Military History Encyclopedia on the Web
29 March 2012
George Washington's Westchester Gamble, Richard Borkow. An interesting study of the impact of the American War of Independence on Westchester County, just to the north of New York, combined with a history of the major events that happened in and around the county, most notably the encampment at which George Washington decided to march to Yorktown, where he won the decisive battle of the war. [
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27 March 2012
Images of War: Hitler's Headquarters 1939-1945, Ian Baxter. A photographic history of the many different headquarters used by Hitler during the Second World War, supported by a useful text explaining the construction of each HQ and the periods in which they were used. Also includes a set of photographs from a recent visit to the most famous of those headquarters, the site of the 1944 assassination attempt. [
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5 March 2012
Teddy Suhren, Ace of Aces, Teddy Suhren and Fritz Brustat-Naval. The memoirs of one of the most successful U-boat commanders of the Second World War, covering his early training, his time at sea, where he was one of the most successful U-boat aces, and the final years of his wartime career, when he was given a series of shore commands in a deliberate attempt by his superiors to make sure he survived. [
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13 February 2012
7 February 2012
Through all the Changing Scenes of Life, ed Susan Harrison. The memories of William Edward Jones, a career Navy man who joined up in 1899 and served during the First World War. An interesting account of life in a navy that still had some old 'three deckers' (mainly as training ships) operating alongside turbine driven destroyers and the great dreadnoughts. [
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31 January 2012
Hitler: Dictator or Puppet? Andrew Norman. An attempt to analyse Hitler's mental health using the evidence of his actions, known beliefs, quotes and eyewitness accounts of his behaviour. Includes some good material on the sources of Hitler's ideas, and the way they were put into effect during the Second World War. [
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The Persian Invasions of Greece, Arthur Keaveney. Fairly short but informative account of the famous campaigns of Darius and Xersex, written by an expert on ancient Persia and so with a rather different tone and emphasis than most books on this subject. Also covers the Ionian revolt and the build-up to the war in more detail than is often the case. [
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27 January 2012
Artillery in the Great War, Paul Strong and Sanders Marble. An examination of the way in which artillery was used during the First World War, tracing the development of artillery tactics, starting with the early clashes of 1914, in which different pre-war doctrines were tested in combat, before following the way that artillery tactics evolved during the conflict to produce the highly effective British artillery of 1918. [
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19 December 2011
Battle of the Crater, Newt Gingrich and William R. Forstchen. Historical novel set in the Petersburg campaign, focusing on the Battle of the Crater, a potentially war winning Union attack that failed after the plan of attack was changed at the very last minute. Seen through the eyes of a war artist and a black NCO in one of the well trained units that should have taken part in the initial attack. [
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16 December 2011
15 December 2011
Wild Strawberries, Derek Smith. The memoirs of an evacuee who was moved from Birmingham into the Staffordshire countryside, close to the village of Yoxall, before illness took him into the wartime health system. Well written and involving, and covers a different part of the evacuee experience to most memoirs. [
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The Parthian, Pete Darman. Historical novel following the adventures of a Parthian prince who is captured by the Romans and taken to Italy, where he is rescued by Spartacus and joins his revolt. Nicely paced, and with a different take on the familiar story of Spartacus. [
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If Chaos Reigns, Flint Whitlock. Focuses on the activities of the Allied airborne forces on both flanks of the D-Day beaches, covering the British, American and Canadian paratroopers and glider-borne troops. Most of the book covers the fighting on D-Day itself, although the author also includes a history of the development of airborne troops [
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6 December 2011
A Magnificent Disaster: The Failure of Market Garden, David Bennett. An interesting study of the failure at Arnhem, focusing on the wider aspects of the campaign as much as on the narrow thrust or the fighting at Arnhem. Bennett covers the German point of view, the flanking operations of XII & VIII Corps and the actions of the 101st Airborne, as well as the wider strategic aims of the operation. [
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King's African Rifles - A History, Malcolm Page. A study of the King's African Rifles, one of the most important of the local forces raised by the British in Africa. Looks at their experience against the 'Mad Mullah', their contribution in East Africa in the First World War, and against the Italians, Vichy French and Japanese during the Second World War, before moving on to the end of Empire and the last imperial wars [
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2 December 2011
Waterloo Collection 1: Ligny and Quatre Bras (DVD). The first of four DVDs looking at the Waterloo campaign, this DVD looks at the background to the campaign and the battles of Quatre Bras and Ligny, the first serious fighting of the short campaign. An informative DVD, filmed on the battlefield and presented by a group of historians and expert battlefield guides [read full review]
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1 December 2011
30 November 2011
Prussian Napoleonic Tactics 1792-1815, Peter Hofschröer. An examination of the organisation, tactics and battlefield effectiveness of the Prussian Army, from the early reasonably successful involvement in the Revolutionary Wars, through the crushing defeats at Jena and Auerstadt and on to the brief involvement in Russia in 1812, the War of Liberation and the final defeat of Napoleon. [
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Armies of the Irish Rebellion 1798, Stuart Reid. A study of the British, French and Irish rebel armies involved in the Irish Rebellion of 1798 and the brief French intervention that came after the defeat of the main rebel armies. Demonstrates the variety of troops involved on the British side, the tiny size of the French expeditionary force and the limited organisation of the Irish rebels. [
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29 November 2011
Samurai Women, 1184-1877, Stephen Turnbull. A wide ranging book, looking at the role of women on the battlefields of Japan from the semi-legendary Empress Jingu of 170-260 AD to the Samurai women who fought against the Meiji Restoration of 1868. Mainly covers women's roles in sieges, but also includes some rare examples of involvement on the battlefield. [
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28 November 2011
Hitler's Army, Chris McNab. Ten times larger than many Ospreys, this book looks at the development of the Germany army from the triumphs of 1939-40 to its eventual defeat in 1944-45. Covers a wide range of topics, from the overall organisation of the army to the evolution of different parts of the uniform, all supported by illustrations, photos and maps from Osprey's archives. A very useful and readable reference work. [
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25 November 2011
Saladin, David Nicolle. The book is a fascinating, balanced read portraying Saladin as a complex political and military leader of the Muslim world, who faced as many Muslim as Christian enemies. It is well written and as usual with Osprey well illustrated with maps, colour plates and black and white as well as colour photographs. The book examines his early life, his military and political campaigns and briefly his well known battles; it also looks at what motivated him as a leader. [
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23 November 2011
Casca: Sword of the Brotherhood, Tony Roberts. This entry in the Casca series is set in an interesting period - the last clashes between Byzantium and the soon to be overwhelmed Persian Empire. Casca is blackmailed into taking part in this struggle by his arch enemies, who want to retrieve his spear, used at the crucifixion, captured by the Persians when they briefly held Jerusalem. [
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Armies of the Napoleonic Wars, ed. Gregory Fremont-Barnes. A collection of ten articles by nine different authors looking at the main armies of the Napoleonic Wars, from 1803 to 1815. The chapters vary in tone, with some only having the space to trace the evolving structure of an army, while others, for the smaller participants, also provide details on the army's performance. A very useful reference work. [
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4 November 2011
Motherland: Part One, Through Hunger and War, Natan Gimelfarb. Part one of the autobiography of a Jewish director living in the Soviet Union, covering his childhood, wartime experiences and student days. The author grew up in the Ukraine, suffered during the pre-war famines, and was forced to flee east ahead of the advancing Germans. A period in the Red Army ended when he was seriously wounded, and the final part of the book looks at his experiences as a wartime student. [
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31 October 2011
Up to Mametz and Beyond, Llewelyn Wyn Griffith. A classic account of life on the Western Front (Up to Mametz, first published in 1931), accompanied by the same author's unpublished memoirs covering his time as a staff officer during the last two years of the war. The two books are very different in tone, well written and of great value. [
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Sparta at War, Scott M. Rusch. A study of the rise, dominance and fall of Sparta, the most famous military power in the Classical Greek world. Sparta dominated land warfare for two centuries, before suffering a series of defeats that broke its power. The author examines the reasons for that success, and for Sparta's failure to bounce back from defeat. [
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3 October 2011
Vietnam Gun Trucks, Gordon L. Rottman. A study of the armed trucks used to escort vulnerable supply convoys as they crossed South Vietnam, looking at their origins as an impromptu solution to an unexpected problem, the development of more powerfully armed versions of the trucks, the tactics used by the truck crews and the often flamboyant decorative paint schemes used on the truck names. [
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Great War Lives: A Guide for Family Historians, Paul Reed. An unusual approach to family history, looking at the wartime experiences of twelve very different British soldiers (including the only black pilot in the RFC and a rare example of a major war poet of low rank). Each of these biographies is followed by research notes which explain where the information was found. [
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Haig - Master of the Field, Major General Sir John Davidson. An account of the events on the Western Front in 1917 and 1918, written by Haig's Director of Operations. The author was motivated by a desire to restore Haig's reputation against what he believed were unfair attacks, and to a large extent he succeeds, although on occasions he does rather over-state his case. [
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Women in the Second World War, Collette Drifte. A collection of personal reminiscences from Women who served in the armed forces, industry or farming during the Second World War, looking at the ATS, WAAF, WRNS, the Land Army, the Timber Corps, the Voluntary Aid Detachment, Queen Alexandra's Nurses, the Fire Service, the NAAFI and finishing with the stories of three famous SOE operatives. [
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22 September 2011
August 1914 - Surrender at St. Quentin, John Hutton. A study of an infamous incident during the British retreat from Le Cateau in 1914, when the commanders of two infantry battalions decided to surrender under great German pressure, only for another officer to intervene and extract their men. Looks at the pressure the two men were under, their subsequent court martial and their different reactions to being disgraced. [
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Sacrifice on the Steppe, Hope Hamilton. The tragic tale of the Italian Alpine Corps sent by Mussolini to fight alongside the Germans in Russia, their disastrous retreat after the Soviet counterattack at Stalingrad, and the fate of the many men who were captured by the Soviets, from the early poor treatment to the later political indoctrination. [
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15 August 2011
Marshal Vauban and the Defence of Louis XIV's France, James Falkner. A biography of the famous French military engineer, whose fortifications dominated many French towns for centuries after his death. Vauban was both a builder and besieger of fortifications, and this biography looks at both his defensive work, where he created a strongly defended border, and his military career, where by his own count he was involved in over fifty major sieges. [
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Erich von Manstein - Hitler's Master Strategist, Benoit Lemay. Focuses on Manstein's wartime career, from the planning for the invasions on Poland and France to his time on the Eastern Front. This is an objective account, acknowledging both Manstein's great ability as a general and his involvement in the massive war crimes committed in Russia, with his knowledge, and on occasion encouragement. [
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8 August 2011
World War II Soviet Armed Forces (1), 1939-41, Dr Nigel Thomas. This is a fairly traditional Osprey Man at Arms book looking at the soviet armed forces during the early stages of the Second World War 1939-1941. The book gives a brief outline of the early course of the war, the purges of high command, and the land forces' main campaigns, with sections on the Air force, Navy and NKVD uniforms. The book is short and gives an introduction to a big subject with excellent detail on uniforms and organisation at this early stage. [
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Border Reiver, 1513-1603, Keith Durham. An examination of the last century of warfare on the Anglo-Scottish border, which mainly involved the local families, or reivers, who took part in an endless series of border raids. Most were more criminal than military, but the same men were normally involved in the regular battles on the borders, and their activities turned the whole border region into a fortified area. [
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3 August 2011
Commando Tactics: The Second World War, Stephen Bull. A study of the way in which the Commandos were selected, trained and used during their brief existence and how that changed during the course of the Second World War. The author traces the way in which during their short life the Commandos became increasingly proficient, and expanded dramatically in size, and the early small scale raiding was replaced by larger scale operations. [
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The Kensington Battalion, G. I. S. Inglis. A history of the 22nd Royal Fusiliers (the Kensington Battalion), one of the many service battalions raised as part of Kitchener's 'New Army'. This is one of the best 'unit' histories that I've read, with a good balance between the close-up details and the wider picture.The Kensington Battalion, G. I. S. Inglis. A history of the 22nd Royal Fusiliers (the Kensington Battalion), one of the many service battalions raised as part of Kitchener's 'New Army'. This is one of the best 'unit' histories that I've read, with a good balance between the close-up details and the wider picture. [
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The Hunt for Martin Bormann - The Truth, Charles Whiting. A look at the post-war hunt for Martin Bormann, the most senior Nazi leader not accounted for in 1945. Bormann died in Berlin in 1945, but his body wasn't found for three decades, and in the gap a wide range of theories grew up to explain his escape, from major Nazi networks in South America to his being a Soviet spy in retirement in Moscow. [
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29 July 2011
The Battle-Cruiser HMS Renown 1916-1948, Peter C. Smith. Built as a First World War battlecruiser, the Renown survived to become one of the most important British warships of the Second World War. Making extensive use of the memories of the crewmen who served in her, this book tells the tale of a fast, happy, but vulnerable ship that despite her thin battlecruiser armour surivied to play a major part in the most British naval successes, especially in the Mediterranean. [
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Rising Sun, John Toland. A well researched and compelling history of the Second World War in the Pacific, mainly told from the Japanese point of view. As a result we learn more about the Japanese strategy for the war, the reasons for each decision, and the political background in Japan. [
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26 July 2011
The Soviet Union at War 1941-1945, ed. David R. Stone. An examination of the impact of the German invasion on the Soviet Union, and how effective the various elements of the Soviet system were in fighting the war. Topics covered include the collective farming system, Soviet industry, the structure and attitudes of the military, the role of Women and the fate of non-Russians on both sides of the front line. [
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Frigates, Sloops and Brigs, James Henderson. Originally published as two separate books, this single volume edition looks at the frigates and smaller ships that served in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic and Revolutionary Wars. Tales of daring successes mix with stories of bold actions that ended in defeat to produce an picture of life and death in the small ships. [
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