Finished "Unsung Hero of Gettysburg: the Story of Union General David McMurtrie Gregg" by Edward G. Longacre.

A West Point Graduate, 8th out of 33 candidates who were graduated in 1855, Gregg had a typical career up to The Civil War.  Various postings and fighting Indians in the West.  Once the war started he rose in rank similar to all graduates from the Point, but since he was not a publicity hound, not as fast as others in his class or even those behind him.  He obtained division command and fought at Gettysburg as CO of the 2nd Division on the east cavalry field.

Ultimately he did command the cavalry of the Army of the Potomac when Sheridan was sent to the Valley to "clean it out".  However, Gregg resigned his commission several months before the end of the war for "personal" reasons, which were never stated.

A good solid commander, appreciated by his men.

The book is well written at a level just above the tactical in describing the various battles.

When I posted my comments on Celander's book, "How Carriers Fought" on the ODGW site, a member said Mark Stille's book was better, so I bought it and read it.

And I just finished Stilles book, "Pacific Carrier War: Carrier Combat From Pearl Harbor To Okinawa".  It is a very good book but different than "How Carriers Fought" in my mind.  Stilles book is WHAT happened during the battles, with some tactics illustrated.  Celander's book is the How the different parts and pieces went together, while also describing, minimally, the battles.  In my mind they complement each other.  Celander is the parts of the machine while Stilles is the whole in use.

I'm only part way through  "How Carriers Fought" but am finding it fascinating so far. May have to get "Pacific Carrier War: Carrier Combat From Pearl Harbor To Okinawa" too.

Finished "Gettysburg Magazine" January 2023, ISSUE 68.

Articles include:
The Confusing Case of the two "Flags" of the 19th Indiana,
A Ford Too Far on the Road to Gettysburg,
Why Did Lee Reorganize his Army in May 1863?: Some New Perspectives,
The Real Effects of Jackson's Death on the Pennsylvania Campaign,
A Reappraisal of Major general John Bell Hood's Gettysburg Wound,
"Bravery, Faithfulness, and Efficiency": The Forgotten Role of Leopold von Gilsa,
Picturing Gettysburg: John B. Bachelder and the Making of Civil War Memory,
Not Just a White Reconciliation: The Fiftieth Anniversary at Gettysburg,
and The Battle Continues...,
Old Scenes and Old Lenses...Make Great Stories.

Published twice a year.

Just finished 'You have to die in Piedmont' by Giovanni Cerino Badone about the Battle of Assietta 19 July 1747.

Basically the French assaulted a fortified camp in the Alps and were defeated with heavy casualties.

It's a good book in my view though the events are sometimes interpreted through the lens of modern military thinking.  A lot of primary sources are used - French, Italian and some Austrian, which are interesting to read. The maps are diagrams as opposed to maps - a proper map would have been helpful.  The annotated photographs do help visualise parts of the action and the terrain imposed limitations on the French manoeuvring. 

Cunningham:The greatest Admiral since Nelson, by John Winton.

Spoiler - he wasn't... A very good admiral and the last great Hussar for battleship warfare in the Med 1939 to 43. Excellent battle and tactics descriptions.

Finished "SLIM as Military Commander" by Geoffrey Evans (retired LTG and was in the 14th Army in Burma).

I have always thought Slim's book, "Defeat into Victory" was one of the better books I ever read.  This current book shows how confusing the battle in Burma was, particularly during the retreat in the beginning.  Place names are unfamiliar so a sense of 'where' is lost and while the maps are pretty good, not all names are on the maps (not unusual in most military books).

The history of Slim is interesting and shows how he acquired his poise in dealing with those above and below him.  while sometimes caught on the wrong foot, Slim was able, due to his foresight and troop dispositions, to generally come out ahead of the Japanese.  A great commander and possibly the best Allied commander in WWII (in my opinion).

Quote from: kipt on 21 April 2023, 05:01:05 PMPlace names are unfamiliar so a sense of 'where' is lost and while the maps are pretty good, not all names are on the maps (not unusual in most military books).

When Prof Murray and I translated Clausewitz's history of "Napoleon's 1796 Italian Campaign", we were very conscious of this problem and vowed to ensure that every place we mentioned would appear on our the maps Nick created for it.

Then we found that it was practically impossible. If we'd put everything on the maps, they'd have become illegible, so we had to break our vow and make choices about what was or wasn't important enough to include.

Not to say that we, or LTG Evans's publisher, or many other authors and publishers couldn't have done a better job with the maps; but I do have some sympathy with authors and publishers as well as with readers when this problem occurs.

(Pleased to see my own maps in my latest book, "Hungary 1849", got very honourable mention in Chris Jarvis's kind review in Miniature Wargames, though - they were a lot of work!)

Agree and "Hungary 1849" is in my pile to read.

Finished "Stay Off The Skyline: The Sixth Marine Division on Okinawa" by Laura Homan Lacey.  The author is (was? - 2005) the historian of the Sixth Marine Division.

A history of the battle told by the survivors, and it is pretty gritty.  Young Marines, 17 to 19 in their first battle along with some old time veterans.  Many had volunteered after Pearl Harbor (though many did not know where Pearl was, but were mad at the Japanese).  Volunteering ended when the draft started but still many were able to go to the Marines.

Pictures and short bio's of those interviewed.  To a man they were very happy with Truman's decision to drop the A bombs on Japan.  Up to that time they did not expect to survive an invasion of Japan.

Quick book to read.

The Strike Wings: Special Anti-Shipping Squadrons 1942-45 by Roy Nesbit.

The history of Beaufighters and Mosquitos in the anti-shipping role. Nesbit was a Coastal Command veteran and tells the stories of his peers simply and effectively.

This has changed the way I perceived these strike aircraft, their tactics and methods far more sophisticated than just charging at anything that floats.   

The piece about relating maps to text is an interesting one.
I'm unlikely to be the only one here who recalls library books where all the shiny pages were in one or two clumps.
A reader hoping to extract details would be reading with two or three fingers stuck in the relevant map pages.
(Leaving greasy fingerprints on the nice shiny photo paper).

I think our world of modern gadgetry offers a solution.
Provide the modern name (subject to change) and grid reference - probably in a footer under each page.
This allows the avid reader to fire up public mapping software and locate the site of the events.

It doesn't boost the page count.
Think of it as a service to the reader, like the extensive (or not so extensive) bibliographies found at the rear of history books.

Hi

QuoteProvide the modern name (subject to change) and grid reference - probably in a footer under each page.
This allows the avid reader to fire up public mapping software and locate the site of the events.

Sounds like a good idea to me.

One thing I do like about my Kindle is the ability to tap on a 'note' in the text which takes you straight to the note in question at the back, tap on it again and you are back where you were in the text. Just wondering if something similar could be done with place names, tap on it and it takes you to a map, highlighting the place in question.

Cheers Paul

Not in paper books Paul, but no reason why it couldnt in an electronic one.

Have just finished "How Carriers Fought" - much recommended if you are in to the nuts and bolts of carrier warfare and care how long it took to launch an aircraft or why you might, or might not, want more fighters or torpedo bombers and an overview of how all of those nuts and bolts were put together in the carrier battles of WW2.

Now, finally, getting around to the November/ December issue of Slingshot. I'm guessing I'm a little late to send feedback via the questionnaire!