by RNS | Dec 26, 2023 | Beating Tsundoku
Gareth Glover, Marching, Fighting, Dying (Pen & Sword, 2021)
The Peninsular War is one of the most studied conflicts within the Napoleonic Wars of the early Nineteenth Century. The main reason for that was the involvement of the British army, which generated copious source material for historians to rake through and write about. You might think that we had exhausted those sources, but Gareth Glover has uncovered an often overlooked source, soldiers’ letters, that allow him to paint a more complete picture of the British army on campaign and in battle.
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Glover covers almost all aspects of the soldier’s life in the Peninsula War. That begins with the voyage to Portugal, the first of many unaccustomed experiences. The men’s bewilderment at the Portuguese and Spanish landscape and people quickly became evident, and there was little enjoyment available on the march with the extreme climate, sickness, and poor food all contributing. Camp life was no picnic either, but at least men had some comforts and entertainment; Glover argues against the myth of the army sleeping rough under the stars in the open, especially on cold nights. Transgressing army rules could meet with a flogging or the hangman’s rope; much to the horror of the locals, though the soldiers seemed to accept the necessity of those punishments. It appears that the British soldiers did not hate the French, but that did not diminish their efforts in battles or sieges, nor did it reduce the impact of wounds and death; Glover points out that the latter stalked the army on the march as well as the battlefield.
Each chapter in Glover’s book is structured with the author introducing a theme, presenting the source evidence with minimal commentary, then offering a brief conclusion. That gives it a ‘sourcebook’ feel for readers and history students familiar with those – a wee bit dry at times. Nevertheless, Glover mixes the variety of his excerpts enough to keep things interesting. Most of the evidence is not organised chronologically, which negates questions on continuity and change across certain themes, but that does not adversely affect the value of the material. Overall, Glover has produced an informative and useful book suitable for students of the Peninsular War and military history in general.
by RNS | Dec 23, 2023 | Beating Tsundoku
Mark Galeotti, Russia’s Wars in Chechnya 1994-2009 (Osprey, 2024)
Before there was Ukraine, there was Chechnya. Between 1994 and 2009, post-Soviet Russia fought two wars against the small but historically irritating State of Chechnya on its southern border. In many ways, the Russian experience there foreshadowed much of the disaster that has befallen them in Ukraine, though there are also several important differences. Mark Galeotti’s Russia’s Wars in Chechnya explores Boris Yeltsin’s then Vladimir Putin’s efforts to control their southern neighbour.
That Russian interference in Chechnya was never going to easy is obvious from Galeotti’s historical survey that opens his book. Chechnya was a country riven by internal strife, but one that came together when foreign invasion threatened. He compares the armies: one disciplined and organised for conventional warfare, the other a product of a warrior people that knew every nook and cranny of the mountainous country they defended. As the Soviet Union broke apart, after 1991, the new Russian president Boris Yeltsin chose Chechnya as a showcase for demonstrating Russian power. In 1994, he engineered a war, but it was not the walkover the Russians expected. After fierce fighting, a peace deal was agreed in 1996, though, as Galeotti points out, it was a ‘hot’ peace that would not last. Enter Vladimir Putin as Russian president in 1999, determined to enforce Russian power in Chechnya. He launched a second invasion that was more methodical than the first and therefore more successful, but at what was then considered a severe price. The disunited Chechens succumbed, though Galeotti notes they could still hurt the Russians in Chechnya and Russia mainly through small-scale operations and terrorist attacks. Putin managed, however, to take advantage of Chechen divisions to promote a Chechen solution, declaring an end to the war in 2009 while backing the Kadyrov faction that remains in control of the country.
Galeotti narrates the Russian campaigns, exposing shortcomings on both sides, while describing the primarily political changes that the wars engendered. Galeotti does not dig deeply into the fighting itself, though he provides enough detail to illustrate the nature of the war. Neither does Galeotti make overt comparisons to Putin’s war in Ukraine: anyone paying attention to that ongoing conflict will not need a heavy-handed author to point them out. Suffice to say that anyone reading about the military aspects of the Chechnya wars will wonder if the Russian commanders learned anything from their experiences. Galeotti’s explanation of political developments highlights the growing presence of fundamentalist Islam in Chechnya and also the fractious nature of civil politics, which is different from Ukraine. Overall, Galeotti’s concise account of the Russian adventures in Chechnya, ably supported by Osprey’s usual quality maps and photograph selection, makes this an informative and thought-provoking contribution to Osprey’s Essential Histories series.
by RNS | Dec 21, 2023 | Beating Tsundoku
Kaloyan Matev, Red Wind Over the Balkans, (Helion and Company 2019, paperback 2023)
The fighting in southeastern Europe towards the end of World War II is often overlooked in favour of the northern fronts in the east and west on the road to Berlin. However, you could argue that without that southern front, the northern campaigns would have been much more difficult. This book by Kaloyan Matev covers one small part of that theatre, concentrating on the invasion of Bulgaria, the subsequent drive towards Belgrade, and the ultimate liberation of Yugoslavia.
This is a heavy book, both in size and style. Weighing in at 661 pages, Red Wind Over the Balkans is a detailed narrative, with many accompanying photographs, of the Soviet invasions of Bulgaria and Yugoslavia south of the Danube. Matev lists units, equipment, and losses among other useful facts, and his book is a veritable goldmine of information – if you want to know which Soviet unit was where and what equipment they used, then this book is for you. It also covers the German, Bulgarian, and Yugoslav partisan forces that were involved in the campaigns.
The frequent tables of data that you are presented with means this is not the easiest book to read, and some editing to relocate those into appendices would have helped, as would grouping the photographs and some more judicious editing to help readers follow the narrative – knowing what ammunition the Soviet Air Force used during the operations was interesting but not necessarily relevant to the flow of the story. However, if you want to know just about anything relating to the operations in the southeastern theatre in late 1944, then this book is a must for your reference library – you even get to read about the Bulgarian Army’s combat contributions, which does not happen often, in English anyway. As a wargamer, I found many excellent ideas for scenarios to game; as a modeller, I am now building a Soviet force with mainly Valentine tanks to cross the Danube; and as an avid reader of World War II on the Eastern Front, I enjoyed reading this. You cannot ask for much more than that.
Reviewed by Dom Sore
by RNS | Dec 18, 2023 | Beating Tsundoku
Charles Singleton, Ed., 1648 and All That – the Scottish Invasions of England 1648 and 1651 (Helion and Company, 2023)
Reviewed by Dom Sore
The English Civil Wars of the mid-17th Century are a fascinating microcosm of the much greater wars being fought on the continent at the same time but with a somewhat different outcome. The Civil Wars did not involve just English forces, though most fighting took part in that country, there were also Irish, Welsh, and Scottish participants. The Scottish effort was maybe the most important even if the Irish involvement had a longer lasting impact; the Scots Covenanters started in opposition to the King’s policies rather than on the side of Parliament but ended up supporting that same King when it looked more advantageous to do so.
This book looks at some of the later phases of the Civil Wars via the collected works that formed the 2022 Helion and Company Century of the Soldier Conference. That was a full day of historical discussions attended by experts and interested parties. The topics included the fortifications of Scotland that were constructed to defend Scotland from internal and external antagonists, the command and control of armies of the time, whether the second Civil War was pro or anti-monarchy, and the logistics of raising a rebellion in the period.
The essays in this book are detailed and academic, delving into the minutiae of specific topics and examining sources that provide such useful insights into the time. They are all well written, if a little scholarly at times, but all very interesting in their own way. The fortress essay, for example, could be the basis for a book and a travel guide. You can also dip in and out of this to read the parts that interest you the most as they are all stand-alone essays. The whole book, however, could have used a few maps to help visualise where important events happened, but it is still well worth reading for Civil War enthusiasts and students of the early modern era.
by RNS | Dec 15, 2023 | Beating Tsundoku
Chris McNab, Coalition Armor v Iraqi Forces (Osprey, 2024)
Before the current war in Ukraine, the wars in Iraq in the early 21st Century provided the most recent theatre for modern armoured warfare. That western armour dominated that battlefield is no revelation, but Chris McNab demonstrates how that played out, while showing that the West did not have things all its own way when the fighting entered the urban environment and Iraqi insurgents improvised techniques to fight back.
McNab begins with a brief survey of the thrashing the Coalition armour meted out to the Iraqis in 1991’s Gulf War, but he argues that the fighting between 2003 and 2006 differed for various reasons. He then highlights the differences between combat in Iraq between 1991 and 2003 and surveys the armour on both sides of the conflict from 2003 to 2006. That includes the main battle tanks (MBT) and Infantry Fighting Vehicles (IFV) of the United States, the United Kingdom, and Iraq. Reading the technical specifications, it does not take a genius to realise that the Iraqis faced a thumping as they did in 1991. But McNab adds a section on Rocket-Propelled Grenades (RPG) and Improvised Explosive Devices (IED), noting that these were the greatest threat to Coalition armour.
McNab sets out the strategic context of the 2003 war with the Coalition plan of attack, along with the forces involved, and the Iraqi plan for defence in depth built around urban centres. McNab notes, however, that the Iraqi army was ‘destined for defeat’. To demonstrate this, McNab singles out match-ups between Iraqi and Coalition armour, starting with the T-72M vs the M1A2 Abrams, a mismatch if ever there was one. The Bradley M2A3 vs the Iraqi BMP-2 follows. These were more equal, but technology favoured the Bradley. Then comes the lowly RPG/IED vs the British Warrior: on paper, an obvious mismatch, but surprise and close proximity could be a great equalizer.
The forces involved are next on McNab’s agenda, beginning with the Iraqis, who possessed a massive field force with some effective troops, but mostly they were ill-trained, ill-equipped, and serving under a corrupt regime. The Coalition forces occupied the other end of the military spectrum: disciplined, well-equipped, and mission orientated. How those men performed in combat comes under scrutiny. There was a rapid advance into Iraq that met with stiffening resistance, particularly in the urban areas. The Royal Scottish Dragoon Guards participation in Operation Panzer follows with the British attacking Basra. At the Battle of Mahmudiyah, US tanks supported by Bradleys cleared T-72s from a town. The Insurgency that followed the cessation of organised resistance proved more difficult for Coalition armour. McNab highlights the battle for Falujah in 2004 as the most intense action in this phase of the war and notes how armour became a valuable force multiplier. In his analysis of the combat in Iraq, McNab emphasizes the asymmetry of the forces but also the rapid doctrinal changes the Coalition had to make to cope with unconventional warfare.
Despite the mostly one-sided nature of the armoured combat in Iraq, McNab’s survey of the machines and men contains enough action to merit inclusion in Osprey’s Duel series. Those who enjoy reading technical information will no doubt enjoy this, while the addition of combat stories and analysis balances that out to prevent the text becoming too dry. McNab could have made more of the IED/RPG aspect of the combat, though he obviously needed the armour v armour combat to set the scene and demonstrate why the formal Iraqi defence collapsed so precipitously. McNab is aided by the usual high quality Osprey graphics and photographs, and along with the informative text, that makes this a useful library addition for modellers, wargamers, and any reader interested in the wars in Iraq.
