THE WORLD WAR TWO GROUP discussion
BOOK DISCUSSIONS
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New Release Books on WW2
The book, Quantifying Counterfactual Military History, published by Routledge, was written by mathematicians Dr Brennen Fagan, Professor Niall MacKay, and Professor Jamie Wood of York University, and historians Dr Ian Horwood, and Dr Price of York St John. Writing in the book, the authors conclude: “If Leigh-Mallory had been in Park’s position, how much worse would the British have fared? Almost certainly much worse.”
The added: “In writing history, it must always be remembered that a historical fact is simply one of numberless possibilities until the historical actor moves, or an event occurs, at which point it becomes real.”
Very interesting article, maybe a book well-worth keeping an eye out for. Thanks for that link, Simon.
A May 2024 release:
by Robert KershawDescription:
In this remarkable history, we discover each of the individuals whose actions determined the outcome of the battle for Hill 107, the key event that decided the entire campaign to capture the vitally strategic island of Crete in May 1941. All the events are narrated through the filter of these eyewitnesses. The Allied perspective is from the summit of Hill 107. We experience the fear and the adrenalin of a lowly platoon commander, Lieutenant Ed McAra, perilously positioned at the top of the hill, alongside the combat stress and command fatigue of the battalion commander, Lieutenant Colonel Leslie Andew. In contrast, the German view is looking up from below as they cling to the slopes while simultaneous dazzled by the morning glare and decimated by defensive fire. We join the regimental doctor, Dr Heinrich Neumann, as he assumes command of one battalion and leads a daring nighttime charge towards the summit. The Hill details what was felt, heard or seen, throughout the course of the battle for both attacker and defender.
Drawing upon original combat reports, diary entries, letters and interviews, the battle is brought vividly to life. The narrative reads like a Shakespearean tragedy, the soldiers revealing their stories in and around the shadows of Hill 107.
Jerome wrote: "A May 2024 release: by Robert KershawDescription:
In this remarkable history, we discover ea..."
One to keep an eye-out for!
The Kershaw name (Ian, Alex, and Robert) always floats to the top of my list to buy. Looks like another to add to Mt TBR.
Jerome wrote: "A May 2024 release: by Robert KershawDescription:
In this remarkable history, we discover ea..."
I feel the Kershaw itch. Hopefully it's accessible when you know zero about Crete '41.
Another:
by Thomas McKelvey CleaverDescription:
Packed with personal accounts of the action, this is a vivid narrative history of the often-overlooked USAAF campaign in North Africa and Sicily in World War II.
In 1942, the Western Allies needed to take the offensive against the Axis to relieve pressure on the Soviet Union. With planning for a cross-Channel invasion beset by logistical and operational difficulties, in May 1942 President Roosevelt ordered his military leaders to prepare to support the British in the Mediterranean. This led to the first USAAF units arriving in the Middle East in July, firstly as reinforcements for the British and later as part of the Operation Torch landings in French Morocco and Algeria in October.
In little over ten months from the summer of 1942, the USAAF in North Africa grew from nothing to a senior partner, providing aircraft and crews the other Allies were unable to match. The Axis forces that had controlled almost the entire southern shore of the Mediterranean had been swept from the African continent – thanks in no small part to the efforts of the USAAF.
Using first-hand accounts from pilots and other aircrew, Tom Cleaver describes how the USAAF units that landed in Morocco were forced to learn their own lessons in combat with veteran Luftwaffe units, and how the experience gained in the skies over North Africa and Sicily was invaluable in developing the air forces that would dominate the skies over Europe in the latter years of the war.
Jerome wrote: "Another: by Thomas McKelvey CleaverDescription:
Packed with personal accounts of the action, this is a vivid nar..."
Another good book to add to the list!
An October release that may interest a few group members. After reading his "The Blood Telegram: Nixon, Kissinger, and a Forgotten Genocide" I will be on the lookout for a copy of this new book:
Judgment at Tokyo: World War II on Trial and the Making of Modern Asia by Gary J. Bass
A May 2024 release:
by Stephen FisherDescription:
Filling a massive gap in D-Day literature, marine historian Stephen Fisher provides fresh insight and unrivalled coverage of one of the least well know of the D-Day landings.
Although they are well known, coverage of the action on Sword, Juno and Gold beaches is relatively sparse and overshadowed by the more famous American landing at Omaha. In fact, the capture of all the beaches were events in their own right, full of drama and incident, and in particular, Sword Beach turned out to be crucial in securing the Normandy Landings.
Jerome wrote: "A May 2024 release: by Stephen FisherDescription:
Filling a massive gap in D-Day literature, marine..."
Sounds good, one to keep an eye-out for!
Jerome wrote: "A May 2024 release: by Stephen FisherDescription:
Filling a massive gap in D-Day literature, marine..."
let's see: Mark Z 's done the Canadians at Juno, Joseph Balkoski did Utah, MacManus & every American does Omaha ...why yes, I do have a Sword gap :-)
Jerome wrote: "A May 2024 release: by Stephen FisherDescription:
Filling a massive gap in D-Day literature, marine..."
416 pages suggests rather more than "showed up, played sandcastles and had tea" (thanks Ryan and those after).... sold.
Fifty-Three Days on Starvation Island: The World War II Battle That Saved Marine Corps Aviation by John R. Bruning is slated for a May 14, 2024 release.
On August 20, 1942, twelve Marine dive-bombers and nineteen Marine fighters landed at Guadalcanal. Their mission: defeat the Imperial Japanese Navy and prevent it from sending more men and supplies to "Starvation Island," as Guadalcanal was nicknamed. The Japanese were turning the remote, jungle-covered mountain in the south Solomon Islands into an air base from which they could attack the supply lines between the U.S. and Australia. The night after the Marines landed and captured the partially completed airfield, the Imperial Navy launched a surprise night attack on the Allied fleet offshore, resulting in the worst defeat the U.S. Navy suffered in the 20th century, which prompted the abandonment of the Marines on Guadalcanal.
The Marines dug in, and waited for help, as those thirty-one pilots and twelve gunners flew against the Japanese, shooting down eighty-three planes in less than two months, while the dive bombers, carried out over thirty attacks on the Japanese fleet.
Fifty-Three Days on Starvation Island follows Major John L. Smith, a magnetic leader who became America’s top fighter ace for the time; Captain Marion Carl, the Marine Corps’ first ace, and one of the few survivors of his squadron at the Battle of Midway. He would be shot down and forced to make his way back to base through twenty-five miles of Japanese-held jungle. And Major Richard Mangrum, the lawyer-turned-dive-bomber commander whose inexperienced men wrought havoc on the Imperial Japanese Navy.
New York Times bestselling author John R. Bruning depicts the desperate effort to stop the Japanese long enough for America to muster reinforcements and turn the tide at Guadalcanal.
Not just the story of an incredible stand on a distant jungle island, Fifty-Three Days on Starvation Island also explores the consequences of victory to the men who secured it at a time when America had been at war for less than a year and its public had yet to fully understand what that meant. The home front they returned to after their jungle ordeal was a surreal montage of football games, nightclubs, fine dining with America’s elites, and inside looks at dysfunctional defense industries more interested in fleecing the government than properly equipping the military.
Bruning tells the story of how one battle reshaped the U.S. Marine Corps and propelled its veterans into the highest positions of power just in time to lead the service into a new war in Southeast Asia.
I like how you think Dimitri!
KOMET wrote: "Fifty-Three Days on Starvation Island: The World War II Battle That Saved Marine Corps Aviation by John R. Bruning is slated for a May 14, 2024 release.[bookcover:..."
I pre-ordered this one quite awhile ago--Covid has pushed back the publication date quite a bit.
An April 2024 release:
by K. A. NelsonDescription:
It is January 1942. Nazi Germany is about to commence an assault along the US East Coast, but this “Atlantic Pearl Harbor” would prove far more devastating than Japan’s attack on Hawaii five weeks earlier. The wolves are closing in, and few Americans realize their beaches and boardwalks will soon witness the worst naval defeat in US history.
The United States is already grappling with its unpreparedness for war as the Japanese Empire annihilates US forces in the Far East and the Nazis stand triumphant over vast swaths of Europe. Britain’s survival, meanwhile, depends on cargoes delivered by civilian-manned merchant ships. America’s economic resources and latent military strength represent a light in the darkness―yet Hitler’s favorite admiral also knows this, and he has set in motion a plan of unprecedented boldness.
The ensuing fiery months saw German submarines, or “U-boats,” sink hundreds of ships from Maine to Texas. This gambit, which threatened to cripple the Allies, pitted Germans against Americans in a desperate struggle that stained East Coast waters with blood and oil. Plying the seas amid this deadly game of cat-and-mouse was a motley but stalwart contingent of civilian merchant mariners carrying the fuel, food, weapons, and raw materials the Allies needed to crush the Third Reich.
Several American states became battlefronts in 1942, but the events that transpired off the Jersey Shore illustrate the savagery and scope of a campaign waged across the Western Hemisphere. Even in the 21st century, shipwrecks still attest to the countless ways to die which friend and foe faced only miles from the Garden State’s most popular summer destinations. These seafarers’ lives were forfeit, but the battle they fought would decide the fate of millions.
An April 2024 release:
by Saul DavidDescription:
Created at Churchill’s instigation in June 1940, they began as a single parachute battalion of 500 men and grew into three 10,000-strong airborne divisions: the 1st, 6th and 44th Indian, each composed of parachutists and glider-borne troops. Wearing their distinctive maroon berets, steel helmets and Dennison smocks, they served with distinction in every major theatre of the conflict – including North Africa, Sicily, mainland Europe and the Far East – and played a starring role in some most iconic airborne operations in history: the Bruneval Raid of February 1942; the capture of the Primasole, Pegasus and Arnhem Bridges in July 1943, June 1944 and September 1944 respectively; and Operation Varsity, the biggest parachute drop in history, near Wesel in Germany in March 1945.
Some good books coming up, thanks for posting those details Jerome!
Jerome wrote: "A May 2024 release: by Stephen FisherDescription:
Filling a massive gap in D-Day literature, marine..."
I am looking forward to hearing what people think of this one.
Dimitri wrote: "Jerome wrote: "A May 2024 release: by Stephen FisherDescription:
Filling a massive gap in D-Day lit..."
Wasn't there one other British Beach: Gold I think it was. Who did that one?
Dj wrote: "Dimitri wrote: "Jerome wrote: "A May 2024 release: by Stephen FisherDescription:
Filling a massive ..."
Yeah, that was a British-Canadian force on Gold. I think there were some Polish and Dutch forces there as well.
A May 2024 release:
by Nick HewittDescription:
The Allied liberation of Nazi-occupied Europe is one of the most widely recognised events of modern history. The assault phase, Operation Neptune, began with the D-Day landings in Normandy--one of the most complex amphibious operations in history, involving 7,000 ships and nearly 200,000 men. But despite this immense effort, the wider naval campaign has been broadly forgotten.
Nick Hewitt draws on fascinating new material to describe the violent sea battle which mirrored the fighting on land, and the complex campaign at sea which enabled the Allied assault. Aboard ships ranging from frail plywood landing craft to sleek destroyers, sailors were active combatants in the operation of June 1944, and had worked tirelessly to secure the Seine Bay in the months preceding it. They fought battles against German submarines, aircraft, and warships, and maintained careful watch to keep control of the English Channel.
Hewitt recounts these sailors' stories for the first time--and shows how, without their efforts, D-Day would have failed.
Jerome wrote: "A May 2024 release: by Nick HewittDescription:
The Allied liberation of Naz..."
Something a bit different on Normandy!
Another:
by Caroline AlexanderDescription:
In April 1942, the Imperial Japanese Army steamrolled through Burma, capturing the only ground route from India to China. Supplies to this critical zone would now have to come from India by air—meaning across the Himalayas, on the most hazardous air route in the world.
Skies of Thunder is a story of an epic human endeavor, in which Allied troops faced the monumental challenge of operating from airfields hacked from the jungle, and took on “the Hump,” the fearsome mountain barrier that defined the air route.They flew fickle, untested aircraft through monsoons and enemy fire, with inaccurate maps and only primitive navigation technology. The result was a litany of both deadly crashes and astonishing feats of survival. The most chaotic of all the war’s arenas, the China-Burma-India theater was further confused by the conflicting political interests of Roosevelt, Churchill and their demanding, nominal ally, Chiang Kai-shek.
Caroline Alexander, who wrote the defining books on Shackleton’s Endurance and Bligh's Bounty, is brilliant at probing what it takes to survive extreme circumstances. She has unearthed obscure memoirs and long-ignored records to give us the pilots’ and soldiers’ eye views of flying and combat, as well as honest portraits of commanders like the celebrated “Vinegar Joe” Stillwell and Claire Lee Chennault. She assesses the real contributions of units like the Flying Tigers, Merrill’s Marauders, and the British Chindits, who pioneered new and unconventional forms of warfare. Decisions in this theater exposed the fault-lines between the Allies—America and Britain, Britain and India, and ultimately and most fatefully between America and China, as FDR pressed to help the Chinese nationalists in order to forge a bond with China after the war.
An April 2024 release:
by Nathan N. PreferDescription:
The Luzon campaign of 1945 was the longest island campaign of the Pacific War, lasting from January 1945 to September 1945, and only ended with the surrender of Imperial Japan. It is often overlooked or mentioned in passing by most histories of that war, yet hundreds of thousands of Americans and Japanese fought in some of the worst conditions imaginable for eight months to clear Luzon of the invaders.
This full account of the Luzon campaign stretches from planning stages to the end of the war and the surrender of over 50,000 Japanese troops under the noted Japanese general Yamashita. The landings at Lingayen Gulf, the Battle for Manila and the recapture of Corregidor are all included, as well as lesser-known battles for the summer capital of Baguio, the battle for Manila's water supply, constant jungle fighting, the raids to rescue Allied POWs, the recapture of Bataan, destruction of the only Japanese armored division to fight in the Pacific, American parachute drops on Corregidor and Aparri, and much more. Individual acts of heroism are highlighted as are the interactions among the senior commanders involved, including General MacArthur, General Krueger (6th Army) and General Eichelberger (8th Army). The book ends with the surrender of Imperial Japan and the end of the Luzon Campaign in September 1945.
Two more pretty interesting books, thanks for posting the details, Jerome!
A May release:
by Evan MawdsleyDescription:
The gripping account of the U.S. Navy's fast carrier force--and how its Central Pacific campaign in 1944 marked the achievement of American naval supremacy Task Force 58 was World War II's most powerful battle fleet. Made up in mid-1944 of sixteen aircraft carriers, over a thousand combat aircraft, and an armada of escorts, it was vital to victory over Japan.
In this compelling account, Evan Mawdsley charts the 3,500-mile dash of the "Big Blue Fleet" across the Central Pacific in the first six months of 1944, overwhelming enemy opposition and transforming the nature of naval warfare. The Battle of the Philippine Sea in June 1944 crushed the enemy's naval air force and secured war-winning air bases in the Mariana Islands. Mawdsley examines the elements of the rapidly assembled force--ships, planes, and 100,000 officers and men--as well as the advanced bases and fleet train that provided such astounding mobility. Task Force 58's campaign marked the achievement of naval supremacy by the United States, a status it maintains to this day.
Another:
by Alex KershawDescription:
General George Patton needed a miracle. In December 1944, the Allies found themselves stuck. Rain had plagued the troops daily since September, turning roads into rivers of muck, slowing trucks and tanks to a crawl. A thick ceiling of clouds had grounded American warplanes, allowing the Germans to reinforce. The sprint to Berlin had become a muddy, bloody stalemate, costing thousands of American lives.
Patton seethed, desperate for some change, any change, in the weather. A devout Christian, he telephoned his head chaplain. "Do you have a good prayer for the weather?" he asked. The resulting prayer was soon printed and distributed to the 250,000 men under Patton's command. "Pray when driving," the men were told. "Pray when fighting. Pray alone. Pray with others. Pray by night and pray by day. Pray for the cessation of immoderate rains, for good weather for Battle. . . . Pray for victory. . . . Pray for Peace."
Then came the Battle of the Bulge. Amid frigid temperatures and heavy snow, 200,000 German troops overwhelmed the meager American lines in Belgium's Ardennes Forest, massacring thousands of soldiers as the attack converged on a vital crossroads town called Bastogne. There, the 101st Airborne was dug in, but the enemy were lurking, hidden in the thick blanket of fog that seemed to never dissipate. A hundred miles of frozen roads to the south, Patton needed an answer to his prayer, fast, before it was too late.
Jerome wrote: "Another: by Alex KershawDescription:
General George Patton needed a miracle. In D..."
Sounds interesting. My late father fought in the Battle of the Bulge as a 19-year old GI in a segregated combat unit that provided support to the 87th Infantry Division in Patton's Third Army in December 1944.
Two pretty interesting books to keep an eye out for, thanks for the heads up Jerome!
Clearing the Way: U.S. Army Engineers in World War II by Chris McNab
Release date: the 28th of December, 2023 (per Amazon) or the 21st of December, 2023 (per the book's page on GR)
Synopsis
Covers all aspect of military engineering from construction through camouflage and booby traps to demolition.
Quite simply, without engineers the U.S. Army would have been unable to fight World War II. The men of the Corps of Engineers, with the strength of more than 700 battalions mobilized during World War II, were tasked with every imaginable engineering challenge. In rear areas and back in the United States they built the facilities essential for everyday military life—showers, toilets, barrack blocks, military hospitals, training camps, storage depots, and much more. To keep logistics flowing to the front, they constructed or repaired thousands of miles of roads and bridges, plus built airfields to support Allied strategic and tactical air operations. Engineers also created endless chains of defensive positions, from simple trench systems to complex bunker networks, as well as retrieving damaged vehicles and equipment from still-contested battlefields. Combat engineers, meanwhile, occupied some of the most dangerous frontline roles in the American armed forces. Heavily armed with demolitions and weapons, plus weighed down by engineering tools and even driving armored bulldozers, they were tasked with destroying enemy strongpoints, bridges, equipment, vehicles and many other obstacles to the advance, in both overland and amphibious operations.
Clearing the Way: U.S. Army Engineers in World War II brings together an exceptional collection of primary sources from engineering field manuals, technical manuals, and other official publications. They provide a detailed insight into the work and skills of the U.S. Army engineers, including building a field fortification, laying and defusing mines, making a contested river crossing, or camouflaging a defensive position properly. Through these texts, we gain practical insight into the exceptional individuals who often combined first-rate infantry fighting skills with engineering skill and problem-solving ingenuity.
Sounds like a pretty interesting book! Thanks for posting the details Darya.
David Cameron has just released another new book on the campaign in New Guinea during WW2; "Bloody Buna: The Battle for the Beachhead New Guinea".
Bloody Buna: The Battle for the Beachhead New Guinea 1942 by David W. CameronDetails:
With the Australian troops crossing of the Kumusi River in mid-November, after pushing the Japanese back along the Kokoda Track, the time had come to face the entrenched Japanese at their beachhead at Gona, Sanananda and Buna.
The end of the Kokoda Campaign in mid-November 1942 marked a turning point for the Australians, but the fighting was far from over. Within days, the battles for the three Japanese beachheads would commence. These battles where the first combined large-scale operation between Australian and American troops against the Japanese and would prove to be among the fiercest of the Pacific War.
At Buna, the final battles to take 'New' and 'Old' air strips by the Australians, along with the ongoing American attacks to take the infamous 'Triangle,' proved to be a brutal and deadly bloodbath for all concerned. Amidst the crocodile-infested swamps and lowland jungle with dozens of Japanese bunkers and pillboxes with supporting artillery, the Australians who fought at all three beachheads faced an unprecedented toll, suffering more killed or wounded than in any other campaign of the Pacific war.
In the face of relentless combat, the Allied forces at Buna suffered staggering casualties, with 2817 men lost at Buna. The American 32nd Division sustained 1954 casualties, including 353 killed (18%), 1508 wounded, and 93 missing amounting to around 40 per cent casualties over a six week period. The Australian 18th Infantry Brigade and supporting elements suffered 863 casualties, with 267 killed (31%), 557 wounded, and 39 missing amounting to around 60 per cent casualties over just three weeks of fighting.
As the battle raged on, the Japanese suffered significant losses, with a minimum of 1390 men killed at Buna. The true number of their dead, lost in history, is likely much higher, with conservative estimates suggesting around 3000 fatalities.
“Bloody Buna" sheds light on the untold sacrifices and heroism displayed by the Australian and American troops as they clashed with the Japanese in one of the most vicious chapters of the Pacific War.
The Lost Treasure of Azad Hind Fauj: A Historical Mystery ǀ A gripping story from the Second World WarFirst Lady Spy Of INA: Neera Arya - Espionage and Heroism in the INA by Madhu Dhama
Two recently released WW2 books in India.
A May 2024 release:
by Taylor DowningDescription:
On 29 May 1944 General George S. Patton gave a speech in the south-east of England to the men of his Army in which he spoke of the American desire to win and of how losing was hateful to Americans. As he rose to his crescendo, he said how much he 'pitied those sons of bitches we are going up against - by God, I do'. On that same day General Omar Bradley gave a calmer speech in Somerset to the men of his Army about how much rested on the upcoming invasion of northern France and how vital their role was in achieving victory.
Apart from the very different tones of the speeches reflecting the opposite character of the two Army commanders, there was another big difference. Bradley was speaking to men who in a little over a week would be splashing ashore on the beaches of Normandy. Patton was addressing an Army that didn't exist.
The Army That Never Was tells the story of the biggest deception operation of the Second World War - the plan to mislead the Germans into thinking that the invasion of Europe would come at the Pas de Calais, by inventing an entirely fake Army group in the south-east of England.
Full of fascinating characters from the US, Britain and Germany, this compelling and propulsive narrative explores one of the most remarkable stories of the Second World War.
A September 2024 release:
by Mark E. StilleDescription:
In June 1942, the United States Navy (USN) inflicted a decisive defeat on the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) off Midway Atoll. During the battle, four Japanese fleet carriers were lost, while the Americans suffered the loss of a single carrier. This dramatic result blunted the IJN's offensive capabilities in the Pacific and passed the initiative to the USN.The American plan was driven by exquisite intelligence and Admiral Nimitz's courage to use it to the extent he committed the USN's remaining strength to the battle. The Japanese plan exhibited total arrogance and set their carrier force up for defeat in detail.
Pacific War expert Mark Stille provides a hard-core analysis of this pivotal battle, outlining in full the reasons for the American victory and the Japanese disaster – not least the key part luck played in the outcome of the battle. This new study provides an unparalleled level of insight and thorough analysis into one of the turning points of the Pacific War.
A June 2024 release:
by Michel Paradis (no photo)Description:
On June 6, 1944, General Dwight Eisenhower addressed the thousands of American troops preparing to invade Normandy, exhorting them to embrace the “Great Crusade” they faced. Then, in a fleeting moment alone, he drafted a resignation letter in case the invasion failed.
In The Light of Battle, Michel Paradis, acclaimed author of Last Mission to Tokyo, paints a vivid portrait of Dwight Eisenhower as he learns to navigate the crosscurrents of diplomacy, politics, strategy, family, and fame with the fate of the free world hanging in the balance. In a world of giants—Churchill, Roosevelt, De Gaulle, Marshall, MacArthur—it was a barefoot boy from Abilene, Kansas, who would master the art of power and become a modern-day George Washington.
Drawing upon meticulous research and a voluminous body of newly discovered records, letters, diaries, and firsthand accounts from three continents, Paradis brings Eisenhower to life, as a complicated man who craved simplicity, a genial cipher whose smile was a lethal political weapon.
With a page-turning pace and an eye for the overlooked, Paradis interweaves the grand arc of history with more human concerns, bringing readers into the private moments that led to Eisenhower’s most pivotal decisions. By deftly integrating the personal and the political, he reveals how Eisenhower’s rise both reflected and was integral to America’s rise as a global superpower.
An unflinching look at how character is forged, and leadership is learned, The Light of Battle breathes new life into the man who made “the leader of the free world” the mantle of the American presidency.
Sounds like an interesting book. Thanks for posting the details Jerome!
Appears Pen & Sword are doing a re-release of J.J. Fedorowicz book on the Panzerkorps Grossdeutschland (published 1992).
Panzerkorps Grossdeutschland: The Battle of France to Operation Barbarossa by Helmuth Spaeter
This new book just popped up on my radar; "Japan's Holocaust: History of Imperial Japan's Mass Murder and Rape During World War II" by Bryan Mark Rigg Ph.D.
Japan's Holocaust: History of Imperial Japan's Mass Murder and Rape During World War II by Bryan Mark Rigg Ph.D.Description:
Japan's Holocaust is a comprehensive exploration of Japan's mass murder and sexual crimes during the Pacific and Asian Wars from 1927 to 1945.
Japan's Holocaust combines research conducted in over eighteen research facilities in five nations to explore Imperial Japan's atrocities from 1927 to 1945 during its military expansions and reckless campaigns throughout Asia and the Pacific. This book brings together the most recent scholarship and new primary research to ascertain that Japan claimed a minimum of thirty million lives, slaughtering far more than Hitler's Nazi Germany. Japan's Holocaust shows that Emperor Hirohito not only knew about the atrocities his legions committed, but actually ordered them. He did nothing to stop them when they exceeded even the most depraved person's imagination, as illustrated during the Rape of Nanking as well as many other events. Japan's Holocaust will document in painful detail that the Rape of Nanking was not an isolated event during the Asian War but rather representative of how Japan behaved for all its campaigns throughout Asia and the Pacific from 1927 to 1945.
Mass murder, rape, and economic exploitation was Japan's modus operandi during this time period, and whereas Hitler's SS Death's Head outfits attempted to hide their atrocities, Hirohito's legions committed their atrocities out in the open with fanfare and enthusiasm. Moreover, whereas Germany has done much since World War II to atone for its crimes and to document them, Japan has been absolutely disgraceful with its reparations for its crimes and in its efforts to educate its population about its wartime past. Shockingly, Japan continues, in general, to glorify is criminals and its wartime past.
Here is a March 2024 book release that may interest a few group members; "American Thunder: U.S. Army Tank Design, Development, and Doctrine in World War II" by Richard Anderson.
American Thunder: U.S. Army Tank Design, Development, and Doctrine in World War II by Richard AndersonDescription:
If the machine gun changed the course of ground combat in the First World War, it was the tank that shaped ground combat in World War II. The tank was introduced in World War I in an effort to end the stalemate of the machine gun versus barbed-wire trenches, and by World War II, the tank’s mobility and firepower became a rolling, thundering difference-maker on the battlefield. In this detailed, deeply researched, and heavily illustrated book, tank expert Richard Anderson tells the story of how the United States developed its armored force, turning it into a war-winning weapon in World War II that powered American ground forces and supplied armies around the world, including the British and Soviets.
For decades, American tanks of World War II have been undervalued in comparisons with German and Soviet tanks―and it’s true that the best of American armor tended to underperform the best of German and Soviet armor during the war. That’s because the U.S. had a different goal: not only to create battleworthy tanks like the Sherman, and to develop other tanks, but also to supply American allies with serviceable, combat-ready tanks. The United States did all this, but until now the complete story of American tanks in World War II has yet to be told.
Anderson’s book is deeper and more thorough a chronicle of American tanks in World War II than has ever been done. This book is colorful, vivid, and thought-provokingly insightful on how the U.S. produced a tank force capable of conducting its own battlefield efforts and sustaining key allies around the world. This will be the go-to volume on American tanks for years to come.
Reviews:
American Thunder is an exceptionally fine account of U.S. tanks in World War II. It provides a broad perspective on technical development, army tactical doctrine, and tank unit organization. Most importantly, it clearly connects how all of these factors influenced the combat effectiveness of U.S. tanks on the WWII battlefield. It addresses the many controversies about U.S. tanks head-on in a very convincing fashion. Very detailed and thoroughly researched, this book is a "must" for anyone seriously interested in the U.S. Army of World War II. --Steven Zaloga, author of Armored Thunderbolt: The US Army Sherman Tank in World War II
American Thunder: U.S. Army Tank Design, Development, and Doctrine in World War II is an in-depth history of the mobilization of U.S. armored forces for WW II. Starting practically from scratch, the Army equipped, trained, and fielded 16 armored divisions and more than 70 separate tank battalions. In minute detail, the author relates the successes, failures, and controversies involved in this accomplishment. This book is destined to become a classic reference work for students of U.S. armor in WW II. --Joe DeMarco, coauthor of the website, Sherman Minutia
The publication of Richard Anderson's study of the development of U.S. armored fighting vehicles for World War II will be welcomed for its value as a wide-ranging reference that stimulates one's understanding of how myriad concepts and persons contributed to resolving so many difficulties and false steps in an era particularly fraught with dangers. His meticulous use of contemporary documents, reports, and studies clarifies many obscure developments with detailed analyses of the ways taken to produce such a highly successful military arm. The reader will be treated to new assessments of decision making, lessons learned, and controversies that remain controversial to this day. I was impressed equally by the excellent layout of the book and well-chosen photos. Enjoy the read! --Kenneth W. Estes (Colonel U.S.M.C., Ret.), author of Marines Under Armor and Tanks on the Beaches
'Aussie Rick' wrote: "Here is a March 2024 book release that may interest a few group members; "American Thunder: U.S. Army Tank Design, Development, and Doctrine in World War II" by Richard Anderson.[bookcover:Americ..."
Darn it Rick, you're tanking right over my No More in Twenty Four here :-) "tanks" has become a separate WW shelf in the house.
Nice shelf to have Dimitri!
A September release:
by Prit ButtarDescription:
At the height of World War II the people of Leningrad endured a bitter 900-day siege, struggling against bombing, shelling, and starvation. Prit Buttar tells the story of how the siege was finally broken. The Red Army had suffered multiple setbacks in the preceding two years but achieved a partial success by breaking the blockage in early 1943. However, this was followed by further failed attempts to lift the siege completely.
But by simply enduring the siege in the face of impossible odds, Russian soldiers and civilians beat the Germans. By the end of 1943 the German forces, themselves broken by deprivations and extreme weather, began to pull back. Here was the opportunity the Soviet forces had been waiting for. The Red Army launched a decisive attack that broke through and ended the siege. Their determination to hold out has become a hugely significant part of Russian history, the echoes of the battle helping to define both a country and its politics.
Yep, that will be in my online shopping basket when it becomes available. Hopefully by then I will have read "To Besiege a City: Leningrad 1941–42".
There is a new book by Jonathan Trigg due out this month titled; "The Air War Through German Eyes: How the Luftwaffe Lost the Skies over the Reich". I will try and add it to Goodreads shortly.
Added:
The Air War Through German Eyes: How the Luftwaffe Lost the Skies over the Reich by Jonathan TriggDescription:
Starting with leaflet drops in 1940, the aerial offensive against the Nazis’ homeland grew into a huge armada that pulverised much of Germany, seriously damaging her ability to make war and killing hundreds of thousands. By day, the Flying Fortresses of the Mighty Eighth US Airforce confronted the day fighters of Luftflotte Reich, and then it was the turn of Bomber Command’s Lancasters to fight off the deadly predators of the Nachtjagd (night hunters). The tactics and technology of Allied escort fighters evolved quickly though the war years, as they did for the defending German fighters. For the Allied airmen who fought this war the price was frighteningly high, for those who opposed them – in the air and on the ground – it was even higher. As the bombing increased, Nazi high command was forced to devote more and more resources to try and defeat the Allied campaign, just when those same resources were desperately needed elsewhere, both on the Russian Front and, after D-Day on 6 June 1944, on the new Western Front. Written from the ‘other side’ and told as much as possible through the words of the veterans, this is an important book on one of the most controversial campaigns of the Second World War.
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:
On June 4, 1944—two days before D-Day—the course of World War II was forever changed. That day, a US Navy task force achieved the impossible—capturing a German U-Boat, its crew, all its technology, Nazi encryption codes, and an Enigma cipher machine. Led by a nine-man boarding party and the maverick Captain Daniel Gallery, US antisubmarine Task Group 22.3’s capture of U-505 in what was called Operation Nemo was the first seizure of an enemy ship in battle since the War of 1812, one of the greatest achievements of the US Navy, and a victory that shortened the duration of the war.
Charles Lachman’s white-knuckled war saga and thrilling cat-and-mouse game is told through the eyes of the men on both sides of Operation Nemo—German U-Boaters and American heroes like Lieutenant Albert David (“Mustang”), who led the boarding party that took control of U-505 and became the only sailor to be awarded the Medal of Honor in the Battle of the Atlantic; and Chief Motor Machinist Zenon Lukosius (“Zeke”), a Lithuanian immigrant’s son from Chicago who dropped out of high school to enlist in the Navy and whose quick thinking saved the day when he plugged a hole of gushing water that was threatening to sink U-505.
Three thousand American sailors participated in this extraordinary adventure; nine ordinary American men channeling extraordinary skill and bravery finished the job; and then—like everyone involved—breathed not a word of it until after the war was over. Nothing leaked out. In Berlin, the German Kriegsmarine assumed that U-505 had been blown to bits by depth charges, with all hands lost at sea. They were unaware that the U-Boat and its secrets, to be used in cracking Nazi coded messages, were in now American hands. They were also unaware that the 59 German sailors captured on the high seas were imprisoned in a POW camp in Ruston, Louisiana, until their release in 1946 when they were permitted to return home to family and friends who thought they had perished.
Following Operation Nemo step-by-step, author Charles Lachman has crafted a deeply researched, fast-paced World War II narrative for the ages.