Military History
Discussion
PH5121 said:
I enjoyed a book about WW2 which I read on my summer holiday, it was entitled 'Arnhem - The Battle for Survival' by John Nichol and Tony Rennell.
They've written a few other books together on WW2 which you might also enjoy then. There's a list here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/John-Nichol/e/B001HMTOACJust read Sniper on the Eastern Front - a paperback published by Pen and Sword.
I found this bio totally harrowing and told from the German point of view, realised the fear of was first hand.
Reading about the activities of the Russians witnessed by the writer, it made you support the Germans in their retreat and it is a miracle the story was ever told.
I got my copy from the local 'Works' bookshop for about £3 but worth every penny full price.
I found this bio totally harrowing and told from the German point of view, realised the fear of was first hand.
Reading about the activities of the Russians witnessed by the writer, it made you support the Germans in their retreat and it is a miracle the story was ever told.
I got my copy from the local 'Works' bookshop for about £3 but worth every penny full price.
BryanC said:
Just read Sniper on the Eastern Front - a paperback published by Pen and Sword.
I found this bio totally harrowing and told from the German point of view, realised the fear of was first hand.
Reading about the activities of the Russians witnessed by the writer, it made you support the Germans in their retreat and it is a miracle the story was ever told.
I got my copy from the local 'Works' bookshop for about £3 but worth every penny full price.
That sounds interesting. I'll look out for it. I was in my local Works today but didn't see anything like that there. I did pick up The Unreturning Army by Huntly Gordon though - its a memoir of a field gunner in WW1, originally published in 1967 but now redone with more of his original diary content in there that had been edited out previously.I found this bio totally harrowing and told from the German point of view, realised the fear of was first hand.
Reading about the activities of the Russians witnessed by the writer, it made you support the Germans in their retreat and it is a miracle the story was ever told.
I got my copy from the local 'Works' bookshop for about £3 but worth every penny full price.
Trexthedinosaur said:
Sorry I haven't read the hole thread so not sure if it has been posted but;
'Blood Red Snow'
Diary of a German infantry soldier who is posted to the Eastern front, harrowing! More a compilation of short diary passages translated from German.
Gunter K.K.
Sniper On The Eastern Front is also an interesting read. I recently picked up a copy from The Works.'Blood Red Snow'
Diary of a German infantry soldier who is posted to the Eastern front, harrowing! More a compilation of short diary passages translated from German.
Gunter K.K.
Halfway through this. The Works of course.
It felt like I was sitting in the Tiger Moth with him, learning spins in a Harvard and his first solo, as getting his wings at the Flight Training School was by no means certain, but eventually fighting the Hun over the Channel and bringing his Spitfire back badly shot up.
A spiffing good yarn written by a damn good chap.
Being slightly serious, he was one of the Few. and once again you realise what these guys did for us. I'd have read it straight through if there was just a few more hours in the day - a real page turner.
It felt like I was sitting in the Tiger Moth with him, learning spins in a Harvard and his first solo, as getting his wings at the Flight Training School was by no means certain, but eventually fighting the Hun over the Channel and bringing his Spitfire back badly shot up.
A spiffing good yarn written by a damn good chap.
Being slightly serious, he was one of the Few. and once again you realise what these guys did for us. I'd have read it straight through if there was just a few more hours in the day - a real page turner.
A ripping good read, that one. There seem to be a few fighter pilot diaries and memoirs out over the last few years - seen quite a few in our Works recently.
Incidentally, I have all my books in LibraryThing - which has meant I can make them accessible via their free cataloguing software, LibraryCat. If anyone is stuck for some WW1 and WW2 book ideas, you could have a look at these:
https://www.librarycat.org/lib/Flip_Martian/search...
Incidentally, I have all my books in LibraryThing - which has meant I can make them accessible via their free cataloguing software, LibraryCat. If anyone is stuck for some WW1 and WW2 book ideas, you could have a look at these:
https://www.librarycat.org/lib/Flip_Martian/search...
'The Recollections of Rifleman Bowlby' by Alex Bowlby.
The memoirs of taking part in the WWII Italian Campaign by a rifleman (private soldier) in what became the Greenjackets.
Not heroic, not gung-ho, no grand strategy, no big battles, but the day-to-day perspective of an ordinary infantry private soldier trying to do his bit, and stay alive, as the Allies pushed the Germans up the central spine of Italy.
The big battles - Anzio, Cassino and so on take place somewhere very distant and far away. As far as I know, none of the actions in the book - even the one that wiped out his company (not a spoiler - it is mentioned from the start) merit even a footnote in the modern history of the Italian Campaign.
But for showing what it was like to be an infantryman in Italy in 1944 - losing your rifle in a pell-mell retreat and being ordered to go back, alone, to get it, having the s
ts, losing your pipe, the joy when the mobile bath unit turned up, the terror of hearing enemy mortars 'search' for your hastily-dug trench ... it is a compelling read.
I understand it became part of the required reading for Sandhurst cadets.
The memoirs of taking part in the WWII Italian Campaign by a rifleman (private soldier) in what became the Greenjackets.
Not heroic, not gung-ho, no grand strategy, no big battles, but the day-to-day perspective of an ordinary infantry private soldier trying to do his bit, and stay alive, as the Allies pushed the Germans up the central spine of Italy.
The big battles - Anzio, Cassino and so on take place somewhere very distant and far away. As far as I know, none of the actions in the book - even the one that wiped out his company (not a spoiler - it is mentioned from the start) merit even a footnote in the modern history of the Italian Campaign.
But for showing what it was like to be an infantryman in Italy in 1944 - losing your rifle in a pell-mell retreat and being ordered to go back, alone, to get it, having the s
ts, losing your pipe, the joy when the mobile bath unit turned up, the terror of hearing enemy mortars 'search' for your hastily-dug trench ... it is a compelling read. I understand it became part of the required reading for Sandhurst cadets.
Ayahuasca said:
'The Recollections of Rifleman Bowlby' by Alex Bowlby.
The memoirs of taking part in the WWII Italian Campaign by a rifleman (private soldier) in what became the Greenjackets.
Not heroic, not gung-ho, no grand strategy, no big battles, but the day-to-day perspective of an ordinary infantry private soldier trying to do his bit, and stay alive, as the Allies pushed the Germans up the central spine of Italy.
The big battles - Anzio, Cassino and so on take place somewhere very distant and far away. As far as I know, none of the actions in the book - even the one that wiped out his company (not a spoiler - it is mentioned from the start) merit even a footnote in the modern history of the Italian Campaign.
But for showing what it was like to be an infantryman in Italy in 1944 - losing your rifle in a pell-mell retreat and being ordered to go back, alone, to get it, having the sts, losing your pipe, the joy when the mobile bath unit turned up, the terror of hearing enemy mortars 'search' for your hastily-dug trench ... it is a compelling read.
I understand it became part of the required reading for Sandhurst cadets.
I prefer those accounts to the big "stories of campaigns" books. What life was actually like for so many, that's what's interesting for me. I'll grab that one, ta. Although I'll go for a 1969 1st Edition I think.The memoirs of taking part in the WWII Italian Campaign by a rifleman (private soldier) in what became the Greenjackets.
Not heroic, not gung-ho, no grand strategy, no big battles, but the day-to-day perspective of an ordinary infantry private soldier trying to do his bit, and stay alive, as the Allies pushed the Germans up the central spine of Italy.
The big battles - Anzio, Cassino and so on take place somewhere very distant and far away. As far as I know, none of the actions in the book - even the one that wiped out his company (not a spoiler - it is mentioned from the start) merit even a footnote in the modern history of the Italian Campaign.
But for showing what it was like to be an infantryman in Italy in 1944 - losing your rifle in a pell-mell retreat and being ordered to go back, alone, to get it, having the s
ts, losing your pipe, the joy when the mobile bath unit turned up, the terror of hearing enemy mortars 'search' for your hastily-dug trench ... it is a compelling read. I understand it became part of the required reading for Sandhurst cadets.
Edited by Flip Martian on Tuesday 7th March 18:53
Ayahuasca said:
'The Recollections of Rifleman Bowlby' by Alex Bowlby.
The memoirs of taking part in the WWII Italian Campaign by a rifleman (private soldier) in what became the Greenjackets.
Not heroic, not gung-ho, no grand strategy, no big battles, but the day-to-day perspective of an ordinary infantry private soldier trying to do his bit, and stay alive, as the Allies pushed the Germans up the central spine of Italy.
The big battles - Anzio, Cassino and so on take place somewhere very distant and far away. As far as I know, none of the actions in the book - even the one that wiped out his company (not a spoiler - it is mentioned from the start) merit even a footnote in the modern history of the Italian Campaign.
But for showing what it was like to be an infantryman in Italy in 1944 - losing your rifle in a pell-mell retreat and being ordered to go back, alone, to get it, having the sts, losing your pipe, the joy when the mobile bath unit turned up, the terror of hearing enemy mortars 'search' for your hastily-dug trench ... it is a compelling read.
I understand it became part of the required reading for Sandhurst cadets.
I purchased a copy on e-bay for £2.79 free postage. A good read.The memoirs of taking part in the WWII Italian Campaign by a rifleman (private soldier) in what became the Greenjackets.
Not heroic, not gung-ho, no grand strategy, no big battles, but the day-to-day perspective of an ordinary infantry private soldier trying to do his bit, and stay alive, as the Allies pushed the Germans up the central spine of Italy.
The big battles - Anzio, Cassino and so on take place somewhere very distant and far away. As far as I know, none of the actions in the book - even the one that wiped out his company (not a spoiler - it is mentioned from the start) merit even a footnote in the modern history of the Italian Campaign.
But for showing what it was like to be an infantryman in Italy in 1944 - losing your rifle in a pell-mell retreat and being ordered to go back, alone, to get it, having the s
ts, losing your pipe, the joy when the mobile bath unit turned up, the terror of hearing enemy mortars 'search' for your hastily-dug trench ... it is a compelling read. I understand it became part of the required reading for Sandhurst cadets.
I couldn't believe how many deserters there were. At one point it's calculated there were 30,000 roaming around rural Italy. I had no idea - it's obviously going to happen in a conscript army, but the figure astonished me.
I understand that this
http://thefirstcasualty.net/
Was officially launched yesterday, I'm waiting to get hold of a copy, interested if anyone else here has one?
http://thefirstcasualty.net/
Was officially launched yesterday, I'm waiting to get hold of a copy, interested if anyone else here has one?
K50 DEL said:
I understand that this
http://thefirstcasualty.net/
Was officially launched yesterday, I'm waiting to get hold of a copy, interested if anyone else here has one?
I wonder why it was on kickstarter...you'd think a major publisher would be all over that. Does sound interesting but I'm dubious of kckstarters.http://thefirstcasualty.net/
Was officially launched yesterday, I'm waiting to get hold of a copy, interested if anyone else here has one?
Flip Martian said:
K50 DEL said:
I understand that this
http://thefirstcasualty.net/
Was officially launched yesterday, I'm waiting to get hold of a copy, interested if anyone else here has one?
I wonder why it was on kickstarter...you'd think a major publisher would be all over that. Does sound interesting but I'm dubious of kckstarters.http://thefirstcasualty.net/
Was officially launched yesterday, I'm waiting to get hold of a copy, interested if anyone else here has one?
I'm trying to get hold of a copy, my old man was there on the periphery so I'm interested to read it.
nicanary said:
Ayahuasca said:
'The Recollections of Rifleman Bowlby' by Alex Bowlby.
The memoirs of taking part in the WWII Italian Campaign by a rifleman (private soldier) in what became the Greenjackets.
Not heroic, not gung-ho, no grand strategy, no big battles, but the day-to-day perspective of an ordinary infantry private soldier trying to do his bit, and stay alive, as the Allies pushed the Germans up the central spine of Italy.
The big battles - Anzio, Cassino and so on take place somewhere very distant and far away. As far as I know, none of the actions in the book - even the one that wiped out his company (not a spoiler - it is mentioned from the start) merit even a footnote in the modern history of the Italian Campaign.
But for showing what it was like to be an infantryman in Italy in 1944 - losing your rifle in a pell-mell retreat and being ordered to go back, alone, to get it, having the sts, losing your pipe, the joy when the mobile bath unit turned up, the terror of hearing enemy mortars 'search' for your hastily-dug trench ... it is a compelling read.
I understand it became part of the required reading for Sandhurst cadets.
I purchased a copy on e-bay for £2.79 free postage. A good read.The memoirs of taking part in the WWII Italian Campaign by a rifleman (private soldier) in what became the Greenjackets.
Not heroic, not gung-ho, no grand strategy, no big battles, but the day-to-day perspective of an ordinary infantry private soldier trying to do his bit, and stay alive, as the Allies pushed the Germans up the central spine of Italy.
The big battles - Anzio, Cassino and so on take place somewhere very distant and far away. As far as I know, none of the actions in the book - even the one that wiped out his company (not a spoiler - it is mentioned from the start) merit even a footnote in the modern history of the Italian Campaign.
But for showing what it was like to be an infantryman in Italy in 1944 - losing your rifle in a pell-mell retreat and being ordered to go back, alone, to get it, having the s
ts, losing your pipe, the joy when the mobile bath unit turned up, the terror of hearing enemy mortars 'search' for your hastily-dug trench ... it is a compelling read. I understand it became part of the required reading for Sandhurst cadets.
I couldn't believe how many deserters there were. At one point it's calculated there were 30,000 roaming around rural Italy. I had no idea - it's obviously going to happen in a conscript army, but the figure astonished me.
I also liked the point mentioned that it was easier to lead in an elite unit like the paras and marines, because they could get rid of any wasters, but in a regular infantry unit they were stuck with them.
It's been mentioned a couple of times already, but 'With The Old Breed at Peleliu and Okinawa' by E.B. Sledge.
I must admit I had not even heard of the battle of Peleliu, yet it was said to be the toughest of the whole Pacific war. The Americans suffered 10,000 casualties. 10,000 Japanese defenders were killed, and only 19 surrendered.
Grim does not begin to describe it.
The book was one of the sources for 'The Pacific' TV series.
After reading about the thousands of men who died there, I went to Google Earth to look for the island. It is hard to find, even when you know more or less where it is. In the end I had to resort to the search function to find the main island (Palau, not itself fought over), then I found the tiny Peleliu. It got quite dusty in my house when I saw the insignificant, microscopic,dot in the ocean where all those men suffered.
I must admit I had not even heard of the battle of Peleliu, yet it was said to be the toughest of the whole Pacific war. The Americans suffered 10,000 casualties. 10,000 Japanese defenders were killed, and only 19 surrendered.
Grim does not begin to describe it.
The book was one of the sources for 'The Pacific' TV series.
After reading about the thousands of men who died there, I went to Google Earth to look for the island. It is hard to find, even when you know more or less where it is. In the end I had to resort to the search function to find the main island (Palau, not itself fought over), then I found the tiny Peleliu. It got quite dusty in my house when I saw the insignificant, microscopic,dot in the ocean where all those men suffered.
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