Military History

This is the story of the opening gambit in World War I told from the perspective of those who started it: the Central Powers. Herwig (history, Univ. of Calgary; The First World War: Germany and Austria-Hungary, 1914–1918) claims that the Battle of the Marne was the most decisive in Europe since the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. In numbers alone of troops engaged—over two million—this would be the case; that Germany failed there in its onslaught, thus determining the course of a long and brutal war, reinforces Herwig's claim for the Marne's crucial role. That there was no "German" army but different armies still identified by the state each came from, e.g., Bavaria, Saxony, etc., is something that has not always been properly discussed. Herwig offers many new insights and a perspective that makes his book a welcome addition to the literature of the Marne and of the Great War. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 8/09.]

Not since Henry Berry's Make the Kaiser Dance has there been an intimate history like this one to illustrate the doughboys' contributions in World War I. The story of Company D, 28th Infantry Regiment, First Division, is one not soon to be forgotten. Nelson, grandson of a member of this unit, here follows the men from their enlistment, through the battles of Cantigny, Soissons, the St. Mihiel offensive, and the Argonne, to the Armistice and beyond, including the efforts of the families of the fallen to recover their sons' remains. The author's meticulous and persistent research in tracking down the descendants of the combatants to uncover their letters and diaries makes his work the standard for research into the story of the American Expeditionary Force. Essential for all students of modern war.

The focus of this efficient study is distinct from the usual perspective. Storey (history, Millsaps Coll., Guns, Race, and Power in Colonial South Africa) looks at the environmental and technological factors that played a globally significant role in the unfolding of World War I. He contends that the war fundamentally changed the ways in which people took in their surroundings and the manner in which we relate to machines. Before the war, technology, from the viewpoint of industry, was part of the modern age—there to be harnessed. But once technology advanced the tools of war, the results of conquest become greater than anyone had experienced or imagined. A good choice for college students.

Ayres, a navy veteran, relates the previously unpublished wartime exploits of five men who served in the 8th Air Force, each in separate squadrons and crews. Ayres interviewed these men over a long period of time, presenting their stories freshly and vividly. These men flew many B-17 combat missions; their bravado as well as their fears and apprehensions are palpable here. At least two of these men bailed out over Germany; one escaped alone through enemy territory to Spain, while the other slammed into the Alps when his parachute failed to open. Both survived. Another tells of his participation in the food drops into Holland and the Netherlands. Another essential read for all World War II history buffs; highly recommended.

Of the stars that shone bright during World War II, none burned much brighter than Gen. George Patton and Field Marshals Bernard Montgomery and Erwin Rommel. Brighton (The Queen's Royal Lancers' Museum; Hell Riders: The Truth About the Charge of the Light Brigade) brings these three not so different warriors together against the backdrop of the tank battles of the war. All three men had similar backgrounds, militarily speaking, having gone to their respective military academies and served in World War I, where they developed their aptitudes for war. Brighton shows how during the period between the wars, each refined his skills, which included reading one another's published treatises on the subject of mobile warfare. The author pulls no punches in revealing their flaws as well. Very highly recommended.

Adolf Hitler's plan for the subjugation of the world included its culture and treasures. Art was to be taken from conquered countries and stored in Germany until Hitler could build the world's largest museum complex in his hometown of Linz, Austria. It was the job of the Monuments Men (as they came to be called) to track down these missing treasures during the latter years of the war. This story concentrates on Northwest Europe only, where men (and at least one woman) from 13 nations, largely from professional arts-related backgrounds and past combat age, effectively saved much of European culture from a gang of murderous thieves. This intriguing story, told largely through letters written by the rescuers and now in various government archives, will appeal to many general and military history readers.

A former editor at Military Review provides us with one of the first books to detail the planned U.S. invasion of the Japanese home islands in October 1945 and the Japanese preparations for that invasion. Drawing on solid research in both countries, Giangreco lays out the U.S. planning and the whole scenario of what would have happened: millions of casualties, prolongation of the Pacific war, possibly past 1947, and manpower shortages and war weariness in the United States, with Japanese militarists—and their no-surrender policy—in control in Japan. The two-pronged invasion would have begun on the island of Kyushu, preceded by no fewer than nine atom-bomb drops behind the landing beaches. Illustrative of just how much the war with Japan was a close-run thing, this is essential reading.

In this first volume of a trilogy that will surely become the standard work on the Stalingrad siege and the World War II campaign in the Caucasus, Glantz (The Siege of Leningrad) and House (coauthors, When Titans Clashed: How the Red Army Stopped Hitler) cover the opening phase of the campaign, using daily reports from both sides, including previously inaccessible Red Army records, to provide a fresh interpretation of the campaign, from its objectives to its outcome. This is not an easy read, but it's essential for all World War II specialists and for all interested in the subject.

British military historian Holmes (military & security studies, Cranfield Univ.; The First World War in Photographs) chronologically relates the entire story of World War II as captured by the camera, beginning with prewar Nazi Germany (e.g., photos of the 1935 Nuremberg rallies) and ending with the surrender of Japan. Holmes provides an introductory narrative for each chapter, recounting events worldwide and then proceeding with the relevant photographs, which are themselves nicely captioned. Some of the photos (50 of the 500 are in color) have been reproduced before, but most are previously unseen and from the extensive collections of the U.K.'s Imperial War Museum. While most are by military photographers, noted photographers Cecil Beaton and Bill Brandt are also featured. There are a great many eloquent images, with the emphasis largely on the military history of the war rather than on the struggles of civilians. Recommended for all collections.

This is a collection of 27 first-person combat accounts, sought out by the author, from German and Austrian Jews who served in the Allied Armed Forces in North Africa and Europe. These men (and one woman) had emigrated as children or young adults to the United States or Great Britain between 1937 and 1941. All of them jumped at the chance to fight the Nazis, and all served in combat (the woman was an ambulance driver). One man served in both the European and the Pacific theaters and returned to Germany in 1946 for occupation duty. These accounts, all newly published, are filled with terror and a simple courage, with a feeling of a duty fulfilled. Recommended.

Schultz (English, Roanoke Coll.) and Shell base their book—one of the few completely candid accounts of the submarine war in the Pacific Theater—on the war diary of torpedoman Robert Hunt, supplemented by their further original research. Hunt enlisted in 1939 and served on the USS Tambor from 1940 to 1944. He participated in and managed to survive an incredible 12 consecutive war patrols, which covered just about every major event in the war against Japan, from action in support of the U.S. Marines on Wake Island to the Kuril Islands and the Sea of Okhotsk. This is an excellent read, distinctive for its enlisted man's, rather than officer's, perspective. It should be in all World War II collections.

This is the story of the first three months of the Korean War, a tale of shortsightedness, arrogance, and, finally, heroism on the front lines. The North Korean invasion in June 1950 caught every nation, especially the United States, by surprise. The U.S. government had done its best to strip down the victorious World War II armed services to a shadow of itself, with outdated equipment and poorly trained soldiers. Coupled with the arrogance that permeated General MacArthur's headquarters in Tokyo, this meant disaster in Korea. The arrival of the U.S. Marine Brigade stiffened the defense around Pusan, enabling UN forces to build up and defeat the North Koreans. Sloan (The Ultimate Battle: Okinawa 1945), has crafted another superb narrative. Strongly recommended.

In 1973, President Richard Nixon kept a campaign promise and ended the draft, largely in response to public outcry and gross mismanagement in Vietnam. This left the U.S. military without a guaranteed source of recruits; in short, it became an all-volunteer force. Bailey (history, Temple Univ.) presents the story of the VOLAR (volunteer army) from the draft protests of the 1960s through America's engagement in the Iraq War. Such a study of the post-Vietnam era army cannot help but be a study of American society itself, confronted by issues such as civil, gay, and women's rights; the meaning of citizenship; and what the role of the U.S. Army should be in a democratic society today. Bailey's work is recommended for all readers interested in this approach to American studies.

The fall of Saigon in 1975 left the U.S. Army defeated, demoralized, and divided. It was an army torn apart internally, rife with drug and alcohol use and soldiers who didn't want to serve in it. This work is about four young officers just beginning their respective careers in the late 1960s and early 1970s: Generals George Casey, Peter Chiarelli, John Abizaid, and David Petraeus. They all helped not only to rebuild the army but also to rethink its role in modern warfare. In doing so, they became the army's most influential general officers in the war in Iraq. This should be on the shelf next to Thomas E. Ricks's Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq and his follow-up, The Gamble: General David Petraeus and the American Military Adventure in Iraq, 2006–2008. Recommended. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 6/15/09.]

Moyar (national security affairs, U.S. Marine Corps. Univ.) offers an insightful revisionist look at counterinsurgency, drawing lessons from the Iraq War. It has previously been maintained that the key to defeating insurgents was to "win the hearts and minds" of the local populations. Moyar contends that the level of success in counterinsurgency is consistent with the quality of unit leadership. Arguing that counterinsurgency should not be population-centric warfare but leader-centric warfare, he cites several case studies, covering over 100 years of military history. His chapters on the Philippine Insurrection of 1899 are especially potent, with other excellent examples including the Huk Rebellion in the Philippines and the Malaya Emergency, two post-World War II episodes. Essential reading for students of military history and anyone interested in what can be learned from the current fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.

BBC journalist Peter Snow and his son, historian Dan Snow (coauthors, Battlefield Britain) discuss eight battles here: Amiens (1918), Midway (1942), Stalingrad (1942), Imjin River (1951), the Tet Offensive (1968), the Yom Kippur War (1973), the Falklands (1982), and the Gulf War (1990–91). Focusing on the most striking war sites, they select conflicts that they believe had an impact on the course of history: if any had turned out differently, so would have the 20th century (the Falklands saved Margaret Thatcher's career, in case you're wondering). Of the eight, Amiens and the Imjin River are the two least known; the former marked the beginning of the last campaign of World War I and the latter involved British troops in Korea. Sharp narrative and the use of new eyewitness reports make this a welcome addition to any shelf of battle compendiums. It is a companion volume to a BBC documentary by the Snows. Recommended.

The Gulf War

Macgregor, Douglas. Warrior's Rage: The Great Tank Battle of 73 Easting. Naval Inst. 2009. c.288p. photogs. maps. index. ISBN 978-1591145059. $29.95.          

This is the story of the U.S. Army’s largest tank battle since World War II, which occurred in February 1991 during Operation Desert Storm. It is related here by a participant, an officer who fought the battle from his M1 Abrams tank. Col. Macgregor (Ret.) (lead partner, Potomac League, LLC; Breaking the Phalanx) trained and led Cougar Squadron, the 2nd Squadron of the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment, into the open desert in pursuit of Iraq’s Republican Guard Corps. They caught them along a map grid line referred to as 73 Easting—and destroyed them. But failed U.S. generalship allowed the victory to stagnate, and Saddam Hussein lived to fight another day. This outspoken eyewitness account, sure to draw controversy, is strongly recommended.

Afghanistan

 Lewis, Damien. Apache Dawn: Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned. St. Martin's. Nov. 2009. c.304p. photogs. maps. ISBN 978-0751541915. pap. $25.99.

British war reporter Lewis writes the story of his country’s Apache attack helicopters in the hands of the men who flew them in Afghanistan in 2007 for the British Army Air Corps. The squadron’s radio call-sign was “Ugly,” appropriate for the squadron’s work—this was the Apache’s first use in combat—and its 100-day deployment into Helmand Province in the southern part of the country. Occasionally working with their American counterparts, these men participated in combat sorties and rescue missions, essentially making the impossible possible. Lewis is experiencec and equipped to tell the story in intense detail. Highly recommended.

The Iraq War

Sasser, Charles W. None Left Behind: The 10th Mountain Division and the Triangle of Death. St. Martin's. Dec. 2009. c.320p. photogs. ISBN 978-0-312-55544-3. $25.99.

The U.S. Army’s most deployed unit, the 10th Mountain Division, specializes in fighting over harsh terrain in harsh weather conditions, its first action having been in the mountains of Italy during World War II. Since 1990, members of this division have participated in numerous actions, including its current deployment to Iraq. U.S. Army veteran and prolific military author of both fiction and non-fiction, Sasser here tells the story of the unit’s 15-month tour in 2006–07 to the so-called Triangle of Death, south of Baghdad. He focuses on Delta Company, which was assigned to the most dangerous sector of the Triangle. A fine story of dedication, loyalty and heroism—and one that continues in Iraq today.