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To Purge this Land with Blood This is a great biography of John Brown. You will love him more after this. He broke up far larger groups through sheer willpower. America's First battles: 1776-1965: An edited volume from the former head of the Army's Military History Center. It details how badly America hosed up nearly every first single battle that we fought. Come for Bull Run, stay for Kasserine Pass. Which was a complete clusterfuck that will never, ever get a movie made about it. Patton doesn't count because he replaced the guy who failed. Into Oblivion: The Story of Pioneer Battalion 305: Complied from the records of the senior officer to survive, Jason Mark records the history of a completely normal Wehrmacht unit composed of reservists as they get sent from a cushy assignment in France to Stalingrad. Only 20 or so men made it out with 9 or 10 more released in the '50s. A fascinating account of what happened to most German units at Stalingrad. Also, not cheap, get it through your library. For Country and Corps: The biography of OP Smith, CO of the 1st Marine Division at the Chosin Reservoir. OP is like Mr. Rogers if Mr. Rogers was a Marine General. Extremely competent and so mellow as to be overlooked, he guided the Marines out of Chosin. Seriously, this guy is a leader and what a leader should be. The book is written by his adopted daughter. It's great. A Terrible Glory: Custer and the Little Big Horn: Regarded as a excellent introductory volume on the battle it details both sides very well. Donovan is not biased towards anybody, which you often find in LBH literature. I used this for the Staff Ride Guide I wrote and am submitting to Army Press. Great book! Sacrifice on the Steppe: Story of the Italian Alpine Division sent to Russia as part of Mussolini's alliance with Hitler. They fought hard without adequate equipment in freezing conditions for nothing. Really brings home the futility of war. Nothing Remains But to Fight: By Ian Knight. About the battle of Rourke's Drift in 1879. The fight the movie Zulu was based on. Great photos and Ian Knight is regarded as the guru of the battle the Zulu War. 86 men against 4000 Zulus and both sides fought like hell. The British Army Cookbook-1914: Want to see how the BEF fed itself in WW1? If you account for size most recipes can be cooked today. Who wouldn't want Treacle Tarts or Salt Beef and Dumplings?
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Mar 2, 2019 01:48
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| # ¿ May 17, 2024 20:22 |
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OK, been on a tear since mid-2020. The highlights: -Grant by Ron Chernow: I used this as a text for my military history course. The first part of the book is his military career. If you didn't think so already by the end you'll see that Grant was probably the best soldier this country has ever produced. -Twilight of the Gods by Ian Toll: Another book I used for class. About the ending phases of the Pacific war and just how powerful the US Navy was. Toll sticks it to Halsey pretty good because of his lapses in judgement that killed scores of sailors. Ray Spruance should have been the Five Star. -No Miracles: The Failure of Soviet Decision Making in the Afghan War: For obvious reasons this book is pretty timely. Compare and contrast. At least the Soviets made the withdrawal into a sort of ceremony. -Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War: OK, you guys know The Pentagon Wars? Well, this is the guy that set all that off. John Boyd, frankly, belongs on Mount GiPmore. He forced the A-10, the F-16 and the F-15 on the Air Force instead of more swing wing F-111 clones. He hated the B-1. He thought planes like the F-35 were over priced junk (he died in 1997 which says something) He also wrote about warfare in a way that took off from Clausewitz and gave the Marines some theory to back up their warfighting. I am plowing though his 400 plus slide presentation entitled A Discourse on Winning and Losing which is as close to something he authored as there will ever be. The Air Force disliked him. The Pentagon resented him, the Marines love him and you should read this book ASAP. Don't start with any of his presentations though. Start with this book, it's a introduction you'll need. https://www.coljohnboyd.com/ Collects most of the material about him.
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Jul 8, 2021 22:03
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Jason Marks' Into Oblivion. It's not cheap but Marks is a really excellent researcher. He follows a LT in the 305th Bondsee Division from garrison duty in France to combat in Stalingrad. The guy he follows ends up living becasue of a wound and sets out post war to tell the sotry of his unit, all reservists, and trying to find the fate of survivors. Marks also has Island of Fire about a factory battle in Stalingrad. Both showcase the utter primeval hopelessness of urban combat. Both books are based on first person accounts.
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Jun 18, 2022 01:39
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gohuskies posted:$43 on Kindle???? It's an ebook! Come on! I know, not happy about it. PM if you want, I can.. help you. I bought the physical copy before it went out of print.
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Jun 19, 2022 01:40
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my morning jackass posted:Coldest winter by halberstam is great. Best and brightest is also an absolute must read by him. Coldest Winter is great because of the non stop dunking he does on MacAurthur
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Jun 20, 2022 17:55
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| # ¿ May 17, 2024 20:22 |
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Sad King Billy posted:Not to mention Ned Almond Reading about 10 Corps and how Almond nearly got the Marines trapped is blood boiling. OP Smith is a goddamn stellar example of a leader who knew his poo poo and ignored Almond completely.
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Jun 21, 2022 23:27
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