful narrative storytelling with expert analysis to reveal, in gripping detail, the full story of how the guns finally fell silent on the Eastern Front.
Jerome wrote: "An October release:
by Prit ButtarDescription:
From critically acclaimed Eastern Front expert Pr..."
Have a copy on pre-order already :)
This July (US) 2020 release may interest a few group members:
Tiger Battalion 507: Eyewitness Accounts from Hitler's Regiment by Helmut SchneiderDescription:
This is the little-known story of Heavy Panzer (Tiger) Battalion 507 told through the recollections of the men who fought with the unit.
The book was conceived during a reunion of the ‘507’ at Rohrdorf in 1982, where it was agreed to set up an editorial committee under Helmut Schneider, himself a veteran of the battalion, to search for as many survivors of the unit as possible and gather their reminiscences. The resulting account is a treasure trove of first-hand material, from personal memories, diary entries and letters to leave passes, wartime newspaper cuttings, Wehrmacht bulletins and more than 160 photographs.
The account follows the unit from its formation in 1943 and the catastrophic events on the Eastern Front, through battles on the Western Front and engagements against the American 3rd Armoured Division to the confusion of retreat, panic-stricken flight and Soviet captivity in the closing stages of the war. Honest and unflinching, this remarkable collection of autobiographies offers a glimpse into life in Hitler’s panzer division and is a stark testimony of a generation that sacrificed its best years to the war.
This is the first English-language translation of the work.
'Aussie Rick' wrote: "This July (US) 2020 release may interest a few group members:[book:Tiger Battalion 507: Eyewitness Accounts fro..."Pretty easy decision on this one...buy!
Its on my wish list Mike :)
A November release:
by Simon ReadDescription:
The sea had become a mass grave by 1941 as Hitler's four capital warships-Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, Tirpitz, and Bismarck, the largest warship on the ocean-roamed the wind-swept waves between Great Britain and the United States, threatening the Allied war effort and sending thousands of men to the icy depths of the North Atlantic. Bristling with guns and steeled in heavy armor, these reapers of the waves could outrun and outgun any battleship in the Allied arsenal. The deadly menace kept Winston Churchill awake at night; he deemed them "targets of supreme consequence."
The campaign against Hitler's warships would continue into the dying days of the World War II and involve everything from massive battleships engaged in bloody, fire-drenched battle to daring commando raids in German occupied harbors. This is the fast-paced story of the Allied bomber crews, brave sailors and bold commandoes who "sunk the Bismarck" and won a hard-fought victory over Hitler's iron sea.
Using official war diaries, combat reports, eyewitness accounts and personal letters, Simon Read brings the action and adventure to vivid life. The result is an enthralling and gripping story of the Allied heroes who fought on a watery battlefield.
Jerome wrote: "A November release: by Simon ReadDescription:
The sea had become a mass grave by 1941 as H..."
Sounds like an interesting book, thanks for posting the details Jerome.
Another November release:
by Alan AllportDescription:
Here is the many-faceted, world-historically signficant story of Britain at war. In looking closely at the military and political dimensions of the conflict, Alan Allport seeks to answer questions such as could the war have been avoided? Could it have been lost? Were the strategic decisions the right ones? How well did the British organize and fight? How well did the British live up to their own values? What difference did the war make in the end to the fate of the nation?
In answering these and other essential questions he focuses--unlike many historians--on the human contingencies of the war, looking directly at the roles of individuals and the outcomes determined by luck or chance. Moreover, he looks intimately at the changes in war-time and post-war British society and culture. Whether discussing the mixing of classes during the war or the labor party movement, he shows us in great detail the effects of the war, again not only on the institutional, but on an individual level as well. For better or worse, much of Britain today is ultimately the product of the experiences of 1939-1942.
by Rona SimmonsShouting from the rooftops and across the internet, my book, The Other Veterans of World War II: Stories from Behind the Front Lines, published by Kent State University is available (on order from your favorite bookstore or online).
The Other Veterans of World War II: Stories from Behind the Front Lines
I like to say, it's the WWII you don't know. Rather than tell another story of another hero, I interviewed 19 veterans, all of whom were noncombat veterans, all of whom refused to be called heroes, all of whom contributed mightily to the successful outcome.
Some early feedback from WWII authors of note:
“Over half the Americans who served in World War II served in noncombat roles, yet few among us know anything about these men and women . . . Painstakingly researched and compellingly told . . . a fine addition to the World War II bookshelf.”
—Winston Groom, author of 1942 and The Allies
“The Other Veterans of World War II is a historical tour de force, bringing to light the engine of the Greatest Generation—the women and men who made victory in Europe and the Pacific possible. A masterpiece of research and prose . . . ”
—Jonathan J. Jordan, author of Brothers, Rivals, Victors
https://ronasimmons.com/books/
Read their stories, tell me what you think
I don't remember seeing anyone post this one, so here's a new one coming out in June:
Fallschirmj�ger!: A Collection of Firsthand Accounts and Diaries by German Paratrooper Veterans from the Second World War
Looking forward to this book, as I have many interviews with German paratroopers myself.
A May 2021 release:
by Daniel P. BolgerDescription:
Two months after D-Day, the Allies found themselves in a stalemate in Normandy, having suffered enormous casualties attempting to push through hedgerow country. Troops were spent, and American tankers, lacking the tactics and leadership to deal with the terrain, were losing their spirit. General George Patton and the other top U.S. commanders needed an officer who knew how to break the impasse and roll over the Germans--they needed one man with the grit and the vision to take the war all the way to the Rhine. Patton and his peers selected Maurice Rose.
The son of a rabbi, Rose never discussed his Jewish heritage. But his ferocity on the battlefield reflected an inner flame. He led his 3rd Armored Division not from a command post but from the first vehicle in formation, charging headfirst into a fight. He devised innovative tactics, made the most of American weapons, and personally chose the cadre of young officers who drove his division forward. From Normandy to the West Wall, from the Battle of the Bulge to the final charge across Germany, Maurice Rose's deadly division of tanks blasted through enemy lines and pursued the enemy with a remarkable intensity.
In The Panzer Killers, Daniel P. Bolger, a retired lieutenant general and Iraq War veteran, offers up a lively, dramatic tale of Rose's heroism. Along the way, Bolger infuses the narrative with fascinating insights that could only come from an author who has commanded tank forces in combat. The result is a unique and masterful story of battlefield leadership, destined to become a classic.
A December release:
by Kevin MaurerDescription:
In late December 1941, General Douglas MacArthur, caught off guard by the Japanese invasion of the Philippines, is forced to retreat to Corregidor, a jagged, rocky island fortress at the mouth of Manila Bay. Months later, under orders from the president, the general is whisked away in the dark of night, leaving his troops to their fate. It is a bitter pill for a fiercely proud warrior who has always protected his men. He famously declares "I shall return," but the humiliation of Corregidor haunts him, even earning him the derisive nickname "Dugout Doug."
In early 1945, MacArthur returns to the Philippines, his eyes firmly fixed on Corregidor. To take back the island, he calls on the 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment, a highly trained veteran airborne unit. Their mission is to jump onto the island—hemmed in by sheer cliffs, pockmarked by bomb craters, bristling with deadly spiky broken tree trunks—and wrest it from some 6,700 Japanese defenders who await, fully armed and ready to fight to the death.
Drawn from firsthand accounts and personal interviews with the battle's surviving veterans, acclaimed war correspondent and bestselling author Kevin Maurer delves into this extraordinary tale, uncovering astonishing accounts of bravery and heroism during an epic, yet largely forgotten, clash of the Pacific War. Here is an intimate story of uncommon soldiers showing uncommon courage and winning, through blood and sacrifice, the redemption of General MacArthur
War SerenadeWAR SERENADE a novel by Jill Wallace
Imagine! Italian opera star-turned-Pilot shot down and shipped to a South African POW camp during WW2. Imagine his voice is lost through the horrors of war. Imagine he’s about to give up when through the razor wire, he sees his enemy who feels like she’s his soul mate. Imagine his determined struggle to find his voice - the only way to see her again. Imagine the dire consequences if he succeeds: death for him; a sentence of treason for her. Imagine “War Serenade” was inspired by a true story. It is.
I like the sounds of "The Panzer Killers", thanks for posting the details Jerome.
Jerome wrote: "Another November release: by [author:Daniel P. Bolger|..."I've been a fan of Bolger's writing for years, glad to hear about this one!
Just came across review, and contest for ARC, of Code Name Hélène by Ariel Lawhon, scheduled for release March 31st.https://readingthepast.blogspot.com/2...
A November release:
by Ralph A. RiccioDescription:
This book begins by examining a number of factors relating to the Italian army’s performance in the desert, including assessments of the Italian soldier, leadership, training, organization and structure, equipment, the supply situation in North Africa, the ability of the Italian air force to support ground operations, and an appreciation of Italo-German relations in North Africa.
The book then describes the combat operations of Italian forces in the desert beginning with the early Italian advance from Libya into Egypt in September 1940 and ending with the final Italian surrender to the Allies in Tunisia in May 1943.
The extensive appendices focus heavily on organization and equipment, with tables comparing Italian, British and German armor and artillery in the desert.
Taken as a whole, this book presents an account of Italian ground operations in North Africa, from the time of their initial trouncing at the hands of the British Western desert Force in early 1941, through the see-saw battles of 1941 and 1942 when the combined Italo-German forces battled with the British, through the decimation of the Italian forces during the El Alamein battles in late 1942, and finally with the retreat to Tunisia and surrender of all Axis forces there in May 1943.
This book is the first English-language work to address in a systematic way the contributions of the Italian army to the North African campaign, and challenges the conventional wisdom that the German Afrika Korps was the pre-eminent Axis force in the desert.
Jerome wrote: "A November release: by Ralph A. RiccioDescription:
This book begins by examin..."
Sounds interesting, maybe one to keep an eye out for.
"This book is the first English-language work to address in a systematic way the contributions of the Italian army to the North African campaign" .... TBRI see with pleasure that Helion still goes for a combo of a REALLY catchy title & businesslike subtitle , similar to "Allies are a tiresome lot: The British Army in Italy in the First World War"
An August release:
by Richard HammondDescription:
This is a major reassessment of the causes of Allied victory in the Second World War in the Mediterranean region. Drawing on a unique range of multinational source material, Richard Hammond demonstrates how the Allies' ability to gain control of the key routes across the sea and sink large quantities of enemy shipping denied the Axis forces in North Africa crucial supplies and proved vital to securing ultimate victory there. Furthermore, the sheer scale of attrition to Axis shipping outstripped their industrial capacity to compensate, leading to the collapse of the Axis position across key territories maintained by seaborne supply, such as Sardinia, Corsica and the Aegean islands. As such, Hammond demonstrates how the anti-shipping campaign in the Mediterranean was the fulcrum about which strategy in the theatre pivoted, and the vital enabling factor ultimately leading to Allied victory in the region.
THE WORLD WAR TWO GROUP
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Be interesting to see how this stacks up against Taylors very good book.
Dresden: Tuesday, 13 February, 1945