What are you currently reading ?

[kipt]

Finished "The Waterloo Archive, Volume XI: British Sources" edited by Gareth Glover.

Almost the first half of the book (to page 117) is the Brigade Order books from MG Sir Hussey Vivian's 6th Cavalry Brigade.  And not very interesting.  One reference to Waterloo in the orders for June 19th.

The second half has various letters form various participants and later visitors.  There are two courts martial proceedings, both brought by a brevet major in the 1/32nd against two other majors, accusing them of cowardice.  Both acquitted.  Seems like the accuser might have had bad feelings about these two superior officers, but nothing in the documents showing that.

[fred.]

I suppose by the time you get to volume 11 you have got through the good stuff several volumes earlier!

[kipt]

Yes the earlier volumes were very detailed.  There are more volumes out now (I think to XIII) but I am going to pass on those.

[kipt]

Finished "Don't Give an Inch; The second Day at Gettysburg July 2, 1863 - From Little Round Top to Cemetery Ridge" by Chris MacKowski, Kristopher D. White and Daniel T. Davis.  They did a book on the first Day at Gettysburg also as part of the Emerging Civil War Series by Savas Beattie.

Again, good pictures and narrative as well as a battlefield tour guide.

An interesting commentary on Col Chamberlain, who, it appears was a good self promoter.

I believe another volume is coming on Day 2, Culp's Hill and that area of the battle.

[kipt]

Finished "World War II Infographics" by several contributing authors.  This is a large sized book full of information.  It has 4 main sections, 1. The Context Of The war, 2. Arms And armed Forces, 3. Battles And Campaigns and 4. Aftermath And Consequences.

Within each section are maps showing, through colored maps and graphs, using as the title says, infographics to present statistics, sizes of countries, manpower, armies, navies, air forces, economics, politics, armaments, comparisons of armored vehicles, combat fleets, production factors, bombing campaign results, and much more.

Some of the contents within each section (there are 10 to 19 specific articles, each on a 2 page layout) are "One In Nine Mobilized", "The Issue Of Oil", "The Pillaging Of Europe By The Third Reich", in Section 1. Section 2 has "Artillery, The Hammer Of Thor", "Inside An Armoured Division", and "A Carrier Battle Group In 1942".

Section 3 has "A Tidal Wave From Japan", "The Desert war", "Kursk: The Tide Turns" and "US Logistics In Europe".  Section 4 has "The Reich's Military Losses", "Resistance In Occupied Europe", "The Economic Toll Of The War", and "The Dawn Of The Cold War In Europe".

Very well presented with the graphics enhancing the information.  Recommended.

[Steve J]

A few books finished recently. Firstly '1945' by Peter Caddick-Adams, focusing on the NWE front rather than the more familiar Eastern one. A brilliant book, full of lots of detail and snippets of info I'd never heard of before. It certainly reinforces my view that it is not a period that offers much for the gamer.

Then 'A Wargamer's Guide to the Crusades' by Ian Heath. A real gem of a book that provides a succint overview of this period. Perfect background info for a potential Lion Rampant II series of games and forces.

[kipt]

Finished "British Pacific Fleet 1944-45: The Royal Navy in the Downfall of Japan" by Brian Lane Herder, illustrated by Paul Wright.

A good history of the latter part of the Pacific War when the British sent a fleet to work with the US (who did not always want them due to different supply methods and also did not want to share the "glory" of defeating Japan).  However, Halsey came to appreciated them.

Good descriptions of the areas involved as well as the ships and commanders.

[kipt]

Finished a fantastic book, "A World on Fire: Britain's Crucial Role In The American Civil War" by Amanda Foreman.

Political action, volunteering for both the North and the South by British officers, Irish workmen, younger sons, blockade runners, Frenchmen, commissioners both North and South buying warlike materials form Britain and France, all very well explained.

The south thought that "King Cotton" would mean Britain HAD to break the blockade, but the government wanted to remain neutral.  Seward plays a big part both antagonizing and calming the British Consul, Lord Lyons.  The American consul from the north in Britain was Charles Adams, who went though the same emotional roller coaster as did Lord Lyons.

The book is long, 807 pages with 104 pages of end notes.   It was one of the 10 Best Books in 2011 in the New York Times Book Review.  Highly recommended.

[kipt]

Finished "Leavenworth Papers No. 12; Seek, Strike, and Destroy: U.S. Army Tank Destroyer Doctrine in World War II" by Dr. Christopher R. Gabel.

A history of the TD and the various doctrines that were proposed to show the need for a TD.  In actual combat doctrine was not followed.  However, the TD in its various forms carried a bigger gun than the Sherman, so was welcomed in the front lines.

Doctrine had proposed a maneuvering mass of TD's to blunt the German Blitzkrieg of masses of tanks.  However, the Germans used combined arms and not so many tanks at once (other than some in Africa and the Ardennes offensive).

All in all, a waste of resources when Ordnance should have mounted a larger gun in the tank (as eventually happened).

[fred.]

You get through a lot of books, kipt!

Given the overall rapid development of tanks in WWII, and the constant need to put bigger guns on existing hulls (examples by most protagonists) do you think that the US TDs where a practical way of getting heavier mobile guns in the field, even if the overall doctarine behind them was flawed?

It generally seems to have been harder to get heavier guns in a fully armoured turret - eg PzIV managed to get to 75mm L/48 in a turret, but in SPG guns they got 75mm L/70 in armoured superstructure and 88mm in open superstructure. 

[kipt]

Heavier guns in TD's were a great help to the PBI on the front lines.  Doctrine called for TD's to be massed at company, battalion or greater.  Battalions were almost permanently assigned to divisions but never used en masse.  Companies assigned to RCT, platoons to battalions and so on down.

I usually have 2, sometimes 3 books going at once.  I have a large library.

[fsn]

I don't know if "reading" is the right word. It implies starting at the beginning, then going to the end when you stop. However, with "The British Army against Napoleon: Facts Lists and Trivia" you get what it says on the cover.

I am gratified to learn that shipping costs from Plymouth to the Peninsula was a mere 1s 0d for up to 250lb, that only 1% of hospital entrants in the Peninsula were suffering from wounds, and that whereas the garrison of the Leeward Islands was 10,500, only 8,000 were deemed necessary to protect Canada and Nova Scotia. 

This is my kind of book!

[kipt]

Finished "Pacific Air: How Fearless Flyboys, Peerless Aircraft, And Fast Flattops Conquered The Skies In The War With Japan" by David Sears.

Similar to the other book I read a bit ago on the fighter pilots in the Pacific.  This has information on the companies that made the planes, primarily Grumman.  Individuals snapshots of US pilots and quite a bit on Saburo Sakai, Japanese Ace.

Very good read.

[kipt]

Finished "The Union Soldier In Battle: Enduring The Ordeal Of Combat" by Earl J. Hess.

Discusses the motivation to enlist, support from the home front, the experience of the first combat, defining courage, holding on, the psychology of the battle line and memories.  Quotes from letters, diaries and newspaper articles.

Interesting look into how and why the soldiers fought, endured and their patriotism.

[T13A]

Hi

'The Making of Oliver Cromwell' by Ronald Hutton, the first volume of a planned three volume biography of Cromwell (I think the second volume was published in August).
Excellent read and particularly good at separating the 'facts' and the 'fiction' (or at least what some other historians have assumed) regarding Cromwell's life up until just after the end of the first civil war (1647). Hutton really brings out the seeming contradictions of Cromwell's character.

Cheers Paul