What are you currently reading ?

[kipt]

Finished "1945: What if Japan hadn't surrendered in World War II?" by Robert Conroy.  As the title says, Japan did not, even after the bombs were dropped.  The coup by General Anami succeeds and Hirohito is taken away and kept incognito.  His recording is not sent.

OSS, invasion of Japan, many kamikazes, Japanese submarine I-58 and hard combat.  Interesting for an escape.

[mollinary]

'Warlord'. Bernard Corwell's last  Uhtred novel. Two chapters in, and loving it!

[sean66]

The Osprey  book on SA80 Assault Rifles by Neil Grant - somewhat depressing reading

they were a somewhat depressing rifle to fire ! definitely a comedown after an SLR.
Regards
Sean

[flamingpig0]

they were a somewhat depressing rifle to fire ! definitely a comedown after an SLR.
Regards
Sean

I can only imagine, because much like the designers of the SA80  I have never fired a firearm

[Raider4]

they were a somewhat depressing rifle to fire ! definitely a comedown after an SLR.

Going from a 7.62 to 5.56 round? Not surprised. (See also US forces going from the M14 to M16.)

[sean66]

Going from a 7.62 to 5.56 round? Not surprised. (See also US forces going from the M14 to M16.)

that was due to NATO Standardization practices. everyone was adopting the 5.56mm round.

I can only imagine, because much like the designers of the SA80  I have never fired a firearm

the original SA80 design was the late 50's early 60's (if i remember correctly). most of the designers hadnt been involved in the previous Wars.

regards
Sean

[Ithoriel]

An "uncle", actually a second cousin once removed or something similar, once commented that the SA80 was "not so much a weapon as the governments contempt for it's soldiery made manifest." I don't think he was a fan!

[DaveH]

Mark Zuelkhe Forgotten Victory: First Canadian Army and the Cruel Winter of 1944-45 - interesting read about Operation Veritable. Not sure it would be a great campaign to wargame given how much it turned into similar conditions to WW1 with extremely wet weather and terrain and frontal attacks forced by the conditions.

[Ithoriel]

Mark Zuelkhe Forgotten Victory: First Canadian Army and the Cruel Winter of 1944-45 - interesting read about Operation Veritable. Not sure it would be a great campaign to wargame given how much it turned into similar conditions to WW1 with extremely wet weather and terrain and frontal attacks forced by the conditions.

Yes, the attacks up the causeways were a grinding match. The amphibious landings seem to have been pretty much a walkover. Neither much fun to game.

A fascinating campaign none the less and one for which the Canadians did not get the recognition they deserved.

[sean66]

Yes, the attacks up the causeways were a grinding match. The amphibious landings seem to have been pretty much a walkover. Neither much fun to game.

A fascinating campaign none the less and one for which the Canadians did not get the recognition they deserved.

a lot of the slogwork at the end of WW2 didn't get the recognition it deserved. the newsmen at the time (and subsequent historians) are more enamored to the Armoured Thrusts and cult personalities. the Battles around and through the Hurtgen forest were also treat just as shabbily
(especially when they didn't even need to be fought)
regards
Sean 

[Steve J]

that was due to NATO Standardization practices. everyone was adopting the 5.56mm round.

IIRC, if you were hit by a 7.62mm round in the arm or leg, you were likely to bleed to death before help could arrive etc. With the 5.56mm round, it would disable you but not kill you, thus requiring two soldiers to extrract you, the medical logistics getting 'over loaded' etc. Also I believe that it was a much more accurate wapon than the SLR...

[Ben Waterhouse]

IIRC, if you were hit by a 7.62mm round in the arm or leg, you were likely to bleed to death before help could arrive etc. With the 5.56mm round, it would disable you but not kill you, thus requiring two soldiers to extrract you, the medical logistics getting 'over loaded' etc. Also I believe that it was a much more accurate wapon than the SLR...

Warsaw Pact NBC tactics held to the same theory...

[steve_holmes_11]

a lot of the slogwork at the end of WW2 didn't get the recognition it deserved. the newsmen at the time (and subsequent historians) are more enamored to the Armoured Thrusts and cult personalities. the Battles around and through the Hurtgen forest were also treat just as shabbily
(especially when they didn't even need to be fought)
regards
Sean 

There are a few highlights.
I read (long ago, so some details may be incorrect) that the Prinz Eugen surrendered to a British Carrier platoon, part of a force Liberating Denmark.
One of a few naval captures by land forces since the French Cavalry caught the icebound Dutch fleet at Den Helder.

Plenty of other grim stuff, liberation of camps (POW or "concentration"), liberating starving towns after the hongerwinter...

[steve_holmes_11]

IIRC, if you were hit by a 7.62mm round in the arm or leg, you were likely to bleed to death before help could arrive etc. With the 5.56mm round, it would disable you but not kill you, thus requiring two soldiers to extrract you, the medical logistics getting 'over loaded' etc. Also I believe that it was a much more accurate wapon than the SLR...

I was at school at the time, and we had an MOD fellow visit and talk about new weapons.

He popped up a few graphs about kinetic energy (1/2 M V^2) to advocate a smaller faster bullet.
We also got some slowmo of a 5.56 cutting through ballistic gel, with particularly nasty cavitation at each end of its range.
The comparable 7.62 stuff tended to go through cleaner and exit before expending most of its energy.

After that some discussion of the "casualty epidemic" - the usual 2 comrades required to evacuate one wounded man (You never see that in Enemy at the Gates type films).
Some really unpleasant stuff about ballistic shock, necrosis and the battlefield surgery necessary to survive it.

At that point one of the "Hard lads" who did Cadets and was a notorious school bully lurched out of the seat and emptied his stomach just outside the classroom door.

The finale saw the MOD guy explain that the Brits actually wanted a smaller faster round, but Nato insisted on the 556.
Then a bit of 16mm to reassure the small calibre doubters that the Army retained enough big calibre "blow sh*t up" capability to keep te pesky forriners on their sides of the borders.

[steve_holmes_11]

Finished with all the computer textbooks, now reading:

The Infantry Attacks - Erwin Rommel.


So far, an excellent read, well presented, and very accessible.
Quite a contrast to other stuff I've read by German authors that tends to be quite heavy going.
I don't know whether that's a problem for the authors or translators.

Finished.
I did rather bog down with descriptions of the larger actions in the Italian campaign.
The earlier pieces, 1914 in France and mountin trooping in Romania were highly accessible.

Well worth a read, through I'd advise using something like Google maps to follow the terrain.