War through the Eyes of Children: Last Witnesses (by Svetlana Alexievich

This is a haunting book. One hundred and two post war interviews with survivors who had lived through WWII and the German invasion of Russia in WW2. They remembered events through the eyes of a child their experiences, so personal and centred on their mothers and fathers, mama and papa (see below, no to be rushed, the audible experience created greater immersion for me - I found it hard): 

A book I think both West and Eastern leaders and politicians should be made to read. 

Book: Hitler's Soldiers

This is certainly not a triumpiantalist book, despite what you might think from a first glance at the title. It holds no bars in describing the dark psyche of a German Soldier (in all the various combination of the land soldier, from Landser to Panzer Commander and all shades in between). How they lived and died for the Third Reich, fighting on well past the point of hope. It dispels any illusion of nobility, any fictional occlusion of the truth of what is meant to fight for Germany in WWII, with the underlying guilt and stain of the regime. It describes the fighting, successes and failures but also the underlying "why" they fought. There are too many chilling home truths to attempt to list here, but the nature of the whole hearted commitment of the German Army to the Nazi State is plain to see. From 1934 the German Army incrementally sold its soul to the Nazi regime, to the point where the two in the end in 1945 the two were indistinguishable from each other. A fascinating and shocking read, along the lines of Ordinary Men (see below, the compunction to a "duty" made them fight - by oath to see the Fuhrer, as the embodiment of Germany):  

Chilling reading. 

Like many good books, once I have listened to them on Audible and cannot stop thinking about them. I inevitably buy a paper copy for reference. This book is both chilling for the haunting message it tells and very informational in the sense of detail and context it gives. Highly recommended!  

WW2 US Infantry Company OrBat

Great reference point for US Infantry Company OoB:  

• https://www.battleorder.org/post/usa-rifleco-1944
• https://www.battleorder.org/

Useful for these game systems: 

• Chain of Command
• Command Decision
• Spearhead
• SL
• ASL
• Crossfire

Perhaps?

Recommended by a Friend: Dr Jim Greer at the Maneuver Warfare Symposium.

On my "To Do List" to watch: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bS-YSz9LkjA

Map of Ukraine 1943/44: Strategy and Tactics 118 - The Tigers are Burning

Although this is an old S&T Ziplock game from way back when (in 1988, when I had stopped wargaming, RPG's and the like, foolish child that I was, instead my head was full of  busy computer science undergraduate stuff). The territory and the underlying terrain are now all too familiar subject matter for students of the 2022 to 2025+ Russo-Ukrainian "Continuation War" (see below, since 2014 this has been fought over between these two protagonists, before that there was the Second World War, before that the Russian Civil War, before that the First World War, before that the Russo-Turkish War, before that the Crimean War and it goes on and on): 

Not sure at all how history will play this one out!

Board Game Geek Link: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgameversion/28271/strategy-and-tactics-magazine-edition

Audible Books: Miscellaneous

Reading, or rather listening. On the history front I decided to broach my general ignorance of the Middle East (unless the battles of Rommel and the 8th Army count) of which I know very little, just the complex and disturbing pictures I see on the TV news. So I took an Audible recommendation of "Arabs" by Tim Mackintosh-Smith (see below, it helped that it came free with my Audible subscription [win-win], and it was very comprehensive, or rather it was very, very long [going back to before the Arab date "dot"] so although I do not remember "everything" I got the satisfaction of a "general feeling" and understanding of the 'diaspora of meaning' that the word Arab evokes - simply put no one interpretation will ever suffice):  

Following on from this I chased up on another recommendation form a friend that takes a very close look at the troubled history of Palestine, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon courtesy of Britain and France's colonial history in teh region, after the fall of the Ottoman Empire. Aspects of "The Great Game", which really should be entitled, "Be Very Careful For What You Wish For!" It was both deeply informative and deeply troubling, to extent that it just left you shaking your head in disbelief (see below, "A Line in the Sand" is a terrible read because it lays bare the worst part of human nature and international politics - (one of) the moral of the story being don't leave a French and British career diplomat alone is a room of a map of a country that is not theirs and really know squat about to draw a line on a map, between alcoholic drinks, coffee and pastries):   

Needing some "light relief" from the blood letting and treachery from the folded, furrow of deep history and cynical realpolitik's, I called out to my friends for more lighter recommendations and got something I would never have chosen myself (see below, a fantasy detective story set in the modern day, to my escapist delight I really enjoyed it and can see myself slowly walking through the series): 

Refreshed from the non-hard historical journey (although with a deeper appreciation of how many rivers there are in the London whereabouts) I took up my final recommendation (I do have "free will" too, honest. This one was with a slight game inclination, aka Science Fiction, set in a universe that most people who have played or tinkered with Traveller would recognise. Think "Merchant Prince" but working your way up through from the bottom, after life has dealt you an unexpected "bad hand" (see below, "Quarter Share", another series I think I am now hooked into following):  

Given my liking of the book and genre, I have been collectively told it is high time I started watching "The Expanse" on Amazon Prime while I still have the chance.

Final Note: I would recommend all of the above, but for very different reasons!

Trevor Beevor - Russia: Revolution and Civil War 1917 - 1921

Again, an Audible listen, but on the follow up to get a paper copy too. So much in it just to be able to "remember" (see below, an appropriate picture as the cavalry [how can I not say Cossack (Red and White)] played such an important part): 

The book comes with a warning, it will change what you thought you knew about the RCW, well at least foe me ii did. A long listen (23 hours) - horrifically fascinating, absolutely cruel in detail and so pertinent for today’s understanding of where Russia came from .. as well as understanding the Allied politics of WW2 much better.

Highly recommended!

Is NATO ready for War?

What a question to ask! So what's the answer then?

https://www.youtube.com/live/bFs8cPOa1_4

Note to Self: Naval Kindle(?) Books - Russo Japanese War

I have a strange (hot and cold) interest in the Russo-Jap war (as in I am trying to justify a large collection of 1/3000 Navwar ships of the period). So I was thinking to myself, maybe I should re-kindle it ("Gedit", ok corny joke) with some background reading. An Amazon scan revealed: 

Russo Japanese War Titles:

• https://www.amazon.co.uk/Maritime-Operations-Russo-Japanese-War-1904-1905/dp/1591141974  
• https://www.amazon.co.uk/Maritime-Operations-Russo-Japanese-1904-1905-ebook/dp/B00PSSK61W/ref=sr_1_2?qid=1697060788&refinements=p_27%3ASir+Julian+S.+Corbett&s=books&sr=1-2&text=Sir+Julian+S.+Corbett
• https://www.amazon.co.uk/Russo-Japanese-Naval-1905-Vol-Maritime-ebook/dp/B007PS9CFO/?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_w=xAgvB&content-id=amzn1.sym.3413293e-3815-4359-96ba-1ec5110e0b30&pf_rd_p=3413293e-3815-4359-96ba-1ec5110e0b30&pf_rd_r=257-4679612-4309404&pd_rd_wg=Np39d&pd_rd_r=e23957dd-e77f-4a2f-b07a-d33a4e35a167&ref_=aufs_ap_sc_dsk
• https://www.amazon.co.uk/Russo-Japanese-Naval-War-1905-Vol-ebook/dp/B007PS9CTU/ref=d_pd_sbs_sccl_1_1/257-4679612-4309404?pd_rd_w=wE0Ig&content-id=amzn1.sym.35f2c042-27ab-4aa8-8df6-255fec069b2b&pf_rd_p=35f2c042-27ab-4aa8-8df6-255fec069b2b&pf_rd_r=HVT7DGNDQ3Q7W0KGPMY2&pd_rd_wg=O2N9h&pd_rd_r=d735b6d5-e8ff-4267-a830-d35553e430a7&pd_rd_i=B007PS9CTU&psc=1
• https://www.amazon.co.uk/Imperial-Japanese-Navy-Russo-Japanese-Vanguard/dp/1472811194#:~:text=Book%20Description,in%20Asia%20and%20the%20Pacific.
• https://www.amazon.co.uk/Russian-Battleships-Cruisers-Russo-Japanese-Vanguard/dp/1472835085/ref=pd_bxgy_img_sccl_1/257-4679612-4309404?pd_rd_w=GXXZQ&content-id=amzn1.sym.40f919ed-e530-4b1a-8d7e-39de6587208d&pf_rd_p=40f919ed-e530-4b1a-8d7e-39de6587208d&pf_rd_r=FZYWPR69M0T1R6J7H7GH&pd_rd_wg=akY3A&pd_rd_r=c74aab2b-56ca-4ec8-bfff-6f15dae30360&pd_rd_i=1472835085&psc=1
• https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tsushima-1905-Death-Russian-Campaign/dp/1472826833/ref=pd_bxgy_img_sccl_2/257-4679612-4309404?pd_rd_w=0gV2P&content-id=amzn1.sym.40f919ed-e530-4b1a-8d7e-39de6587208d&pf_rd_p=40f919ed-e530-4b1a-8d7e-39de6587208d&pf_rd_r=M3KFVA2DVGKCEJMAZW4W&pd_rd_wg=iQ5PY&pd_rd_r=6201f873-7c82-45bb-bbf9-34295464d57c&pd_rd_i=1472826833&psc=1

Note: I did have the two Corbett titles but my interest in the period waned and I passed them on (mostly unread, that was the problem - I just could not get into them, unlike the WWI books by the same author, which I devoured). Also for Corbett's books it seems strange how the Kindle version is the same price as the paperback one - at least the one that is currently available!

For my reference material on this period I fell back on a game (see above), the Russo-Jap 1904-05 Avalanche Press naval campaign game and David Manley's "White Bear Red Sun" naval wargame rules. A game and a set of wargame rules instead of books, crazy but true!  

"The Korean War" by Max Hastings - Audible Book

I seem to have hit upon a good working theme, or problem solving rule. If I have an interesting book that has been sitting on my shelves for a very long time [denoting I was at least interested in the subject matter at some point] and I have not got round for one reason or another to reading it (or alternatively I haven't passed it on to someone else) - then, if there is an Audible version of it, I kickstart the learning experience with listening to the spoken word (which sounds a little bit like cheating). So far it has worked pretty well for me (yes, it is a bit like "still taking two bottles into the shower" and if you get that old TV advert reference you have my respect), but at least there is some knowledge transfer. The Korean War by Max Hastings got this treatment (see below, to be fair it works in reverse too, a good Audible book has caused a paper copy to be purchased too! Especially if there are nice diagrams and maps to be had in the paper copy):  

This book seemed a natural follow on from Mig Alley (which I also highly recommend) to take in the Land Battle element of the Korean War, with a little bit of naval Carrier and Raiding parties. It is also an old book, written in 1987 and was consequently I think a little dated with respect to the air war. Listening to the history I felt the giddy sense of nausea like a naval battle, akin to Jutland with the "Run to the South" and then the "Run to the North" analogous to the armies running up and down the Korean peninsular until they end up back where they started on the 38th Parallel - back to where they started from, which was very sobering! Not forgetting the Inchon landings. It was a thought provoking lesson of how much the world was in a dangerous place in the 1950's. 

I had not been aware previously of the intense danger of the period, the world tension and the novelty  of a New World Order that was slowly emerging and moving away from the pre WWII power structures. The world seemed to be awash with countless small fires. Absolutely fascinating. 

As I mentioned the air chapter stood out as a bit dated, clinging to the 10:1 kill ratio that Mig Alley (2019) robustly  dispelled, although it was very salient about the premature announcement from air theorists claiming "the death of" and "no need for" armies or navies, as the air force would do it all. To quote Hastings (p326-7): 

The experience of World War II showed that intensive strategic bombing could kill large number of civilians without decisive impact on the battlefield , or even the war-making capacity of an industrial power. Bombing could inflict a catastrophe upon a nation without defeating it. ,... Nor could the airmen claim that this problem had not been forseen. Alexander de Seversky was only one among many thoughtful students of air warfare. As early as 1942 he wrote: 'Total war from the air against an underdeveloped country or region is nigh well futile; it is one of the most curious features of the most modern weapon that it is especially effective against the most modern types of civilisation.'  .... it remains astonishing that ten years later, in Vietnam, they were allowed to mount a campaign under almost identical circumstances to those of Korea, with identical promises of potential and delusions of achievement , and with exactly repeated lack of success."

Yes, the mistake was repeated in Vietnam and who is to say that it is not being repeated still! As Mark Twain once said, "History never repeats itself, but it does often rhyme." 

Audible Book Completed: The Art of War by Sun Tzu

Despite this being a quick Audible listen of just one hour and eight minutes, it is as powerful and revolutionary now as when it was first written with teh ink drying on its pages (see below, the old master - I took the opportunity to download it with my Audible subscription as a "Freebie"): 

Compare Sun Tzu's notes on war with the actual way we (modern man) conducts war and politics, even or especially in light of the World Wars of the twentieth century and the disturbing "current" of the twenty first century history, and I challenge you not to feel the cold tinge of fear at the bottom of your spine. Are we bound to repeat teh same mistakes throughout history? Study war to find a way to stop war - or at teh very least, not to lose one!

There definitely is a simple game in there just using his terms to describe the battlefield. 

Note to Self: Listen to "Military History Plus" Podcast

Military History Plus Podcast, interesting content already after just eight episodes (see link below): 

https://www.militaryhistoryplus.com/

Abyss by Max Hastings - Cuban Missile Crisis: Audible

On the back of Nuclear Folly I was recommended to go and also read the Max Hasting's account of the Cuban Missile Crisis in his "Abyss", to hear as it were a slightly more westernised version of events, although still with his keen critical, investigative journalistic integrity (see below, a longer listen but it was well worth it): 

Again he took no prisoners and was at pains to be far reaching in research as well as being balanced. Another epic listen broken up over several weeks. Why the thought of Russian nuclear missiles 90 miles from the US shore created the stir it did in the US was a main theme, whereas Europeans were well accustomed to it. This was the basic error of Khrushchev's thinking that lead to him to make such a mad adventurous gamble was explained. The tangled escalation of events, twisted tortuously in an insane manner that no fictional book would think worthy of a plausible plot-line. The cast of war-minded American Generals who felt goaded into action and belittled by not invading Cuba. The minor comical character that took world stage that became the latter villain of the piece to my mind was Castro. Just when a safe passage was in sight, navigated by others he tried to vaingloriously grab the tiller and cast teh ship onto the rocks. After listening to it, I am not sure how we made it here, As Kennedy himself stated, he thought there had been a one in three chance of nuclear war. 

A lighter read needed next! 

Audible - Vietnam, Max Hastings

I knew I needed to read this book, so I bought it, but it sat on the shelf (as it is no small volume) for  a long time. I knew I needed something to complement the numerous first hand accounts I had read, to try and to get a wider picture of the conflict. I relished Ken Burns marvellous TV documentary series and it stands out for its graphic imagery and cinematography. The hurdle of "reading about it" (a much more intimate process) defeated me though. As a second best (listening to it) Audible came to my aid. Max Hasting's "Vietnam" via Audible has become a friend on car journeys and dog walks, telling a very dark history with my hard copy flicked through for reference points of maps and pictures (see below, Max Hastings certainly pulls no punches with his views on the American politicians and Generals, which in his capacity as a reporter, he met first hand, from the likes of President Lyndon B. Johnson and Robert McNamara; absolutely fascinating): 

Update I: Just over a third of the way through this book and it is truly an epic journey, masterfully told. Starting with Vietnams earliest modern colonial history and disputed WWII ownership, through the French post WWII period in Indo China and finally into its most turbulent and troublesome times with the active American involvement. Still twenty hours to go! Gripping! Highly recommended.

Update II: Coming to the final few chapters and I honestly cannot believe the twists and turns - trials and tribulations that South Vietnam went through. As much as the pre-American deployment history was new to me, the post American withdrawal, political cynicism and huge battles (AVRN supported by US air power) that followed were equally "new" to my previously selective history (Platoon and The Deer Hunter) of the period. Everyone could see it was not going to end well and it didn't! I literally don't want to hear the next chapter unfold.

Update III: Finished. And the avoidable horror happened all the way to the end of this tragic period of history. The gut-retching senselessness of it all and then the haunting words that Max Hastings penned, to parallel the folly of the 1960's and 10970's to the subsequent Iraqi and Afghanistan events. To quote a US Cavalry Troop commander from Iraqi, "There was nothing to hang any success onto". No fabric or structure that was not alien to the indigenous peoples - that we (the Western World) were supposed to be helping!

Wikenigma - Wikipedia of Unknown things

 https://wikenigma.org.uk/start

Lots of science and maths stuff here, but some history too

Summer Read: SPQR by Mary Beard

My latest summer read (or rather listen to, at odd moments of the day such as dog walking and driving in the car) was Mary Beard's SPQR as background material for an unexpected wargame project with a friend who is taking up the hobby late in life. I spied Command and Colours in his games cupboard (I do know him as an active RPG fan) which led to a few leading questions and he revealed all. Then from board games he independently took the plunge into 6mm Baccus Late Republican Rome. I clearly have some catching up to do. Ancient Rome was an area I always wanted to dig deeper into, I have sated my Greek knowledge with books and extended DBA armies, but have only tinkered at Rome. I spied Mary Beard's SPQR book on his shelf and thought that a good supplement to by Osprey's Enemies of Rome compendium (see below, narrated by a voice actor but good nevertheless): 

Boy these Romans are a funny lot, indeed what constituted being Roman seemed a flexible definition in itself. Background done, it is time to move onto some physical armies. I am aiming at some Spanish (Numantines) and Pontics to fight my friends Late Republican Romans. We have ducked the Punic Wars for the moment, but doubtless we will come back to them in teh future. 

Note to self: BOAR Order of Battle 1989

https://www.orbat85.nl/documents/BAOR-July-1989.pdf

US Naval History Podcast

I am finding this fascinating listening (see below, something I have a daily chat about with my AI friend Alexa who plays hard ball with me when I say "Play US Navy History Podcast" until I remember it is "US Naval History Podcast" - which serves to remind me of the limits of 'AI Assisted' to 'Generic AI'):

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/us-naval-history-podcast/id1532555765

Twelve nice episodes do far. The twentieth centaury episodes were a nice revision that complemented my bookshelves, but from episode seven (the Spanish American War) back to one I am learning new material. Dangerously interested in the ACW as well as the SAW episodes.  

Update (12/02/2022): Now listened to them all - can highly recommend, especially the early pre-twentieth century ones!

Book: Upheaval by Jarred Diamond

Finally finished this. It was a good read, not a vivid page turner but it rewarded the persistent reader with a few golden nuggets of information that made you stop and stare, as well as a lot of history I was totally unaware of, Indonesia a being a prime example (see below, a nice bit piece of Japanese artwork associated with Commodore Perry's arrival to Japan in 1853 and a rather rude awakening to Western industrialisation by virtue of being on the receiving end of large caliber high explousive shells):  

The premise of the book is that countries and humans share a certain capacity to survive or be destroyed by unexpected "upheavals" and it is how they (either a country of a person) react to the "unexpected traumatic event" that is the key to their survival or destruction. Though provoking as he lists out his key characteristics ... best read the book for that description ;)

Reading "Generals: British Commanders Who Shaped the World" by Mark Urban

I finally got round to reading this book that I have had for years. An interesting read and not what I had expected. Rather than promoting the "good bits" it is a "warts and all" review of significant hinge points in history (see below, the story so far Monck (positive though side-switching), Marlborough (positive though politically complicated) and Howe (mainly negative - we did lose the American colonies after all) and currently reading about the Duke of York (frustratingly bad in battle but used his royal position to push through organisational change of the staff  and officer training) .. Wellington next):  

A good read in these Covid times.