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cutiger83
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I just finished Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors and it was outstanding. Prior to that I had read Thunder Below!, about the USS Barb written by Gene Fluckey. Again a great read.

 

I haven't decided what to read next. I have been on a USN binge lately.

Both on my shelf! Yes!

 

I love the Barb so much that I bought a print of her battleflag. It "flies" on the bulletin board over my teachers' desk at school. I love it when the kids ask me why there were so many Japanese flags on it!

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Just finished 'Vanished' by Wil S. Hylton about a missing bomber crew that was shot down over Palau. Recommended to anyone interested in USAAF in PTO. I thought it was a great book.

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Historical fiction "The Man in the High Castle". Just finished the TV seriees season one and I want more! LOL!

 

A friend mentioned anoer example of historical fiction entitled "What if". She stated that each chapter was written by a different author and was looking at various points of human history and contemplating what could our world be like if things had happneded differently. Anyone know more information about this book?

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Historical fiction "The Man in the High Castle". Just finished the TV seriees season one and I want more! LOL!

 

A friend mentioned anoer example of historical fiction entitled "What if". She stated that each chapter was written by a different author and was looking at various points of human history and contemplating what could our world be like if things had happneded differently. Anyone know more information about this book?

It looks like the 'What If?" Book I was referred to is by Blumetti. It has low ratings on Amazon but the sample size is small. Anyone read and care to share an opinion?

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Both on my shelf! Yes!

 

I love the Barb so much that I bought a print of her battleflag. It "flies" on the bulletin board over my teachers' desk at school. I love it when the kids ask me why there were so many Japanese flags on it!

 

That's prettyh awesome.

 

Have you ever read 'Wake of the Wahoo' by Forrest Sterling? Sterling was Yeoman for several patrols, and had been transferred off right before her eternal patrol.

 

I recommend it. It's a breezier style but a good read.

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I just received The Devil's Brigade by Robert H. Adelman and George H. Walton, about the First Special Service Force. It's well-written, as the authors apparently have a writer's background, and the book's style sort of reminds me of that of The Thousand Mile War by Garfield which also was written around the same time.

 

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Regarding my remarks above - is this book inaccurate? I recently saw remarks by a Force veteran who said that some of the books about the unit are overblown, inaccurate, etc. Is this one of them?

 

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Charlie Flick

Just finished ALAMO in the ARDENNES by J.C.McManus

 

I finally got around to pulling this one off the shelf. I am almost finished with "Alamo in the Ardennes." There have been tons of books written on the Battle of the Bulge, and I have read many of them. Since Band of Brothers came out a lot of the more recent books written have focused on the 101AB which, deservedly so, gets much of the credit for the Battle's outcome.

 

However, there were many other units fighting in the Bulge whose stories deserve to be told. In this case McManus focused on those units east of Bastogne who took the initial onslaught of the German Army. One such unit was the 28th Infantry Division. Its three regiments just got chewed to pieces during the Battle. This book details the many harrowing events that occurred as the Germans overwhelmed the 28th Div. and others. It performs a valuable service in reminding readers that ultimate success at Bastogne was not just about the 101AB.

 

I am enjoying the book and commend it to others with an interest in the Battle of the Bulge.

 

Regards,

Charlie

 

alamo.jpg

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I found a citation for this book in an Army Command and Staff College thesis, ca. 2008. I went straight to Abebooks and found a copy in very good condition for a good price. Spine is a bit discolored by the sun, otherwise it's in great shape.

 

Ottosen, Maj. P. H., editor. CAC. Trench Artillery, A.E.F.: The Personal Experiences of Lieutenants and Captains of Artillery who Served with Trench Mortars. Boston: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Co., 1931.

 

 

 

 

 

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However, there were many other units fighting in the Bulge whose stories deserve to be told. In this case McManus focused on those units east of Bastogne who took the initial onslaught of the German Army. One such unit was the 28th Infantry Division. Its three regiments just got chewed to pieces during the Battle. This book details the many harrowing events that occurred as the Germans overwhelmed the 28th Div. and others. It performs a valuable service in reminding readers that ultimate success at Bastogne was not just about the 101AB.

 

And 9th Armored Divison, and 10th Armored Divsion, and 4th Infantry Division, and the many smaller units (artillery, engineers, tank destroyer) who played very important roles holding off the Germans so the "precious" 101st Airborne Division could reach Bastogne in time.

Without them Bastogne would have been taken by the Germans and it would just like any other town or village in the Ardennes.

They disrupted the German timetable at heavy cost.

Too bad they are overlooked so easily.

 

Erwin

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And 9th Armored Divison, and 10th Armored Divsion, and 4th Infantry Division, and the many smaller units (artillery, engineers, tank destroyer) who played very important roles holding off the Germans so the "precious" 101st Airborne Division could reach Bastogne in time.

Without them Bastogne would have been taken by the Germans and it would just like any other town or village in the Ardennes.

They disrupted the German timetable at heavy cost.

Too bad they are overlooked so easily.

 

Erwin

I agree, and I have always been a fan of the 101st and Band of Brothers. Can't ignore the 9th, 10th, etc.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hedgerow Hell by Lt. John Allsup A/175 my new favorite book. He describes his platoons actions in Normandy like they happened yesterday. I highly recommend it.

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Hedgerow Hell by Lt. John Allsup A/175 my new favorite book. He describes his platoons actions in Normandy like they happened yesterday. I highly recommend it.

 

An excellent book and one of my favorite about the 29th Div. in Normandy.

 

Dan.

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I'm currently re-reading Shots Fired in Anger by Colonel John B. George.

The book is about George's time as a lieutenant in H/132nd Infantry on Guadalcanal and, later, in CBI as part of "Merrills Marauders". The story is written from the standpoint of a weapons enthusiast, and was published by the NRA. Before the war George, as a member of the National Guard, was a competition shooter who took part in numerous shooting matches, including Camp Perry. After being mobilized he describes the unpreparedness of the regiment and the scant training they received. He brings his scoped Winchester Model 70 sniper rifle with him to New Caledonia but leaves it with his friend to hunt with, before moving on to Guadalcanal. Once on the 'Canal he's got a 1903 Springfield with an Alaskan scope, which he uses. Some of his kills he describes in great detail. Evidently as an officer with the weapons company he has some leeway to take time to go sniping. I haven't finished the book yet, but apparently he he shoots every weapon at the enemy he can get his hands on - the scoped Springfield, a .45 pistol, Japanese rifles, probably a Garand, and later on in Burma, a .30 Carbine and his Winchester sniper rifle, to name a few. He also evaluated other enemy crew-served weapons and rifles and comments on them in the book. There are many line drawings of these weapons as well as some drawings of Japanese with commentary. George repeatedly dismisses the Japanese essentially as amateurs who are resolute enough but not much else, but does on occasion give them their due.

 

There is not too much about the actual fighting on the 'Canal. His battalion evidently spent much time near Henderson Field, getting bombed. George often takes time to describe things in detail; descriptions of equipment used was interesting - such as Americans' use of Japanese weapons and kit. Often a patrol action will take several pages, even if nothing much happens, as it is full of vivid descriptions. There is no criticism of any other army personnel, no NG vs RA problems, and they apparently got on with the Marines. He also stated that they killed more enemy than did the Marines.

This work originally came out in 1947 and only covered Guadalcanal, but was re-printed and expanded in 1981 when the author was asked to include his time in Burma. The fighting in Burma is covered in greater detail than that on Guadalcanal. That section has photographs (his film of Guadalcanal was waterlogged). One needs to get the expanded editions, that is, the 1981 hardcover or the recent softcover reprint (as opposed to the 1947 edition).

This book is very well-written in a competent sort of style one doesn't see any more, and I'm noticing many things I don't recall from the first time around.

Highly recommended.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Wow Pete, I see I have a great book that I need to order, on the Days of Hell. Haven't been on this forum for a while, so many congratulations on your book. Can't wait to read it.

 

Ruth

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Wow Pete, I see I have a great book that I need to order, on the Days of Hell. Haven't been on this forum for a while, so many congratulations on your book. Can't wait to read it.

 

Ruth

 

Thanks Ruth, I hope you'll let me know how you like it!

Pete

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respectingthesacrifice

Hedgerow Hell by Lt. John Allsup A/175 my new favorite book. He describes his platoons actions in Normandy like they happened yesterday. I highly recommend it.

Yes a fantastic book, I have read it few times and always enjoyed it.

 

Clay pigeons of St Lo by Major Johns is also a great one along with Balkovski's Beyond the Beachhead and you will have good books about 29 Infantry in the battle of Normandy

Eric

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gunbunnyB/3/75FA

I'm kinda reading two at once just now, "Strategy for Defeat" by ADM. U.S.G. Sharp, i had heard about this one for many years but never had found it till now, a 1st ed. for only $0.75. the other is "Defenseless" by J.W. Lambert and N. Polmar.(yeah i know yet another pearl harbor book),

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Yangtze Patrol by Kemp Tolley ( Rear Adml. USN Ret).a concise history of the USN river gunboats in China 1850's 1941.

And...My Target was Lenigrad...RAF Vulcan pilots career in Bomber and Strike Command during the Cold War.

Both are excellent, Tolley's a classic of course.

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  • 3 weeks later...

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