What are you reading at the moment?

Good stuff! I learned more about the American Revolution (and the English Civil War) than I ever knew before by listening to the Revolutions podcast.

 

I'm thinking of adding a MGS medal to my collection soon, service dating back to the Niagara Frontier in 1813. Bit pricey though. Could be baked beans for dinner from now on.

 

After attending a talk about the war in Burma and the aftermath last week, I've been reading this:

 

Am just reading another very good Chernow tome, Grant


Only complaint is it's a bit bulky for bedtime reading. Seems that American publishers prefer a larger,A5-ish size rather than the smaller UK format and use a wider line spacing (and, no, I will NOT buy a Kindle!)

 

MGS?

 

Hi Chris,

This is the Military General Service medal:

Military General Service Medal (MGSM) | Peninsular Medal | War Medals

 

I've found the evolution of modern Irish history fascinating to watch in the last decade. The gradual move away from untouchable legends of the Rebellion to a more nuanced study has been a trend that's produced a lot of good material and allowed for more coverage of all sides of the conflicts. This is a very well written addition to the material, looking at members of the RIC as well as the IRA.

 

I recently finished reading Patrick Gibbs ‘Torpedo Leader’, following on from Ralph Barker’s ‘The Ship-Busters’, which covers a lot of the same subject matter.

This was Gibbs second book, the first ‘No Peace But a Sword’ was published in 1943 and concentrated on his UK based flying operations, whereas this was first published in 1992 and picks up on his career as he left England, firstly for Egypt, before arriving in Malta where most of the action was set.

Gibbs was a very good writer and the impression I gained of him overall was that he was quite far sighted in his approach and methods but also seemed to worry a great deal. Early on in the book he makes it clear that he wished to command Beauforts in the Desert and the Mediterranean and to improve upon the tactics they used in sinking ships. It was a harsh learning curve in many ways- the early Beauforts proving woefully under-powered in the conditions (which only became more noticeable as the MkII Beauforts were introduced and types were mixed in operation) and the ever present flak and land based enemy fighters adding to their woes. The losses were heavy.

By the end of the book he had a system of attack working far more effectively with Beaufighters dealing with enemy fighters, tearing up the ships and occasionally dropping bombs. These were the diversion as such, while other Beauforts dropped bombs and the main thrust launched torpedoes. Occasionally when making attacks close to Malta they were given fighter protection from spitfires, which helped some more.

Gibbs went through a lot of personal growth during the period, fighting illness in particular, and came to the realisation towards the end of the book that he really needed to relinquish his authority in the squadron and pass on his skills to the younger men coming through. In the final section of the book this has a tragic consequence, as Gibbs is recalled to the UK.

Gibbs was a good leader. I can’t not think that the losses he suffered in the number of men he knew who were shot out of the sky in front of him must have affected him at a later stage. A good read.

Scott

 

I love Torpedo Leader, bought it whilst in Malta. I hadn’t clicked he had a preceding book, so I’ll search for a copy thanks.

I’m currently on ‘My part of the sky’ by Victor Beaumont. Really good description of the battle of France and leading into the Battle of Britain. He flew operations for virtually all of the war, being made a POW a few months before the end.

 

Finished reading From the Desert to the Baltic by Roberts. I would have liked more detail on the operations of 11th Armoured Division with regards to how it operated after they took a more flexible approach to brigade organization for operations. I guess I need a different book for that!

 

Chris,
There is an annex in Daglish's Over the Battlefield: Op BLUECOAT which talks about the formation of mixed groups just before that operation kicked off. I've not seen much about it otherwise, especially not a analytical comparison between British armoured division operations before and after the change. How much of any improvement in performance was down to better tank-infantry co-operation, how much to increasing experience, how much to weakening German armoured opposition, etc, etc.

Anyone thinking of doing a PHD soon?

Regards

Tom

 

Detailed look at French bombers of WW2. Ranges from the incredibly hideous Farman, Bloch, Amiot and Potez monstrosities to the sleek modern Amiot 354 and Leo 451. Attack aircraft and imported types like the DB-7, Glen Martin 167F and Vought V-156F also covered.

 

Decided that my next read will be Assault Crossing by Ken Ford--the crossing of the Seine by 43rd Division.

 

With the football season nearing it's conclusion grabbed these three yesterday from a second hand bookshop to fill in.
Graham.

 

Thank you, Owen! I will try to refer to those pictures as I read the book

 

Just started “Soldiers,Sailors,Frogman,Spy,Airman,Gangster,Kill or Die” by Giles Milton. Just finished the first chapter that introduced George Lane and his capture by the Germans a few weeks prior to the DDay landings. He eventually was taken to a personal meeting with Rommel. Seems like it is going to be a good read.

 

George Lane (British Army officer) - Wikipedia

TD

 

This is a book that is going to require some attention as it has a lot of information crammed in it. It looks to be the be all and end all of books on the AA response to the V1 weapon. Dense and well done. Picked it up as it was recommended on the Stone & Stone book site.