What are you currently reading ?

[Steve J]

When Titans Clashed: How the Red Army stopped Hitler by Glantz and House. Quite simply a superb overview of the Eastern Front in WWII, looking at the issues faced both both sides and how they adapted to changing circumstances over the course of the war. Lots of useful snippets for us wargamers too. Highly recommended.

[Leman]

Forgot to mention one plus and one minus (for me anyway). There is a large section of illustrations including contemporary art and photographs, plus some fascinating then and now photographs. On the minus side there is a section of battlemaps, but they are contemporary. This is a problem for me and my eysight as they contain far too much detail crammed into a small space. To read them I have to use my painting magnifier goggles.

On the Franco-Prussian War and the Second Empire Facebook group, Grenville Bird is doing a day by day diary of August 1870, which is worth a look.

[kipt]

Finished issue 69, July 2023 of the "Gettysburg Magazine"

Articles are:

"They fought at a Great Disadvantage": the 82nd Ohio Volunteers in the Gettysburg Campaign,
The 12th Virginia in the Gettysburg Campaign,
Turning the Tide in Favor of the Union: The 2nd United States Sharpshooters at Gettysburg,
Doubleday at Gettysburg,
Disgruntled Rebels: the Southern News Media Sparks Controversy in the Confederate ranks,

and a few more.

Always a good read.

[kipt]

Finished "Guide To the Richmond-Petersburg Campaign" edited by Charles R. Bowery, Jr and Ethan S Rafuse.

Typical ACW guide but at a higher level for the most part; brigades and above, but with some reports by regimental commanders.  Maps have very small writing so tough for me to read at the moment (recovering from an eye infection).  Not done in a chronological order due to the various locations within the Park, but by jumping around, one can do chronological.

[kipt]

Finished Volume 87, No. 2, April 2023 of "The Journal of Military History.

Contents for this issue include:
The Rise and Fall of the Grand Alliance: The U.S. Airmen behind Stalin's Lines, 1944-1945,
Military Engineers as Combat Support Forces in the Armies of Edward III,
No Settled Principles? Military Law in the Late Victorian army,
The Staff of the 1st Australian Division: A Study in the Composition of the Divisional and Brigade Staff from Assembly to Armistice,
From Mobile fleet to Mobile Force: The evolution of U.S. Navy Logistics in the Central Pacific during World War II,

and others.

Also 81 pages of book reviews (where often I find an additional book I want to buy).

[Leman]

Re The Destruction of the Imperial Army, the maps are now available as a free download on the Helion website, so can now be enlarged for a much clearer view. Nice one Helion!

[kipt]

Finished "The Commanders: The Leadership Journeys Of George Patton, Bernard Montgomery And Erwin Rommel" by Lloyd Clark.  A well written book, easy to read and good descriptions/examples of these commanders leadership attributes.  Comes down to personality and taking care of your troops while educating your officers.  "A Type" personalities for sure and aggressive.

[toxicpixie]

I have to stop reading this thread. Keeps giving me want lists for new books!

[kipt]

Never stop reading this thread...

finished "Sicily - Salerno - Anzio: January 1943 - June 1944" by Samuel Eliot Morison.  This is volume 10 of his US Navy in WWII Naval Operations.  Navy support for these landings was crucial at times.  He also discusses the US Army Air Force reluctance to support the ground troops on a  tactical level.  The air force leaders were convinced that strategic bombing would win the war.

They did cut communications at times, but never decisively.  When they did do tactical support it was always helpful.

Enjoying the series.

[paulr]

I'll definitely keep reading this thread, although my wallet runs and hides every time I do

[steve_holmes_11]

I've been poking about Wikipedia and various referenced sites.
Prime subject: The transition from Pre Dreadnought to Dreadnought in Britain and Germany.

Some interesting trends that aren't described in the standard histories.
I'll give you two.

The "impractical hexagon turret" arrangement of the first two German classes makes perfect sense in the context of their triple expansion engines.

The spread of British Dreadnought yards beginning in Portsmouth and spreading north as expertise and capacity increased.

[fsn]

You're missing the French!

"French Pre-Dreadnoughts - When Hotels go to War"

If I ever do pre-dreadnaughts they will be French.

Unless they're Japanese and Russian.

[pierre the shy]

The French are certainly an interesting navy in the pre-dreadnaught era fsn.

Their navy then, as in eariler times, played second fiddle to the French Army, which at that time was focused on preventing a repeat of the 1870-71 fiasco.

As they have maritime responsibilities in the Channel, Atlantic and the Med their fleet could not match the numbers of the Royal Navy on a ship for ship basis. The "juene ecole" school of thought amongst the officers of the Navy therefore turned to the idea of cruiser warfare "raiders" against the then very extensive British merchant fleet (who were regarded as the main enemy until the "entente cordiale" came along).

The British therefore ended up building quite a few cruisers of various sorts to specifically counter the French ones.

While I have the British "hull fishing fleet" to one day match Paul's Russians the main opponents will be from a little further to the west of Russia, purhaps with a few faster ships and some of those new fangled flying machines to boot       

     

[paulr]

...
If I ever do pre-dreadnaughts they will be French.

Unless they're Japanese and Russian.

Of course some of the Russian ships were built in France or based on French designs, e.g. Tsesarevich and the following Borodino class

[steve_holmes_11]

Seeking examples of practical engineering, I deliberately avoided the French.

They build a lovely iron tower though...