Second World War
Britain's War Machine by David Edgerton
Review by SSgt Paul Barnes, RLC
"GOD," Napoleon Bonaparte is often quoted as saying, "is on the side of the big battalions". In Britain's War Machine, Professor David Edgerton demonstrates that the all mighty is actually on the side of the biggest balance sheet and that in 1940 it belonged to the British Empire.
Edgerton's offerings is essentially a work of revisionism, de-bunking the myths to which the British have been a party since 1945: that Britain was relatively unprepared for war in 1939, that she stood alone after the fall of France, that she was materially inferior to the Germans, that bureaucracy blunted the brilliance of her inventors and that she bankrupted herself in the cause of freedom.
Compelling and engaging, this book is an excellent read; the main criticism of it is that whilst it explains Britain's strategic strength in the Second World War it fails to explain her operational weakness.
Eastern Inferno: The Journals of a German Panzerjager on the Eastern Front 1941 – 1943 edited by Christine Alexander and Mason Kunze
Review by Maj Mike Peters, AAC
OPERATION Barbarossa, the ill-fated German invasion of Stalin’s Soviet Russia, holds a compelling fascination. This journal captures the realities and horror of the titanic struggle between the Red Army and the Nazi invader.
The author was in the thick of a series of battles with a hard pressed Anti-Tank unit of the German Sixth Army. The journal has been edited but critically still retains the fragmented feel of a personal diary written by a soldier on operations. It gives a frank and gritty view of such dramatic events as the retreat from Stalingrad and the massacre of civilians by fanatical SS troops. This is a fascinating read that brings the battles on the Steppes of Russia to life.
Fighting Through From Dunkirk to Hamburg: A Green Howard’s Wartime Memoir by Bill Cheall
Review by Maj Mike Peters, AAC
AS the Great War of 1914-18 slips beyond living memory it is the survivors of the last World War that are now coming to the fore in print. Book shops' shelves are packed with the personal histories of those that fought against Nazi Germany or the Japanese Empire; the quality and content of which vary dramatically.
I have to say that if you enjoy this kind of intimate memoir then this book is a proverbial gem. The author served with the Green Howards, in one of Monty’s battle hardened divisions – the 50th Northumberland.
The battalion survived Dunkirk, fought in North Africa, Sicily, Italy, Normandy and right into Germany. Written from a soldier’s perspective, with humour and warmth, this is very much a human story told against the dramatic backdrop of history.
Letters from Normandy by John Mercer
Review by Maj Mike Peters, AAC
LETTERS from Normandy takes the reader through John Mercer’s military career, from the trials and tribulations of witnessing his father’s death by allied bombing, through his enlistment, and then the eventual invasion into Normandy.
The book interweaves original operation orders of the day and Mercer’s letters home together with a gripping narrative.
He writes eloquently and with empathy about his fellow colleagues and his feelings for the enemy. This is a very human story about a private soldier and his experiences during the Second World War.
Normandie Front: D-Day to Saint-Lo Through German Eyes by Vince Milano & Bruce Conner
Review by Maj Mike Peters, AAC
A BALANCED understanding of military history is only complete if both sides of the story are known.
This book is an authorative study of the German 352nd Infantry Division's operations during the Normandy campaign. This formation was a classic example of the phoenix-like ability of the German Army to reconstitute shattered units or form new ones from the remnants of those that had become little more than a symbol on a map.
This exhaustive work tells the story of the German soldiers that defended Omaha Beach and came close to throwing the American assault back into the sea.
The Military Life and Times of General Sir Miles Dempsey: Monty's Army Commander by Peter Rostron
Review by Maj Mike Peters, AAC
THIS is a long overdue biography of one of Britain’s most accomplished generals. It was Dempsey’s Second Army that spearheaded Montgomery’s advance across the low countries into Northern Germany.
Using many previously unpublished accounts, the author highlights the pivotal role played by Dempsey in Operations such as Epsom, Charnwood, Market Garden and Varsity.
The narrative gives a real insight into the complexities of higher Allied command during the Second World War, not least of all living in the shadow of Monty. I found it quite a revealing and useful read.
Snow: The Double Life of a World War II Spy by Nigel West and Madoc Roberts
Review by Spr Craig Don (RE)
SNOW reveals the story of double agent Arthur Owens and his role during the Second World War.
The start of the book reads much like a history lesson, with dates and names being thrown at the reader to the point you feel the chapter will end with a revision page. Hidden within is a tale that will appeal to those interested in espionage but to few others.
The story told is not particularly enthralling and the tone of the narrative is more informative than entertaining. There are moments which grab your attention but the title quickly returns to text book mode.
Unconditional Surrender: A Memoir of the Last Days of the Third Reich and the Donitz Administration by Walter Luedde-Neurath
Review by Dr Rodney Atwood, military historian
PEN & Sword are to be congratulated for publishing this book through their Frontline imprint.
To the classic account of the Third’s Reich end, Trevor-Roper’s The Last Days of Hitler, inside detail comes from Luedde-Neurath, a fine naval officer and Grand Admiral Doenitz’s adjutant in 1945.
Hitler chose Donitz rather than Goering, Goebbels or Himmler as his successor. We read of naïve hopes of a miraculous Nazi recovery, pathetic trust in the Fuehrer and leaders’ in-fighting.
Appendices add useful detail. Donitz comes out rather well, but he was better at dealing with Hitler than his predecessor Raeder. Fascinating.