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Special Reconnaissance And Advanced Small Unit Patrolling

Special Forces and Vietnam Veteran Ed Wolcoff's book Special Reconnaissance and Advanced Small Unit Patrolling is a very ambitious publication. In it's pages he has sought to create a guide on Special Forces best practices within the context of conducting patrols in a special/strategic reconnaissance context. Whether he accomplished his goals is up to those with the actual training and expertise to judge. But from this reviewer's perspective, even if he didn't accomplish everything he set out to do he couldn't have missed the mark by much.

Blitzkrieg From the Ground Up

Niklas Zetterling's work is typically well-worth your time. Blitzkrieg From The Ground Up is no exception to that general rule. It offers a unique take on German operations and tactics during World War II, mostly done via putting you in the war-time soldiers' driver's seat.

Now, you might say "what's so interesting about that?" There are countless books out there that describe what it was like to fight during the Second World War.

Men of Armor

This is a unique book compared to those normally reviewed here. It is not an operational history, nor is it an in depth look at a given weapons system or battle. Instead, what Jeff Danby has created in Men of Armor is an excellent look at what it was like to train, deploy, and engage in combat as part of a Second World War U.S. armored battalion.

Quite a bit of work goes into getting right a book like this and in this regards Danby's research efforts are superb.

Red Army Into The Reich

Red Army Into The Reich comes to World War II fans courtesy of some familiar names. Not to leave Patrick Hook out in the cold (who doubtlessly made valuable contributions to bring this project to life) but most notable here are Simon Forty and Nik Cornish. Both are not only well known in the field but also excel at, among other things, publishing well chosen images that help bring the war to life for their readers. Which is exactly what it done here - but with a twist.

Organized into nine chapters Red Army Into The Reich provides an excellent general overview of the Red Army's 1944-1945 push

Rorke's Drift and Isandlwana 22nd January 1879: Minute by Minute

Chris Peers is a leading expert on African colonial warfare. This expertise is on full display in Rorke's Drift and Isandlwana - as is his extensive knowledge of the battlefield where these fascinating events took place. In addition, Peers offers more than a narrative.

There is quite a bit of solid analysis provided, including a level headed approach to a subject matter that lacks the ample documentation and primary sources of, say, that available to a researcher studying the Second World War's Battle of Stalingrad.

Tank Combat in Spain

English language books on the use of armor during the Spanish Civil War of 1936-1939 are few and far between. Into this void now steps the well qualified Anthony J. Candil. He is a former senior officer in the Spanish Army with extensive training and experience in armored warfare. His expertise and background is evident in his approach to this topic, and is welcome.

Tank Combat in Spain is consice, well organized, and offers important insight into the employment of tanks during the war, lessons learned (or not learned) by the participating armed forces, as well as other armies observing

From The Realm Of A Dying Sun

One year ago I reviewed Volume I of Douglas E. Nash Senior's trilogy. That book was the first in a series of three examining the formation and combat history of the IV. SS-Panzerkorps (primarily comprised of the 3rd SS-Panzer Division Totenkopf and 5th SS-Panzer Division Wiking for all but a few weeks at the Second World War's end. That first volume looked at the formation of this elite corps. and covered in extensive detail its combat operations near Warsaw in the late summer and fall of 1944.

Volume II and III pick up from there, with each following in the chronological footsteps of its

Arctic Front

I went from refusing to review books written by former Second World War German officers to...well, here we are with my third such review in the past year. But these books have all been flat out good. Perhaps it is because one is from the former Chief of Staff of Panzer Group Four and now this one is authored by the former quartermaster of Mountain Corps Norway. Such men simply have less reason to deviate from an objective look at military operations and enter into the realm of excuse making.

Fortress Budapest

The 1944-1945 battle for the Hungarian capital of Budapest often gets overlooked by not only other great city sieges of the Second World War (like Leningrad), but also because of its timing (running contempanerously to other great campaigns in Europe like the Battle of the Bulge in Western Europe). However, from the perspective of those interested in examining why it was certain battlfield outcomes were achieved during the war or those interested in history's great military sieges then this battle is the book for you. Furthermore, it is quite instructive on a number of levels.

Leningrad

Here we are again. I had previously sworn off reviewing World War II books written by former German officers. Darn it but don't I have another good one for my readers. This time we get to hear the thoughts of Panzer Group 4's former Chief of Staff - Chales De Beaulieu. More to the point, we get a detailed look at his opinion as to why his panzer group failed to meet its objectives during Operation Barbarossa.

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