What are you currently reading ?

[kipt]

Finished "Grant and Lee" by J.F.C. Fuller.

He likes Grant but thinks Lee was not a good general or General and Chief.  Did not stand up to Davis.  Bad on logistics and the overall state of the Confederacy.

[Leman]

I think the likes of Grant and Sherman operated in a way much more akin to the generals of Fuller's day. Lee was still in the age of honour. In some ways a pity war is no longer conducted in such a way.

[Dangerdaz]

Currently reading 'The reality of war' memoir of the Franco Prussian war.
It's by Leone Party, translated by Douglas Former.
It's really good & gives a good insight from a junior officers perspective.

[Leman]

Looks like auto carrot has buggered up Leonce Patry and Douglas Fermer.

[cameronian]

 

[kipt]

Finished "The McCully Report: The Russo-Japanese War, 1904-05", edited by Richard von Doenhoff.

Lieutenant Commander Newton McCully was the representative of the USN sent as an observer.  He went to the Russians and traveled on the Siberian RR to the scene of the conflict.  He spent time in Port Arthur and Vladivostock but was gone by Tushima.

He describes the damage to numerous Russian ships in their various sorties from Port Arthur before they were trapped there, and then the damage from artillery fire.  He has diagrams showing the hits and by what type of shell.  I was surprised by the number of engagements and how much damage was caused by mines, on both sides.

The last part is more of a travelog as he went from Russia to China; trains, horses and camels.

Overall, very interesting.

[kipt]

Also finished "Epic Retreats; From 1776 to the Evacuation of Saigon" by Stephen Tanner.

The chapters are:
Washington in New York
Napoleon in Russia
The Nez Perce in Montana
The Allies at Dunkirk
First Panzer Army in the Caucasus
Eighth Army in Korea
The Fall of South Vietnam

All well written and interesting.  Plenty of detail and descriptions of the combat and retreats.

Good book.

[Leman]

France 1940 -  Osprey in the rather nice hardback Praeger edition. I like to read this kind of stuff, but not interested in playing it.

[Terry37]

Being a Weird World War fan, I am in the second book of John Birmingham's very well written Axis of Time trilogy on time travel/alternate WWII history. I find his work very deep and thoughtful, and obviously good food for thought for a mix of modern and WWII era stuff. The three books are

Weapons of Choice, Designated Targets and Final Impact.

If you are interested in Weird WWI, then Joseph Nassise's The Great Undead War is also enjoyable and good for gaming ideas.

Terry

[Duckman]

Not militarily orientated at all but I found out how to download all of the E E Doc Smith's Lensman series to my Kindle. Had them all in the '70's and fancied reading them again. They are next after I finish the current pot-boiler of a D&D novel trilogy.

MickS

OOH I must take a look

[fsn]

Ifyou like that, Duckie, try the Dorsai Sagas. They're about humanity being split into various factions - hyper religious, intellectual, ... and the Dorsai who are a military mercenary faction.

[Steve J]

Wargaming Pike and Shotte by Charles Wesencraft. So far a cracking little book and one that has a contemporary feel in terms of writing and rules compared to other books of that time. Awaiting his 'Practical Wargaming' to arrive as well .

[kipt]

Finished "The Decisive Wars of History; A Study in Strategy" by Liddell Hart.

Greek wars through the French Revolution and Napoleon, then 1854 to 1914.  He then added the World War (not WWI as the book was written in 1929).

Throughout he talks about his pet "indirect approach".  Interesting to see what a military thinker of the early 1900's wrote.

[Leman]

Gettysburg by Sears - nice fat one-volume account beginning after the battle of Chancellorsville.

[kipt]

Finished "Six Days in June: How Israel Won the 1967 Arab-Israeli War" by Eric Hammel.

Great read.  Much detailed combat descriptions with much information on the AFV's used, by both sides.