What are you currently reading ?

Started by goat major, 03 November 2012, 06:40:05 PM

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kipt

Finished "Failure In The Saddle: Nathan Bedford Forrest, Joseph Wheeler, and the Confederate Cavalry in the Chickamauga Campaign" by David A. Powell.

A book that looks into the failures of the Rebel cavalry during this campaign.  Forrest was new to the job of Division and then Corps command, and liked to get into the action.  At one point he charged Union infantry with his escort troop plus a detachment, rather than attending to a Corp commander job.

Joseph Wheeler, although West Point trained, more or less did what he liked.  Direct, specific orders from Bragg went unheeded.  Wheeler removed his troops from direct contact with the Union army at the most inconvenient times.

Cavalry duties during the ACW were scouting and screening flanks and the heads of columns.  These two commanders did a poor job of it (although Forrest was a bit better, being more aggressive by nature).

Bragg received a lot of criticism for the failures before, during and after Chickamauga, but a lot of the blame should rest on the use of the cavalry by these two commanders. 

Steve J

Case White: The Invasion of Poland 1939 by Robery Forczyk

A few chapters in and so far looking at the Polish problems in the lead up to the invasion. So far so good and plenty of good background info as to why the Polish forces fought as they did, due to being hampered by lack of equipment and poor doctrinal plans to deal with invasion, whether by Germany or the Soviet Union. Highly recommended.

Leman

Currently having another look at Glory Halleluiah Black Powder ACW supplement. Going solo these days means I will have more time to ponder the ACW subleties of the game.
The artist formerly known as Dour Puritan!

kipt

Finished "Attack On The Redan" by Garry Douglas Kilworth.  A novel set in the Crimean War with the hero a sergeant of the 88th, but part of a scout/spy unit.  Our hero is Jack Crossman, whose real name is  Alexander Kirk, the bastard son of a baronet who he had never gotten along with and who would not support him.  So, he enlisted under an assumed name.

This is evidently number 5 of a series I had not heard of, and there may be one more.  This one printed 2003.

Fast reading and interesting.

kipt

Finished "The Green Curve" by Ole Luk-Oie.

Hans Christian Andersen's character "based upon a folk tale telling of a mysterious mythic creature of the Sandman who gently takes children to sleep and, depending on how good or bad they were, shows them various dreams".

It is the pseudonym of MG Ernest D. Swinton.  He was one of the driving forces behind the creation and adoption of the tank, and may have given the name tank to the machine.  It was based on him seeing a Holt tractor earlier.

"In April 1918, while on a tour of the US, Swinton visited Stockton, California to publicly honour Benjamin Holt and the company for their contribution to the war effort and to relay Britain's gratitude to the inventor. Benjamin Holt was recognized by the General at a public meeting held in Stockton".  Which is interesting to me as I went to U.O.P. in Stockton.

Swinton also wrote "The Defense of Duffer's Drift", a military classic on minor tactics.

"The Green Curve" is a collection of short stories, fictional, about the British army at the human level.  It has the Boer War, a fictional story of an invasion of Britain by the Germans, the repair of a bridge and its subsequent destruction by early helicopters, a view into the method of a commanding general and several others.  Very entertaining.

kipt

I received a book from a friend (retired Marine Colonel), "Letters on Artillery".  It was printed in 1988 as FMFRP 12-7 in order to "ensure the retention and dissemination of useful information which is not intended to become doctrine..."  The booklet does not give the author.

At first I thought is would be tactical use of artillery by and for the marines and how history would support this work.

However it is a straight copy of the translation by COL N.L. Walford, R.A in 1898 of the book (same name) by Prince Kraft zu Hohenlohe Ingelfingen, which I also have (as well as his Letters on Infantry and Cavalry).  I realized this once I opened it.  However, since I am heavily into the FPW I read it again.  Lots of comments about the Austro Prussia was on 1866 and the FPW, both empire and republican battles.  I found it still to be interesting and applicable to our TT games (table top).

kipt

Finished Issue 64, January 2021 of the "Gettysburg Magazine".  Issued twice a year and the articles this issue include:

"Ours Was A Desperate Position To Hold": A New Look at the 1st Rhode Island Cavalry at Middleburg,
The Art of Command and Intelligence: Jeb Stuart in the Gettysburg Campaign,
Henry Heth and His Division at Gettysburg on July 1,
Disaster on the Flank: The 17th Connecticut Infantry


and others.

Always has good and sometimes great articles.

Steve J

1809: Thunder on the Danube, vol 1 by John H Gill.

A period and campaign I know little about, but so far a very easy and enjoyable read, which is good, given there's a wealth of detail in there.

Leman

The First and Second Italian Wars 1494 - 1504, by Julian Romane. This is not some dry dusty work but a bit of a rip roaring read that focuses on characters. You won't find much information on armies, weapons, armour and tactics here.There are two maps showing northern and southern Italy (but not very clearly - probably lifted from a Victorian work) and one for the battle of Fornovo (despite lots of other battles and actions featuring in the book). There are some black and white illustrative plates in the middle, but mostly contemporary portraits and woodcuts, some castle photos and again what look to be Victorian interpretations of battle and armour. However, the writing is quite gripping as Romane weaves the events into a story revealing the humanity (or lack of) in the main characters. Sometimes reading up background information for a period can be quite tedious. This book is not that, but it is for those who want more storyline background than the barebones military nuts and bolts. I would suggest that this is a good backup to the works of F L Taylor, Oman and Mallet et al. For a good read highly recommended. For a starting point to wargaming the period, not so much.
The artist formerly known as Dour Puritan!

Ace of Spades

Just finished 'Waterloo', a book from 1915 by a Dutch author; Callenbach. His uncle served in the 5th battalion of the National Militia at Quatre-Bras and Waterloo. The book is a compilation of papers left to him by his uncle, stories he told and some background the author scrounged from sources available at the time. How much of it is 100% true is hard to say but an expert on the period (Erwin Muilwijk) told me that most facts are at least plausible and seem to be in line with the official history. it certainly gives a personal touch to the Dutch contribution to the battle.
Not sure if it's available in English...

Cheers,
Rob
2014 Painting Competition - Runner-Up!

kipt

Finished "The Battle Of Lundy's Lane: On The Niagara in 1814" by Donald E. Graves.

I have not been interested in the War of 1812, even though it is essentially Napoleonic.  Some British regular units in Canada as well as locally raised units, some of which were "regular" (eg 104th Foot).  However this battle was a very hard fought action.  The British thought that "poor Jonathan" (Yankees) would be a push over but that did not happen.  Both sides slugged it out in a night action, often only yards apart.  Very unusual night action - smoke and dark ensured the opponents were very close and therefore very high casualties.

At Lundy's Lane the British occupied a small rise with artillery, backed by regular and militia troops.  The Americans attacked and after first being repulsed, took the rise and the artillery and beat off three British counterattacks,.  The numbers went from somewhere near 2,500 troops per side down to the hundreds.  The Americans early in the morning went back to Chippewa (couple of miles in their rear) but only took one of the British guns while leaving one of their own.  This was due to exhaustion, lack of horses and timing.  The British reoccupied the "hill" and so recaptured their guns and one American.

The British write up after the action by General Drummond glossed over the original loss of the guns and the three repulsed counterattacks.  Various reports by the Americans had a lot of internal; recriminations.

The book discusses the tactics of the time as well as the weapons and gives much back ground on the units and commanders.  Very well done.

While I won't do the War of 1812 I can see changing this into an ACW battle.

A quote  in Chapter 14, The End of the War, by C.P. Stacey, "the War of 1812 in Canadian History" sums up most peoples view.

"The War of 1812 is one of those episodes in history that make everybody happy, because everybody interprets it in his own way.  The Americans think of it primarily as a naval war in which the pride of the Mistress of the Seas was humbled by what an imprudent Englishman had call 'a few fir-built frigates manned by a handful of bastards and outlaws.'  Canadians think of it equally pridefully as a war of defence in which there brave fathers . . .  saved the country from conquest.  And the English are the happiest of all because they don't even know it existed."

FierceKitty

The real action in 1812 was in and around Moscow. Washington cows and Canada cows were little puppies by comparison.
I don't drink coffee to wake up. I wake up to drink coffee.

kipt

Finished "The Road To Sedan" by Richard Holmes.  It is No. 41 of the Royal Historical Studies In History.

The book is a gold mine of information about the French army prior to 1870.  Part One is the Military Structure of the French army.  The chapters in this part are
1. The Military Institutions of France
2. The Combatant Arms
3. Command, Staff and Administration
4. Composition of the Army

Part Two, Doctrine has
5. Politics and Security
6. Strategy and the Road to War
7. Education and Training
8. Tactics

Very impressive.

kipt

Finished a very small booklet "Paris Or The Future Of War" by Capt. B. H. Hart.  This is a part of the To-Day & To-Morrow series and was printed in 1925.

In it Hart is discussing the future of war (hence the title) based on experience in WWI.  Paris, in this instance is Paris of Troy.  All the books ion this series have an ancient person as the lead of the title.

Hart deplores the adage of making the enemies army the goal of a war.  He says it should be the will of the country.  He extols the use of gas (less deaths than from bullets and the enemy cannot hide).  He figures it will shorten wars.  He also discusses the role of the airplane, which in 1925 was very popular in both the military and civil life.  The plane can go over the enemy rather than trying to break through.

Similarly he discusses the submarine and how close the Germans came to shutting down England.  The submarine can go under the enemy.  Infantry and artillery will essentially be used to hold the bases for tanks, which he very much admires and feel they will restore movement on the ground.  So, all in all, very perceptive in his thinking.

He also says this about America:  :But Americans would do well to remember that the Japanese military leaders are disciples of Clausewitz, and that one of his axioms reads: 'A small state which is involved with a superior power, and foresees that each year its position will become worse," should, if it considers war inevitable, 'seize the time when the situation is furthest from the worst,' and attack.  It was on this principle that Japan declared was on Russia, and for the United States the next decade is the danger period.  (Italics in the original).

Very astute even if he was off by a couple of years.

steve_holmes_11

Quote from: kipt on 30 April 2021, 06:40:38 PM
"The War of 1812 is one of those episodes in history that make everybody happy, because everybody interprets it in his own way.  The Americans think of it primarily as a naval war in which the pride of the Mistress of the Seas was humbled by what an imprudent Englishman had call 'a few fir-built frigates manned by a handful of bastards and outlaws.'  Canadians think of it equally pridefully as a war of defence in which there brave fathers . . .  saved the country from conquest.  And the English are the happiest of all because they don't even know it existed."

I'll challenge that last one.
The fact that a British force burned the white house causes us regular chuckles.
It even got a mention during news coverage of the unpleasant events of January 6th this year.

So the Brits think of it as an oversized bonfire party.