|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
my rating |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0190062363
| 9780190062361
| 0190062363
| 4.65
| 1,230
| Jun 01, 2022
| Jun 01, 2022
|
really liked it
|
Steady at the Wheel. Craig L. Symonds has proven himself to be an excellent WWII military historian specialising in the naval operations of the Pacific Steady at the Wheel. Craig L. Symonds has proven himself to be an excellent WWII military historian specialising in the naval operations of the Pacific Theatre. Therefore it is with great pleasure that he has written this book on Chester Nimitz, the US Pacific Fleet Commander. The first of its kind in around 50 years, there has been fresh archival material released which has allowed Symonds to really delve deeper into this rather calm and straightforward man. Symonds has also had the pleasure of reviewing the ‘Graybook’, as called by its cover. This is Nimitz’s war diary, which is absolutely invaluable in any study of the Pacific War. The book is concentrated from the years 1941-1945. From his appointment after Pearl Harbour to achieving victory over a vanquished nation. Nimitz was perhaps lucky when he initially rejected the job of Commander in Chief of the United States Pacific Fleet (CINCPACFLT), which went to Husband E. Kimmel, however was selected by FDR 10 days after the attack of Pearl Harbour following Kinmel’s dismissal. As Nimitz adroitly noted, that could very easily have been him. He was quick off the mark and displayed exceptional judgment in the pushing for and buildup to the Battle of Midway in June 1942. Initially dismissed by his superior Ernest J. King, he became an excellent leader and strategist, winning huge battles against the odds. Something other allied commanders would salivate over. Throughout the was he made only one critical mistake, the invasion of the island of Peleliu, which his subordinates had urged him to cancel. In other areas he got it right, for example pushing his men to adopt new technology such as radar and tactics such as the Combat Information Centre, that it was subsequently adopted in every major warship. As Symonds explains, Nimitz did have his faults. He was definitely a product of his time and thought that women serving in the forces, even in Hawaii would ‘distract the men’. Another unfortunate legacy is his lack of trust of black servicemen. Born in America in 1885, this point of view can be understood even though we do not agree with this outlook today. Symonds also touches on his life on either side of the war, his beginnings as a submariner, his wife, children and unsettled retirement. I think Symonds does a great job providing the reader with a full picture of the man, whilst being able to concentrate on the most important and fascinating part of his life. Nimitz was a great admiral and always acting in a way that he thought was right. Symonds is clearly a fan of him and if I had to pick a negative of this book I would suggest that he offers little to no criticism of him, other than the points I have mentioned above. That being said Nimitz was an important player in the Pacific War and this is a great book to understand him. ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
not set
|
Aug 15, 2024
|
Aug 15, 2024
|
Hardcover
| ||||||||||||||
| 0007263686
| 9780007263684
| 0007263686
| 4.22
| 1,852
| Sep 03, 2009
| Jan 01, 2010
|
it was amazing
|
Huge Responsibility, Big Decisions and Little Regret. I have to say, I was really surprised and impressed by this book. Having read other reviews it ap Huge Responsibility, Big Decisions and Little Regret. I have to say, I was really surprised and impressed by this book. Having read other reviews it appeared at first that this might have been a dry slog. However I was wrong, Finest Years is a masterful and nuanced portrait of Winston Churchill during the most critical period of his career; his leadership of Britain during World War II. Known for his ability to balance rigorous historical research with vivid storytelling, Hastings delivers a compelling account that goes beyond the mythologized image of Churchill to present a more complex, and at times contradictory, leader. The book focuses on the five years when Churchill served as Britain's Prime Minister and war leader, from 1940 to 1945. Hastings captures the immense pressure and monumental challenges that Churchill faced from the moment he took office, just as Nazi Germany seemed poised to overrun Europe. The narrative is rich with detail, from the desperate Dunkirk evacuation to the Battle of Britain and the tense alliance with the United States and the Soviet Union. A major strength of this book is Hastings' ability to show Churchill as both an inspiring figure and a deeply flawed human being. He does not shy away from criticizing Churchill's strategic blunders, such as the ill-fated campaign in Norway or his obsession with the Mediterranean theater, which sometimes distracted from more pressing concerns. Hastings also explores Churchill's difficult relationships with his generals, who often chafed at his micromanagement and grandiose schemes. Yet, the book is also a celebration of Churchill's extraordinary qualities. Hastings highlights Churchill's indomitable spirit, his rhetorical genius, and his ability to rally the British people during their darkest hour. The famous speeches are given their due, but Hastings also pays attention to the less-publicized aspects of Churchill's leadership, such as his constant engagement with military and political details and his unyielding belief in ultimate victory. Hastings’ portrayal of Churchill’s relationships with key figures, such as Franklin D. Roosevelt and Joseph Stalin, is particularly compelling. He provides insight into the complicated dynamics of the Allied leadership, emphasizing Churchill’s role as both a unifier and, at times, a source of tension. The book also does not ignore the impact of Churchill's decisions on the British Empire and its colonies, exploring how his views on empire and race sometimes clashed with the evolving post-war world. Hastings’ writing is both academically adroit and accessible, making complex military and political issues understandable without oversimplification. His use of primary sources, including diaries, letters, and firsthand accounts, adds depth to the narrative and offers readers a more intimate view of Churchill’s decision-making processes and the atmosphere in wartime Britain. Sir Max Hastings does it once again with this exceptional study of Churchill as a wartime leader. I feel like I have never read a bad book by him, albeit I haven’t read them all yet, but I know I’m going to. He succeeds in painting a balanced picture of a man who was as much a product of his time as he was a shaper of history. This is a must read for those interested in World War II, Churchill, or leadership in crisis, this book offers invaluable insights and a gripping narrative that captures the essence of what made Churchill’s wartime leadership both controversial and legendary. ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
not set
|
Jul 29, 2024
|
Jul 30, 2024
|
Paperback
| ||||||||||||||
| 0008522189
| 9780008522186
| B0CJTFL4V2
| 4.32
| 38
| Apr 25, 2024
| Apr 25, 2024
|
it was amazing
|
Ode to the Brave. Saul David is a proven historian of great worth. All of the books I have read by him have been excellent. Sky Warriors, his book on t Ode to the Brave. Saul David is a proven historian of great worth. All of the books I have read by him have been excellent. Sky Warriors, his book on the British Airborne Forces in the Second World War is no different. These were brave if also reckless soldiers who may also have been let down by poor leadership. But the legendary Red Devils were among them, who were considered some of the finest combat troops of the war. The parachute regiments were born at the instigation of Winston Churchill in 1940, a body of 500 men. This grew into three divisions of 10,000 men by the end of the war. They played a pivotal part in fighting in every major theatre of the war, from the Far East, North Africa and Europe. The book starts with the formation and training in the early years in and around Manchester. It ends with the climax and disaster at Arnhem where the famous failure to capture the bridges before German forces in the area overwhelmed them. They lost just under 2000 men and had a further 6800 captured. Despite their bravery and determination they were let down by poor intelligence which did not detect panzer divisions in the area and lack of air support the campaign failed. One of the key features of this book is its focus on personal stories and Saul David effectively balances the broader historical story with the individual stories, bringing to life the stories of bravery, innovation and sacrifices of the men and women involved. Sky Warriors is a must read for anyone interested in WWII or the development of aerial combat. But you can also be the casual reader as the military history is blended with human stories. This book is of the highest standard, but if I could raise some criticism, it would be that it does focus on Arnhem more than anything else, however this was their largest engagement. They were deployed one more time in the war to liberate Norway from Nazi occupation in 1945 before the final and ultimate surrender. However, this is an excellent book which is well written all the same and offers an invaluable insight into how WWII massively influenced the evolution of warfare. ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
not set
|
Jul 21, 2024
|
Jul 21, 2024
|
Hardcover
| ||||||||||||||
| 0451499840
| 9780451499844
| 0451499840
| 4.36
| 1,362
| Jun 04, 2019
| Jun 04, 2019
|
it was amazing
|
Getting it Wrong. Appeasement was the catastrophic policy of the British government in the lead up to the Second World War. Prime Minister Neville Cham Getting it Wrong. Appeasement was the catastrophic policy of the British government in the lead up to the Second World War. Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and foreign secretary Edward Wood, 3rd Viscount Halifax along with so many others believed that they could contain Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. The same fatal mistake that Paul von Hindenburg and Franz von Papen thought when they brought Hitler into power in 1933. As Lord Huge Cecil pointed out it was like ‘scratching a crocodile’s head in the hope of making it purr.’ Of course we know it was an unmitigated disaster with all those involved being destroyed politically. Author Tim Bouverie does an excellent job in pulling this complex story together in a compelling way. Bouverie understands his subject and appreciates the time, society and characters involved. He knows how 1930s politics worked and how they were dictated by the time. Of course a huge factor in this was the First World War and the fear of sending more young men to die. The economy was still delicate after this first world crisis. Some were appeasers and others were Nazi sympathisers. Perhaps what is also compelling is the weight the aristocracy still had on politics at the time, even though it had gone through huge decline. This included the Marquess of Londonderry and the Duke of Hamilton who Rudolph Hess famously flew to arrange peace talks with in 1941. If they had sympathetic leanings most woke up and smelt the coffee after Kristalnacht and the abuses of the Czechs after appeasement failed. The left were equally split with appeasement and aristocrats and conservatives also opposed it, Duff Cooper and Winston Churchill being the most famous here. The liberal party was pacifist and those such as David Lloyd George thought that the impotent League of Nations had a positive influence. The problem was that most people in Britain feared Stalin and Soviet Russia more than the Nazis at the time, this is a solid argument. Hitler was more of an unknown whereas Stalin had proved he was an unpredictable monster. As I have mentioned above, there was no wider public appetite for war, with so many young men being killed on the fields of France and Belgium 20 years before. Therefore Chamberlain and Halifax weee looking to prevent war at all costs. When Chamberlain came back from Munich in 1938, having sold the Czechs down the river, he considered a hero. Bouverie argues that this should have been over and done with when Hitler rearmed the Rhineland. It was the first obvious move, he limited resources whilst Britain was still the most powerful country in the world with its huge empire and large navy. France also had the largest army at that point, so they could have easily challenged and shot down the dictator. History could have turned out very different. Perhaps the most important point of this book is the rejection of the myth that there was merit to the appeasement policy. In delaying war, this did give Britain chance to rearm, but it also gave this time to Germany. In fact Germany rearmed quicker than Britain, so this was a fallacy. By 1939 they had sacrificed the Czechs and their defences and Hitler had signed a non aggression pact with Stalin. Moreover the point of appeasement was to prevent war, not to delay it. So in all respects it failed and has gone down in history as a diplomatic disaster. Getting it wrong is an understatement to say the least. Hitler’s intentions were laid out in Mein Kampf. Therefore, it should have been understood he should have been intercepted at the first opportunity. This would have prevented the most deaths and would perhaps have been resonant with the nation. This is an excellent book which I throughly enjoyed. Although we can take lessons from history everything has to be put in context, so be wary of applying these actions to any other times and international crises. ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
not set
|
May 31, 2024
|
May 31, 2024
|
Hardcover
| ||||||||||||||
| 0312426119
| 9780312426118
| 0312426119
| 4.28
| 16,178
| 1953
| Jul 11, 2006
|
it was amazing
|
Survival Guide. I was initially drawn to A Woman in Berlin as Sir Antony Beevor placed it in his top five books on the Second World War. He described i Survival Guide. I was initially drawn to A Woman in Berlin as Sir Antony Beevor placed it in his top five books on the Second World War. He described it as the ‘most important personal accounts ever written about the effects of war and defeat.’ I have to say I could not agree more, this book is truly amazing. This is a diary written between 20/04/1945-22/06/1945 by an anonymous German woman, during the fall and sacking of the city at the hands of the Red Army. The author, who very intelligent, is lucky enough to have travelled Europe and also speak Russian. As such this gives a unique perspective as she is able to communicate with her Russian conquerors. She records the struggle for survival, the boredom, the fear, uncertainty and the war. What is gleamed from the endless rape, violence and hunger is that the author wants to, and plans to survive. She has not given up on herself yet. As the Soviet soldiers first poor into the city and our heroine is unaware Hitler has killed himself and the Nazi regime has collapsed, she and those around her are raped. However, she learns quickly, she must get protection. The only way to do this is to become the girlfriend of an officer in the Red Army, if she sleeps with him, the others won’t violate her. She chooses a young man named Anatol who is a lieutenant. Simple and easy going, they are not exactly a match, but it works. She is then able to get food for ‘the widow’ her neighbour and lodger Herr Pauli. Over the next two months, as Germany changes and the war ends the narrators relationships with those around her and her countrymen changes. This is a sober picture of the true horrors of war. The misery, the death and destruction. However, the focus is provided by a point of view not usually recorded in history. The civilian woman. She faces sexual violence like so many in her position would have faced for time in memoriam. She also expresses some very real and human points of view. She sees a lot of dead bodies, but wonders when she’ll see her first person die. She recognises the Russians are humans too, but come from a far off place, where values and life is different. She acknowledges that they have to get drunk to rape the women around them. She also sees what it takes to survive. Hiding as some neighbours do with their you f daughters, or with Herr Pauli who sacrifices a friendship for potatoes. The book was first published in 1954 and then again in English in 2003. Some have questioned the authenticity of the diary. Beevor and German writer Walter Kempowski both state they believe the diary is true. What is does is expose that taboo of mass rape of Berlin falling through collapse of the Nazi regime. Something denied by Russia today. It is believed the author of the book was journalist Martha Hillers who died in 2001. Although my edition of the book does not confirm this for definite. But I do know that the author is very talented, intelligent and has written a truly astonishing read. ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
not set
|
Dec 12, 2023
|
Dec 12, 2023
|
Paperback
| ||||||||||||||
| 009953987X
| 9780099539872
| 009953987X
| 4.34
| 2,338
| Sep 21, 2013
| Sep 01, 2016
|
it was amazing
|
Dark Hopes and Expectations. Adolf Hitler and the NSDAP made one thing clear at the start of the Second World War, that there would never be any surren Dark Hopes and Expectations. Adolf Hitler and the NSDAP made one thing clear at the start of the Second World War, that there would never be any surrender and no repeat of 1918. A huge part of the reason for Hitler going to war in 1939 was to overturn the humiliation of the German collapse at the end of the Great War. As a result not only Germany, but Central Europe, Northern France and most of Russia would be devastated by the war. Over 5.3 million German soldiers would be killed alongside around one million civilians. 1918 wouldn’t be repeated no, but a far greater cost would be paid. German casualties were far higher than any of the allies with over half dying after June 1944. Germany would never be the same again and the consequences of war would not be faced. Nazism would be conveniently swept under the rug and the Holocaust would become an awkward elephant in the room. Stargardt’s history of Nazi Germanys war on the world is a warts and all narrative of how normal people thought and fought in the conflict. A nation nervous of war they did not want, to one filled with joy in the wake of the early victories. Then finally to one filled with terror after the horrific bombing, facing the tidal wave of the red army in the march to total defeat. As Stargardt shows Nazism was at its most popular at the start of the war when it promises east and quick victories. When Germany went to war initially, it was not wanted as most saw another long drawn out conflict. When France, Norway, Denmark, Belgium and Holland were overrun this agony turned into ecstasy. Opinion swayed with the fortunes of the war, where rationing and sacrifice started almost immediately. To offset this Goebbels had to pump out his propaganda and the ruthless exploitation of the conquered lands had to be begin. Then resentment of the regime set in as things got worse, whilst the Nazi elite seemed not to be effected. When the bombing started, it became a place of personal survival. There was no unified nation, just individuals trying to get through the war. The Nazi myth was shown to be paper thin. Stargardt adds personality to ordinary people who found themselves in all situations in Germany in the war. Those who fought on the eastern front witnessing war crimes, Catholic pastors who found themselves critical of Nazism and its godless ways, to the Protestants who could not accept a new Germany in the modern era. Families communicating with loved ones doing the fighting, to Jews nervous and anxious at being caught in the middle of it all. What it clear is how everyone seemed to change as the war went on, the young tank soldier who becomes disillusioned with the destruction of war, to the SA volunteer who saves his Jewish neighbour. To the married woman who gained multiple boyfriends as the number of men dwindled. All show that self pity and melancholy set in, blaming higher and foreign forces more and more each day for their fortune. What is clear to Stargardt is that no one wanted ownership of the catastrophe or accept it was of their own making. I found this book very dense, but also deeply interesting. The disconnect between the city dweller and the country peasant who was supposed to take the former in when they were evacuated. Or the notion that no one was truly safe from death as the war lingered on. Stargardt also addresses the persecution of the Jews and that it became a known secret. For me it added context and personality to the well told stories of Nazi Germany’s war from a top down perspective. Here this is supported by the voice of many ordinary people through their letters, diaries and memoirs. What is produced is neither a bunch or heroes or villains. Just ordinary people. Some critical or the Nazis other supportive, some opportunistic others trying to get through it. Heavy reading in parts, but a worthwhile one nonetheless. ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
not set
|
Oct 22, 2023
|
Oct 22, 2023
|
Paperback
| ||||||||||||||
| 0393320278
| 9780393320275
| 0393320278
| 4.15
| 4,749
| Mar 01, 1999
| Jun 17, 2000
|
really liked it
|
The Great Rebuild. When the Emperor Hirohito gave his surrender speech on 15/08/1945, Japan was completely devastated and utterly defeated. The militar The Great Rebuild. When the Emperor Hirohito gave his surrender speech on 15/08/1945, Japan was completely devastated and utterly defeated. The militarists had failed and the empire was left broken, with the victors standing over them, ready to impose their unlimited will. Two atomic bombs, nine years of war and millions of lives lost had changed Japan’s path forever. General Douglas A. MacArthur was given the task to lead the allied occupation, something which would formally continue until 1952, seven years after the war’s end. During this time he would have unprecedented power and was almost de facto head of state. In some ways he was the last shogun. What followed was a social and economic revolution, married with traditional Japanese values and characteristics, which many American or westerner had not considered or encountered before. This book reeks the story of Japan’s shift from brutal feudalism to western democracy. John Dower is an excellent writer, who provides insight and analysis into an area where few would be able to understand or explain in such a layered way. He ventures into this dark period in Japan’s history and lights flares when he comes across previously untrodden paths. It is a pleasure to follow him down. This is the shady world of the black market, the mass shame imposed on the returning defeated soldier, the prostitution of Japanese women to the huge influx of American military personnel. The so called ‘pan pan’ girls. A subservient nation that almost immediately rejects the war and the war crimes committed and turns it back on the old regime, looking forward to what new Japan holds. Within this, there is the emperor, who was defended by his people and in the end needed by MacArthur to complete stability. Hirohito never really considered abdicating in favour of his son the Crown Prince or another relative. He also never took any responsibility for the military decisions made. He was also relinquished of guilt by those few who did stand trial, they protected him until the end. From the moment of the occupation, Japan and the USA were bound together. Dower sees this a life long marriage, but rejects the notion MacArthur delivered democracy and Japan lives happily ever after. There was huge censorship, the war, the bombs or the occupation could not be discussed or criticised. Even criticism of the USSR could not be made in the early years, even though hundreds of thousands of Japanese prisoners of war languished in Soviet camps. Dower is also critical of the Tokyo war crimes trials. This was ‘victors justice’, with even the most lenient of hearings being a farce. They were almost kangaroo courts with trial to execution being conducted within 24 hours or so. But as Australian Judge Andrew Webb is noted as saying, with Hirohito on trial, they all fall flat as it was he who they acting in the name of and took orders from. Another point Dower highlights is the way that the 1946 Constitution was written within a week and then imposed. This should be considered as absolute hubris. A foreign occupier imposing a new state law within a single week over a country that it knows little about with minimum consultation. It however, must be noted this constitution is unchanged to this day and the largest critics are in fact now Americans. Dower overall is critical of the occupation and feels it is a depressed time for Japan. It is full of bureaucracy, bad decisions, incompetence and inconsistency which also influenced the direction of the Cold War. For Dower this period did not truly end until the death of Hirohito in 1989, when the new Japan was finally ready to announce itself to the world. This is the Japan of today. A great book, written about a fascinating topic. ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
not set
|
Oct 10, 2023
|
Oct 10, 2023
|
Paperback
| ||||||||||||||
| 140006693X
| 9781400066933
| 140006693X
| 4.07
| 10,712
| Feb 21, 2012
| Feb 21, 2012
|
it was amazing
|
The Allrounder. I have always thought Dwight D Eisenhower is one of those people who was born at the right time. After all he was the supreme commander The Allrounder. I have always thought Dwight D Eisenhower is one of those people who was born at the right time. After all he was the supreme commander of allied forces in Europe during total victory over Nazi Germany, a just war. He also became president of the United States when it was perhaps at its richest, most confident and powerful. Jean Edward Smith certainly thinks so, he believes that Eisenhower or ‘Ike’ as he was nicknamed, always had Lady Luck smiling down upon him. I feel this the accepted view of Ike, he seemed to be in the right place at the right time and was lucky enough to have his talents recognised by his superiors. Where Smith’s biography looks to change our outlook on Ike is through challenging the narrative on his presidency. It has long been the strap line that Ike easily won elections as he was coming off the back of success in WWII, but didn’t really do all that much in the Oval Office. It was a successful presidency, but was Ike a great president?Smith’s answer is ‘yes’ and states that after FDR, Ike was in fact the most successful president of the twentieth century. His achievements in the presidency are vast. He ended the Korean War, strengthened European alliances whilst overseeing the departure of European colonialism. It can be argued he recused the Republican Party from the wilderness or worse McCarthyism. He oversaw economic and technological growth and reluctantly facilitated the civil rights movement. His approval ratings which were as high when his second term ended as when he was elected. This is extremely rare. But as I said at the start, this was a time of the USA’s height of power and wealth, how would he had coped as a wartime president or one with an economic crash? Smith shows how a lifetime in the army, developed key skills in organisation, planning, leadership, logistics and managing huge personalities led to success in WWII. This in turn prepared him to become president. Almost in a Churchillian way his life was just a preparation for that moment. Born in 1890 into a large, but relatively poor family, Ike grew up in Kansas. It appears his mothers family had some money, but his father David was deeply religious, difficult and lacked any real ambition to achieve more. But he had his sons, all of who were intelligent, driven and successful. Ike showed great promise at school, it was here that luck first shone on him. Thanks to recent changes, for the first time West Point became available through an entrance exam for the less well off. Ike won the entrance exam competition and was able to enrol. He graduated in 1915, to a particularly talented class where 59 of its members would become general officers. When WWI came, Ike requested a front line commission, but was initially held back in the US to serve in logistics. When he was eventually sent to France he commanded a unit that trained tank crews. He would never lead troops into battle, this would hang over him for the rest of his life and in some ways stifled his judgement. Between the wars Ike chose to stay on in the army and built a key friendship with George S Patton. He also managed to serve under some of the US’s most talented generals, John Pershing, Douglas MacArthur and George Marshall. The interwar years saw a shrinkage in the military and a stall in most officer’s careers. Ike was no different. He saw various deployments, including a move Panama to watch over the canal. He was appointed chief military aid to General MacArthur and in 1935, followed the famous general to the Philippines to be a military advisor to the local government. It was here Ike disagreed with much of MacArthur’s decisions and views on military matters, especially the arrogance of MacArthur’s command. Although these differences were later played down. But this experience taught Ike vital lessons for the upcoming war and how to handle talented and opinionated men such as Winston Churchill, FDR, Alan Brooke, George Marshall, George S Patton and Bernard Montgomery. But studying military history was also vital. He read Carl von Clausewitz’s On War and knew it’s lessons perhaps more than anyone else in the US Army. He became the master of how to do as much as possible with as little as possible, therefore setting priorities was his philosophy. WWII was his finest hour. Marshall promoted him over hundreds of more senior officers to become the army’s chief planner after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour. After meeting with FDR, he was appointed Supreme Allied Commander in 1942 and oversaw Operation Torch, the invasion of North Africa. His talents, as I have said above lay not in the fighting, but organisation. He did not understand strategy as much as Brooke, Patton or Omar Bradley. This led to stretching allied forces too thin over a broad front in the winter of 1944 leading to set backs in the Battle of the Bulge. However, he was able to weigh costs verses benefits, delegate authority and maintain morale. FDR and Marshall needed no one else. Eisenhower also learnt political subtlety, for example quietly supporting Charles de Gaulle, who FDR could not stand. But in the end was forced to work with. This would be the style of his presidency, leaving no trace and working with a ‘quiet hand’. During the war the Smith shows the importance of Ike’s relationship with his driver Kay Summersby. Smith believes this was a sexual relationship, I also feel this is very likely. Operation Overlord, the largest amphibious invasion in history was orchestrated by Ike and was a huge success. However Smith does not even mention Ike’s famous speech to the allied soldiers, delivered on the eve of D-Day! After victory in Europe and a beckoning return to the USA, he dropped Kay like a stone. Politics waited. He would follow Ulysses S Grant into the White House after winning a war. Perhaps his greatest achievement was to make his presidency look easy or boring. This has led to many underestimating him, not Smith who appreciates Ike, perhaps more as a president than as a general. He saw that doing too little risks defeat, too much exhaustion. But walking the tightrope of being in the right place was key. Here he kept the US out of any wars for his entirety of office. He also managed to improve America’s standing and respect within the world. But it was a lonely and difficult place, which eventually destroyed his health. This biography of Ike is excellent, but as with Smith’s FDR there is no conclusion. So even though the reader can establish Smith’s general feelings, they have to be drawn out sentence by sentence throughout the text. As I have said above the D-Day speech is omitted for some reason, with his love of golf and Augusta National coming near the end of the book, but again no mention of the famous Eisenhower Tree on the 17th fairway which he also shot his ball into so many times he unsuccessfully lobbied to take it down. Alas these are minor points, but these, as a young boy growing up, were what I knew most about him. Otherwise this is a very well written book, Smith has a man easy, clear style. Ike, for me seems to have been an exceptional human, who was good at most things he put his hand to. If he’d had managed to command troops in battle, this may have overcome his lack of knowledge of military strategy which caused setbacks in WWII. In conclusion, this book is throughly enjoyable, you should go and read it. ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
not set
|
Oct 05, 2023
|
Oct 05, 2023
|
Hardcover
| ||||||||||||||
| 4.23
| 818
| Feb 11, 2016
| Apr 20, 2017
|
really liked it
|
Learning to Win. Before the Battle of the Admin Box which took place from 05-23/02/1944 the British had not managed to secure any real victory against Learning to Win. Before the Battle of the Admin Box which took place from 05-23/02/1944 the British had not managed to secure any real victory against Imperial Japan. This elusive, violent and unforgiving new foe seemed invincible. Having attacked Pearl Harbour and then swept south and west, taking the fortress of Singapore, probably the greatest British military defeat in history, Hong Kong, the sinking the of the HMS Prince of Wales and Repulse and taking Burma all pointed to the sun setting on the British. However, the Admin Box was a decisive victory. It showed that the Japanese could be beaten and taught the British how to do it. From here on in Lord Louis Mountbatten’s and General Bill Slim’s leadership and innovation brought a successful campaign to Burma for which the Japanese had not answer. James Holland brings this amazing story alive in his pure historical retelling. Mountbatten had his critics, but he brought charm, e every and good judgement. His choice of Silm’s appointment as commander of the Fourteenth Army was not at first obvious, but was completely inspired. Holland is a huge fan of Slim and this is justified. He changed the war in the east. There were gour fundamental problems facing Slim when he took over. First, the terrain was the hardest in the world, thick jungle where any snap of a twig could be an enemy just yards away, out of sight, humid conditions and all sorts of lethal creatures, such as blood leaches which prevented most from sleeping at night. The second was disease, malaria stuck 84% of soldiers at least once during the fighting, almost everyone was struck by dysentery and there were other diseases such as jungle typhus, which often proved fatal. The Fourteen lost on average 12,000 soldiers per day to disease over the campaign! The third, was the lack of air supremacy. They were outnumbered and lacked newer technology such as radar. The fourth and final was morale. It was abysmal, as the British were untrained for jungle warfare and felt like they were facing an unbeatable and unreasonable enemy built for this kind of fighting. Slim changed all this. Good morale was restored on Silm’s foundations of spiritual, intellectual and material. He told them their task was a noble one, the Japanese could be beaten, British soldiers were well equipped and well trained and their lives would not be thrown away lightly and finally with this good equipment they would be well supported logically. He ensured there would be no flanking manoeuvres by digging defendable areas known as ‘boxes’. Everyone would be armed from the cook to wireless operators and any trapped or besieged men would be supplied via air until they could be relieved. Slim also introduced the newer Spitfire Vs which replaced the worn out and inadequate Hurricanes. This took the Japanese by surprise in the air, who did not counter act this. He also recruited thousands of Indian soldiers to built supply roads through the jungle where mules and tucks alike could keep the supply lines running. Local women were paid to water them to keep the dust off them, which intern prevented long term damage. When the Admin Box came, which Holland describes as a 20th century Rorke’s Drift, but with more legitimacy for the British and Indian troops involved, they proved themselves against 7,000 Japanese soldiers beating them back. The knife was just as essential as the Bren gun or Lee Enfield rifle. Japanese dominance was over and the tide was turned. Holland shows this was a typical British victory. An army poorly performing and beaten back at first and then slowly learning how to win over time. He adds excellent insight and knowledge into this theatre, which no one has covered for so long. The characters, the action, the theatre are all fascinating. This is an excellent little book of how the British learned to fight and win in WWII. I really enjoyed it. ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
not set
|
Oct 03, 2023
|
Oct 03, 2023
|
Paperback
| |||||||||||||||||
| 0099590239
| 9780099590231
| 0099590239
| 4.43
| 2,764
| Sep 30, 2013
| Mar 01, 2018
|
it was amazing
|
The March of Madness. German historian Volker Ullrich has produced an exceptional piece of work with this first of two volumes on one of the most evil The March of Madness. German historian Volker Ullrich has produced an exceptional piece of work with this first of two volumes on one of the most evil and fascinating figures of the twentieth century; Adolf Hitler. Ullrich, in his introduction notes that writing a book on Hitler is extremely difficult and complex and so requires the greatest attention to detail. Ullrich has lived by this manifesto and as such has produced the best study of the Führer, one where Ullrich understands him and as a result so have I. Starting with a family history in provincial Austria-Hungry, dissecting the myths of Jewish ancestry (debunked by Ullrich) and who Hitler’s father may have been, we also learn the Hitler myth was built by the Führer himself. Alois, his father was not a drunk who beat him mercilessly. He was a disappointment to his father, who was a hard man, had looked to climb the social ladder. All of the opportunities for young Adolf were there too, he just didn’t take them. This changes the outlook that an especially cruel and sadistic childhood builds monsters. Not true of Stalin, Lenin, Geobbels or Hitler. There are no excuses or mitigation. Ullrich revisits all of the stages and important events of Hitler’s life, events that we think shaped him, but probably didn’t. The death of his beloved mother Klara at an early age, did not instil a life long hatred of Jews, as the myth would have us believe. Her Jewish doctor Edward Bloch actually got special protection by the Gestapo in the Third Reich and was allowed to emigrate. Perhaps the crucial point in his life was being rejected from the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts. As Ullrich notes this pushed him onto the streets and a road to radicalisation. But it wasn’t fully there yet. His life in Vienna is fascinating to say the least, scruffy, thin, malnourished and living to sell paintings of the streets along with other schemes. When war came, Hitler petitioned to the King of Bavaria to join a local regiment rather than fight for the multi ethnic Habsburg empire he hated. Following German’s defeat he was devastated and truly believed in the stab in the back myth. This is where the radicalisation started after the Treaty of Versailles. A time of complete instability and a breaking of Germany, there was built a large amount of consensus within the army and wider society that the Jews had caused this destruction and trauma and so needed to be removed from society. For there on in Hitler did not hide his desire to remove the Jews from Germany (the idea of extermination came later, deportation was the early idea) or destroy the hated Bolshevism of the east. The term ‘Jew’ and ‘Bolshevik’ were used interchangeably. This shows that supporters had no excuse, they couldn’t claim they didn’t know, it was all written in Mein Kampf and featured in most speeches. Ullrich shows how this rise was by luck and chance to Hitler. Not so much to the rest of the world. The grand speeches where he came alive versus the strange and anti social private man. He was an enigma, did anyone really know or get close to him? When he showed weakness or humanity he seemed to go back into political mode. Often at dinner parties or soirées he would set off into a monologue, sometimes lasting over an hour. Talking as if to a huge crowd. One wonders how this man took over the most powerful country in Europe. But Ullrich shows us how. The master of divide and conquer playing rivals off each other on the far right of politics and inside the NSDAP, with a mix of bullying, threats, violence and flattery he rose to the top. Then there was the 1929 economic crash and hyperinflation. Exceptional conditions which would only bring about an extreme consequence. There are thematic chapters interwoven to the chronology. Nothing has divided historians more than Hitler’s relationships with women. The one with the young Geli Raubal was complicated and is still unknown to what extent they got to know each other. Was it sexual? Possible. Was it mutual, Ullrich says yes. He doted on her and she encouraged it. But he also harassed her and forbid a potential marriage to her chauffeur. She died in mysterious circumstances in a hotel in 1931, with a pistol Hitler had given her. Equally complex are his relationships with Magda Geobbels and Eva Braun. Braun was kept secret from the wider public for a long time, but as servants had noted, they were definitely together. He was not gay, asexual or had abnormal genitalia, he wanted to preserve the myth that he was married only to the Germany and the NSDAP. Ullrich notes Hitler was petit bourgeois, narrow minded, uneducated and insecure. But also arrogant and self righteous. He had a great memory, but was not cultured and knew little of the world outside of Germany. He had only been to France as a private in WWI and apart from childhood in Austria, had not travelled to any other country. He spoke no language other than German. He was only interested in Germans. His contemporaries knew this. Some chose to ignore it. As a result he thought he knew better than specialists, problems which would grow once war started. He hated the old Germany, Hohenzollerns, monarchists and the royal houses as much as Jews, homosexuals or liberally minded people. The church was disposed but also useful to him. The NSDAP was the new religion, loyalty base, outlook and tradition. This was everything. Old allegiances to the Kaiser needed to die. All essential when understanding National Socialism was a warped and unique ideology. This is a detailed and refreshing look at this most horrific of individuals. But it is essential to read as any reader will discover the horror truth. The accidental rise, the myth built by himself and his subordinates. He was not a great man with new ideas and was truly bad for Germans. The second book focuses on war, holocaust and downfall. A strong stomach will be needed. But Ullrich is the best person to guide one through that journey. An outstanding book. ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
not set
|
Sep 27, 2023
|
Sep 27, 2023
|
Paperback
| ||||||||||||||
| 110199097X
| 9781101990971
| 110199097X
| 4.45
| 1,148
| Jul 09, 2019
| Jul 09, 2019
|
really liked it
|
The Quiet Servant. General George Catlett Marshall has been hailed as one of the greatest Americans of the twentieth century. It is hard not to admire The Quiet Servant. General George Catlett Marshall has been hailed as one of the greatest Americans of the twentieth century. It is hard not to admire a man with ideas, great judgement, a willingness to do the right thing and above all, a sense of duty. The subtitle of this book is ‘Defender of the Republic’ and nothing could be more true. He served it with distinction. As Commander in Chief during the Second World War he was for me, the right man for the job. Such an important and central figure during this war it is amazing to know that he never led troops into battle, something he wanted and could have had if he asked Franklin D Roosevelt. But he didn’t, as he was thought to best serve the war effort leading the other generals from the top. His skills in checking and advising FDR alongside organisation and administration is why he stayed behind the lines. Like Dwight D Eisenhower, another military great of the age, the majority of Marshall’s war was not to fight the enemy. Even though he did show promise as a tank commander. Instead he ensured that Americans soldiers were properly trained and equipped for war in Europe. He also planned the first major American offensive of the war, at Cantigny in May 1918. General John Pershing recognised his talent and there after became a life long mentor. This influenced his decisions and kept him out of politics. Something Marshall felt essential as a military commander. Marshall was built in WWI, much like George S Patton or Douglas MacArthur, but in a different way. Here he became a master of planning, organising, training and logistics. During the inter war years this talent and closeness to Pershing pushed him to the top. For me his manners, almost stoic reservedness and apolitical nature made Marshall. He had qualities that few could replicate. This allowed him to make clear informed decisions and advise his superiors correctly. This often led to telling them what they didn’t want to hear. He shied away from the spotlight, was humble and did not unashamedly self promote himself. In some ways it’s is amazing he made it to the top of the greasy pole. But it is clear it was due to his incredible character and ability. He also incredibly, was not close with the majority of people he worked with, famously insisting FDR call him ‘General Marshall’ rather than ‘George’. Something the president learnt quickly. When the Second World War came, Marshall was elected by FDR to oversee the military’s mass expansion into a huge industrial war machine. It was his finest hour. This book may seem like a hagiography, but Roll does criticise Marshall. He failed to racially integrate the US army in WWII, Marshall stated you should not experiment socially with the army during a global war. Probably more practical than anything else, even if he did most likely hold standard racial views of his time. He was not only hostile towards people of colour, but didn’t promote them either. Roll also criticises Marshall’s failures leading up to Pearl Harbour. After obtaining intelligence of an imminent attack he failed to put the Pacific Fleet on high alert. Marshall was certainly the brain that connected the organisation of victory, and was one of the geniuses with FDR, Winston S Churchill and Alan Brooke who brought about allied victory from command. The British and Americans often clashed and Marshall was central to forging relationships with the British. He favoured a built up of forces in the UK to bring about an all out stuck in France. The others disagreed and planned a attack on the ‘soft underbelly’ of Europe through an invasion of North Africa and then Italy, via Sicily. Tilly agrees with most historians Marshall was wrong in trying to invade France in 1942, the allies simply weren’t ready and needed to build up experience. It may come as no surprise that when Operation Overlord came he was the strongest advocate. But here he was denied command in the field once again, with FDR giving it to Dwight D Eisenhower. Marshall said nothing, but if he did he would have got it. After the war Marshall served as President Harry Truman’s envoy to China, this was not a successful deployment. He enjoyed further roles before retiring in 1951. Roll does touch on the personal life of Marshall, but not to a great degree. Perhaps there was not much more than a man married to the job. He had no children of his own and sadly lost his stepson Alan Brown in combat in 1944. For me this is where the biography doesn’t reach its full potential. Who was Marshall the man? Roll doesn’t seem answer the question of his character and does not seem to mention his background and upbringing. I accept this is low on this list for most people, but when I want to learn about someone, I want to understand them. This starts with where they came from and how they got onto their journey. Otherwise this was an excellent biography of a great and admirable man. ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
not set
|
Sep 19, 2023
|
Sep 19, 2023
|
Hardcover
| ||||||||||||||
| 0805087249
| 9780805087246
| 0805087249
| 4.29
| 21,230
| Oct 02, 2002
| May 15, 2007
|
really liked it
|
The First Gamble. Volume one of Rick Atkinson’s ‘Liberation Trilogy’, An Army at Dawn accounts the Second World War in northern Africa, where raw Ameri The First Gamble. Volume one of Rick Atkinson’s ‘Liberation Trilogy’, An Army at Dawn accounts the Second World War in northern Africa, where raw American troops encountered the dangerous and professional Wehrmacht for the first time. Atkinson tells the story of how and why the allies came to fight in Africa and the slow and violent victory to free that theatre from fighting. One of the key points of this book is that the American leadership I’m under General Dwight D Eisenhower did not understand the German war machine and it took them along time to learn to fight. This is a refreshing narrative far removed from the Hollywood built myth of American GIs automatically being the best soldiers in the world. After easily overwhelming an apathetic Vichy French force they were completed unprepared for the Germans who fought and thought differently. The Germans were war hardened, had panzer tanks and an inspirational leader in Erwin Rommel. This was a slow lesson to learn, with disasters such as Kasserine Pass teaching then the hard way. However, as Atkinson writes, this built Eisenhower and commanders such as Generals George S Patton and Omar Bradley. Crucially the Americans learn to fight, became a first class force and was ready to take on ‘Fortress Europe’ itself in order to win the war. This couldn’t have been done with North Africa. Atkinson writes this book with his journalistic flare (he cut his teeth as a war journalist) and is careful to include the view of the ordinary soldier and the internal clashes of the allies, almost as significant as the combat with the Germans. This comes from the criticisms of the British against the standards of soldiers the Americans first brought across, to Patton’s demanding of the sacking of Orlando Ward. Ward hadn’t done much wrong but Eisenhower obliged. The battle for Tunisia is much of the focus of the book and possibly the entire campaign. What I feel is true is that the allies needed this campaign to learn to fight the Axis Powers on continental Europe. An invasion into France before 1944 would have ended in disaster. Of course, the Mediterranean theatre got downgraded to third place after Germany first, then Japan second after the Casablanca Conference. Overall this is a good book, with detail of the destruction and death in the fighting. The heavy casualties the allies endured is on par with Normandy at time. Atkinson also explores the tensions and pressures of command and working with an ally, as I mentioned above, alongside the major issue of logistics. This is all intermingled with the personal experiences of those caught up in the fighting. What is significant about this campaign however is that Eisenhower rose to prominence and the US became the senior partner. Implications which would in turn massively influence the direct of both the war and peace. However, I still feel I don’t know enough about this campaign and will look to read other books on the subject to fill my gaps. ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
not set
|
Sep 14, 2023
|
Sep 14, 2023
|
Paperback
| ||||||||||||||
| 1848091540
| 9781848091542
| 1848091540
| 4.13
| 123
| Jun 08, 2011
| May 10, 2012
|
it was amazing
|
Tanks at Dawn. If we step aside from Hitler versus Stalin, then Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery against Field Marshal Erwin Rommel is the true clash o Tanks at Dawn. If we step aside from Hitler versus Stalin, then Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery against Field Marshal Erwin Rommel is the true clash of titans during the Second World War. As such they have come to represent British and German military leadership during the war and have become the stuff of legend when thinking about the war. They fought a series of amazing duals across multiple theatres and became brilliant field commanders as a result. They had interweaving and parallel lives and as such Peter Caddick-Adams has written this engaging and fascinating piece as you cannot tell the story of one without the other. Born in the 19th century to middle class parents in the periphery of their respective empires, both went to war in 1914, fought at the front and were injured. Rommel first against the French and then fighting the Italians. Monty in the Western Front against other German units. Both learnt valuable lessons which would catapult them to the top in the next conflict. After the war both faced different prospects as Rommel’s Germany was very different to the one he went to war for. His King, Wilhelm II of Wurttemberg had been forced to abdicate and the army was ordered by the victorious allies to shrink. For an army man, even if highly decorated such as Rommel was this was potentially career ending. In the end he manages to stay on, even if promotion was now painfully slow. Monty as a victorious and seasoned officer, had no worries about staying on, even if disastrous cuts to military spending were heading his way. But the peace allowed them both the learn from the Great War, test out new training tactics, to not become detached from the fighting like so many First World War generals and to be mindful of the unnecessary waste of men. When both entered the Second World War, their talent alongside their own thirst to reach the top and support from their political leaders, Winston Churchill and Adolf Hitler allows them to create destiny. As Caddick-Adams explains both needed to over achieve, Rommel due to being only five feet six inches in height and Monty due to the loveless upbringing his mother gave him. He was in fact estranged from her for most of his life (I don’t think she realised this either!). When they clashed in the desert, both were confident and were blooded and up for the fight. Caddick-Adams also explains their differences. He had aggressive tactics, desperate not to get into a stalemate like the Great War, he used violent frontal assault tactics which did cause him men and material. He had done this in 1917 in the Alps, it worked in 1940 in France and also served him well in the North Africa for a time. However, he was told by Hitler that no reinforcements would ever come, so he had to win with what little he had. An impossible task, but his genius served him well enough. Monty’s approach was different. After being seriously wounded in WWI he served as a staff officer and here he learnt the values of generalship; planning and logistics. He also learnt the Clausewitz maxim: deliver the greatest concentration of force at the enemies weakest point and it will be eventually overwhelmed. He did this at the Battle of Al Alamein with decisive effect. However, it seems it was downhill for both from here. Monty didn’t have a good war after this, in Normandy and his black stain of Operation Market Garden. As Caddick-Adams writes he chose his viscounty to represent his desert victory, even though he had more power and influence in 1944. Rommel’s time after North Africa was limited, he was almost too popular in the paranoid world of the Third Reich. Given another impossible task of defending Normandy against the allied invasion, he missed D-Day, then was seriously injured before being implicated in the July Plot to assassinate Hitler. After which he was forced to comity suicide for the sake of his family. Rommel’s relationship with Germans ever since has been difficult and it appears only in recent years have they accepted the things he did. This is understandable as a time period he has been caught up in. Monty was a difficult man himself, it appears he was ruthless with his staff officers, a religious and tee total man, he hated smoking and seemed to not get along with most. He did respect his king and direct superior Alan Brooke however. The regular soldier however loved him. Post 1945 peace did not suit him, never apologising for any of his mistakes, he seemed to have been lost without a war to fight. Ultimately both made the best of and learnt from their circumstances and military culture of their respective counties. Both as Caddick-Adams states, neither were politically astute. The higher someone climbs in the army, the more politically literate they have to be. Neither wanted this, they wanted to lead men and fight on the ground, but at the same time be at the top. Carsick-Adam’s brook is brilliant, easy to read and absolutely fascinating. Both are key and central figures of the Second World War and I would have easily read a biography on each. This is a good book that I recommend. ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
not set
|
Sep 07, 2023
|
Sep 07, 2023
|
Paperback
| ||||||||||||||
| 0307353400
| 9780307353405
| 0307353400
| 4.14
| 18,425
| Sep 04, 2007
| Sep 04, 2007
|
really liked it
|
Thief, Gambler, Womaniser, Spy. Ben Macintyre has proven himself to be an outstanding author on popular history, especially in the era of the Second Wo Thief, Gambler, Womaniser, Spy. Ben Macintyre has proven himself to be an outstanding author on popular history, especially in the era of the Second World War. Agent Zigzag is his telling of the story of Eddie Chapman a crook turned spy, turned double agent in this most testing of human conflicts. Macintyre uses recently released files on Zigzag, which is an incredible story of a lessor know theatre of war during WWII. Chapman was born in the north east of England and before the war he was a criminal. A thief and a fraudster. He was also a womaniser and it is clear that as the man had no security, permanence or foundation, he moved around, his mind could not settle or focus and he would never stay honest in any aspect of his life. This just was not his nature. This underground lifestyle guided him into a prison in Jersey when the Second World War started and the Germans conquered this island in the English Channel. Ever scheming and without a long term goal, he found himself first in France and then in the employment of the Nazis to betray his own country. He was born for this game and his German spymasters could see the value in this asset they had acquired. Fluent in French and German, the most natural language to him was the one of lies. This allowed him to keep everyone guessing what he was really thinking and allowed him to buy time and make his next move. Macintyre believes that Chapman was always loyal to Britain really, but I feel like he was more of a survivor l. Whatever the best deal was he took it. Both sides didn’t really know how to handle him and neither did they fully trust him. When he returned back to the UK from Germany, there were fears he’d defected again. Although in the end he came through for the British gathering vital intelligence that helped the war effort. Chapman kept his options open and filled his mental space with information that would be of deep interest to MI5. He even offered to assassinate Adolf Hitler, convinced he would be allowed to get close at a Nazi rally. The files appear to be silent on the matter and Macintyre surmises that Winston Churchill himself shut down the idea. In the end Agent Zigzag served his country well and risked his life for it. The Germans never intimated they knew he was a double or agent or if they did, they did not comment on the matter. His missions weee dangerous and both sides considered taking him out. In the end MI5 dropped him. They disapproved of working with a man of Chapman’s character and thought he was a risk to their secrecy. He was not reliable and after al he was a dishonest crook. National security could not have relied on such a man to keep state secrets. They paid him off and got rid of him. Chapman for his part returned to the underworld he knew so well and appears to have become extremely wealthy out of it. I enjoyed this book as it reads like a novel, is light and does not get bogged down in any fine grain detail. I love detail in the right places, but with keeping this book streamlined Macintyre keeps the pitch right. This is not an academic read and Macintyre does not try and present it as so. However, he does an excellent job in introducing the reader to not only WWII, but some of the more quirky and less covered sides of it. This is no James Bond story, however Ian Fleming does cross a path here. What it does do, is show how the spy world is far from glamorous, equally dangerous and wholly essential. Glad I’ve finally read this one. ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
not set
|
Sep 07, 2023
|
Sep 07, 2023
|
Hardcover
| ||||||||||||||
| 0393357562
| 9780393357561
| 0393357562
| 4.39
| 620
| Oct 30, 2018
| Nov 05, 2019
|
really liked it
|
Southern Nanking. This is the story of the Philippines and the Battle of Manila during in the Second World War. General Douglas MacArthur was de facto Southern Nanking. This is the story of the Philippines and the Battle of Manila during in the Second World War. General Douglas MacArthur was de facto ruler of the archipelago country before the war, having been recalled to the army by Franklin D Roosevelt following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour on 07/12/1941. However, on 11/03/1942 he was forced to withdraw from the Philippines following the huge sweeping success of the Japanese Empire. What followed was nearly three years of oppression occupation before MacArthur set foot on Filipino soil again. After island hopping and repeat massacres following by brutal fighting, liberation followed. James M Scott, here tells the tale of the final and greatest hurdle; the 29 day battle for Manila. The capital city, MacArthur’s adopted homeland, dubbed the Pearl of the Orient. The Battle of Manila is another tragic tale within WWII. The innocents civilians caught up in a war they had no influence or control over were at first starved and treated as subhumans before American forces began to take the islands back. When the fighting began, the Japanese unlocked another level to this criminal regime. They systematically raped, mutilated, murdered and pillaged the city and its inhabitants. No one was safe, children, German allies, Red Cross workers, doctors, nuns and priests. But this is not the full story, American bombing of the capital wrecked equal devastation, killing just as many Filipinos. MacArthur showed hubris when retaking the islands. He had a long history connected with them. His father General Arthur MacArthur was a national hero there, due to being involved in the liberation of the country from Spanish Rule in 1898. He loved the Philippines and spent much of his life there, living on the top floor of the luxury Manila Hotel, rising to the top and even became a Field Marshal of the Filipino Army. His beloved mother died in the Philippines in 1935, he son, Arthur was raised there and even met his second wife on route to the islands. Everything about the Islands was personal to MacArthur who felt that retaking the island was like a home coming of a famous son. As a result, the reconquest of Manila was lobbed by MacArthur to FDR. He wanted the Philippines back, even though US military plans focused on taking Formosa (Taiwan) and then use it as a spring board to attack the Japanese home islands. The Japanese forces were under General Tomoyuki Yamashita, who famously took the British fortress of Singapore with a vastly smaller force. Anointed the Tiger of Malaya, he landed in the Philippines 11 days before MacArthur. The bulk of American forces landed at Lingayen Gulf on 09/01/1945 under kamikaze attacks. Manila was only 100 miles away. It took a further 29 days to liberate the city. In that time unimaginable horrors and suffering occurred. Gang rape, infants being bayoneted to death, people burnt alive, men beheaded by swords, women’s genitalia was sliced off. The German Club became a slaughter house as people were systematically murdered in all different horrific ways. Fighting between Americans and Japanese resembled Stalingrad, slow, house to house and room to room fighting. As they reached the walled city, the desperate Japanese used women and children as human shields. By 03/03/1945 it was all over, US forces with 1,010 casualties and the Japanese with 16,665. However over 100,000 civilians had also been killed. After this we learn of Yamashita’s trial and MacArthur’s written verdict. Essentially he had to take the blame, even if critics of the decision also has valid points to make. Ultimately he allowed it to happen. Scott concludes that this was not isolated barbarity but part of a wider broken ideology of Imperial Japan from the Rape of Nanking, to the murder of 250,000 Chinese in the aftermath of the Jimmy Doolittle raid to the atrocities committed to British and Australian POWs in Malaya. Overall I really enjoyed this book, Scott has a pacy and punchy style. He tells the story in an exiting and horrifying way. You have to face this reality in order to get to the truth even if passages are hard to stomach. On criticism for me is that I would have like more on the fighting and military side, rather than the heavy focus on the atrocities, which are of course very important to write. ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
not set
|
Oct 02, 2023
|
Sep 06, 2023
|
Paperback
| ||||||||||||||
| 0195397932
| 9780195397932
| 0195397932
| 4.38
| 3,402
| Oct 05, 2011
| Oct 05, 2011
|
really liked it
|
Nemo Atoll. Author Craig L Symonds was asked to write about one of the most important points in the Second World War, The Battle of Midway for the ‘Piv Nemo Atoll. Author Craig L Symonds was asked to write about one of the most important points in the Second World War, The Battle of Midway for the ‘Pivotal Moments in American History’ series. Symonds is an American naval expert and has thus created a wonderful book based on his expertise, an already solidly built foundation on the battle and his own research. This brings together a thoroughly entertaining, albeit safe read. For me there is nothing controversial or unexpected in this book, which is no bad thing. I wasn’t looking for it, I just wanted to be told about the battle and that’s what I got. Perhaps the largest revelation is Symonds focus on individual decisions set the course of the battle rather than luck, which has been the explanation before. For example, Wade McClusky’s spotting of the Japanese carrier fleet ‘Arshai’ was due to an aggressive following of the fleet by USS Naultilus’ commander Bill Brockman, which meant the Arshai had to be detached to defeat the submarine threat that this caused. One might say that this is still luck and that the stars simply aligned behind these decisions. However Symonds states that the personalities of those involved on both sides made measured and informed decisions which dictated the course of the battle. Another reason to read the book is that Symonds focuses on the commanders interactions with each other. You get a real sense of the personalities, frustrations and motivations. Sometimes there is conflict, which can often be forgotten when the day is won. The Battle of Midway was fought between 04-07/06/1942 and as Symonds explains this was perhaps the most important and decisive naval battle since Nelson’s victory at Trafalgar in 1805. But whereas Napoleon won at Austerlitz soon after, evening the score. Midway on the other hand gave the USA and its allies the momentum it needed. This and Guadalcanal were the turning points of the Pacific war and after the near destruction of the Kido Butai, the carrier fleet in the Pacific. The plan failed and from there the US military might grew, but the Japanese shrunk couldn’t keep up. There was not enough, oil, planes, ships or men. This was more true with the huge loss of experienced naval personnel in the battle. It changed the Japanese grand strategy and also highlighted the importance of air superiority for the rest of WWII. It was the end of Japanese major expansion, if not complete territorial gains at that point. A Japanese victory may have allowed Isoroku Yamamoto to seek the peace as he had hoped, but a defeat sealed the Japanese fate. The book is straight down the line, to the point but also shows the wider importance of the code breakers and the Doolittle Raid which all pushed events in the direction they took. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and learnt a lot. ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
not set
|
Aug 07, 2024
|
Sep 06, 2023
|
Hardcover
| ||||||||||||||
| 0141029269
| 9780141029269
| 0141029269
| 4.17
| 582
| May 05, 2008
| Jun 23, 2009
|
liked it
|
Grand Designs. Andrew Roberts is a first class historian, I have simply loved all of his books and share a common interest in periods from the Napoleon Grand Designs. Andrew Roberts is a first class historian, I have simply loved all of his books and share a common interest in periods from the Napoleonic Wars to the World Wars. I also really appreciate what he does for history, saving it from its political wash. However, his Masters and Commanders book just didn’t hit the mark for me. It’s not a bad book, but very average and in some places boring. The premise of this book is that Roberts wants to tell the reader how the Second World War was won from the grand strategy developed by the four key personalities in the United Kingdom and United States: Winston Spencer Churchill, Sir Alan Brooke, Franklin D Roosevelt and George Marshall. The book adds little to what we already know of strategy of the allies, the conflict between the US and UK of when and where to open a second front, how to keep Stalin happy and on side and arguments over the merits of an African campaign. Where it does become interesting is through the us of many private diaries written, illegally by those involved at the top in this decision making. I say illegally as all had agreed not to write down what had been discussed for security reasons. It seems most ignored this rule. Roberts has a mesmerising amount of knowledge and is a great storyteller, so this is presented very well in places. What Roberts shows is that personality still mattered at the top. Marshall was almost estranged from the others, not wanting to become personal with any. Alan Brooke was worked to death by Churchill, getting away through ornithology. FDR the only one with no military training, but very politically astute, it seems Marshall has a hard time understanding FDR in places. But whatever these differences, all were exceptional men who got the job done. They were crucially able to agree to a Germany first policy. Britain would provide a base to launch the invasion of Europe, Stalin was wearing the Nazis down in the east, where Germany was ultimately defeated. Both sides made sacrifices whilst also mildly mistrusting their ally. Marshall forever believing the British just wanted their Empire back, Brooke noting the lack of strategic sense from the Americans. Both seemed to have pushed against each other from time to time. Maybe to test the resolve of the other. WSC and FDR definitely got on the best and were needed when Brooke or Marshall would not comprise. This partnership worked well and led to key campaigns of the war, such as the invasion of Italy and the push for Normandy in 1944. Hindsight judges the what ifs and the successes or failures of a campaign. But it appears they did an exceptional job. Of course there was luck involved in this too, but they got the big questions right. For example, going into the Mediterranean before Normandy was right. They were not ready before 1944. An open forum was key to push away the really bad ideas, something that couldn’t be done in the Axis Powers. Marshall and Brooke sacrificed key commands and glory on the battlefield to fulfil these roles and as Roberts observed each man filled a role that worked for the allies. All had good and bad ideas, but together they mostly picked the right choices. As I said above, this is not a bad book. It just would not be my first choice Roberts book or book on the Second World War. It is perhaps something for the more serious reader to delve into, but he has written far superior books and there are much better books on the subject matter. Maybe he gets too bogged down in anecdotes in places or there is too much detail on how they ironed out their approach to winning the war. I may well have to read this one again in the future to re-assess it. ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
not set
|
Aug 29, 2023
|
Aug 29, 2023
|
Paperback
| ||||||||||||||
| 1408822415
| 9781408822418
| 1408822415
| 4.17
| 2,341
| Aug 30, 2011
| Jan 01, 2012
|
really liked it
|
The Other Russian City. When thinking of Operation Barbarossa, the Third Reich’s invasion of the USSR in 1941 during the Second World War, the majority The Other Russian City. When thinking of Operation Barbarossa, the Third Reich’s invasion of the USSR in 1941 during the Second World War, the majority of attention is given to Stalingrad and the epic struggle upon the Volga River. This is of course more exciting. The Wehrmacht versus the Red Army in house to house fighting, the fate of the world balancing on one tiny city on the Asian Steppe. If Hitler gets through he gets the Baku, Grozny and Maikop oil fields. If he gets through the city, Russia will crumble. But to the north, on the River Neva there was another struggle. The huge 900 day siege of Leningrad, the former capital city of the Russian Empire, Peter the Great’s city, Saint Petersburg. Not as exciting or as famous, this is equally fascinating and just as shocking and gruesome. Anna Reid brings this story back to life and gives it a place it deserves in human memory. Reid’s main argument in this book is that 750,000 people lost their lives not only due to Nazi hatred of Slavic peoples and Hitler’s desire to wipe Russia of the map and push its people into Siberia, but also due to the oppressive Soviet regime and its incompetence. This was the most brutal siege in human history. When the Germans surrounded the city, it was completed unprepared. 2.5 million were trapped and starvation set in immediately. This should not have happened. Even in April 1941, Stalin supplied Hitler with grain, rubber, metal and other vital supplies even though he had said to the Politburo he expected an attack from the Nazis. The people of these Bloodlands were truly trapped between the combined hubris of Hitler and Stalin. They paid highly for this. When the ice road across Lake Ladoga was opened, supplies were small and those who were ‘saved’ still died in droves. Only the end of the war would truly end the suffering. Reid uses diaries of those who were trapped inside this hell to give memory to human experience. She explains this is one of the key themes of her book. She strips away the soviet propaganda and reminds us that the people left behind were ordinarily people, teachers, shopkeepers, cleaners, factory workers and bookkeepers. They were all caught up in this mess. They struggled on not for love of Stalin, but for Russia. This is the only way to really tell this story, the struggle for food, the hours of queuing for bread, the crime, the dilemma of eating your own pets or wallpaper paste. How to bury a dead family member or neighbour. The using of ration cards of death fathers, brothers, sisters and mothers to survive. Then there are those who murdered and those who turned to cannibalism. Even in this hell, this was too far for most, they were often denounced as insane and shot. Sir Antony Beevor has stated that this book is in his top five on WWII and I can see why. It’s a harrowing tale well told. A lot of history is morbid or violent, however the story of the Siege of Leningrad was still able to shock me. It’s still hard to conceive what they went through. Being unable to sleep through hunger, unable to speak, but if you stopped you were like never to get back up again. Russia’s war was more than Stalingrad or Operation Uranus, there were civilians too and they suffered being stuck between the fire and the frying pan. A tragic story well told. ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
not set
|
Aug 29, 2023
|
Aug 29, 2023
|
Paperback
| ||||||||||||||
| 0552176117
| 9780552176118
| 0552176117
| 4.45
| 2,206
| Jun 04, 2019
| May 14, 2020
|
it was amazing
|
Dancing with the Devil. The Battle for Normandy is perhaps one of the most famous episodes of the the Second World War. It had gained attention from a Dancing with the Devil. The Battle for Normandy is perhaps one of the most famous episodes of the the Second World War. It had gained attention from authors and more crucially Hollywood ever since the end of the conflict in 1945. There are countless, books, films, series and documentaries of the subject. It is easy to see why. It is almost a masterclass of an invasion and an advance. The ground covered and the victories won for the allies is not matched in WWII or perhaps any war. There is no stagnation in the Ardennes, set back, like in Holland or questionable meaning such as Burma or Iwo Jima for example. The war is just, the fight of the Nazis and doesn’t include the darker and more brutal elements of the Holocaust or eastern theatres. The allies won and they won well. The Battle for Normandy really was the beginning of the end of the Nazi domination of Europe. This book was written for the 75th anniversary of D-Day, in 2019. One might ask, is there a need for another account on the subject? The answer is always ‘yes’. With so much to say, with so many myths which have built up over the years to correct and so many preconceptions to reset. Holland does what he does best and delivers first class military history to tell us how it really was. Holland shows how the allies fought the war differently from the Nazis or Soviets. Equally important to those at the front were the thousands involved in engineering, manufacturing, planning and logistics. Far less personal were put into fighting, which inevitably caused them far less casualties. It also enabled them to wage war for longer. These men and women were in the background keeping the war machine going. This dispels the myth of Russia doing all of the bleeding to defeat the Third Reich, to some extent. If they fought it like the allies far less would have died. Only Germany was a war for longer than Britain and then that was only for a further two days. Another way they fought differently is the command structure. Germany’s commanders who were taught to think on their feet and be flexible in the early stages were stifled by the autocracy of the Führer by 1944. Everything had to go through him, who never visited the front and so insane decisions were made with little logic. There was also an unclear command structure, with many of those at the top fighting for supremacy, an old despotic trick of divide and rule. The allies on the other hand knew who their superiors were and who to report to. Orders filtered up and down clearly. These commanders were also unwilling to create unnecessary risks to their men and always seemed to live to fight another day. Holland also exposes the myth or Germany equipment being superior to that of the allies. He states that nothing was in the small arms, a Colt .45 was superior to a Luger pistol, the Sten was easy to use being so simple, the MG44 widely inaccurate, but had the greatest rate of fire, the Lee Enfield fired ten rounds (twice as the Kar98) which could be loaded at any point and the M1 Garand had to fire off all eight rounds before a re-load. The point being they all had strengths and weaknesses. Undoubtedly British artillery was their strongest and Tiger and Panzer Tanks were the bigger and more powerful than the Sherman or Cromwell. The Panzershreck was where the Germans excelled. However, as everyone was fighting in the front, production could not keep up with the power of the West, which became so evident over the campaign. Tiger tanks had to be abandoned for lack of spare parts where hit Sherman’s could be repaired and put back out in the field. This industrial war really was a total war of nations. The campaign in Normandy was a showcase of this industry, engineering and planning. 26,600 tanks, 85,000 aircraft were built in the US alone in 1943, with the British manufacturing 49,000 tanks and 28,000 aircraft. All would descend on Normandy, with fighting also taking place in the air and from the sea. A huge amount of bombs were dropped across northern France. But Holland also shows that men and women still had to fight it and the battles were driven by individuals such as Supreme Allied Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower and Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery, but also those on the ground such as Lieutenant Dick Winters or Hans, Freiherr von Luck und Witten. Their fighting, their bravery, their leadership drove the battles. With Field Marshall Erwin Rommel being knocked out with a head injury, again events were unpredictably influenced. The desperation of Charles de Gaulle to become the leader of the free French, being outraged at not being informed of the invasion or the pragmatism of the allies. The French resistance as Holland explains was an ineffective afterthought. Perspectives from all sides are provided in the this book. At 700 pages, it flew by, unputdownable and truest gripping. The scale of the invasion and the battles is staggering. Holland shows it was a bloody as any of those of the First World War. In focusing in on the humans caught up in this, the devastation and horror are not lost either. Holland has really shown here that he is the master of WWII military history. There won’t be a better book out there on the Battle for Normandy. Truly excellent. ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
not set
|
Aug 23, 2023
|
Aug 23, 2023
|
Paperback
| ||||||||||||||
| 4.27
| 4,916
| Oct 01, 2007
| 2016
|
it was amazing
|
How the War Ended. Sir Max Hastings’ telling of the last days of the Pacific Conflict is excellent. He never disappoints when delivering history and on How the War Ended. Sir Max Hastings’ telling of the last days of the Pacific Conflict is excellent. He never disappoints when delivering history and once again he delivers an opinionated, well balanced and fascinating account of the end of the Second World War. They key point and reason for you to read a Max Hastings book is that he has opinions on the history and isn’t afraid to tell you them. He does this in a good way, he provides an analysis of the source material to tell you where he research has led him. What it is not is an irrelevant take, or loaded with a political agenda which he has tried to squeeze badly into the history. For Hastings, the end of the war was more fascinating than how it began. He also states that Japanese high command was not ready to surrender before the Atomic Bombs were dropped. For him this notion is ‘absurd’. The book starts with a prologue on the rise of Japanese Imperialism, Pearl Harbour and then the quick expansion over Singapore, Burma, The Philippines and South Pacific. Then we are taken to the beginning of the end and the meeting between President Franklin D Roosevelt, Admiral Chester Nimitz and General Douglas MacArthur in Hawaii in July 1944. For most westerners, the end of the war in Europe is more familiar and less complicated. The war in Pacific is not as committed to memory or taught in as much detail. There are a number of different push and pull factors, belligerents and questions to answer. After the loss of her colonies, what was Britain’s role in the East? Why invest valuable resources? The retaking of Burma would not end the war, therefore was this to restore their lost sovereignty in the region? Or was it for national pride? Australia had virtually no impact on the final years of the war and today is almost a national embarrassment, quickly swept under the carpet. What about the war in China? As Hastings points out, not one bit of the fighting there actually help end the war a day quicker. But what was the US supposed to do? Leave it between Mao Zedong’s communists and Chiang Kai-Shek’s nationalist? Hastings, even points out alienating Mao was a huge oversight which has led to a lack of western influence in the area. For me I don’t think this would have changed much anyway one the tyrant gained power. The book provides extremely detailed and first class analysis of the key battles of this stage of the war. The British retaking Burma and the Battle of Iwo Jima come to mind. For example, this tiny spec of an island 809 miles from the Japanese mainland cost 21,000 Japanese lives, virtually the entire garrison and 6140 US Marines. Hastings states that the US could again have bypassed this volcanic wasteland as when she did take it, she hardly used it as a airbase to attack the mainland. But as with everything hindsight is a wonderful thing. The Okinawa campaign, the bloodiest battle of the war, showed the desperation and intensity of the fighting increasing. The human cost was immense and so builds a strong argument for the use of the bombs on Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Not only the battles are describes but the personalities. The charismatic and well connected Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten, who had no real intelligence. The arrogant, difficult and self promoting MacArthur who pushed for the Philippines campaign and became de facto ruler of Japan after the war. Hastings does admire Nimitz and British General William Slim, 1st Viscount Slim who’s victories in appalling jungle conditions Hastings recognises as an amazing achievement. The only problem is that they were virtually irrelevant. Overall I found the book to be refreshing, engaging, modern and exciting with that typical Hastings flair for ink on a page. Describing a war over a 8000 mile front is extremely complicated and difficult. Hastings has mastered this without cutting corners. I’ve yet to read one of his books which has disappointed me and as such I recommend this book to you. ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
not set
|
Aug 20, 2023
|
Aug 20, 2023
|
Paperback
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
my rating |
|
|
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| 4.65
|
really liked it
|
Aug 15, 2024
|
Aug 15, 2024
|
|||||
|
| 4.22
|
it was amazing
|
Jul 29, 2024
|
Jul 30, 2024
|
|||||
|
| 4.32
|
it was amazing
|
Jul 21, 2024
|
Jul 21, 2024
|
|||||
|
| 4.36
|
it was amazing
|
May 31, 2024
|
May 31, 2024
|
|||||
|
| 4.28
|
it was amazing
|
Dec 12, 2023
|
Dec 12, 2023
|
|||||
|
| 4.34
|
it was amazing
|
Oct 22, 2023
|
Oct 22, 2023
|
|||||
|
| 4.15
|
really liked it
|
Oct 10, 2023
|
Oct 10, 2023
|
|||||
|
| 4.07
|
it was amazing
|
Oct 05, 2023
|
Oct 05, 2023
|
|||||
|
| 4.23
|
really liked it
|
Oct 03, 2023
|
Oct 03, 2023
|
|||||
|
| 4.43
|
it was amazing
|
Sep 27, 2023
|
Sep 27, 2023
|
|||||
|
| 4.45
|
really liked it
|
Sep 19, 2023
|
Sep 19, 2023
|
|||||
|
| 4.29
|
really liked it
|
Sep 14, 2023
|
Sep 14, 2023
|
|||||
|
| 4.13
|
it was amazing
|
Sep 07, 2023
|
Sep 07, 2023
|
|||||
|
| 4.14
|
really liked it
|
Sep 07, 2023
|
Sep 07, 2023
|
|||||
|
| 4.39
|
really liked it
|
Oct 02, 2023
|
Sep 06, 2023
|
|||||
|
| 4.38
|
really liked it
|
Aug 07, 2024
|
Sep 06, 2023
|
|||||
|
| 4.17
|
liked it
|
Aug 29, 2023
|
Aug 29, 2023
|
|||||
|
| 4.17
|
really liked it
|
Aug 29, 2023
|
Aug 29, 2023
|
|||||
|
| 4.45
|
it was amazing
|
Aug 23, 2023
|
Aug 23, 2023
|
|||||
|
| 4.27
|
it was amazing
|
Aug 20, 2023
|
Aug 20, 2023
|
Loading...
