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Definitely not German! This little pamphlet/book is available on Kindle for one dollar. it is an absolute classic for military education. It comes from the experiences of the Boar War and gives everyone a view of infantry tactics at the platoon level. it is posted here to people a small look at possible platoon level experiences on the defense. Using a series of dreams byLieutenant Backsight Forethought, he learns from his lessons of previous dreams and eventually establishes a solid defense. This format has been used in articles for a century. The one on World War I which included tanks was written in 1923. An absolute classic, read the 72 pages which includes a lot of pictures before the Germans attack!
Back to authors who are members! Anybody know this guy?
A World War II book? Actually it is only four and one half pages that Guderian uses to cover the battle of Halen and its role in the development of positional warfare. I do not entirely agree with all of his analysis. However, almost every German you talk to about this dismisses Halen as a skirmish. Unimportant. Guderian did not think so. This is only $3.99 on Amazon for the Kindle version and it is in English. as I am interested only in the first five pages, another guy who wants information about tank development in World War II might continue to enjoy it.
Besides being a wonderful read – again – the author of this work, a member of this group who I have found to be quite a modest man, really ticks me off, in addition to Jack Sheldon, and Peter Hart, Ralph Whitehead tells a much much better story than I do. He also extends it to massive pages so this hardcover tome is 553 pages. There are three of these books. I am only showing a link to one. Each of them have the same name volume 1 volume 2 and volume 3. While I sing the praises of the book sheer mass will take you some time. While I was once called an obscurantist by Janet’s boss, the subject of the XIV’s reserve Corps might sound a bit oblique. Instead, you get a feel transferred by the author of life in such a unit. Here are some statistics:
- Hardcover: 563 pages
- Publisher: Helion and Company (August 17, 2018)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1911512471
- ISBN-13: 978-1911512479
- Product Dimensions: 6.2 x 1.8 x 9.3 inches
- Shipping Weight: 3.5 pounds
the only thing good I can say in my own defense is very once wrote a book that was 4 ½ pounds. Stick that in your pipe Ralph!
The only English language in depth study of the battle. There is a heavily visited family-owned Museum that is fairly large and has the real taste/smell of old leather. We became guests of that family who not only owned the museum and all of the artifacts, but actually were still using the formal dining room set from the farm with its accompanying bullet holes. Janet became fast friends with the family matriarch – grandma – who barked a few words over a glass of wine and the family took apart display cases that had not been opened for decades. Pictures were removed to allow us to scan them and many ended up in the book. My big regret about this book is the title. It seems as though every little commenter would lecture us about how chronologically this was not the last charge. we had focused on the word “great” as there were four German cavalry regiments. That did not matter. I have been called names… Etc. Nice battlefield to visit still very much like in 1914, and I would take this book for the maps to guide you on your way.
This is actually a book about today’s blog! There are a number of reprints out there with a lot of varying prices. A really quick read and juicy!
Today’s book is about a 1917 event bar one of our prolific group members. Dr. Mike LoCicero wrote this wonderful book but more importantly, the second edition is coming out this spring. Mike has informed me that there is a great deal of German source material in here. So support the good doctor and give this a whirl! Difficult to go wrong with anything connected with Wolverhampton.
Today’s book is not about a blog but rather a potential future blogger I hope. Here on machine-gun Friday, I introduce you to a wonderful book by a very accomplished author and all-around nice guy, Peter Hart. He may be a nice guy and an accomplished historian, but he really pisses me off. He is one of three other authors that tell a story so much better than I do. All I can say is read this book and you will see what I am talking about. He keeps you relatively spellbound.
And yet another royalty book.
This is a continuation of the non mainstream books about royalty in Germany during the Imperial Times. the author is one of the leading experts, and this book is about a key house.
I have been doing some research into the royalty of the German states. I have found this to be full of dead ends, mysteries, and false information. It seems as though the Royals are subjected to a lot of gossip. being that I missed a lot of books during my recent absence, I thought I would post a few titles that I have found. These are not mainstream. As a result, some are a bit pricey.
Update on the machine-gun books: I was informed that the publisher has shipped books to a US dealer over the last couple of days. However, he did not tell me which one. So help with the shipping cost is on the way but I don’t know where or how yet. The second book, the gray one, contains documents written in German. These are not translated.
This is without doubt the gold standard about German machine guns in World War I. Written by two people that I would consider the world’s foremost experts, and published by a company that produces absolute works of art. This book is pricey and we will continue to look/find cheaper ways to purchase it, however, whatever the cost it will certainly be worth it. Verlag Militaria only publishes the very best. Color pictures, lots of explanatory text. Absolute insights. If you are interested in machine guns this is it. You must have this book.
Okay we have established that. However, in the last year or so postage rates between Europe and the USA have exploded. This book is available from the publisher in Austria. Therefore, if you are using postage within the EU there is no problem. I also expect that Gary is going to stock this at Naval and Military books in the UK. Once I have this link I will post it. It does not seem that the publisher will list it on Amazon. Amazon does take a huge percentage for their cut of book sales. . Verlag Militaria also operates a website in Connecticut USA. Shipping from Connecticut to the USA save shipping costs at a massive level. These books are heavy. When we published one with this publisher the book weighed 4 1/2 pounds. What that really means is that the book has many uses to include a hurling it at your opponent or using it as a doorstop
But wait there is more! This is actually two books. One color book on the machine guns and one addendum book with all of the instructions (Vorschriften über deutsche Maschinengewehre).More than 1.300 pages of manuals scanned or obtained from different archives and put together on more than 500 pages printing four pages of manuals together on one page. This is not two books for the price of one. each of these two books has their own hefty price tag.
What else could you want?
Jack Sheldon is a friend of mine. We are about the same age and are both retired Army Col.’s. He from the British Army and I find the American army. We have both written books on German stuff in World War I. We both have incredible wives. I am afraid the similarity ends there. Jack tells a far better story in print than I do. He is the premier writer about the German army in World War I. He is also prolific and has written a great deal. Now in my favor I am far better looking. Though he might be the superior author by a league he cannot compete with my modeling career. Soon I expect to get my first gig.
There are many books of his to choose from so I thought I would add a few to the recommendations. You cannot do wrong with any of these which are definite first person accounts of what was happening on the ground. He has done massive work in the Bavarian archives. My individual favorite is when he discusses the German mobilization training for the late 1914 deployments. There just is no better account and I have use that heavily in the past.
This is the Christopher Clark reference. This thing is cited all over the place and is complete. This is the same author that brought you Sleepwalkers. I am not rabid about this but it is pretty complete.
We are blessed beyond our dreams by one of the great English language authors about artillery. Marc Romanych Has not only written blogs for our group but his comments are insightful. So rather than beat on the dead horse of states I thought I would start listing some other good books, some of which are written by members of this group. https://german1914.com/books-about-blogs/
We have this. It is kind of fun and pretty light. All sorts of details that you never thought of. A really good read. What I really find interesting and very useful are the notes, the bibliography, and the index. The author really did a credible job researching this and still managed to keep it pretty light. But when it comes to gossip I am not sure really matters. This one is cheap again
Having just returned I need to catch up. But his last blog by Edwin opens up an entire field of study that is seldom looked at. This amazing book was written by a Dutchman and published by the University in Amsterdam. But it is in English! Well written, logical, footnoted, and you just cannot do better than this at $11. My interest is of course will the province of Limburg and in specific, the German army crossing the Maastricht appendix.
Today’s recommendation is a book endorsed by another enthusiast: Ben Westly.
Publisher’s blurb: This book recounts the last attempt by the Government of National Defence to reverse the outcome of the Franco-Prussian War, as Leon Gambetta launched the Army of the East under General Charles Bourbaki, the former commander of the Imperial Guard, in a desperate attack on the German lines of communication in South-Eastern France. The plan was that after sweeping aside the forces opposing it, the Army of the East would turn north to cooperate in the relief of Paris. It was faced by the German XIV Corps, which after the fall of Strasbourg had been tasked with overrunning Alsace, besieging Belfort and capturing Dijon. There, it had met and ultimately defeated the corps of Giuseppe Garibaldi, who had volunteered to fight for France after the fall of the Second Empire. The French enjoyed a heavy numerical superiority; but they moved too slowly. A savage battle was fought at Villersexel, but Bourbaki was unable to prevent Werder from taking up a position along the frozen River Lisaine, covering the siege of Belfort. On January 16th 1871 Bourbaki attacked. For three days, in appalling weather, the French tried to break the German line, but in the end fell back defeated. Threatened by a new army which Moltke had created, known as the South Army, under General Edwin von Manteuffel, the French retreated, at first to the fortress of Besancon. As the pressure continued, they fell back southwards towards the Swiss border. In his despair tried to take his own life, but failed, though seriously injured. His successor had no choice but to lead the broken army into internment in Switzerland.
A few books on Bavaria. just cannot beat the bargain $4.50 for the history and reference book of the 1866 war for both Bavaria and Hanover. Spend the $4.50!
A little bit embarrassing but I have not read this. I learned about this kingdom through a series of uniform articles and books in the German language. But I found this on Amazon! I cannot vouch for it.
Now these books are cheap. I have them on Kindle and they are not what I would call Paige Turners. They are however a bit biased and you can easily see one side of the story. Definitely worth four dollars because it will put your mind into the mode of critical thinking. Who wrote this book when? Looking for a blog? How about the bias in these books?
Run out and buy this book. Or just click on the picture of the book. I would go with Kindle, and despite the fact that academia has not really found this to their needs, I think our readers will love it intensely. This is a review I did in 2015.
Expecting a rather focused look at mid war Saxony in Flanders, I was seriously impressed by the robustness of the study. This is a book that any fan of world war one should possess. I really felt there were three books and at the end I wanted another in the series… there really should be a series if indeed the authors can resource it. Initially there is a mindnumbing set of details about Saxon actions broken down by unit and year. While this might seem like mundane research, suddenly the style of the authors and publisher comes to the front. This is the best picture collection I have seen in a book. The publisher and authors interspersed the pictures and maps throughout the text along with insets telling side stories. The affect was incredibly good. The pictures are clear, well annotated and not the normal “repeated pictures”. While the story is book 1, it is the collection of pictures that put you on your feet. Rare, well explained, and integrated into the text. This is not the standard picture section that my books have been relegated to. This is real time expansion of your understanding. These pictures no doubt took a lifetime to collect and I am very pleased to have read it. Just when you thought this was well worth the money you come along to chapter 9. OMG The series of individual histories of soldiers and officers during the war. This is complete with pictures and letters from the soldier. This long chapter could not have been assembled without a serious collection of diaries and papers. All translated nicely into English and a real treasure trove that makes his third book worth the price of admission alone. You will not regret this one at all.
Prepare use for a slog. I think it is worth it but there are times when you think that the author was trying to stuff every conceivable fact into the book. There are really three sections that are quite different. The pre-1850 is difficult but very complete. Huge amounts of facts. I don’t think he gives a real accurate view of how powerful the junkers were. The next section speeds up significantly and is quite a page turner up to 1914. After 1914 up through World War II I think it is pretty choppy. However, for our purposes he does a very interesting discussion about how Hindenburg/Ludendorff worked. This description might be worth the price of the book alone talks about Hindenburg an image seeking entity and the duo using their positions as bullies.
One volume histories are tough to come by. This book was sort of a pioneer. it is a tough read. I have problems recommending that but it is difficult to think of a substitute. There are a bunch of charts and collections of data in the book that sometimes can be very confusing. Yet, there are some real nuggets here in touching on all of the topics mentioned. There is a reasonable one volume that is very readable on the cultural core. But do not look for any great military connections. If you want some culture and some military with really really dark pictures, you can buy our book. It is a 2009 version that still sells pretty well.
This is a good book. another one by Wawro. he covers all of the required points. The hardcover first edition is still floating around. Sometimes on Amazon, sometimes used for as little as $10. Well worth the cost.
This is the first book in the group recommended by Pierre. It is done by his acquaintance Peter Barton that you have probably seen in some TV documentary. This is about tunneling. Great subject and it has always fascinated me that there is still a British mine out there somewhere that has not exploded. Go ahead you visit the front! There is a cheaper version even on Amazon but it is 10 years older. In this newer addition of 2014 there might be some significant updates. See… It’s not all about 1914! There is no book on the North German Confederation that I can recommend – even my eyes start glazing over.
Not specifically for this blog but Albert says this is the best book on the subject. This is really mostly about his second blog which is upcoming in early October. This is really cheap and I would bet that most of you do not have this. I knew nothing about this entire subject so I have so much to read and learn
This book is an absolute work of art. First of all there is some very deep analysis much of which has not been covered before in anything that I have seen. He integrates both air and ground with an emphasis on air. The air’s liaison, or lack thereof in the early days is really clearly explained. I know of no other place that does that. There always is lots of stuff about later in the war stuff. But not very much in the formation, mobilization, methods of early aviators. Now for the art part. I cannot help but be envious about how this book appears. Color, great pictures, little offsets, and just put together so well with clear maps that you are not left wanting. The pictures and maps are interspersed with the text. This publisher absolutely knew his methodology. I cannot comment on his/her marketing but the product is a work of art. You would be proud to give this book as a gift for a birthday or whatever.
The Austria-Prussian War of 1866
as well as the development of infantry doctrine.
This is a fine book that explains this complex subject quite easily. What I also found very useful was the discussions about command-and-control, decision-making, and the stresses within the Austrian army as technology and tactics met. There are very good discussions of some lesser-known battles and the use of column formation. Some successes and some failures on the battle field gave leaders a reason to pause. The author may not be on the top of my list for invitations to a cocktail party but this is a very good book and priced well.
No plan to feed the horses
This is an acclaimed book and it richly deserves it. You are really only dealing with a chapter in the middle but it is well worth it. This will open your eyes and shock you. Unfortunately, the authors great thesis was not followed up very rapidly by others. I have not delved into the non-World War I areas but considering the universal praise, they must be great also.
The Danish Wars
This book, by my co-author I think is the best for the Danish wars. It is a very very complex subject that is often given short shrift as authors try to push through to the Franco-Prussian war. Showalter’s explanation is readable and well-informed . He is after all the leading historian of the German military on the side of the pond. And you get a nice dose of his sophomore humor at no extra charge! This does not include my recommendation for the Prussian and Austrian of 1866.
German cavalry books in the English language.
This is a tough one. We have done a lot of blogs on reconnaissance and cavalry but finding something useful in book form in the English language is just tough. I know this sounds self-aggrandizing, but our previous book on the battle of Halen maybe it. There are some books that have glancing small chapters on World War I cavalry before they get to World War II. There are some older American texts built around the American cavalry Association but a modern book?
Liège and August 1914
Why do I want to buy this book? In the words of one reviewer: “Ijust started Reading German Failure (on page 34) I felt compelled to message you to say what a superb and valuable new insight it is in providing into the 1914 German army, its organization and its thinking…I am in awe of expertise and the amount of effort you all have put into the work… ”This should make academia sit up. This is not your father’s Schlieffen plan. This shows the complete difference between what Schlieffen envisioned in his envelopment and what was executed by his successor Moltke in 1914. This is not about the 1905 Denkschrift. Rather, you get a complete view of what Holger Herwig called “technical problems” presented by Liège. That is followed by the Germans missing their primary objective of dispersing the Belgian Field Army and then continuing on to fail to envelop French left flank and the BEF.
Many historians over the last 100 years have concentrated on the fortress of Liège as the objective rather than a means to an end. Despite all of the German mistakes and failures, they almost pulled it off and could have ended the war in August 1914.