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When I read military history, I read almost exclusively World War 2, with a primary focus on the European campaign from the US or German perspective. Here are some of my essential books: The Third Reich At War by Richard J Evans. For an excellent overview of the war in Germany, check out Richard J Evans excellent trilogy. The third and final volume, The Third Reich At War, takes the reader on a journey from the height of the Reich's power to its utter and complete defeat and devastation. From the Amazon overview: Amazon posted:Describing the Third Reich from the height of its power to its collapse, Evans concludes the masterful trilogy that began with The Coming of the Third Reich and The Third Reich in Power. As in those works, Evans demonstrates a fluent style and a sweeping grasp of the Third Reich's history and of the enormous historical literature. The account is peppered with insightful anecdotes drawn from diaries, letters and speeches. What comes across most clearly is the supreme arrogance of the Nazis and the utterly rapacious character of their rule. Evans gives the Holocaust the centrality it deserves, while also depicting effectively the suffering of Poles and many others under Nazi domination. Evans offers a nuanced picture of the lives of Germans, but ultimately, he suggests, the Nazis' racial ideology thoroughly corrupted German society. Evans narrates the Reich's end in gripping fashion as the Allies closed in on Germany. Seven Days in January by Wolf T. Zoeph On the opposite end of the spectrum, Seven Days in January, is probably one of the finest discussion of one unit's actions first against the Soviets in Finland and then the Americans in France. The book is replete with dozens of maps carefully detailing the attacks and retreat from Wingen-sur-Moder in the Lower Vosges. Leave your preconceptions of the Waffen-SS and, for that matter, the untried American divisions. From the Amazon overview: Amazon posted:Wolf Zoepf has produced an extremely detailed account, part-memoir, part-combat narrative, covering the actions of 6th SS Mountain Division 'Nord' during the battles fought in Operation Nordwind, Alsace, 1945. Against the background of his division's three (plus) years of combat against the Soviets in northern Karelia, this book provides a detailed description of 6th SS Division's actions against elements of the US Seventh Army in the Low Vosges Mountains during the first seven days of 1945. Beyond a simple account of the course of the infiltration, raid, defence and exfiltration by his two-battalion task force, Herr Zoepf's book thoroughly recounts the action in adjacent sectors within the Low Vosges, on the German and the American sides of the battle as well. Particular attention is given to the battle for Wingen-sur-Moder, involving both seasoned and green American forces, and German units ranging from hastily-trained Volksgrenadiers to previously undefeated SS-Gebirgsjager. The course of the battle includes a masterfully-conducted infiltration through snow-covered mountains, the capture - and subsequent release, unharmed - of over 250 Americans, considerable close combat, jointly conducted Waffen-SS and American medical care for their wounded, and, ultimately, the wounding and capture of the author. Ringing with authenticity and full of fresh insights and factual data about this practically-unknown battle and oft-overlooked elite unit, Seven Days in January will make an important and unique contribution to the body of literature of World War II in Europe. With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa by E. B. Sledge Easily one of the best, if not the best, first-person narratives to come out of the war. From the Amazon overview: Amazon posted:An Alabama boy steeped in American history and enamored of such heroes as George Washington and Daniel Boone, Eugene B. Sledge became part of the war’s famous 1st Marine Division—3rd Battalion, 5th Marines. Even after intense training, he was shocked to be thrown into the battle of Peleliu, where “the world was a nightmare of flashes, explosions, and snapping bullets.” By the time Sledge hit the hell of Okinawa, he was a combat vet, still filled with fear but no longer with panic. Wartime: Understanding and Behavior in the Second World War by Paul Fussell Savage takeout of the glorification of war and gung-ho thinking by the author of a classic WW1 book, The Great War and Modern Memory, this book is a must read on the effects of war on the frontline soldier. I've always had the feeling that a ex-soldier's war nostalgia is directly inverse of how close he was to actual combat. From the Amazon overview: Amazon posted:Most of the men who fought World War II were young--with those over 27 or 28 likely to be called "Dad." For most of the troops, the war's purpose seemed remote and vague, according to Fussell. He contends that many Americans had little comprehension of Nazism; to "our boys" the war was about revenge against the Japanese. In this sequel to The Great War and Modern Memory , Fussell presents American and British soldiers as alcoholically insulated against reality, suffering boredom, absurdity, sexual deprivation and, above all, full of subversive contempt stoked by the official mix of optimism and euphemism that falsified the war experience. Separate chapters cover wartime rumors and blunders, service slang, the despair in the trenches, and the sanitized, sanguine messages emanating from radios, films, songs and high-minded literature back home. This brilliant, engaging cultural history quietly subverts our whitewashed collective memory of the war. Operation Drumbeat by Michael Gannon There are tons of excellent books on the Battle of the Atlantic. Operation Drumbeat, or Operation Paukenschlag, was called many things - the American shooting season, the second Happy Time - but the trivial names belie a battle that nearly took the US out of the war in the North Atlantic. From Jan. 1942 to Aug. 1942, Axis submarines sank 609 ships totaling 3.1 million tons for the loss of only 22 U-boats. This was roughly one quarter of all shipping sunk by U-boats during the entire Second World War. During this time, one U-boat sailed past Coney and the entrance to NY harbor (and by some accounts, sailed right into the harbor. And during this time, Americans did not heed the call for blackouts. Ships would be silhouetted against the city lights and were easy targets. Diners in Florida watched as tankers blew up just off the coast. Here's what it looked like:  Victory Was Beyond Their Grasp: With the 272nd Volks-Grenadier Division from the Huertgen Forest to the Heart of the Reich by Douglas E. Nash Finally, an account of Germany near and at the end of the war. An excellent narrative of one of the Volks-Grenadier divisions which are often confused with the rag-tag Volksturms which were filled with boys and old men - cannon fodder. The VGD's were elite units loyal to the National Socialist cause. This book, like It Never Snows in September, is German view that is a much easier (and I think more comprehensive) read. From the Amazon overview: Amazon posted:As the Allies arrived at the frontiers of Germany itself in the last autumn of WWII, the Germans responded with a variety of initiatives designed to regain the strategic initiative. While the Wonder Weapons such as the V-2 missile are widely recognized, the Volks-Grenadier Divisions (VGDs) are practically unknown. Often confused with the Volkssturm, the Home Guard militia, VGDs have suffered the undeserved reputation as second-rate formations, filled with young boys and old men suited to serve only as cannon fodder. This ground-breaking book shows that VGDs were actually conceived as a new, elite corps loyal to the National Socialist Party and equipped with the finest weapons available. Come follow along with the soldiers of the 272nd VGD's Fusilier Company from their first battles in the Huertgen Forest to their final defeat in the Harz Mountains . . . learn the enormous potential of VGDs . . . and feel their soldiers' heartbreak at their failure. Okay there you go. Dresden is another interest of mine, but, I'll save them for another day, except to say Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut is probably one of the important books about the effects of war on man ever written.
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May 16, 2013 03:36
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| # ¿ May 21, 2024 10:01 |
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mokhtar belmokhtar posted:Catch 22 teaches you everything you need to know imo
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May 16, 2013 03:53
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