Lend-Lease is certainly in the news given the ongoing shipment of weapons from NATO countries into the Ukraine. This isn't the first time this was done. Author Vladimir Kotelnikov's Lend-Lease And Soviet Aviation In The Second World War offers a superb look into the delivering, modifying, and employing in combat of the various Allied aircraft shipped to the Soviet Union.
Given current events it is hard to find a more timely look at how much effort is involved in arming another country with war material at the same time it is actually engaged in conventional warfare against a peer
The footage coming out of the Ukraine is truly overwhelming. The ubiquity of smart phones and social media have enabled all of us to see things happening in real-time that previous generations couldn't imagine. However, that is not to say the information we are being presented is as consistently accurate. In fact, from the perspective of trying to understand in an operational military sense what is happening on the ground...well, let's just say that's another story.
There are alot of agendas being pushed. This creates a distorted view of the military situation in the Ukraine.
Looking for a unique take on German operations and tactics during World War II? Niklas Zetterling's Blitzkrieg From the Ground Up does exactly that while also giving the reader a direct look at how German soldiers used their training and experience to solve tactical and operational problems they encountered during the war's first two years.
Organized into nine chapters Red Army Into The Reich provides an excellent general overview of the Red Army's 1944-1945 push into not just Germany, but Scandinavia, Central Europe, and the Balkans as well.
Last year I reviewed and recommended Volume I of Douglas E. Nash Senior's new trilogy looking into the combat history of the IV. SS-Panzerkorps. I have now completed Volume's II and III and think you will like them both. Check out the new review of these volumes here!
Many of my readers probably have an interest in military history and operations in general and not just the Second World War. If so then you may have been paying attention to the advanced nature of the Russian effort to secure a dominant military position in the Arctic Circle. You may have also wondered what this effort entails and why it is such a big deal.
If so, then I have just reviewed a book about the Second World War era ground based military operations of Germany's Mountain Corps Norway that took place during the June to October 1941 portion of Operation Barbarossa.
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 and his opinion as to why his panzer group failed to take Leningrad during Operation Barbarossa. Please do check out the full review. The analysis within this book's pages are well worth your time.
As of this writing nearly 100,000 Americans have died of Covid-19. The vast majority of these deaths were entirey preventable. That is undisputable. What is also undisputable is the horror of dying from this disease, of dying alone. Though every one of these deaths is a tragedy unto itself - what sickens me even more is the fact that we, the supposed greatest nation on Earth, have allowed so many of our bravest to die needlessly before their time, after they had already sacrificed so much for our collective freedom.
I was going to do one of my usual Memorial Day blog posts on say, tank
Igor Nebolsin does it again. My latest review covers his most recent work - Tank Battles in East Prussia and Poland 1944-1945. This is a must read for armored enthusiasts. Check out my review and see why.
Hello, just published my latest book review. This book offers a must read for enthusiasts of armored operations during the Second World War, and comes to us from historian Douglas E. Nash - in a work titled From the Realm of a Dying Sun. This book offers readers a detailed look at the IV-SS Panzerkorps formation and subsequent combat operations in Poland from August to November of 1944. Check out the review here.