by RNS | Dec 30, 2024 | Beating Tsundoku
Nicholas Sekunda, The Athenian Army 507-322 BC (Osprey, 2025)
It is a cliché that in Ancient Greece the Athenians ruled the waves while the Spartans controlled the land with their seemingly invincible army. But as Nicholas Sekunda demonstrates in this new book from Osprey’s Elite series, Athens had an army too and they worked to overcome their challenges in land warfare every bit as much as they put that effort into naval warfare.
Sekunda begins with the reforms of Cleisthenes in 507 that revolutionised the Athenian military system alongside his political reforms. This was the army that was soon to be tested in the Persian Wars from 490, where we find Athenian hoplites trying to solve the problem of Persian archers. By 483, the Athenians had added their own archer contingent, Sekunda finds, along with some tactical changes. Cavalry soon joined the mix, and their numbers were increased in Pericles’ reforms of 442 and horse-archers added. Then came the Peloponnesian War and the use of lighter armed peltasts, which were originally foreign forces, but Athens soon trained poorer citizens in this manner of fighting. Sekunda also covers the doomed Syracuse expedition of 415. With Athenian defeat in the Peloponnesian War came more reforms including the redevelopment of horse archers into dedicated scouts. Another set of reforms followed in the 360s inspired by Xenophon. Both equipment and practices changed, but that did not help the Athenians when they suffered defeat to the Macedonians at Chaeronea in 338. An attempt to throw off the Macedonian yoke in 323 proved disastrous for Athens, all but ending their military system, which Sekunda decides is a useful place to stop.
It might come as a surprise to some readers that armies in the Classical period were not ossified institutions immune to change or tactical subtlety. Sekunda makes clear that the Athenian army certainly made changes when faced with new enemies or tactics. Although his book is a brief introduction, Sekunda packs a lot of information into his text, and he is well supported in the details of costume, arms, and armour by Osprey’s excellent colour plates of Athenian soldiers and the accompanying text. My only quibble is a lack of background on ancient Greek warfare, which would have proved useful to novice readers in this field. Nevertheless, readers looking for a wee bit more meat on the bones for this era in military history will find this book very useful.
by RNS | Dec 26, 2024 | Beating Tsundoku
Ben Wheatley, The Panzers of Prokhorovka (Osprey, 2023)
The Battle of Prokhorovka in July 1943 is considered one of the three great Russian battles. Rightly so, perhaps, and it could be considered as a turning point on the Eastern Front. The claim that this battle was also the graveyard of the Panzers has been challenged, however, at first on the fringes of historical thought, but now also by Ben Wheatley who has brought the counter-argument into the mainstream with what he argues is definitive proof.
Wheatley lays out his thesis and methodology. He argues that the widely accepted panzer graveyard is a myth, and he produces aerial photographs of the battlefield and German AFV (Armoured Fighting Vehicle) records to support his case. He sketches the context for a battle that saw mind-boggling numbers of men and machines slogging it out as part of the wider Battle of Kursk. The Soviets heralded a great victory, which was true but not in the manner they claimed. In Wheatley’s narrative, the Soviet attack on the Germans was launched too soon, causing them heavy losses, though they did stop the German advance. But far from being smashed, the Germans withdrew having lost just a few tanks, three percent to the Soviet claim of up to seventy percent, according to Wheatley. The German before and after battle records are quite clear on that, and the aerial photographs show very few carcasses of German panzers to support the Soviet interpretation. In short, Wheatley contends, there was no panzer disaster at Prokhorovka.
This book is light on narrative, and beginner students embarking on the Eastern Front should probably do some background reading on the battle and campaign before diving into Wheatley’s analysis. But if you are familiar with the battle and are able to grasp the significance of the AFV reports, then you are in for a treat as Wheatley pursues the panzers through the records often down to individual tanks. He incorporates many tables, a host of remarkable photographs, and an annotated historiography to help you along. I find it unlikely that Wheatley’s argument will be successfully challenged, which surely brings the Prokhorovka debate to a satisfying close.
by RNS | Dec 15, 2024 | Beating Tsundoku
Angus Konstam, Borneo 1945 (Osprey, 2024)
It was perhaps inevitable that Borneo would fall under Japanese control as they extended their Asian empire in the opening stages of World War II. They took the island in early 1942, but by late 1944, it was obvious that the Japanese empire was receding under Allied pressure. In October 1944, the Australians accepted the mission of retaking Borneo, which led to a series of amphibious assaults in May 1945. The campaign would last three months and cost 2,000 Australian lives. But was it worth it? In this new addition to Osprey’s Campaign series, the prolific Angus Konstam gets to the heart of the matter while telling a compelling story.
Konstam begins with the decision to retake Borneo and the planning that went into the operation. In his comparison of the commanders and forces involved on both sides, Konstam highlights the Australian advantages, particularly in resources and logistics, over an isolated Japanese force that was further separated by the internal geography of the massive island. The Japanese also did not know where the assault would arrive so had to distribute their forces, while the Australians held the initiative. The Japanese plan, therefore, was not to oppose the landings but withdraw into the hills from where they could counter-attack or make a last stand. And that is how all the Australian landings played out to varying degrees. Konstam narrates the landings at Tarakan, British Borneo, and Balikpapan, working his way through the preparatory bombardments, the steady drive inland against light opposition, and then the fierce fighting that ensued when the last Japanese position had been reached. In the end, the island fell to a superior Australian ground force backed by US muscle at sea and in the air. Konstam acknowledges the political and military victory though he argues it was not worth the wasted manpower to achieve it.
This is an informative and entertaining overview, Konstam seldom lets his readers down in that regard, and it is a story worth telling. Konstam covers the main events and sets them in their operational and strategic context. He is ably supported by excellent maps and photographs, and the colour illustrations of combat add flavour. Those who enjoy reading about the war against Japan will want to add this to their collection, but any student of World War II will gain a useful insight into the closing stages of the war in the Far East, and they can decide for themselves if the invasion of Borneo was worth the sacrifice.
