THE WORLD WAR TWO GROUP discussion
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New Release Books on WW2
I really enjoyed Forczyk's Case White and have Case Red on my TRL. Looks like I'll be adding this one as well.
I will most likely as well :)
A May 2023 release:
by Rory LavertyDescription:
After the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Asia became an important theater of World War II--and because the Japanese had boxed in China, a key U.S. ally, and blocked the Burma Road out of India, the United States began looking for other ways to supply the war effort in China. In April 1942, the first American flights out of India launched in order to supply gasoline and other materiel to Allied fighting forces over the Himalayas and into China. Mountains over ten thousand feet. Unpredictable weather. Devasting crashes. Long odds. Perhaps the worst assignment for American pilots during World War II.
For the next forty-two months, pilots--men including Gene Autry and Barry Goldwater--flew The Hump despite the difficulty of the terrain, the conditions, and the weather, throwing an important lifeline to the war in China, which helped bog down more than a million Japanese soldiers in China and kept them from the Pacific islands where the main American war effort was focused. By war's end, some 5,000 American airmen delivered more than 650,000 tons of materiel to Chiang Kai-Shek's Chinese forces and to the U.S. forces in China. This is the story of how a group of inexperienced pilots flew through some of the most challenging conditions in the world--and helped win World War II.
Aluminum Alley is based on interviews with the last survivors of The Hump, oral histories, photos, reports, and other firsthand resources. It is a narrative with the immediacy and intimacy of memoir but the big-picture analysis of the best military history.
Aussie Rick, thanks for the heads up about "Desert Armour" as North Africa always gets my attention. I imagine (or certainly hope so) that Forczyk will put out another volume covering the subject up to at least Alamein.Am about 3/4 through Holland's "Brothers In Arms" which is outstanding. Would love to see him do a "prequel" about the SRY's time in the Desert. We'll see.
I've read Forczyk books about the Eastern Front. They were excellent. Looking forward to his book about the African theater.
A new Australian release has just hit the bookshelves over here and which may interest a few group members; "The Cowra Breakout" by Mathew McLachlan.
The Cowra Breakout by Mathew McLachlanDescription:
The riveting story of the missing piece of Australia's World War II history, told by bestselling historian Mat McLachlan (Walking with the Anzacs, Gallipoli: The Battlefield Guide).
During World War II, in the town of Cowra in central New South Wales, Japanese prisoners of war were held in a POW camp. By August 1944, over a thousand were interned and on the icy night of August 5th they staged one of the largest prison breakouts in history, launching the only land battle of World War II to be fought on Australian soil. Five Australian soldiers and more than 230 Japanese POWs would die during what became known as The Cowra Breakout.
This compelling and fascinating book, written by one of Australia's leading battlefield historians, vividly traces the full story of the Breakout. It is a tale of proud warriors and misfit Australian soldiers. Of negligence and complacency, and of authorities too slow to recognise danger before it occurred - and too quick to cover it up when it was too late. But mostly it is a story about raw human emotions, and the extremes that people will go to when they feel all hope is lost.
A May 2023 release:
by John C. McManusDescription:
The dawn of 1945 finds a US Army at its peak in the Pacific. Allied victory over Japan is all but assured. The only question is how many more months—or years—of fight does the enemy have left. John C. McManus’s magisterial series, described by the Wall Street Journal as being “as vast and splendid as Rick Atkinson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Liberation Trilogy,” returns with this brilliant final volume. On the island of Luzon, a months-long stand-off between US and Japanese troops finally breaks open, as American soldiers push into Manila, while paratroopers capture nearby Corregidor. The Philippines are soon liberated, and Allied warlords turn their eyes to Iwo Jima, Okinawa, and the Japanese home islands themselves.
Readers will walk in the boots of American soldiers and officers, braving intense heat, rampant disease, and a by-now suicidal enemy, determined to kill as many opponents as possible before defeat. At the same time, this outstanding narrative lays bare the titanic ego and ambition of the Pacific War’s greatest general, Douglas MacArthur, and the complex challenges he faced in Japan’s unconditional surrender and America’s lengthy occupation.
Jerome wrote: "A May 2023 release: by John C. McManusDescription:
The dawn of 1945 finds a US Army at it..."
Well I have his other two volumes in the library waiting to be read so I best get a copy of the final book to finish off the trilogy!
'Aussie Rick' wrote: "Jerome wrote: "A May 2023 release: by John C. McManusDescription:
The dawn of 1945 finds ..."
Nice! The first two volumes were excellent so I'm glad I don't have to wait too long to finish off the trilogy!
Amazoon have me the unparalleled opportunity to spend money with them on the forthcoming release from Saul David. Thanks, but I'll hang on for the Daily Deal (there's just a wee smidge of Scots DNA still lurking). The writeups on the book page, so I won't waste space regurgitating it here;
Devil Dogs: King Company, Third Battalion, 5th Marines: From Guadalcanal to the Shores of JapanHis book on Okinawa was fantastic, so for my money (even not a lot of it) its looking good.
Jonny wrote: "Amazoon have me the unparalleled opportunity to spend money with them on the forthcoming release from Saul David. Thanks, but I'll hang on for the Daily Deal (there's just a wee smidge of Scots DNA..."A bit of Scottish DNA can be quite helpful when juggling a budget!
My copy is already on its way :)
Jonny wrote: "Amazoon have me the unparalleled opportunity to spend money with them on the forthcoming release from Saul David. Thanks, but I'll hang on for the Daily Deal (there's just a wee smidge of Scots DNA..."You make us Scots sound tight fisted.
by Stephen G. Rabe (release date: November 10, 2022)I'll read it at the beginning of October, then I'll be able to leave a review.
Synopsis:
The fateful days and weeks surrounding 6 June 1944 have been extensively documented in histories of the Second World War, but less attention has been paid to the tremendous impact of these events on the populations nearby. The Lost Paratroopers of Normandy tells the inspiring yet heartbreaking story of ordinary people who did extraordinary things in defense of liberty and freedom. On D-Day, when transport planes dropped paratroopers from the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions hopelessly off-target into marshy waters in northwestern France, the 900 villagers of Graignes welcomed them with open arms. These villagers – predominantly women – provided food, gathered intelligence, and navigated the floods to retrieve the paratroopers' equipment at great risk to themselves. When the attack by German forces on 11 June forced the overwhelmed paratroopers to withdraw, many made it to safety thanks to the help and resistance of the villagers. In this moving book, historian Stephen G. Rabe, son of one of the paratroopers, meticulously documents the forgotten lives of those who participated in this integral part of D-Day history.
Meat Grinder: The Battles for the Rzhev Salient, 1942–43 by Prit Buttar (release date: October 25, 2022)
Synopsis:
An engrossing history of the desperate battles for the Rzhev Salient, a forgotten story brought to life by the harrowing memoirs of German and Russian soldiers.
The fighting between the German and Russian armies in the Rzhev Salient during World War II was so grisly, so murderous, and saw such vast losses that the troops called the campaign 'The Meat Grinder'. Though millions of men would fight and die there, the Rzhev Salient does not have the name recognition of Leningrad or Moscow. It was simply a vast tract of forests and swamps in the heart of Mother Russia that has been largely ignored by Western historians…until now.
Prit Buttar, a world expert on the Eastern Front during World War II, reveals the depth and depravity of the bitter fighting for the Rzhev Salient in this astonishing new history. He details how the long-ignored region held the promise of a renewed drive on the Soviet capital for the German Army – a chance to turn the tide of war. Using both German and Russian first-hand accounts, Buttar examines the four major offensives launched by the Red Army against the salient, all of which were defeated with heavy losses, exceeding two million killed, wounded or missing, until eventually, the Germans were forced to evacuate the salient in March 1943.
Drawing on the latest research, Meat Grinder provides a new study of these horrific battles but also examines how the Red Army did ultimately learn from its colossal failures and how its analysis of these failures at the time helped pave the way for the eventual Soviet victory against Army Group Centre in the summer of 1944, leaving the road to Berlin clear.
Darya Silman wrote: "Meat Grinder: The Battles for the Rzhev Salient, 1942–43 by Prit Buttar (release date:..."
I have a copy on order already :)
Aussie, I saw you read ARCs from Netgalley. I already received an ARC of Meat Grinder from them (otherwise, I'll go bankrupt :)
Hi Darya, I don't read any ARCs from Netgalley, I usually have to buy a copy once it published :(
Aussie, it's very easy to register on NetGalley. You just have to leave reviews on Goodreads, Amazon, and your site/blog (if you have them). Check it, it's worth time and effort, saves a lot of money on new releases
To Save An Army: The Stalingrad Airlift - Robert Forsyth
Using the diaries of Luftwaffe commanders, rare contemporary photographs and other previously unpublished sources, Robert Forsyth analyses the human, strategic, tactical and technical elements of one of the most dramatic operations arranged by the Luftwaffe.
Stalingrad ranks as one of the most infamous, savage and emotive battles of the 20th century. It has consumed military historians since the 1950s and has inspired many books and much debate.
This book tells the story of the operation mounted by the Luftwaffe to supply, by airlift, the trapped and exhausted German Sixth Army at Stalingrad in the winter of 1942/43. The weather conditions faced by the flying crews, mechanics, and soldiers on the ground were appalling, but against all odds, and a resurgent and active Soviet air force, the transports maintained a determined presence over the ravaged city on the Volga, even when the last airfields in the Stalingrad pocket had been lost.
Yet, even the daily figure of 300 tons of supplies, needed by Sixth Army just to subsist, proved over-ambitious for the Luftwaffe which battled against a lack of transport capacity, worsening serviceability, and increasing losses in badly needed aircraft.
Using previously unpublished diaries, original Luftwaffe reports and specially commissioned artwork, this gripping battle is told in detail through the eyes of the Luftwaffe commanders and pilots who fought to keep the Sixth Army alive and supplied.
RELEASE DATE: November 8, 2022
Graeme wrote: "Jonny wrote: "Amazoon have me the unparalleled opportunity to spend money with them on the forthcoming release from Saul David. Thanks, but I'll hang on for the Daily Deal (there's just a wee smidg..."Frugal, I believe the word is frugal. Comes from so much English rule I have heard.
This new release may interest a few group members; "Mosquito Men: The Elite Pathfinders of 627 Squadron" by David Price.
Mosquito Men: The Elite Pathfinders of 627 Squadron by David PriceDescription:
In November 1940, a remarkable prototype aircraft made its maiden flight from an airstrip north of London. Novel in construction and exceptionally fast, the new plane was soon outpacing the Spitfire, and went on to contribute to the RAF's offensive against Nazi Germany as bomber, pathfinder and night fighter. The men who flew it nicknamed this most flexible of aircraft 'the wooden wonder' for its composite wooden frame and superb performance. Its more familiar name was the de Havilland Mosquito, and it used lightning speed and agility to inflict mayhem on the German war machine.
From the summer of 1943, as Bomber Command intensified its saturation bombing of German cities, Mosquitos were used by the Pathfinder Force, which marked targets for night-time bombing, to devastating effect. Mosquito Men traces the contrasting careers of the young men of 627 Squadron, including that of Ken Oatley – last living member of an illustrious group – who flew twenty-two operations in Mosquitos as a navigator. David Price's atmospheric narrative interweaves the human stories of the crews of 627 Squadron with events in the wider war as the Allies closed in on Germany from the summer of 1944.
Mosquito Men is rich in evocative and technically authoritative accounts of individual missions flown by an aircraft that ranks alongside the Spitfire, the Hurricane and the Lancaster as one of the RAF's greatest ever flying machines – and perhaps the most versatile warplane ever built.
A March 2023 release:
by Rex BashfordDescription:
There have been many books on Adolf Hitler and specific military campaigns and battles during the time of the Third Reich. However, there has never been a comprehensive analysis of Hitler’s role as the supreme military leader of the Third Reich across all the major campaigns. He combined every senior position in government and the armed forces until he was at the same time Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, Chancellor, Minister of War and Commander-in-Chief of the Army. He was involved in every aspect of the German war effort including new weapons development. How well did he perform these roles? He called himself a genius and was described as ”the greatest German military leader of all time” by one of his most senior military leaders – was he? What does the evidence show?
This book analyses each of the Third Reich’s military campaigns paying special attention to Hitler’s role in them. The book is based entirely on the evidence of the most senior military personnel who were there at the time, from their contemporaneous diaries and subsequent writings. The sources used include the diaries and recollections of three Chiefs of the Army General Staff, Field-Marshals Rommel, von Rundstedt, von Bock, von Kliest, von Manstein, numerous other senior generals, Hitler’s military adjutants, ministers of his government and evidence from the Trial of the Major War Criminals at Nuremberg. Is there a consistent thread in this evidence?
The first Volume is called Imperfect Victories and deals with the Polish, Scandinavian and French campaigns.
'Aussie Rick' wrote: "This new release may interest a few group members; "Mosquito Men: The Elite Pathfinders of 627 Squadron" by David Price.[bo..."Straight to the top of the buy pile there Rick, thanks
(The book is not on GR)Operation Höss: The Deportation of Hungarian Jews to Auschwitz, May–July 1944 (Images of War) by Ian Baxter
Publication date: January 30, 2023 (as per Amazon; on another site, I saw November 30, 2022)
Synopsis:
Operation Höss or Aktion Höss was the codename for the mass deportation of Hungarian Jews and their murder in the gas chambers of Birkenau extermination camp. Between 14 May and 9 July 1944, 420,000 Jews were sent to Auschwitz from Hungary, or about 12,000 per day. On arrival some twenty-five percent were selected for forced labor while the remainder were immediately gassed. The name of this atrocity came from Rudolf Höss, who returned as the commandant of Auschwitz to increase the killing capacity and ensure the smooth running of the operation. The specially built railway line into Birkenau from Auschwitz made transports to the camp more efficient enabling the SS to increase the daily killing capacity. After the war, SS Adolf Eichmann, who had organized the deportations from Hungary, boasted that Operation Höss was `an achievement never matched before or since`.
This shocking book tells the story of this inhuman venture from its conception and planning, and though to the bitter, tragic end.
Coming April 30th, 2023 ---DERRICKS' BRIDGEHEAD: The History of the 92nd Division, 597th Field Artillery Battalion, and the Leadership Legacy of Col. Wendell T. Derricks - - Lt. Col. Major Clark
The 597th Field Artillery Battalion, 92nd Division, was the first, last, and only all-black officered direct support field artillery battalion committed to combat in the history of the U.S. Army. It was the first all-black unit in a combat division and, together with the 600th Field Artillery Battalion, constituted the only all-black units in any combat division. Alongside impressive achievements on the battlefield in Italy in 1944–45, the unit provided more key command and staff positions exclusively for black field artillery officers than any other U.S. Army unit in combat, giving combat training and experience to more senior black field artillery officers than any of the other 16 black field artillery battalions during World War II.
Colonel Wendell Derricks worked to shelter his troops from the worst of the racism exhibited during the war and, due to his ability to envision an integrated postwar army, he provided unique leadership opportunities for his senior officers. The alumni of the 597th Field Artillery Battalion have an impressive record of success, many of them were inducted into the Field Artillery Hall of Fame; some served at the Pentagon, including Lieutenant Colonel Clark; and others forged successful careers in the civilian world.
Table of Contents
THE END OF EXCLUSION
1 A Limited Opportunity
2 The Opportunity Expands
3 A Northern Winter in Indiana
4 Camp Robinson, Arkansas
5 Fort Huachuca
6 Louisiana Maneuvers
7 Programmed for Failure
BRIDGING THE OBSTACLE
8 The Tide Turns
9 Over There
GAINING A FOOTHOLD
10 By the Sea
11 In the Mountains
12 Changes at the Top
13 A New Year and a New Assignment
14 In the Valley
15 Operation Fourth Term
16 The Aftermath
17 On the Move
18 The Enemy Withdrawal Becomes a Rout
THE LONG WAY HOME
19 Two Down and One to Go
20 A Special Mission Carried Out from Varazze
21 Preparing for Redeployment
22 Three Down and We had Earned a Trip Home
BEYOND DERRICKS’ DIARY
23 Colonel Wendell Derricks
24 Derricks’ Legacy
25 The Race Continues
26 Success
304 pp. (HC)
ISBN-10 : 1636242715
ISBN-13 : 978-1636242712
Some good books being highlighted here, thanks Jerome, Darya and Komet!
Coming May 25th, 2023 ---Bf 109 Jabo Units in the West - Malcolm V. Lowe
Using specially commissioned artwork and detailing technical specifications, this book explores the Bf 109's different roles occasioned by wartime necessity, from its employment as a fighter to its evolution as a fighter-bomber.
One of the principal types in the Luftwaffe's inventory at the beginning of World War II, the piston-engined Bf 109 was central to the many initial victories that the Germans achieved before coming up against the unbeatable RAF during the Battle of Britain. Nevertheless, by the second half of 1940 the Bf 109's operability was widened due to operational needs and it was flown as a fighter-bomber for precision attacks in Southern England. At first ad hoc conversions were made 'in the field' to allow the aircraft to carry a bomb or extra fuel tank. Such modifications were soon formalised by Messerschmitt, which created the Jabo Bf 109s.
Drawing from pilots' first-hand accounts, author Malcolm V. Lowe explores the number of specialised units, including Lehrgeschwader 2 and dedicated fighter-bomber sections of standard fighter units such as 10. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 26, which flew this highly specialised fighter-bomber. Including technical specifications, rare photographs and outstanding artwork, this book explores the Jabo versions of the Bf 109E, F and G both on the production line and with the addition of Rüstsätze field conversion kits.
A March 2024 release:
by Oleg BeydaDescription:
In April 1945, in one of the final battles of the Second World War, on the Oder river east of Berlin, Russian troops, clad in German uniforms, fought against the advancing Red Army. Why would Russians fight against their compatriots, and how did the Soviet collaboration come about?
In this insightful and meticulously researched study Oleg Beyda and Igor Petrov answer these questions and explore, in vivid detail, the wider issue of the collaboration of Soviet citizens with the Axis powers. Their work throws a fascinating new light onto this long-suppressed aspect of the Great Patriotic War, a crucial topic that remains deeply controversial in contemporary Russia.
The most famous figure in this complicated history is Andrei Vlasov, the captured Red Army general who defected to the Germans and became the commander of the Russian Liberation Army. His wartime career, and the careers of the other Soviet prisoners of war and Russian émigrés who joined him, are the central characters in the story. The motivations of these men varied: while some had switched loyalties out of conviction, for many POWs the choice was between collaboration or slow death in a German prison camp.
As the book reveals, for the most of its history, the Russian Liberation Army remained a German propaganda project, a hodgepodge of scattered yet effective military units from former POWs under strict German command. Nevertheless, Vlasov and his officers sometimes sought to conduct their own policy independent of their German masters. Right at the end of the war, in Prague, in a desperate attempt to ‘do right’ by the Allies, Vlasov’s units fought against German troops, yet again changing sides.
The challenges these men faced, and the choices they had to make between loyalty, anti-Bolshevism and survival, make this book a fascinating reading.
Coming May 9th, 2023 ---Clean Sweep: VIII Fighter Command against the Luftwaffe, 1942–45 by Thomas McKelvey Cleaver
Clean Sweep is a vivid narrative history, packed with first-hand accounts, of the U.S. Eighth Air Force's VIII Fighter Command from its foundation in 1942 through to its victory in the skies over Nazi Germany.
On August 7, 1942, two events of major military importance occurred on separate sides of the planet. In the South Pacific, the United States went on the offensive, landing the First Marine Division at Guadalcanal. In England, 12 B-17 bombers of the new Eighth Air Force's 97th Bombardment Group bombed the Rouen–Sotteville railroad marshalling yards in France. While the mission was small, the aerial struggle that began that day would ultimately cost the United States more men killed and wounded by the end of the war in Europe than the Marines would lose in the Pacific War.
Clean Sweep is the story of the creation, development and operation of the Eighth Air Force Fighter Command and the battle to establish daylight air superiority over the Luftwaffe so that the invasion of Europe could be successful.
Thomas McKelvey Cleaver has had a lifelong interest in the history of the fighter force that defeated the Luftwaffe over Germany. He has collected many first-hand accounts from participants over the past 50 years, getting to know pilots such as the legendary “Hub” Zemke, Don Blakeslee, and Chuck Yeager, as well as meeting and interviewing leading Luftwaffe pilots Adolf Galland, Gunther Rall, and Walter “Count Punski” Krupinski. This story is told through accounts gathered from both sides.
More new and interesting books being mentioned, thanks :)
Jerome Otte, can you tell me how did you find the book? It seems like a translation from Russian, but I can't find the Russian edition
Darya Silman wrote: "Jerome Otte, can you tell me how did you find the book? It seems like a translation from Russian, but I can't find the Russian edition"Hey, Darya, I found it on Amazon search. It was either the US or UK site, so there might just be an English-language version.
Coming January 17th, 2023 ---Stalingrad Airlift 1942–43: The Luftwaffe's broken promise to Sixth Army - William E. Hiestand
The story of what really led to Germany losing the Battle of Stalingrad - the inability of the Luftwaffe to keep Sixth Army supplied throughout the winter of 1942–43 - and why this crucial airlift failed.
Luftwaffe chief Hermann Göring's failure to deliver his promise to keep Sixth Army supplied at Stalingrad was one of the most hard-hitting strategic air failures of World War II. 300 tons a day of supplies were required to sustain the Sixth Army, flown in against a Soviet fighter force whose capabilities were rapidly being transformed. The Luftwaffe's failure left Sixth Army trapped, vulnerable and too weak to attempt a breakout.
The destruction of Sixth Army was one of the major turning points in World War II but the Luftwaffe's crucial role in this disaster has often been overlooked. Some claim the attempt was doomed from the beginning but, in this intriguing book, author William E. Hiestand explains how the Germans had amassed sufficient aircraft to, at least theoretically, provide the supplies needed. Demands of aircraft maintenance, awful weather and, in particular, the Soviet air blockade crippled the airlift operation.
In addition, the employment of increasing numbers of modern aircraft by the Soviet Air Force using more flexible tactics, coupled with Chief Marshal Novikov's superior Air Army organisation proved decisive.
The Luftwaffe did eventually recover and mounted focused operations for control of limited areas of the Eastern Front, but overall it had lost its dominance. Packed with strategic diagrams and maps, archive photos and artwork of aerial battles over Stalingrad, and including bird's eye views of Operation Winter Storm and airlift operations and tactics, this title clearly demonstrates how the Luftwaffe lost its strategic initiative in the air.
My interview with Adolf Galland (see The German Aces Speak vol 1) has Galland remembering the meeting he had with Goering and Wolfram von Richthofen, commanding the VIII Luftflotte, or the transport arm supplying Stalingrad. He mentions how Richthofen explained to Goering how it would not be possible to continue to resupply, and that the Germans must be allowed to break out and hook up with Manstein's relief column. Hitler would have none of it, and Goering seemed clueless.
Coming January 31st, 2023 ---THE RAF's CROSS-CHANNEL OFFENSIVE: Circuses, Ramrods, Rhubarbs and Rodeos 1940-1941 by John Starkey
ISBN-10 : 1399088920
ISBN-13 : 978-1399088923
256 pp.
The story of the RAF, and in particular Fighter Command, during the Battle of Britain has been told many times. It is a tale of the gallant pilots of ‘The Few’, in their Hurricanes and Spitfires, with the nation’s back to the wall, fighting off the Luftwaffe’s airborne assault against enormous odds. But the story of Fighter Command’s operations immediately after the Battle of Britain is less well known.
Marshal of the Royal Air Force Hugh Montague Trenchard commanded the Royal Flying Corps in the First World War. His policy then had been for his aircraft and men to be continually on the offensive, always over the German lines taking the fight to the enemy. After being promoted to command the RAF, Trenchard retired in 1930.
In November 1940, Trenchard showed up again at the Air Ministry and proposed that the RAF should ‘Lean Towards France’ – that it should go on the offensive. The RAF would, claimed Trenchard, win the resulting battle of attrition.
One of the main outcomes of the RAF’s new offensive stance was the introduction of the Circus sorties. These were attacks undertaken by a small force of bombers with a powerful fighter escort. They were intended to lure enemy fighters into the air so that they could be engaged by RAF fighters, the primary objective being the destruction of Luftwaffe fighters, followed by the protection of the bombers from attack.
A further development of the Circus missions were Ramrods, Rhubarbs and Rodeos, all of which were variations on the same theme. A Ramrod was similar to a Circus, though in this instance the primary objective was the destruction of the target, the main role of the accompanying fighters being to protect the bombers from attack. A Rhubarb was a small-scale attack by fighters using cloud cover and/or surprise, the object of which was to destroy German aircraft in the air and/or striking at ground targets, while a Rodeo consisted of a fighter sweep over enemy territory with no bombers.
Drawing on official documents and archive material, as well as accounts by many of those involved, James Starkey reveals just how Trenchard’s views won through and the RAF went on the offensive from late 1940 into 1941. Was it a failed strategy? If so, why was it not halted once the results began to be seen?
A May 2023 release:
by Graham A. ThomasDescription:
The Allied landings at Dieppe in German-occupied France in August 1942 are one the most famous amphibious operations of the Second World War and many books have been written about them, mostly from the Allied point of view. The German side of the story has been neglected, and that is why Graham Thomas’s fresh account is so valuable. He reconstructs the immediate response of the Germans to the landings, gives a graphic detailed description of their actions throughout, and looks at the tactical and strategic lessons they drew from them.
Each phase and aspect of the action is depicted using a broad range of sources including official reports, correspondence and recollections – the preliminary British commando attacks on the gun batteries, the landings themselves, the German defenses and preparations, and their counter-attacks, and the associated naval and air campaigns.
The result is a finely balanced and incisive reassessment of this remarkable operation. It also offers the reader an engrossing account of one of the most dramatic episodes in the war in Western Europe.
https://www.amazon.in/War-Diary-Asha-...Here is the link of a newly released WW2 book ' War diary of Asha San' This is a memoir of a female cadet of Queen Jhansi regiment of Bose's Indian National Army.
A June 2023 release:
by Mark StilleDescription:
A fascinating re-examination of the battle of Leyte Gulf, the largest naval encounter in history and probably the most decisive naval battle of the entire Pacific War, and one that saw the Imperial Japanese Navy eliminated as an effective fighting force and forced to resort to suicide tactics.
Leyte was a huge and complex action, actually consisting of four major battles each of which are broken down in detail in this book, using original sources. The plans of both sides, and how they dictated the events that followed, are also examined critically.
So much of the accepted wisdom of the battle has developed from the many myths that surround it, myths that have become more firmly established over time. In this new study, Pacific War expert Mark Stille examines the key aspects of this complex battle with new and insightful analysis and dismantles the myths surrounding the respective actions and overall performances of the two most important commanders in the battle, and the “lost victory” of the Japanese advance into Leyte Gulf that never happened.
More interesting books being mentioned here, thanks folks :)
Another:
by Leo McKinstryDescription:
In early 1943 Britain was engaged in an epic struggle for survival. As the deadly wolf packs of German U-boats roamed the Atlantic, supply lines and shipping losses fell victim to the carnage.
In desperation, Churchill turned to the RAF's maritime wing - an overlooked, underfunded force known as "The Cinderella Service". But the ascendancy of the U-boat forced a change in attitude. Provided with the long-range planes, depth charges, rocket projectiles and radar equipment with which to challenge the enemy. The Cinderella boys provided vital air defence the whole way across the Atlantic. The German hunters were now the hunted, and - in a stunning defeat - had fully retreated by the summer of 1943.
The transformation of Coastal Command from a ramshackle outfit into a vast, formidable organisation provided one of the turning points of the war, keeping Britain in the war and opening the way to D-Day in 1944. But they never received the credit they deserved.
Based on a wealth of new sources, including from diaries, log books, official records, archives and interviews, Leo McKinstry shines a new light the courageous pilots, ingenious scientists and political risktakers - many of them outsiders - who defended the freezing Atlantic from Nazi rule.
Jerome wrote: "Another: by Leo McKinstryDescription:
In early 1943 Britain was engaged in an epi..."
This sounds like a pretty interesting book!
Blood, Dust & Snow: Diaries of a Panzer Commander in Germany and on the Eastern Front by Robin Schäfer
Publication date: January 7, 2023
(I'll read and review it sometime in November 2022)
Synopsis:
The infantry is only a few metres ahead of us when suddenly, on the left of our tank, a Russian stands up. The swine had pretended to be dead when our infantry came past him! That’s an old classic, pretending to be dead and then firing from the rear. But that isn’t a good idea when facing tank-men like us… floor the accelerator! Turn left and run over him!'
The war on the Eastern Front from 1941 to 1945 was the bloodiest combat theater in the bloodiest war in history. Oberleutnant Friedrich Wilhelm Sander experienced this bloodshed first-hand when serving with the 11th Panzer-Regiment. This regiment made up the core of the 6th Panzer-Division, one of Hitler’s top armored formations, which was involved in most of the major campaigns on the Eastern Front; campaigns such as Operation Barbarossa and Operation Winter Storm.
Sander recorded his experience of these campaigns in astounding detail in some recently-discovered diaries covering the period from April 1938 to December 1943, translated here for the first time by historian Robin Schäfer. Written during the fighting, these diaries not only offer an honest assessment of the war on the Eastern Front, but also provide an insight into the mind of a young and highly politicized officer, and offer an intimate glimpse into the close-knit community of a German Panzer crew.
A brutally honest, immediate and unfiltered personal account, Sander’s translated diaries make for some uniquely fascinating reading about some of the most important campaigns of the Second World War. Supported by more than 100 photographs and maps from the period, Blood, Dust & Snow will be of great interest not only to readers studying the war on the Eastern Front, but also to any historian researching the Second World War.
I have my eye on that book Darya, thanks for posting the details.
Jerome wrote: "A May 2023 release: by Graham A. ThomasDescription:
The Allied landings at Dieppe in German-occupied France in August ..."
It Never Snows in September & Dünkirchen are getting a third musketeer :-)
I received James Holland's e-mail detailing his new book; "Cassino 44". Here is what he has to say on his forthcoming new release (Sept. 2023):"It's been a while since I sent a newsletter. I have been working on some exciting things that I can now share with you all.
I’ve been gadding about these past couple of months and it’s odd to have begun my travels while it was still summer and to have now returned to find the days noticeably drawing in and the leaves turning dramatically. It’s a reminder - not that it’s much needed - that I’ve got the winter ahead getting my head down and writing the new book, Cassino 44.
Everyone has different approaches to putting a book together, but I have three pretty distinct phases. The first is ‘Hunter Gatherer’ in which I go out and research and hoover up all the info I need. Then comes the ‘Ducks in a Row’ stage, in which I go through all I’ve got and work out how I’m going to write the thing. Finally, and perhaps most obviously, comes ‘Writing.’ Once I start that I’m usually going hell for leather: at my desk by 6.30am and often not finishing until late in the evening. In between, there is time to record podcasts with Al, answer emails and take the dog for a walk, but most of the day is spent writing.
So, I’m now transitioning from Hunter Gatherer to Ducks in a Row. The research has been brilliant – in recent weeks I’ve been knee-deep in archives in the USA and Germany and have been travelling all around southern Italy looking at the terrain, pouring over the battlefields and furiously making notes and taking reminder videos. I also finally got to pay my respects at Hedley Verity’s grave, which was a very moving experience. No-one else was there so I had the place to myself. It felt like it was a long way from Yorkshire, that’s for sure.
Writing Brothers in Arms persuaded me of the value of looking primarily at contemporary sources – especially when it comes to the cast list of people I follow in a book. It’s really interesting to think that when a diary entry or letter home was written that the writer had no idea what is going to happen the next week let alone how the war would end. I was looking at one diary the other day and the young writer’s character poured off every page – and a very likeable fellow he was too. Then suddenly the diary ended, and beneath the folder was the telegram to his parents telling them he’d been killed. No trace was ever found – he’d been obliterated by a shell. It was quite an upsetting moment especially as right at the bottom was a studio portrait of him looking young, fresh and very much alive.
I’m planning to really get to grips with the extraordinary landscape of Italy. My big take away from my recent visit there was twofold. First, that writers tend to focus solely on the Cassino battles themselves when, actually, there was a ton of other fighting going both before and further along the front. I want to make sure that wider story is told. Second, that it was a bloody terrible place to fight. One day, I found myself in a tiny village in Molise, in the central southern part of Italy, 700 metres above sea level. The views were incredible, but this was a place and a fight that never features in any books. You have to wonder what the heck was going on. Why were some Canadians fighting some Germans in this tiny and remote corner of Italy? It was fascinating, though.
I’m also really keen to tell the civilian story too. Unlike the Western Desert in North Africa, Italy was pretty densely populated – there was some 44 million in the country at the time and I want to share the experience of just some of these people and the communities in which they lived. All too many suffered horrendously. Many villages and even towns were wiped from the face of the earth during that brutal period between the Allied invasion of September 1943 and the fall of Rome in June 1944."
'Aussie Rick' wrote: "I received James Holland's e-mail detailing his new book; "Cassino 44". Here is what he has to say on his forthcoming new release (Sept. 2023):"It's been a while since I sent a newsletter. I have..."
I'll be putting that one on the shelf, for sure!
'Aussie Rick' wrote: "This new release may interest a few group members; "Mosquito Men: The Elite Pathfinders of 627 Squadron" by David Price.[bo..."This will be a "must read." Thank you!
THE WORLD WAR TWO GROUP
Books mentioned in this topic
Empire of Ashes: Truman, Hirohito, and the Descent into Total War (other topics)Empire of Ashes: Truman, Hirohito, and the Descent into Total War (other topics)
1942: Hitler's Gamble for Victory (other topics)
1942: Hitler's Gamble for Victory (other topics)
Greyhounds of the Pacific: U.S. Destroyers in the War Against Japan (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
James M. Scott (other topics)James M. Scott (other topics)
Richard Hargreaves (other topics)
Richard Hargreaves (other topics)
Andrew Faltum (other topics)
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Description:
Robert Forczyk covers the development of armoured warfare in North Africa from the earliest Anglo-Italian engagements in 1940 to the British victory over the German Afrikakorps in Operation Crusader in 1941.
The war in the North African desert was pure mechanized warfare, and in many respects the most technologically advanced theatre of World War II. It was also the only theatre where for three years British and Commonwealth, and later US, troops were in constant contact with Axis forces.
World War II best-selling author Robert Forczyk explores the first half of the history of the campaign, from the initial Italian offensive and the arrival of Rommel's Panzergruppe Afrika to the British Operation Crusader offensive that led to the relief of Tobruk. He examines the armoured forces, equipment, doctrine, training, logistics and operations employed by both Allied and Axis forces throughout the period, focusing especially on the brigade and regimental level of operations.
Fully illustrated throughout with photographs, profile artwork and maps, and featuring tactical-level vignettes and appendices analysing tank data, tank deliveries in-theatre and orders of battle, this book goes back to the sources to provide a new study of armoured warfare in the desert.