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New Release Books on WW2
Lady of the Army: The Life of Mrs. George S. Pattonby Stefanie Van Steelandt
Publication date: November 11, 2022.
(my review will follow sometime in November)
Synopsis
If anyone considered an army wife to be merely the kite’s tail, Beatrice Ayer Patton had the perfect retort, “How high can a kite soar without its tail?”
General George Patton once remarked that World War II undoubtedly would have lasted a lot longer were it not for his soldiers and his wife. Those who knew the Pattons were aware of the vital role Beatrice played in his reaching his destiny, but few others understood the singular impact of this remarkable woman whom people described as having “a personality which radiates like a brilliant gem.”
Raised in a forward-looking family on Boston’s Commonwealth Avenue, Beatrice possessed an iron will and maturity beyond her years by the time she was sixteen. When she first laid eyes on George S. Patton Jr. in the summer of 1902, she followed him relentlessly across Catalina Island, setting a pattern for the next forty-three years. Endowed with an adventurous spirit and insatiable curiosity, Beatrice had a zest for life that equaled her husband’s.
Lady of the Army tells the story of the General’s greatest champion in life and fiercest defender in death while shedding new light on a complex man who wanted nothing more than to die a glorious death on the battlefield. Beatrice Ayer Patton is the forgotten impetus behind the General and a remarkable woman in her own right. She was a good soldier who fought the war on the home front three times and an inspiration for army wives across the globe.
Includes over 100 pictures, many never seen before.
Darya Silman wrote: "Lady of the Army: The Life of Mrs. George S. Pattonby Stefanie Van Steelandt
Publication date: November 11, 2022.
(my review will follow sometime in November)
Synopsis
If anyone considered a..."
To be ordered swiftly and with style
A July 2023 release:
by James EllmanDescription:
Douglas MacArthur is one of the most controversial generals in American military history. During World War II, some adored him while others mocked him as “Dugout Doug.” His superiors, like President Franklin Roosevelt and General George Marshall, considered him indispensable as well as intolerable. Dwight Eisenhower, who once served under MacArthur, was not alone in thinking, “My God, but he was smart” and also “I just can’t understand how such a damn fool could have gotten to be a general.” Historians have been similarly conflicted, but while acknowledging that MacArthur was imperious, egotistical, insubordinate, paranoid, unfair to subordinates, and more, many have concluded that he was still a military genius. In this carefully researched and argued book that’s sure to be as controversial as the general himself, James Ellman digs deep, connects the dots, and concludes that General MacArthur was decidedly not a military genius.
Highly intelligent, outspoken, old-fashioned as well as surprisingly modern, a self-promoter extraordinaire, a bonafide World War I hero who lived in the shadow of his Civil War hero father and under the thumb of his doting mother, Douglas MacArthur’s rise through the U.S. Army’s ranks was meteoric during an era when promotions came slowly. In 1930, he became Chief of Staff.
As Chief of Staff, MacArthur disobeyed President Hoover’s orders during the Bonus Army March. A scandal surrounding his Filipino mistress saw him sue journalists, only to end up paying them a settlement. Even as he privately excoriated Roosevelt, he worked well with FDR, who found the general politically useful even while considering him and Huey Long “the two most dangerous men in America.” MacArthur then became field marshal of the Philippine Army, but when war came in December 1941, the Philippines were caught ill-prepared. Recalled to United States service, MacArthur’s vacillation led to the virtual destruction of the American bomber force in the Philippines, and during the fall of Bataan and Corregidor, he pursued unsound tactics and did not venture to the front lines. Awarded a politically motivated Medal of Honor by Roosevelt and paid a vast sum by the Filipino president, MacArthur escaped to Australia. For the next four years, as Supreme Commander of the Southwest Pacific theater, MacArthur was obsessed with retaking the Philippines – and in pursuing that self-centered goal, he ignored U.S. global strategy, insulted Allied partners like Australia, tried to one-up the U.S. Navy, and gave at least tacit approval to a presidential campaign to nominate him to run against Roosevelt in 1944.
Today MacArthur still polarizes. Many biographies agree he was a great commander marred by a few failures. Ellman argues the opposite: MacArthur was a lackluster commander whose reputation has been elevated by a few successes.
I couldn't help myself and already placed an order for this January 2023 release; "Alanbrooke the Reluctant Warrior" by Julian Horrocks.
Alanbrooke the Reluctant Warrior by Julian HorrocksDescription:
As Chief of the Imperial General Staff and chairman of the British Chiefs of Staff Committee, Alanbrooke was principal military advisor to Churchill for most of the Second World War and one of the chief architects of Anglo-American strategy. He also played a crucial role in saving the British Expeditionary Force in France in May 1940 and was Montgomery’s immediate superior throughout WW2.
Whilst Alanbrooke the soldier and strategist has been covered by historians, Alanbrooke the man is unexplored territory. This book reveals – for the very first time – his complex and contradictory character and presents him in a markedly different, and more sympathetic, light to the way he has been portrayed since 1945.
Based on a detailed analysis of Alanbrooke’s war diary, it also identifies the lessons which could have been learnt from his experiences in World War Two: these include the difficult relationship that exists between political and military leaders, the weaknesses of politicians (notably Churchill) and the invaluable template created by Alanbrooke as to how military leaders should handle their political masters. The importance of these lessons is illustrated by showing how some of the mistakes made in WW2 were repeated in the recent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Interesting AR, I have Alan Brooke: Churchill's Right-Hand Critic: A Reappraisal of Lord Alanbrooke Hardcover – 31 Mar. 2021by Andrew Sangster on the TBR pile. Enjoyed the War Diaries. Also on TBR Portal and Fraser on Brookie.
Simon wrote: "Interesting AR, I have Alan Brooke: Churchill's Right-Hand Critic: A Reappraisal of Lord Alanbrooke Hardcover – 31 Mar. 2021by Andrew Sangster on the TBR pile. Enjoyed the War Diaries. Also on TBR..."
I am yet to read a full biography on Alanbrooke so I am hoping it will be an interesting account.
The story I like is Churchill and Brook glaring at each other and pounding the table with their fists. WSC says to Ismay, Brookie hates me I can see it in his eyes. Ismay repeats this to Brook, who says, I don't hate him I love him, but the moment I can no longer say no to him is the end of my usefulness.
Simon wrote: "The story I like is Churchill and Brook glaring at each other and pounding the table with their fists. WSC says to Ismay, Brookie hates me I can see it in his eyes. Ismay repeats this to Brook, who..."Great story Simon!
A June 2023 release:
by Evan ThomasDescription:
At 9:20 a.m. on the morning of May 30, General Groves receives a message to report to the office of the secretary of war "at once." Stimson is waiting for him. He wants to know: has Groves selected the targets yet?
So begins this suspenseful, impeccably researched history that draws on new access to diaries to tell the story of three men who were intimately involved with America's decision to drop the atomic bomb--and Japan's decision to surrender. They are Henry Stimson, the American Secretary of War, who had overall responsibility for decisions about the atom bomb; Gen. Carl "Tooey" Spaatz, head of strategic bombing in the Pacific, who supervised the planes that dropped the bombs; and Japanese Foreign Minister Shigenori Togo, the only one in Emperor Hirohito's Supreme War Council who believed even before the bombs were dropped that Japan should surrender.
Henry Stimson had served in the administrations of five presidents, but as the U.S. nuclear program progressed, he found himself tasked with the unimaginable decision of determining whether to deploy the bomb. The new president, Harry S. Truman, thus far a peripheral figure in the momentous decision, accepted Stimson's recommendation to drop the bomb. Army Air Force Commander Gen. Spaatz ordered the planes to take off. Like Stimson, Spaatz agonized over the command even as he recognized it would end the war. After the bombs were dropped, Foreign Minister Togo was finally able to convince the emperor to surrender.
To bring these critical events to vivid life, bestselling author Evan Thomas draws on the diaries of Stimson, Togo and Spaatz, contemplating the immense weight of their historic decision. In Road to Surrender, an immersive, surprising, moving account, Thomas lays out the behind-the-scenes thoughts, feelings, motivations, and decision-making of three people who changed history.
Sounds like a book to keep an eye out for. Thanks for those details Jerome.
Here's a book I highly recommend ---Patton's War: An American General's Combat Leadership, Volume 2: August–December 1944 by Kevin M. Hymel
Expected Publication Date: May 8th, 2023 (480 pp. HC)
This second of three volumes of Patton’s War picks up where the first one left off, examining General George S. Patton’s leadership of the U.S. Third Army. The book follows Patton’s contributions to both the Normandy and Brittany campaigns — the closing of the Falaise Pocket in Normandy, and racing to the port cities in Brittany. It ends with Patton and his corps rescuing the besieged town of Bastogne in the Battle of the Bulge.
As he did in the preceding volume, Hymel relies not only on Patton’s diaries and letters, but countless veteran interviews, surveys, and memoirs. He also provides a unique insight missed by previous Patton scholars. Instead of using Patton’s transcribed diaries, which were heavily edited and embellished, he consults Patton’s original, hand-written diaries to uncover previously unknown information about the general.
This second volume of Hymel’s groundbreaking work shows Patton at the height of his generalship, successfully leading his army without the mistakes and caustic behavior that almost got him sent home earlier — even if we also see a Patton still guided at times by racism and antisemitism.
As someone whose late father was a young GI in The Third Army during 1944 and 1945 (a veteran of Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge), I'm very keen to read this book.
KOMET wrote: "Here's a book I highly recommend ---Patton's War: An American General's Combat Leadership, Volume 2: August–December 1944 by Kevin M. Hymel
[bookcover:Patton's Wa..."
excellent! gives us the motivation to finish the first part by the month of may!
KOMET wrote: "Here's a book I highly recommend ---Patton's War: An American General's Combat Leadership, Volume 2: August–December 1944 by Kevin M. Hymel
[bookcover:Patton's Wa..."
I have a copy of the first volume but have not managed to read it yet.
Jonny wrote: "September's looking like a good month....Cassino '44: From Invasion to the Fall of Rome"
Indeed Jonny!
A September 2023 release:
by Prit ButtarDescription:
This new history of the first two years of this crucial battle for the heart and soul of Russia is the first in over a decade and also the first to look comprehensively at the wider military strategies of both sides.
At a huge cost, the Red Army and the civilian population of Leningrad ultimately endured a bitter 900-day siege, struggling against constant bombing, shelling, and starvation. Throughout the siege, Soviet forces tried to break the German lines and restore contact with the garrison. To Besiege A City charts the first of these offensives which began in January 1942 and was followed by repeated assaults. Acclaimed Eastern Front historian Prit Buttar details how although the Red Army suffered huge casualties in the swampy and forested terrain, the German infantry divisions were also steadily eroded. Indeed, by keeping control of parts of the shores of Lake Ladoga, the Soviet Union was able to sustain Leningrad through the winters of the siege via the 'road of life', constructed across the frozen lake. This epic history details the dramatic race to create the road across the ice and first-hand accounts from both Soviet and German soldiers bring the horrific series of battles and assaults vividly to life.
Ultimately the determination of the defenders to hold out during this first phase of the siege and the desperate attempts to break it became a hugely significant part of Russian wartime history. The echoes of the battle persist to this day helping to define both a country and its politics. There is no better time to fully understand this history and To Besiege A City is the most comprehensive account to date.
Jerome wrote: "A September 2023 release: by Prit ButtarDescription:
This new history of the first two years of this crucial battle for..."
Automatic purchase once its available :)
Another:
by Angus KonstamDescription:
HG-76 sailed from Gibraltar to Britain in December 1941 and was specially targeted by the Germans. A wolfpack of U-boats was sent against it, and the Luftwaffe was heavily committed too in a rare example of German inter-service cooperation. German intelligence agents in Gibraltar and Spain also knew every detail of HG-76 before it had even sailed, seemingly stacking the odds in favour of the Kriegsmarine.
Despite this the convoy fought its way through. Improved radar and sonar gave the convoy's escorts a slight edge over their opponents, while the escort group was led by Commander Walker, an anti-submarine expert who had developed new, aggressive U-boat hunting tactics. Previous Gibraltar convoys had been mauled by Luftwaffe bombers operating from French airfields. This time, though, HG-76 would be accompanied by HMS Audacity, the Royal Navy's first escort carrier - a new type of warship purpose-built to defend convoys from enemy aircraft and U-boats.
Following seven days and nights of relentless attack, the horrors of which are brought home through a series of first-hand accounts, the convoy finally reached the safety of a British port for the loss of only two merchant ships. Its arrival was seen as the first real convoy victory of the war. Brought to life by expert naval historian Angus Konstam, The Convoy combines the story of the technical and tactical developments that won the Battle of the Atlantic for the Allies along with a narrative that reveals both the terror and the stubborn determination that defined the experiences of those that served on convoy duties.
Jerome wrote: "Another: by Angus KonstamDescription:
HG-76 sailed from Gibraltar to Britain in December 1941 and was sp..."
Well Angus Konstam seems a safe bet for a naval subject!
An October 2023 release:
by Luke W. TruxalDescription:
On August 17, 1942, twelve Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses of the United States Eighth Air Force carried out the first American raid over occupied Europe, striking the rail yards at Rouen, France. Soon after, hundreds of American B-17s and Consolidated B-24 Liberators filled the skies above Europe. Despite frequent attacks against Germany and its allies by four different air forces, American commanders failed to stage a successful air offensive against Germany in the summer and fall of 1943. When victory in the air war against the Axis powers appeared bleak at the threshold of 1944, a change in command accompanied by top-down organizational restructuring allowed the American leaders to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat for the first time.
Uniting Against the Reich: The American Air War in Europe addresses how the United States swiftly reversed its air war against the Axis powers by reevaluating both individual agency and the structural elements that impeded the US from taking the lead in the European Theater. Luke W. Truxal argues that the appointment of General Dwight D. Eisenhower as the Supreme Allied Commander incorporated various air commands under a single authority, which allowed them to unify their efforts against a specific strategic objective. In this narrative, victory in Europe hinged on restructuring the air force under one command system in order to wage a series of sustained and targeted bombings against German infrastructure and industry. Truxal's provocative reinterpretation of personality, material, and command organization helps to explain the success of the American war effort in Europe leading up to and after February 1944, when Germany lost 355 fighters during an operation that lasted only five days.
This comprehensive and well-written account offers a compelling new assessment of the development of the American war in Europe and emphasizes the importance of developing an "air-mindedness" when evaluating and strategizing large-scale operations.
A July release:
by Punyaphan KlykoomDescription:
The only country to escape colonialism in Southeast Asia, Thailand on the eve of the Second World War was a kingdom deep in the throes of militarism, led by a charismatic strongman obsessed with questions of national greatness and dreams of empire. In 1940 the Thais took advantage of France's metropolitan defeat to fulfill revanchist yearnings by demanding the return of 'lost provinces' in Laos and Cambodia that had been ceded to Indochina half a century earlier. What followed was a border war with Vichy that culminated in Japanese mediation and the territories' return.
Contrary to what most histories of the Pacific War would suggest, Japanese forces landing in peninsular Thailand on their way to Singapore found themselves opposed by local garrisons, one of which held out well beyond the ceasefire that Bangkok eventually ordered.
But armistice soon turned into alliance in the wake of Japanese successes of 1942, with the Thais declaring war on Britain and the United States. Driven yet again by expansionist ambitions, the Thais mounted an invasion of Burma's eastern Shan States, coming into contact with the Chinese army. A renewed offensive in January 1943 saw Thai troops reach the borders of Yunnan. The Thai army also began an occupation of northern Malaya that same year.
A change of government in 1944 made possible by Axis setbacks in Europe and the Pacific brought to the fore a new government secretly controlled by an anti-Japanese resistance movement under whose direction the army devoted the final year of the war to preparing for an armed uprising that would ultimately never occur.
Drawing upon a wide range of hitherto untapped sources and featuring several photographs never before published, this is the first full account of Thai ground combat operations in the Second World War to be available to an international readership.
This first of two volumes covers the border war with Vichy France of 1940-41 and is accompanied by the Royal Thai Army's orders of battle up to mid-1941, as well as a detailed overview of uniforms up until 1945. The next installment will cover the army's participation in what remains locally known as the Greater East Asia War alongside chapters on weaponry and unit organizations.
This is pre-war, but it should prove interesting:
by Robert KaganDescription:
At the dawn of the twentieth century, the United States was one of the world’s richest, most populous, most technologically advanced nations. It was also a nation divided along numerous fault lines, with conflicting aspirations and concerns pulling it in different directions. And it was a nation unsure about the role it wanted to play in the world, if any. Americans were the beneficiaries of a global order they had no responsibility for maintaining. Many preferred to avoid being drawn into what seemed an ever more competitive, conflictual, and militarized international environment. However, many also were eager to see the United States taking a share of international responsibility, working with others to preserve peace and advance civilization. The story of American foreign policy in the first four decades of the twentieth century is about the effort to do both—“to adjust the nation to its new position without sacrificing the principles developed in the past,” as one contemporary put it.
This would prove a difficult task. The collapse of British naval power, combined with the rise of Germany and Japan, suddenly placed the United States in a pivotal position. American military power helped defeat Germany in the First World War, and the peace that followed was significantly shaped by a U.S. president. But Americans recoiled from their deep involvement in world affairs, and for the next two decades, they sat by as fascism and tyranny spread unchecked, ultimately causing the liberal world order to fall apart. America’s resulting intervention in the Second World War marked the beginning of a new era, for the United States and for the world.
Brilliant and insightful, The Ghost at the Feast shows both the perils of American withdrawal from the world and the price of international responsibility.
Bryan wrote: "This is pre-war, but it should prove interesting: by Robert KaganDescription:
At th..."
Got a copy already Bryan and it does look like a very interesting read!
Colin wrote: "Some may like my next book in WW II
"I am sure quite a few members will be keen to read your new book Colin.
Sailor's Heart, based on true events, is a story about three men who fought for their country in Arctic Convoys, then for their sanity and dignity, labelled as cowards and subjected to experimental psychiatry at an isolated facility set up by the British Admiralty. This book, previously available in paperback and Kindle through Amazon has just been released (January 2023) as an audiobook through Audible[dot]comhttps://www.audible.com/pd/Sailors-He...
Thank you for this opportunity.
Martin wrote: "Sailor's Heart, based on true events, is a story about three men who fought for their country in Arctic Convoys, then for their sanity and dignity, labelled as cowards and subjected to experimental..."Hi Martin, your book sounds very interesting. I hope it does well on the market. Any reviews or additional information please post the details in the author's page:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
An August release:
by Lena S. AndrewsDescription:
A groundbreaking new history of the role of American women in WWII, illuminating their forgotten yet essential role in contributing towards the Allies’ victory.
Over 400,000 women served in uniform during World War II. These women advised generals; they laid cables; they translated, communicated, and transmitted top secret intelligence; they flew planes; and they died for their country. They were directly involved in some of the most important moments of the war—the D-Day landings, the island-hopping campaign in the Pacific, the peace negotiations in Paris, to name a few. Moreover, their work—both individually and in total—was at the core of the warfighting enterprise during World War II. The servicewomen of World War II were everywhere, and they helped us win the war.
Yet until now, their stories have been relegated to the dusty shelves of military archives, used bookstores, or a passing mention in the local paper. Now military analyst Lena Andrews corrects the record with the definitive historical account of American servicewomen in World War II.
In Valiant Women, Andrews introduces readers to women like Oveta Culp Hobby, Teddy Kenyon, Grace Hopper, Frances Ebersole Smith, and Aleda Lutz—and literally thousands of women just like them—who make Rosie the Riveter look downright quaint. Their stories are inspiring, shocking, and heartbreaking. Alongside these remarkable stories, Valiant Women reveals a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of combat in World War II and illustrates important realities about modern warfighting that have traditionally been relegated to the footnotes of history, holding key lessons for the wars of tomorrow.
The story of military women in World War II is, at its core, the story of World War II itself. If we want to understand this war, Andrews argues, then we must know its women.
'Aussie Rick' wrote: "Colin wrote: "Some may like my next book in WW II"I am sure quite a few members will be keen to ..."
"Above the Pacific" just came out today in ebook and paperback.
Colin wrote: "'Aussie Rick' wrote: "Colin wrote: "Some may like my next book in WW II"I am sure quite a few me..."
Already downloaded the eBook and plan on reading it very soon.
Jerome wrote: "An August release: by Lena S. AndrewsDescription:
A groundbreaking new history of the ro..."
TBR.
An April release:
by Aviel RoshwaldDescription:
For most of the population of Europe and East and Southeast Asia, the most persistent and significant aspect of their experience of the Second World War was that of occupation by one or more of the Axis powers. In this ambitious and wide-ranging study, Aviel Roshwald brings us the first single-authored, comparative treatment of European and Asian responses to German and Japanese occupation during the war. He illustrates how patriotic, ethno-national, and internationalist identities were manipulated, exploited, reconstructed and reinvented as a result of the wholesale dismantling of states and redrawing of borders. Using eleven case studies from across the two continents, he examines how behavioral choices around collaboration and resistance were conditioned by existing identities or loyalties as well as by short-term cost–benefit calculations, opportunism, or coercion.
Jerome wrote: "An April release: by Aviel RoshwaldDescription:
For most of the population of Europe and Ea..."
Sounds like something different! Thanks for the notification, Jerome.
Return to Vienna: The Special Operations Executive and the Rebirth of Austria by Peter Dixon
Release date: April 4th, 2023.
Synopsis
'Captain Charles Kennedy' parachuted into a moonlit Austrian forest and searched frantically for his lost radio set. His real name was Leo Hillman and he was a Jewish refugee from Vienna. He was going home.
Men and women of Churchill’s secret Special Operations Executive worked to free Austria from Hitler's grip. Many were themselves Austrians who had fled Nazi persecution. Trained and equipped by SOE, they courageously returned to their homeland. Some died in the attempt.
Their moving stories are part of the history of how Austria recovered her sovereignty.
(it's book three of the series, the first two are Guardians of Churchill's Secret Army: Men of the Intelligence Corps in the Special Operations Executive and Setting the Med Ablaze: Churchill's Secret North African Base. As I understand from the previous books' reviews, these are more memoir collections than cohesive narratives. I may be wrong.)
A December release:
by Brian WalterDescription:
The monumental struggle fought against Imperial Japan in the Asia/Pacific theater during World War II is primarily viewed as an American affair. While the United States did play a dominant role, the British and Commonwealth forces also made major contributions--on land, at sea and in the air, eventually involving over a million men and vast armadas of ships and aircraft.
It was a difficult and often desperate conflict fought against a skilled and ruthless enemy that initially saw the British suffer the worst series of defeats ever to befall their armed forces. Still, the British persevered and slowly turned the tables on their Japanese antagonists. Fighting over an immense area that stretched from India in the west to the Solomon Islands in the east and Australia in the south to the waters off Japan in the north, British and Commonwealth forces eventually scored a string of stirring victories that avenged their earlier defeats and helped facilitate the demise of the Japanese Empire.
Often overlooked by history, this substantial war effort is fully explored in Forgotten War. Meticulously researched, the book provides a complete, balanced and detailed account of the role that British and Commonwealth forces played on land, sea and in the air during this crucial struggle. It also provides unique analysis regarding the effectiveness and relevance of this collective effort and the contributions it made to the overall Allied victory.
Some good books to keep an eye out for!
This forthcoming release (April 2023) may be of interest to some group members; "The Road to Slaughter : The Latvian 15th SS Division in Pomerania, January-March 1945" by Vincent Hunt.
The Road to Slaughter: The Latvian 15th SS Division in Pomerania, January-March 1945 by Vince HuntDescription:
With chilling echoes of the 2022 war in Ukraine, 40,000 Latvian soldiers of the 15th SS Division - some Russian Front veterans, most raw teenage conscripts - faced the Red Army in Pomerania in Arctic blizzards between January and March 1945. One in three died: the majority never returned home. They became the lost Legion.
The author interviews the last remaining Latvian Legionnaires who came to the UK after the war, then follows their footsteps across modern Poland, adding many stories from Latvian archives in English for the first time. Thrown in to strengthen Nazi defenses as the German forces collapsed, the Latvians are constantly encircled and outgunned, outrunning the merciless T-34 tanks. It's kill or be killed: even the priests have Panzerfausts.
After battles at Nakel, Immenheim, Vandsburg, Dorotheenhof and Flatow the Latvians retreat to Jastrow, trying to hold a vital bridge across the river Gwda [Kuddow]. Then comes a four-day period known to the Latvians as 'the 15th Division's Golgotha' - the road of slaughter in the Polish countryside between Jastrow and Landeck.
At Podgaje-Flederborn their column is trapped with refugees and the wounded on a single road, sitting ducks for Red Army gunners. Thousands of Latvians are killed here but no-one is sure of the exact figure even now. What is certain, from these eyewitness accounts, is that it was appalling.
From Danzig to the Oder, this is an exhausting seven-week retreat from certain death along roads choked with refugees, with danger lurking around every bend. Through new interviews, translated personal diaries and extracts from the 15th Division war diary - only found in 2006 and never before published - the harrowing stories of the Latvians in Pomerania can now be told.
English translations of the memoirs of Colonel Vilis Janums, Major Jūlijs Ķīlītis, chaplain Kazimirs Ručs (later Monsignor) and many others bring vivid and often-shocking eyewitness testimony to events at Podgaje-Flederborn and Landeck-Ledyczek. The original orders from the 'Road of Slaughter' are reproduced from the War Diary in the National Archives in Riga revealing a catalogue of chaos, confusion and carnage. The casualty lists make for sombre reading, as do accounts of disturbing incidents that warrant further investigation.
This is an exhausting, blood-soaked seven-week journey across Pomerania to the Baltic Coast, culminating in a dramatic escape across the river Oder into Germany. Memoirs and autobiographies from Latvians who subsequently settled in Australia, Canada and the USA add new detail to this horrifying chapter.
The story of what happened once the Latvians crossed into Germany continues in a forthcoming companion volume, The Lost Legion.
Publication date: March 23rd, 2023Air Power and the Evacuation of Dunkirk: The RAF and Luftwaffe during Operation Dynamo, 26 May – 4 June 1940 by Harry Raffal
Summary
The evacuation of Dunkirk has been immortalised in books, prints and films, narrated as a story of an outnumbered, inexperienced RAF {Royal Air Force] defeating the battle-hardened Luftwaffe and protecting the evacuation. This book revives the historiography by analysing the air operations during the evacuation. Raffal draws from German and English sources, many for the first time in the context of Operation DYNAMO, to argue that both sides suffered a defeat over Dunkirk. .
This work examines the resources and tactics of both sides during DYNAMO and challenges the traditional view that the Luftwaffe held the advantage. The success that the Luftwaffe achieved during DYNAMO, including halting daylight evacuations on 1 June, is evaluated and the supporting role of RAF Bomber and Coastal Command is explored in detail for the first time.
Concluding that the RAF was not responsible for the Luftwaffe's failure to prevent the evacuation, Raffal demonstrates that the reasons lay elsewhere.
Aussie, do you know any other books on Baltics during WW2? I read only one, Timothy Snyder's. Estonia is my homeland, so I wanted to find more about it
Darya Silman wrote: "Aussie, do you know any other books on Baltics during WW2? I read only one, Timothy Snyder's. Estonia is my homeland, so I wanted to find more about it"I've got Prit Buttar's Between Giants: The Battle for the Baltics in World War II in Mount TBR, and I read Blood in the Forest: The End of the Second World War in the Courland Pocket a few years ago, and really enjoyed it, although it's more about the war's legacy than the fighting.
Jonny, I read Buttar's book as well (I understood this looking at the book cover). Though, as always, I remember little, only a few details. The second one goes to my TBR list
by Bradford PearsonDescription:
In the spring of 1942, the United States government forced 120,000 Japanese Americans from their homes in California, Oregon, Washington, and Arizona and sent them to incarceration camps across the West. Nearly 14,000 of them landed on the outskirts of Cody, Wyoming, at the base of Heart Mountain.
Behind barbed wire fences, they faced racism, cruelty, and frozen winters. Trying to recreate comforts from home, they established Buddhist temples and sumo wrestling pits. Kabuki performances drew hundreds of spectators—yet there was little hope.
That is, until the fall of 1943, when the camp’s high school football team, the Eagles, started its first season and finished it undefeated, crushing the competition from nearby, predominantly white high schools. Amid all this excitement, American politics continued to disrupt their lives as the federal government drafted men from the camps for the front lines—including some of the Eagles. As the team’s second season kicked off, the young men faced a choice to either join the Army or resist the draft. Teammates were divided, and some were jailed for their decisions.
Darya Silman wrote: "Aussie, do you know any other books on Baltics during WW2? I read only one, Timothy Snyder's. Estonia is my homeland, so I wanted to find more about it"Jonny has beaten me to the punch and recommended the two books that I have on the subject. I will see if I can come up with some other titles.
Publication Release: April 30, 2023The Terror Raids of 1942: The Baedeker Blitz by Jan Gore
Summary
"We shall go out and bomb every building in Britain marked with three stars in the Baedeker Guide" the German Foreign Office announced in April 1942 as the Luftwaffe attacked Exeter, Bath, Norwich, York, and Canterbury. Over a thousand people died.
These raids were direct retaliation for RAF raids on equally historic German cities. Hitler had ordered that "Preference is to be given…where attacks are likely to have the greatest possible effect on civilian life" and in this narrow aim – as Jan Gore shows in the first full history of the raids to be published for over twenty years – they certainly succeeded.
She explains the Luftwaffe’s tactics, the types of bombs that were used – high explosive, parachute mines and incendiaries – and records the devastating damage they caused. Her main focus is on the effect of the bombing on the ground. In graphic detail she describes the air raid precautions, the role of the various civil defense organizations and the direct experience of the civilians. Their recollections – many of which have not been published before – as well as newspaper articles and official reports give us a vivid impression of the raids themselves and their immediate aftermath.
Jan Gore’s original and painstaking research provides the fullest insight yet into the impact of this bombing campaign on Britain’s home front during the Second World War.
An October release:
by Beverley Driver EddyDescription:
They were not your typical World War II soldiers. Most were not in particularly good physical shape, and many had trouble handling their weapons. They differed widely in their ages, politics, and skills. Many worked in academia, media, and the arts. They were a strange mix of Americans and foreign nationals, immigrants, and refugees, linked by their language skills, knowledge of Europe, and a desire to defeat the Axis. During the war, the U.S. Army trained them in psychological warfare at a secret camp on the Gettysburg battlefield and then sent them to Europe. They became known as “Psycho Boys,” a group of soldiers who have never received their due respect. In this book Beverly Driver Eddy, author of Ritchie Boy Secrets, tells their rarely heard story and argues for their importance to the Allied war effort.
At Gettysburg the Psycho Boys were taught the various skills that would be necessary in the European campaign from D-Day onward: prisoner and civilian interrogation, broadcasting, loudspeaker appeals, leaflet and newspaper production, and technical support. The 800 men were divided into four mobile radio broadcasting companies and sent to Europe to land on D-Day, fight in Normandy and at the Bulge, and participate in the conquest of Germany and the liberation of the concentration camps. Some of the soldiers operated well out in front of Allied lines and – in German – called on enemy soldiers to surrender. Others worked behind the lines, printing propaganda leaflets and making radio broadcasts.
Drawing on company histories, memoirs, and interviews, this book traces the history of the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th Mobile Radio Broadcasting Companies and the men who served. For far too long, these soldiers were maligned as mere “paragraph troopers” who weren’t in the line of fire. As Eddy shows, the Psycho Boys made important contributions to victory in World War II by encouraging enemy soldiers to desert or surrender and in other indirect ways. Their story is interesting, important, and vital.
Two good new books there Komet and Jerome, thanks for posting the details.
A new release on women's brigade of Indian National Army
Another new release on the secret service of Indian National Army.
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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[book:Blood, Dust & Snow: Diaries of a Panzer Commander in Germany and on the Eastern Fron..."
I will have to check out this book & look forward to your review. I wonder what Sander thought of the Soviet Ilyushin Il-2 Shturmoviks?