The Onin War 1467-77

by

Stephen Turnbull

 The author, Stephen Turnbull, has become synonymous with the history of Japan and especially of the Samurai under the Shogunate. The list of his books is much too long to print here. Having read a good number of his books so far, I had high expectations for this book. I was not to be proven wrong by any means in this regard.

 The Onin War is really the start of the 'Sengoku Jidai' (warring states) period of Japanese history. This is when the power of the Shogun over the country started to wane. The Sengoku Jidai was a time when all of Japan became a battlefield for the various warlords around the nation.

 The Onin War was fought between 1467-77. The author starts the book by going back in time before the Onin War. His story starts with the Emperor G0-Daigo (1288-1339) and his attempts to take back the imperial power from the Shogun. The Shogun was originally a servant of the emperor, mostly as a general. This changed around 300 years earlier and the emperor then became just a cypher with the Shogun holding absolute power. The book continues with the trials and tribulations of Japan as different families, and strangely enough, the poor farmers rose in revolt. This boiling pot was brought to a frenzy by the of the ascension of the 'lottery Shogun' Ashikaga Yoshinori. His brutal reign as Shogun ended with a successful revolt and the loss of his head. 

 The intrigues continued until the new Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa was not really in control of the country at all. The various warlords did as they pleased. This ended up with two factions of the warlords attacking each other in the capital city of Kyoto. The Onin War was fought during the years 1467-77 and was fought mostly in the environs of Kyoto. The city became a burning shell of itself during the early part of the war with each warlord commanding fortified mansions in the city. All of this and more is shown to us by the author. He continues with the story of what happened after the actual fighting in Kyoto spread to the rest of the country. The book is filled to the brim with not only Japanese history but also shows exactly why the different revolts broke out. It also gives you a glimpse into the lives of the numerous characters mentioned and their biographies. You even get to see some of the trials and tribulations that the poorer folk of Japan had to go through during this period.

 The book is from Helion & Company and is part of its excellent 'From Retinue to Regiment 1453-1618' series. The book is only 120 pages but is filled with tons of information. It comes with several pages of full color pictures of places, people, and artwork about the events in the book. The rest of the book is rife with black and white pictures of the same.

 Thank you, Casemate Publishers for allowing me to review this great book on a pretty much unknown, outside of Japan, piece of Japanese history.

Robert

Book: The Onin War 1467-77

Author: Stephen Turnbull

Publisher: Helion & Company

Distributor: Casemate Publishers

 By Defeating My Enemies

Charles XII of Sweden and the Great Northern War 1682-1721

by

Michael Glaeser

 

 The Vasa family of Swedish Kings gave us two military geniuses, Gustavus Adolphus and Charles XII. Gustavus is considered a hero because of the religious undertones to his campaigns in Germany during the Thirty Years War. Charles XII is not so lucky. He is now considered a warmonger at worst, or sometimes derided as a fool. What is not generally known is that Gustavus spent about the same amount of time trapsing through Poland as Charles XII did, before getting Sweden involved with the Thirty Years War. In actuality, Charles XII is much like Henry V of England. He inherited the throne at a young age and was considered a reckless fun-loving teenager. Just like Henry V, once he heard the trumpets of war, he threw all of that aside and became hardnosed general. 

 The author starts us out by going back in time to the time of Gustavus Adolphus. He lived between 1594 - 1632. So, both he and Charles XII lived only thirty-six years. We are shown how small in population and wealth Sweden was and how strange it is that there actually was a Swedish Empire. Charles's father, Charles XI, was the first Swedish King to make Sweden follow the rule of absolutism, meaning that all power derived from the king. The book then goes to Charles's childhood. He was born on June 17th, 1682. His father died in 1697, so he was only fifteen when he was crowned. At this time the Baltic Sea was considered the 'Swedish Lake'. Because of the age of Charles, Denmark, Russia, and Saxony/Poland (the Elector of Saxony Augustus II the Strong was also king of Poland) secretly declared war on Sweden in 1700. The first thing Sweden knew about it was when enemy troops entered their lands. 

 Charles was only eighteen when the Great Northern War started. Denmark was not the inconsequential country she is now in world affairs. So, Charles had three of the great powers of Europe lined up against him. The name of the book comes from a quote of Charles  from Voltaire's biography of him " I have resolved never to start an unjust war, but only to end a legitimate one by defeating my enemies". His three foes were Frederik IV of Denmark, Augustus II, the Strong (French Marshal deSaxe was one of his 350 or so illegitimate children), and Peter I, the Great the Czar of Russia. Charles's sense of chivalry was quite strong. So, we are shown how the idea of defeating all three of these men became a fixation in Charles's mind. Not mind you to come to a peaceful treaty with the above, but to conquer them in open battle and have Charles dictate the terms.

 The author takes us through the tumultuous eighteen remaining years of Charles's life, from the lighting strike on Denmark that prostrated that country in no time flat to the incredible victories of Narva etc. By 1708 Charles had knocked both Saxony/Poland and Denmark out of the War. He had also placed another King on Poland's throne. The only man left to conquer was Peter. Thus, Charles determined to force his ill-fated invasion of Russia, which ended in the great Swedish defeat at Poltava in 1709. The War continued after that in spits and spurts with Charles the unwelcome guest of the Ottoman Sultan. 

 The author continues with his life and the history of the war after Charles made a wild ride to freedom across most of the breadth of Europe in 1714. Even Charles's death was controversial, with many trying to prove that he was killed by someone in his own army while invading Norway in 1718. 

 This book is part of Helion & Company's 'Century of the Soldier 1618 - 1721'. All of the books I have read so far from the series have been serious and well-done histories of their subject. This book is no exception. While the book itself is less than 200 pages, it still gives the reader all of the history of the period. There is no glossing over of any part of Charles's life or the history of The Great Northen War. Thank you, Casemate Publishers for letting me review this great book.

Robert

Book: By Defeating My Enemies: Charles XII of Sweden and The Great Northern War 1682 - 1721

Author: Michael Glaeser

Publisher: Helion & Company

Distributor: Casemate Publishers

The End of the Gallop

 The Battle for Kharkov February - March 1943

by

 Alexei Isaev

Translated by

Kevin Bridge

 This book is about the Third Battle for Kharkov. This would be at the end of a string of Russian victories that started with the encirclement of the German 6th Army in Stalingrad. After this battle would come a relatively long lull for the Eastern Front until the Battle of Kursk started.

 The book is not a long one at about 130 pages. However, the author packs into its pages everything the reader needs or wants to know. I have read two books from Alexei Isaev, and I am very impressed with the detail and impartiality that this author brings to the table. The book gives an explanation of why the Battle of Kursk had to be postponed as long as it was. The German troops were in very bad shape after plugging the huge gap that the defeat in the South had caused. This was also the first time that the Soviet Armed Forces had ever fought and had to resupply attacks that reached far into the German rear. So, their forces were as bad off as the Germans at that time. The author shows us just how debilitated the divisions on each side were before the battle even started. For a division or higher to have only 20-30 available tanks on its roster was not uncommon, sometimes even less.

 The fight for Kharkov was akin to two older fighters slogging it through the last round. In this case, the Germans had just enough left in the gas tank to eke out a win. In the author's conclusion, he also goes into what effect if any the new German Tiger tanks had on the fighting. 

 This is a very well-done book on the Third Battle of Kharkov. By its length you would think it would be just a primer, but this is not the case at all. This is just more proof that good things do come in small packages. Thank you, Casemate Publishers for allowing me to review this book. I will have another book review authored by Mr. Isaev coming up. It is 'Stalingrad: City on Fire'.

Robert

Book: The End of The Gallup: The Battle for Kharkov February - March 1943

Author: Alexei Isaev

Publisher: Helion & Company

Distributor: Casemate Publishers

Tanaka 1587

Japan's Greatest Unknown Samurai Battle

by

Stephen Turnbull

 This is a small book of 120 pages that goes into what happened in Japan right after the death of Oda Nobunaga. The siege of Tanaka Castle took place right after Toyotomi Hideyoshi's conquest of Kyushu. The siege at Tanaka castle was the culmination of the Higo Rebellion. Hideyoshi had installed Sassa Narimasa as the overlord of Higo Province. He was very unpopular with the locals, so they revolted.

 Toyotomi Hideyoshi was the second of Japan's greatest warlords who tried to conquer all of Japan. Oda Nobunaga was well on his way to subduing all of Japan before he was brutally betrayed. Hideyoshi did manage to become the sole ruler of the land, but when he died he left as his heir a child. It was left to the third warlord Tokugawa Ieyasu to start a ruling family for the next 200+ years.

 To finally become master of all Japan, Hideyoshi needed to invade Kyushu and conquer it. He was able to divide and conquer the various lords of Kyushu and take control after the largest military campaign in Japanese history up until then. Sassa Narimasa was once described by the Japanese historian Tokutomi as a "dried sardine gnashing its teeth". Sassa Narimasa was actually a general underneath Oda Nobunaga, and he fought against Hideyoshi in the power struggle after Nobunaga's death. 

 The book goes into the archeological search for and the finding of the remains of Tanaka Castle. The Siege is also presented in the movie Kumamoto Monogatari in a highly fictionalized account. Some of the movie was shot on the actual site of the Castle. The siege was apparently unknown except by locals until 1987.

 The actual story of the siege is that the Castle was defended by 1000 troops against 10,000 led by Hideyoshi for 100 days. The sources have various glorious deaths or forget to mention what happened to each of the three Wani brothers who were defending the Castle. The story of the siege and rebellion etc. is just a microcosm of the history of Japan during and before the time the Castle fell. The heroism and the self sacrifice along with betrayal were unfortunately a well know theme during the Sengoku Period. The book does a very good job of showing how retainers and lords interacted at the time. Statues of the three Wani brothers now greet you at the parking lot.

Robert

Book: Tanaka 1587: Japan's Greatest Unknown Samurai Battle

Author: Stephen Turnbull

Publisher: Helion & Company

Distributor: Casemate Publishers

Richard III and the Battle of Bosworth

by

Mike Ingram

 To start with, we must discuss the books title. It is so terribly named for a book with this much information. You would expect a book of about 100 pages just on the Battle of Bosworth. In actuality, the book is almost 300 pages long and is filled with the history of not only England during the entire War of the Roses (and after), but also France, Scotland, and Brittany. Not only that, the book also does a very good job of discussing the weapons and warfare of the period mentioned. The easiest way to show this is to give a list of the book's chapters. They are:

The War of the Roses

Weapons and Warfare in the Reign of Richard III

Richard: Duke of Gloucester

Henry Tudor

France, Brittany and Henry Tudor

Richard: The King

Rebellions

Preparations

Invasion

The Battle of Bosworth Field 22 August 1485

King Henry VII

Epilogue

Appendices

I finding the Battlefield

II Finding Richard

III Order of Battle

 We must now turn to some 'facts' and not some historical conjecture. First, Richard did not kill the 'Princes in the Tower'. There were more than a few writers at the time who detested Richard. None of these accuse Richard of the Princes' death. Second, Richard did not poison his wife Anne. This point is also brought home by the absence of accusations in the above authors. Most of the lurid stories come from after Henry Tudor is made king. Third, Richard was not 'crookbacked'. He certainly suffered from scoliosis, but no man with the body deformities he is claimed to have (again after Henry Tudor's crowning), could wield the weapons he is known to have used in various battles. I will add that the Princes did not escape the Tower, and were then raised by wolves or Irishmen (Which would be worse? This point is my own). All the other 'facts' are gone through in the book and discarded because of the light of history having been thrown on the subject.

 This book, having brought us the historical Richard, would be enough for the author to sit back and enjoy his laurels. However, he is not done by a country mile. His writing about the War of the Roses is good enough for a small book on its own. The added parts on the weapons and warfare of the age are equally excellent. 

 Now we come to the heart of the matter, the actual Battle of Bosworth. The author gives us almost an hour by hour account of the invasion of Henry Tudor, and all of the moves each side made before the battle. The strangest part of the book to someone who has read a good amount about the battle is the author's take on the Stanleys. In most every account, it is said that William and Thomas Stanley stayed aloof from Henry Tudor's forces, and that they only decided on treachery at the last act of the play. The writer shows us many accounts from the time that Richard's and Stanleys' men were already fighting each other even before the battle. This means that there was no way for Richard to be surprised at their attacking him and not Henry Tudor. This is one of many excellent historical detective points that the author makes in this work. The savage attack of Richard into the men around Henry is also shown the reader. So too, unfortunately, is the postmortem of Richard and the death of the last Plantagenet.

 The book itself is filled with illustrations from the time period and also now-a-days. From pictures of the various combatants to actual cannons used at the time, the book is rife with them. There are also several pages full of colored plates, and the actual pictures taken of Richard III's skeleton. The maps of the actual battle are also very well done. Thank you Helion & Company and Casemate Publishers for letting me review this excellent book. This book is a thorough history of the times before Richard's rule and slightly afterward.

Robert

Book: Richard III and the Battle of Bosworth

Author: Mike Ingram

Publisher: Helion & Company

Distributor: Casemate Publishers

Marlborough's Other Army

The British Army and the Campaigns of the First Peninsular War

1702-1712

by

Nicholas Dorrell

 This is the story of the campaigns in Spain during the War of the Spanish Succession. The last Hapsburg king of Spain, Charles II, had been dying for the last ten years. Europe had been trying to figure out a suitable treaty for when Charles II actually gave up the ghost. The two strongest candidates were Philip of Anjou, Louis XIVs grandson, or the Archduke Charles, brother of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles III. Louis XIVs wife had given up her claim to the Spanish throne, but Louis felt that because her dowry was not fulfilled her claim was still intact. The Archduke Charles was part of the Austrian branch of the Hapsburg family. The European powers had reached a pseudo agreement on the Spanish inheritance, only they had not bargained on Charles II. His will had named Philip of Anjou his successor, but if he did not agree, the crown would be offered to the Archduke Charles. Louis XIV realized he would be fighting almost all of Europe, but decided to accept the throne for his grandson. The campaigns in Northern Europe of Marlborough and the various French Marshals have been written about at length. Along with the above, this book shows the reader the almost unknown fighting that took place in the Iberian Peninsula.

 The book uses the term 'Confederate' to represent the British, Portuguese, Austrian etc. troops that fought to conquer Spain for the Archduke Charles. The Tory war cry of 'No Peace Without Spain' was the British rallying cry throughout the long war. The author shows that this was almost a complete flip flop from the Peninsula War that Wellington fought. Most of the Spanish nation fought with the French for their new king, and against the English and their Allies. It is very possible that what the English learned in this war was put to good use in the Napoleonic Wars.

 The book is filled with reproductions of paintings of the various commanders and some troops. For the miniature wargamer there are also eight full color pages on the troops and their flags. The book is also supplied with a fair amount of maps to help the reader envision the war. 

 The author shows us the seesaw campaigns which several times saw the Confederates conquer Madrid, only to lose it soon after. The French Army at times was commanded by James Fitz-James the Duke of Berwick (James II of England's illegitimate child and Marlborough's nephew). Some military historians compare his generalship to Marlborough very favorably. The book itself is filled with the actual formation rundown of what regiments etc. fought in each campaign. This is a very good book especially for someone who does not have that much of a grasp of the War of the Spanish Succession outside of the Low Countries. As was mentioned, it is also very useful for the miniature gamer. Thank you Casemate Publishers for letting me review this wonderfully informative book from Helion & Company.

Robert

Book: Marlborough's Other Army The British Army and the Campaigns of the First Peninsular War, 1702-1712
Author: Nicholas Dorrell
Publisher: Helion & Company
Distributor: Casemate Publishers

The Armies and Wars of the Sun King 1643-1715

Volume I: The Guard of Louis XIV

by

Rene Chartrand

 Louis XIV, the Sun King, is usually the king that comes to mind when we think of France. It is hard to believe that less than eighty years separate his reign from the French Revolution. The opulence of the Sun King's reign to the convulsions of 1789 seem a world apart. The book is an overview of the history of the army, wars, and campaigns during his reign, along with the history and make up of his various guard units.

 The author takes us from the youth of Louis XIV through the 'Fronde' (Civil Wars in France in the 1640s) uprisings to Louis taking over the actual rule of the state. The French National Army was the first in Europe to be put on a professional basis and not just a militia called up when needed. Some individual armies  (Gustavus Adolphus, Cromwell, and Wallenstein) were professional, but the different European states did not have national standing armies.

 These are the book's chapters:

Young Louis XIV

Into Personal Rule

Foreign Intrigues and Adventures

The Sun King's Blitzkrieg

The Army's Command

Senior Officials and Officers

The World of Chivalry

The Royal Guard: Units Au Dedans du Louvre

The Royal Guard: Units Au Dehors du Louvre

The Royal Guard: Infantry

Other Guard Units

 The book is over 200 pages long. It is filled with pictures of the various battles and commanders of the age. The thirty pages of colored plates are a gold mine of information for the miniatures crowd. Short biographies of all of the higher commanders during Louis' reign are also in the book. There is also an abridged history of all of the Sun King's various Wars, Civil and otherwise.

 A quarter of the book is taken up by the actual guard units of the Sun King. These not only look at the weaponry, uniforms, and organization of the different units, but also give information of the actual battles they fought in. These were not just dress up soldiers, but were actually used in most of the campaigns of Louis XIV. The list includes the Musketeers (with the real D'artagnan), Swiss, and Scottish Guards to name just a few.

 I can easily recommend the book as both a primer and an information bonanza for people looking for more information on the Sun King's military. The information on the different Guard Units is priceless. Thank you Casemate Publishers for another excellent book to review.

Robert

Book: The Armies and Wars of the Sun King 1643-1715 Volume I: 
            The Guard of Louis XIV
Author: Rene Chartrand
Publisher: Helion & Company
Distributor: Casemate Publishers

Hell in the Trenches

Austro-Hungarian Stormtroopers and Italian Arditi in the Great War

by

Paolo Morisi

  Armies at many times do not get to choose the conditions and topography of where they fight. This was as true in WWI as in other wars. From the mud of Flanders, to the heat of the Near East, armies contended against each other. One of the oddest and roughest places to be fought over were the Alps between Italy and Austria-Hungary. It is absolutely amazing when the terrain is looked at that whole armies waged war on these rocky crags.

 This book is about the Italian Arditi and Austria-Hungarian Stormtroopers that fought over the above terrain. The book tells the story of both of these elite forces from inception to the end of the war. In doing so, the author also shows the reader all of the campaigns and battles that took place on this front. However, this is not all. Mr. Morisi also goes into all of the technical marvels that took place for both armies to fight a WWI trench campaign at these dizzying heights. The book is jam packed with pictures of the Arditi and Stormtroopers. It also has pictures that show how these armies actually fought at these altitudes.

 Both the Arditi and Stormtroopers were not copies of the German Stormtroopers. Both of these forces were thought up by intelligent officers on both sides of the wire at roughly the same time, while both sides were trying to break the stalemate of their trench battles.

 The author should be heartily congratulated on a book that is not only extremely well written, but is also about a very little known part of the Great War. The bravery and audacity of the Italian and Austria-Hungarian troops shows in every picture and almost every page. Mankind's ability to overcome nature is shown in the book to be absolutely astounding. The fact that both sides had to, at most times, use explosives and sheer manpower to cut their trenches into the very rock of these heights is mind boggling. 

 Robert

Book: Hell in the Trenches
Author: Paolo Morisi
Publisher: Helion & Company
Distributor: Casemate Publishers

Napoleon at Dresden: The Battles of August 1813

by

George Nafziger

 The 1813 campaign in Germany is probably my favorite campaign to read about or wargame. I am also a big fan of the author George Nafziger. This is the second of a three volume series by him about the 1813 campaign. The first book is 'Lutzen and Bautzen: Napoleon's Spring Campaign of 1813'. You can see my review of the first book here:

https://www.awargamersneedfulthings.co.uk/2018/06/lutzen-and-bautzen-napoleons-spring.html

 The book goes through four major battles of Dennewitz, Gross-Beeren, Dresden, and the Battle of the Katzbach. The smaller, but incredibly important Battle of Kulm is also described. Dr. Nafziger shows us how the Allies completely changed their strategy after the armistice that divided the two parts of the campaign. The Allies decided to swallow their pride and retreat if Napoleon himself was in command of the French troops in front of them. The Allies would then attack the other French Armies under one of Napoleon's Marshals. They neglected to follow this strategy at Dresden, and came close to losing the war along with that battle. 

 The author has added a large amount of paintings, portraits, and a plethora of maps. There are nineteen colored maps alone. There are two appendices, and the Order of Battle breakdown is a full sixty-six pages! The book itself is 258 pages long. The information inside is invaluable for a student of the campaign.

 The 1813 Campaign in Germany is full of missed chances on both sides, but especially on the French side. Dr. Nafziger fills his books with facts, figures, and deep insights into the moment of history he is describing. If you are looking for a book that is filled with personal accounts of the campaign, then look elsewhere. On the other hand, if you want a sweeping view of the campaign from strategic to tactical, this is your book. Thank you, Casemate Publishers, for letting me review this excellent book.

Robert

Book: Napoleon at Dresden: The Battles of August 1813

Author: George Nafziger

Publisher: Helion&Company

Distributor: Casemate Publishers

Imperial Bayonets

Tactics of the Napoleonic Battery, Battalion, and Brigade as Found in Contemporary Regulations

George Nafziger

 You would expect from the title that this book would just be a boring rehashing of some 18th and 19th century works. In this you would be totally mistaken. It is filled with many little known facts and surprising tidbits. Marshal Ney's, who is rarely represented as thoughtful, writings on grand tactical maneuvers is gone over in one part of the book. Under the chapter 'Operation of Combined Arms' you will find these three definitions by the author:

1) Moral ascendancy over the enemy and cause him to collapse

2) Hold him in place and punish him until he collapses

3) Maneuver the enemy into such a position where he has no chance of success and collapses 

 The book abounds with information This is not limited to the French, but also their allies and enemies.

 I have to say that I normally like my history dry, and without too much of the personal added to it. That being said, even I was a little hesitant to read this book. I have tried to read a few other books that have like sounding titles. Even I was forced to finally accept that they were too dry even for me. So, I had steeled myself for a trek through a desert before starting this book. I was extremely and pleasantly surprised once I started reading the book. This book by its very nature will appeal to only a subset of wargamers and history readers. The other point I would like to point out is that the title is a bit of a misnomer. It does include everything from the title, but also includes a lot more. These two chapters will illustrate this:

Operation of Combined Arms

Grand Tactical and Strategic Operations 

 The book is filled with illustrations to accompany the text. These are extremely helpful for we dolts to follow the sometimes intricate maneuvers. The book also has a large amount of tables in it. These range from musket accuracy to the different armies' marching speed, and the rate of fire of artillery. Most board wargamers are a bit oblivious to the information in this book, even if we can name all of the battles Napoleon fought and commanded in. Almost all of our games already have this information calculated for us. Not so for our table top brethren. To them this book should become their bible. If not that, at least it will give them a lifetime of arguments over their beautiful reproductions of battles.

 The information in this book is invaluable to anyone who wants to try and understand battle during the Napoleonic age. More than that, it is a reference material for wargamers and designers of those also.

 Robert

Book: Imperial Bayonets

Author: George Nafziger

Publisher: Helion&Company 

Distributor: Casemate Publishers

Honoring Those They Led

by

Mark C. Yerger and Leslie K. Fiorenza

   This book is very different than what I had envisioned by its title. I assumed it would just be a litany of German World War II awards with a list of the recipients, and maybe some short bios of some of the different awardees. This book is much more than that. In this book, you will not find aces or Uboat commanders. It is strictly about German field commanders. Some of the names will be familiar to some, and some will not. Keitel, Halder, and Runstedt's careers are described in the book. It also shows the decorations they were awarded, and for what reasons they became bemedaled. The careers of Herbert Gille, Hans Hube, and Martin Grase are also shown to the reader. A chapter is also dedicated to the Spanish commanders of the 250th Infanterie Division. 

 As to be expected, the Knights Cross (Ritterkreuz) and its variants (oak leaves, swords, and diamonds in order of rank), are detailed in the commanders' lives. The German Cross in Gold, and when its recipients received it, is also delved into.

 If you are looking for a list of the different World War II German medals and their recipients, look elsewhere. If you are looking for short biographies of German Army and SS, mostly Army/Heer and the late war time period and the medals awarded them, then look no further. The book is also illustrated with many actual examples of the various awards' written certificates. The authors have liberally supplied the book with pictures of the awarded men. Most of the pictures are formal portraits of the officers, and many are of them receiving their awards from Hitler. Nine German Army commanders were awarded the highest (at the time) version of the Knights Cross with diamonds, along with two SS commanders.

Robert

Book: Honoring Those They Led 

Authors: Mark C. Yerger and Leslie K. Fiorenza

Publisher: Helion & Company

Distributor: Casemate Publishers

 The Battle Of Kursk: Controversial and Neglected Aspects

by

Valeriy Zamulin

translated by

Stuart Britton

 Here we are at Kursk again with another great book by Valeriy Zamulin. He is the author of sixty books and other historical works, mostly about the battle of Kursk. This book about the controversial and neglected aspects, digs deep into some interesting questions. Among them are:

Could the Germans have won the battle of Kursk?
Did Vatutin err?
With what forces did Model begin the battle of Kursk?

 No sane military leader expects to win an attack against dug in troops with less than a three to one advantage in men and weapons. The Germans planned this attack knowing they did not even have a parity in forces, and in some cases were heavily outnumbered. So why did they think they could win? 

 Mr. Zamulin goes into all the details of Army Group Center and Army Group South in the attack. He considers all of the variables and comes to the conclusion that if 'Operation Citadel' was launched earlier in April or May the Germans would still have lost. I believe that he is probably correct, but the answer lies not in numbers or trenches, but in hubris. Until 1943, the Germans trounced the Russians whenever the weather was warm. On the German side, I believe that they thought they lost in 1941 and 1942 to 'General winter', and not exclusively to the Russians. With the Japanese in the Pacific, the term was coined 'Victory Disease'. I think the German plan for Kursk showed that they suffered from the same virus.

 This book is standard fare for a Helion & Company volume, meaning that it is an excellent work with eight pages of colored maps and many pictures from during the war. The author is as meticulous with his writing as with his figures and statistics. Anyone looking for what actually happened at Kursk without the legends and stories should look no further than this work and the author's 'Demolishing the Myth'. These books should be required reading for anyone who wants to know the real truth about the battle of Kursk. In 2018 he will be publishing a third book about Kursk, 'The Forgotten Battle of the Kursk Salient',  about Army Group Kempf's offensive.


Robert

Book: The Battle of Kursk: Controversial and Neglected Aspects
Author: Valeriy Zamulin
Translator: Stuart Britton
Publisher: Helion & Company
Distributor: Casemate Publishers

Dubno 1941

The Greatest Tank Battle of The Second World war

by

Aleksei Isaev

translated by Kevin Bridge

 Here we are again at Kursk in 1943: 'The Greatest Tank Battle'. Wait a minute, the name of the book is 'Dubno 1941, The Greatest Tank Battle of The Second World War'. Could we have been mistaken all along?

 Turns out, yes we were. In 1941, 800 tanks of the German Army Group South, and 3,000 tanks of the Soviet Red Army Kiev Special Military District collided into each other. The Germans were trying to get some running room to break out into southern Russia, while the Russians desperately tried to stop the German flood.

 The author and translator have done a fantastic job of bringing these little known battles to light. Many times the fighting in central Russia takes a front seat to the other two fronts in 1941. The Soviet forces were untried and faced German troops who had almost two years of war behind them.

 The Soviets forces were also hamstrung by two other factors. One, the paranoid psychopath Stalin had gutted the Red Army's officer corps in the purges of the preceding years. Two, the Red Army, which was actually technically ahead of the rest of the world in 1938 with their armored formations, had actually broken them up and changed direction after the Spanish Civil war. Due to the German armored victories in 1940, the Soviets were in the process of switching back to their pre-1938 ideas. So the Red Army was already fighting on its back foot and with one hand tied behind its back.

 The author's premise is that the Germans were able to deal fairly easily with the Soviet armor because the German armored (Panzer divisions) were combined arms units, and not just tank heavy units like the Soviets.

 The Germans had to deal with not only much larger numbers of men and machines. The newest Soviet tanks (T-34, KV-1) were technologically much more advanced than the German ones in armor and armament. The Germans were lucky that most of the Soviets' newest tanks had just been assigned to their units, so the crews were unfamiliar with them. This, along with the fact that all German tanks had radios and almost none of the Soviet tanks did, allowed the Germans to deal with the changing situations of battle. The Soviets, on the other hand, made battle plans before contact and then stuck with them come what may. A lot of people are not familiar with the adverse effects Stalin had on the first six months of the war. Stalin was just as foolish as Hitler with a rash of 'stand and die' orders early in the war. However, and a bit unbelievably, Stalin learned to trust his generals' judgment. We know how that worked on the German side.

 The author shows us that the southern part of the Soviet Army was the strongest and most able on June 22nd 1941. The author believes that the Soviet self sacrifice in these early battles enabled the Soviets to win the war. The author also makes a good argument that the frontier battles of 1941 were the swan song of the German infantry. He believes they were bled white, and that their capabilities just continued to grow worse as the war progressed. In the author's 'conclusion', he shows not only the Soviet mistakes, but also the German ones.

 The book also list some faults of the T-34 that I have not seen written up before. The T-34's clutch plates had a tendency to warp. Repairs on the main clutch plates rarely worked and the entire assembly needed to be replaced. The transmission itself was under undue stress having only three forward and one reverse gear. The German Panzer III had ten forward gears. The following is from a report of the commander of the 10th Tank division:

"A) The armor on the engine and on the tank body could be penetrated from a distance of 300-400m with a 37mm armor piercing shell. The vertical plates on the sides could be penetrated by a 20mm armor piercing shell. When cresting a ditch the tank digs in due to it being low set. Contact with the ground is insufficient owning to the relative smoothness of the tracks.

B) The driver's forward hatch caves in after a direct hit from a shell.

C) The tracks are weak and any shell would be able to break them."

 This book is filled with pictures from the battle, and also has a good number of maps to help the reader visualize the different actions. It is another superb Helion & Company volume to add to your collection.

Robert

Book:  Dubno 1941

Author: Aleksei Isaev

Translator: Kevin Bridge

Publisher: Helion & Company

Distributor: Casemate Publishers

Three Wings For The Red Baron 

Von Richtofen, Strategy, And Airplanes

by

Leon Bennett

 The book starts on April 21,1918, the day the Red Baron died. The only thing we are certain of on that day is Von Richtofen's death. The claims of who shot him down have been argued over for ninety-nine years. The author goes through all of the plausible, and some not so plausible, scenarios. Mr. Bennett does not come down firmly on any side, but leaves it to the reader to pick which scenario fits the actual known facts.

 The next chapter 'MIT and the triplane' shows us the results of testing in MIT's wind tunnel released in 1916. The results show the triplane as a loser to both a monoplane and biplane in everything except  when the planes near stall speed. In this the triplane is the clear winner.

 The book's whole premise is to find out why Germany, and specifically Von Richtofen, wanted a German triplane. I will say that the book leans heavily in parts on engineering examples and illustrations. This is not a knock on the book. I just want the reader to understand that the book isn't just a prose rundown of how and why the Fokker triplane was built. The book has pictures and diagrams on almost every page to explain to the reader how and why World War I engineers came up with the designs they did. One of the biggest take aways from the book is the fact that engineers across the world were well aware of all of the flaws of their designs, but due to material and lack of horsepower they did the best with what they had. 

 The book has these chapters:

Richtofen's Death

Roe And The Triplane

Curtiss And The Triplane

Spad And The Triplane

Sopwith And The Triplane

Richtofen Campaigns For A Triplane

The Disappointing Albatross D5A

Strategy: Trenchard vs Richtofen

Gunnery, Tactics, And The Triplane

Maneuverability And The Triplane

Combat Introduction And Engine Problems

Wings, Horns, And Death

The Bottom Line

  The author shows that the triplane was a slow aircraft compared to its rivals. Wait a minute, in the air isn't speed everything? Mr. Bennett goes on to show how the German strategic and tactical thinking made the triplane a great choice. They chose to fight a defensive war. Another startling fact is how many airplanes the Allies actually built. The difference between the two sides is staggering. When put in that context, it is no wonder that all the Germans could do was to fight a defensive airwar. 

 There is so much to the book I could write for hours and not do it justice. This book is meant for anyone with an interest in the  World War I airwar. 

Robert

Book: Three Wings for the Red Baron 
Author: Leon Bennett
Publisher: Helion&Company
Distributor: Casemate Publishers

Tigers In Combat III

by

Wolfgang Schneider 

 'Tiger'; a word that would stop the hearts of Russian and allied tankers in World War II. A moving fortress of death able to take out almost all other tanks at 1000 meters or more.

 The first two volumes in the series were of Tiger unit histories. This volume is the meat and potatoes. It is 500+ pages, and includes 1200 B&W photos along with eight pages of ones in color.  Do you want to know how to check and clean a Tiger's spark plugs? Just turn to page 231. The chapters of the book are as follows:

The Establishment And Structure Of The Tiger Units

Training

Operating The Tiger

Deployment

Tactics

Annex

 A heavy tank company consisted of three 'Panzerzuge' (panzer platoon) each with four Tigers and a 'Gruppe Fuhrer' (group leader). The three panzer platoons were led by a leutnant (lieutenant) or an oberleutnant (First Lieutenant). The Gruppe Fuhrer had a complement of two tigers and a medium sized off road vehicle. It was later increased to two light off road vehicles. The second tiger functioned as a replacement tank for the 'Kompanie Fuhrer' (company commander) who was usually a 'Hauptman' (captain). All of the information above is found in the seventh paragraph of the first page of chapter one.

 On May 26th 1941 Hitler instructed Porsche and Henschel to complete six heavy armored vehicles by the summer of 1942. The gun was originally to have been a 7.5cm , but was changed to the infamous 8.8cm.

 On page 125 the author details the 'training course content'. There are pictures on page 128 of Tiger turrets on concrete boxes for the training of gunners and loaders.

 Anything from changing the oil, to replacing a piece of track or track pin can be found here. This is a Chilton repair and maintenance manual for the Tiger, and so much more.

 We always think of Tigers, and German tanks in general, as being much more crew friendly than Soviet ones. Imagine my surprise to find out that the heating system for the crew compartment was removed from some models in June 1944, due to engine fire risk.

 We haven't even touched on the 'deployment' or 'tactics' chapters. Between pages 383 and 385 are some very interesting facts about the Tiger attacks during the early part of Operation Citadel. It seems that the Tigers were unnecessarily  exposed to Russian minefields that were known to other nearby German troops. 

 The last part of the chapter 'tactics' is on Tiger propaganda. There is a ton of original German propaganda followed by some surprising Allied ones. 

 On page fifty-three there is a picture of a feast for Kurt Knispel. Who is sometimes credited with being the greatest tank ace of World war II. He is easily recognizable by his Wolfman Jack head and facial hair.

 The pictures in the book, let alone all of the diagrams, are worth its price. With this book and a handy restored Tiger, I could drive, maintain, and scare the hell out of the neighbors with it. On every page you will learn a new fact or tidbit of Tiger history. My hat is off to Mr. Schneider and Helion&Company for this book.

Here are some other photos from the book:

Robert

Book: Tigers in Combat III

Author: Wolfgang Schneider

Publisher: Helion&Company

Distributor: Casemate publishers