What are you currently reading ?

[kipt]

Finished "Corps Commanders in Blue: Union Major Generals in the Civil War", edited by Ethan Rafuse.

Has a chapter each on;
Fitz John Porter
Joseph Mansfield at Antietam
Charles Champion Gilbert at Perryville (how many of you have heard of this officer?)
George Meade as Corp commander
James McPherson at Vicksburg
William Franklin and the XIX Corps
Joseph Hooker in North Georgia
Winfield Scott Hancock  in the Overland Campaign

all by different authors.

Different perspectives on what is usually written about these officers.  Don't always come off as well as their better known moments.

The hardest for me to read was about Franklin.  Didn't hold my interest as much.

[kipt]

Also finished "Military Misfortunes: The Anatomy of Failure in War" by Eliot Cohen and John Gooch.

This was a very interesting book.  It has 5 examples of failures;
American Antisubmarine Warfare in 1942
Israel Defense Forces on the Suez Front and the Golan Heights, 1973
The British at Gallipoli, August 1915
The Defeat of the America Eighth Army in Korea, November-December 1950 (this would be of interest to all the Korean War postings in Pendraken, but the book is not readily available - printer 1990).
The French Army and Air Force, May-June 1940

This is not just blaming the Commander, but investigating everything that could go wrong.  Each vignette has a matrix, showing where failure occurred, form the highest political level to tactical commanders.

[pierre the shy]

Also finished "Military Misfortunes: The Anatomy of Failure in War" by Eliot Cohen and John Gooch.

This was a very interesting book.  It has 5 examples of failures;
American Antisubmarine Warfare in 1942
Israel Defense Forces on the Suez Front and the Golan Heights, 1973
The British at Gallipoli, August 1915
The Defeat of the America Eighth Army in Korea, November-December 1950 (this would be of interest to all the Korean War postings in Pendraken, but the book is not readily available - printer 1990).
The French Army and Air Force, May-June 1940

This is not just blaming the Commander, but investigating everything that could go wrong.  Each vignette has a matrix, showing where failure occurred, form the highest political level to tactical commanders.

This must be an interesting read Kipt - in at least 3 out 5 cases I'd say lessons were learnt and reasonably quickly applied - USN ASW (e.g. USS England in 1944 sinking 5 Japanese submarines in as many days), Did the IDF's 7th Armoured Brigade lose? I thought they held onto the Golan Heights - pretty close run thing IIRC?, In Korea the UN forces retreated a LONG way back from the Yalu,  always retrogressively but fought hard - e.g. USMC at "Frozen Chosin".

[KTravlos]

Finally finished The Outbreak of the First World War. It is a good collection of essays by political scientists and historians, and has a good set on the applicability of preventive war to the First World War case. The essay by T.G.Otte on the preceptions of Russian might by the other major powers was very very interesting. Also good was Ronald P. Bobroff on Russia and the decision to go to war. A good counterpoint to Sean McMeekin. All in all a good read and a useful tool for my students.

Reading Dorothy Gies McGuigam "Metternich an the Duchess". This is the last book I need to read for my Vienna-Utrecht paper. I am a bit burned out from reading. And I still have "The Hapsburgs" and "The French Revolution" to read, plus the books I am reading on Kindle on the 1848-1849 Italian War, and the Second Balkan War.

[kipt]

In some answers to Pierre the Shy, Golan was a near run thing.  The last brigade of Israeli armor came quite late.

As far as the American antisubmarine problem, the author was talking about the Atlantic, where we lost so many ships to only 11 U-boats.  It bettered the America score in the Pacific by 10:1 or so and the US had many more boats.

The ROK, according to the author, did extremely well against the North Koreans, but were terrified of the Chinese.

Now, finished another very good book, "Silent Victory: The U.S. Submarine War Against Japan", by Clay Blair, who was a submariner himself.  Every patrol is discussed (the book is 1071 pages with the index).  Good thing we are going to continue our GQIII Solomon's Campaign on 10/29; I need to fire torpedoes.  (I am Japanese and we are getting spanked, hard).

This book compares to "United States Submarine Operations in World War II" by Theodore Roscoe., but is in more depth.  Roscoe is all theaters while Blair is Pacific only.

[FierceKitty]

Duffy's life of Frederick. As usual with Duffy, a page-turner.

[cameronian]

Kitty have you read Carlisle's 'Life of Frederick the Great' ?

[FierceKitty]

I have, thanks. My God, what that man did to English prose!

[kipt]

Finished "Attack in the West: Napoleon's First Campaign Re-Read Today" by Major WGF Jackson.

Another (but old 1953) book on Napoleon's first campaigns.  However, this book does a great job in the daily movements and combats with a sketch map on almost every page.  Very well done.

[Steve J]

The Napoleonic Source Book by PJ Haythornthwaite.

Just picked it up from 2nd hand bookshop and flicking though it

[cameronian]

I have, thanks. My God, what that man did to English prose!

Well he was Scottish 

[Leman]

That'll be ENglush proose then.

[cameronian]

That'll be ENglush proose then.

Indeed, always pronounced with the dipthong, the single most unattractive form of speech in the English speaking world (and I include here the universal Australian interrogative).

[Leman]

Really?

[cameronian]

Really?

God yes, bo-at, co-at, chee-ars, I hate it.

[Techno]

No, no, no, no, no........

There's one English accent that's worse than that for me.
"Ay ent don notten."

AAAAAARGH !!!!!! That's the one I find as bad as fingernails being dragged down a blackboard.

Cheers - Phil

[Leman]

Arr ay Phil, yu get! Dat's proper narky dat.

[cameronian]

The full on 'yam yam' Brummie accent is pretty awful too, see below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftI55NZyEPY

[haupt]

The full on 'yam yam' Brummie accent is pretty awful too, see below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftI55NZyEPY

Sorry, that's not a Brummie accent, It's Black Country ,quite different to those who live there.

[Leman]

Thirsty in Brum? Have a kipper tie.