by RNS | Dec 10, 2025 | Beating Tsundoku
Angus Konstam, Royal Navy Force H 1940-42 (Osprey, 2025)
Created in Summer 1940, Force H was a Royal Naval task force based in Gibraltar that reported directly to the Admiralty. They therefore had the location and opportunity to act in the Mediterranean, against the Italians, and in the Atlantic, against the Germans. It hunted the Bismarck in the Atlantic and escorted convoys to Malta in the most trying circumstances. However, the Force’s most infamous action was the destruction of the French fleet at Mers-el-Kébir in July 1940. In Royal Navy Force H, Angus Konstam narrates the story of this unique Royal Navy fleet.
Konstam expands on the mission for Force H in the wake of the fall of France. He notes that in addition to the situation with the French, Italian, and German fleets, Force H also had a watching brief over the Spanish and Portuguese fleets in case they joined the Axis. As for the fleet itself, Konstam calls it a ‘powerful fleet in miniature’ because of the array of ships involved, including battleships, carriers, cruisers, and many destroyers. This was also an interchangeable fleet, with ships joining and leaving as circumstances warranted. Konstam considers the wide variety of weapons that this fleet could bring to bear, though the Royal Navy was late to the show when it came to anti-aircraft defences. That said, Konstam argues that the game-changer was the fleet’s deployment of radar, which gave them an edge against enemy aircraft. For its own aerial purposes, the fleet carried Skuas, Fulmars, and the iconic Swordfish. Konstam turns to how the fleet operated, with considerations of command and organization, intelligence, communications, including the use of deception to deceive spies around Gibraltar, logistics, and facilities. He adds an interesting vignette on life at Gibraltar. Then we are into the fleets’ combat highlights, beginning with the attack on the French fleet at Mers-el-Kébir, the surprise attack on the Italian fleet at Taranto, the bombardment of Genoa, convoy support operations, hunting the Bismarck, and club runs to take aircraft to Malta. The loss of the carrier HMS Ark Royal in November 1941 signalled the beginning of the end of Force H, which was soon subsumed into the Operation Ironclad invasion fleet. Konstam concludes that Force H proved to be a powerful threat to the Axis in the Mediterranean and Atlantic.
Royal Navy Force H is an excellent addition to Osprey’s Fleet series. Konstam is a dependable writer on naval affairs, and this is a solid example of his work. His text is informative and covers all the bases, including box-out texts for club runs, hunting the Bismarck, Gibraltar and its accompanying strait, and escorting the Halberd convoy in September 1941. Konstam’s survey provides a sound base for further reading on the naval war in the Mediterranean and Atlantic, including the hunt for the Bismarck. His text is well-supported by Osprey’s usual high quality artwork and selection of photos. Naval history readers, especially those that focus on World War II, will enjoy this book, as will anyone interested in military history.
by RNS | Dec 6, 2025 | Beating Tsundoku
Steven J. Zaloga, German and Italian Tanks in Italy 1943-45 (Osprey, 2025)
The mountainous terrain of Italy does not readily conjure an image of tank warfare. Yet, in WWII, tanks were an important component of almost every battlefield. In this Osprey New Vanguard series book, Steven Zaloga highlights the tanks of the Axis forces in Italy and how they were used.
Zaloga notes that tanks were not the dominant force in combat, but they provided vital support for infantry. He begins his survey with Italian tankettes, which proved disappointing in the field, and tracks the development of their tanks and self-propelled guns. Zaloga points out that Germany gave Italy only small numbers of tanks, which was probably wise in the end. The Germans themselves deployed many Panzer IIIs and IVs with a few Tigers and Panthers, but the latter two tanks were not much use in the terrain, besides the Panzer IV occupied that tactical role quite well. Zaloga also surveys the German self-propelled guns and assault guns. The peculiar nature of the fighting in Italy along static defence lines resulted in the Germans also using static tank turrets mounted on foundations.
When the Italians withdrew from the war in September 1943, the Germans seized the remaining Italian tanks, most of which were of little use and were mostly used in anti-partisan operations. In any case, by the time that surrender came, Zaloga notes, most of the Italian tanks had been lost elsewhere. Many of those remaining were stationed on Sicily and Sardinia, the rest stayed on the mainland. The Germans had generally stayed out of Italy before the Italian withdrawal, but they read the tea leaves early and began to send more forces before September. Once in control, Germany used its tanks for defensive and counter-attacking operations. The Italian terrain prevented massed formations, reducing the tank role to mostly infantry support.
Zaloga turns to the operations involving Axis tanks. Operation Husky, the invasion of Sicily in July 1943, opens the show. Zaloga outlines the action and the mostly ineffectual efforts of the Axis forces to expel the Allies. That is followed by the landings at Salerno, where the Germans almost threw the Allies back into the sea. More static warfare came with the winter defensive lines, with numerous attritional engagements though seldom involving tanks. Then the Allies attempted to outflank those lines by landing at Anzio, Operation Shingle in January 1944; although the planned German armoured counter-attack floundered in the rain, an effort that Zaloga argues was the turning point of the Italian campaign. The Allies subsequently broke through the German lines across Italy, forcing the Germans to evacuate north pursued by the Allies who also captured Rome. Zaloga concludes in his analysis that panzers played a significant but limited role in the Italian campaign.
Although tank warfare did not suit the Italian peninsula or Sicily, it was still an important part of the often intense combat as the Axis and Allied forces slugged it out for strategic control, as Zaloga makes clear in this informative book. He describes the tanks and how they performed in a succinct text that tank enthusiasts and readers of World War II military history will enjoy. Zaloga’s inclusion of a useful further reading list will be appreciated by those who want to add to the more general books on this fascinating campaign. Osprey’s usual high quality graphics and photographs of the tanks will also energise modellers. All in all, Zaloga’s book is a welcome addition to the New Vanguard series.
by RNS | Dec 3, 2025 | Beating Tsundoku
Mandeep Singh, The Indian Army at War 1947-99 (Osprey, 2025)
India is now considered one of the pre-eminent military powers in the world: it has a massive army and would present a formidable foe to any enemy. However, this has not been achieved without constant development and challenges. Mandeep Singh, a serving officer in the Indian army, narrates India’s struggles to build and secure its power in a volatile region.
Singh begins with the partition of India and its post-war armed forces. This was more complicated than a binary muslim/hindu split with Pakistan, and it led to almost immediate conflict in the Kashmir region. India also had the problem of incorporating independent states, the most notable being Hyderabad. Singh narrates operations in the First Kashmir War before embarking on the first of his ‘evolution’ chapters, highlighting the efforts of the Indian army to modernise. That was interrupted by Operation Vijay in 1961 and the war with China the following year. More changes followed, between 1962 and 1965 when the Second Kashmir War broke out with Pakistan. More change and evolution followed, leading into the Bangladesh War of 1971. A longer peace ensued through to 1984 when more fighting broke out with Pakistan in Kashmir. The Indian army ventured further afield in the late 1980s to become involved in Sri Lanka. Modernisation continued through the 1990s, which was tested in the 1999 Kargil War. Singh concludes that despite peace in the new millennium, the Indian army remains ready, enthused by the quality of its junior offices and the bravery of its soldiers.
This is an interesting if somewhat superficial survey of the post-World War II Indian army. Given how busy they have been and the multiple changes the army has undergone, there was not much room for Singh to dive any deeper. Singh’s structure of alternating operational narrative and peacetime evolution works well, however, to show the army’s development in peace and war. Nevertheless, some political background might have helped explain some of the changes in equipment. Singh is assisted by an excellent collection of colour plates and photographs of Indian soldiers. Readers interested in the development of the modern Indian army will find this book a useful primer, and Singh’s helpful select bibliography will take them further.
by RNS | Nov 29, 2025 | Beating Tsundoku
Angus Konstam, Royal Navy Monitors of World War II (Osprey, 2025)
One of the most unusual warships of World War II was the Royal Navy’s monitor. The design was simple: a battleship gun turret with a ship built around it. It’s sole purpose was to bombard enemy positions on land in support of Allied operations. The prolific Angus Konstam describes these warships and how they went about their business.
Konstam points out that the Royal Navy had 15 capital ships at the outbreak of World War II, but they were employed with the two main battle fleets. That left a requirement for shore bombardment operations. The answer, at least partially, was the monitors. Konstam traces the origin of the monitors to the Great War, when the RN had forty of them of various sizes, but almost all of them were scrapped by the opening of World War II. Konstam notes that Winston Churchill championed the production of new monitors equipped with two 15-inch guns. These were designed to fit the necessary parameters for modern combat, updating the Great War models. Four 15-inch monitors took to the high seas in World War II, but only two or three at a time. Smaller monitors stayed on harbour duties. Konstam takes us through their operational history, beginning with HMS Erebus then HMS Terror, HMS Roberts, HMS Abercrombie, and the harbour monitors. From there, Konstam focuses on the purpose of the monitors, namely naval gunfire support. He works through the process of identifying and hitting targets, often using aerial reconnaissance. Konstam also examines how the big guns functioned, looking at process and personnel. The operations where the big guns made a difference follow, including Operation Neptune, the naval part of the D-Day landings. Konstam closes with some specifications and modifications of the monitors.
Royal Navy Monitors of World War II is another solid Osprey book from Angus Konstam. He deftly narrates the development of these unusual warships, digs into the nuts and bolts of how they operated, and narrates the ships in action. Konstam is aided by excellent graphic illustrations, ship’s diagrams, and photographs, which should keep modellers happy. Anyone who reads World War II naval history, particularly when it comes to the more obscure warships, will enjoy this book.
by RNS | Nov 25, 2025 | Beating Tsundoku
Brian Lane Herder, The United States Navy 1914-18 (Osprey, 2025)
It might come as a surprise to find out that the United States Navy in 1914 was the third largest in the world. When the European war broke out, the US could call on 33 battleships, including 10 dreadnoughts, and that was before a massive construction programme ordered in 1915 by President Wilson. They also had suitable war plans, Black and Orange, for the Pacific and Atlantic fleets. In this book on the US Navy by Brian Lane Herder, he notes that despite such lofty ambitions, the Navy’s wartime action in the Great War was mostly spent on convoy protection and transport duties, and the major ships planned for fleet battles were never completed.
Herder provides a description of the fleet, beginning with its command structure, including the auxiliaries, the Marine Corps, and the Coast Guard. Fleet organization follows and the yards and bases employed by the Navy. Herder also surveys the ships, from the mighty battleships down to gunboats and submarine chasers. The US Navy, in keeping with the other major powers, developed a rudimentary airpower, first dabbling in balloons and then fixed-wing aircraft. The US Navy was not completely idle during the War, involving itself in operations in Mexico, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic, then into the North Atlantic in 1917, where Herder delves into their transport and supply actions and the war on U-boats. Perhaps incongruously, the US Navy operated railway artillery on the Western Front in 1918. Herder leaves his consideration of naval personnel until last, with an overview of recruitment, training, pay, nursing, the Yeomanettes, and the use of landing parties. After the War, he notes, the US Navy suffered a crisis of purpose that stretched into the inter-war years.
This is a slim volume in Osprey Publishing’s Men-at-Arms series, but a useful one. The US Navy has a proud tradition, though its reputation as a potent fighting force on the world stage is relatively recent, dating to World War II. Herder’s survey highlights an important step along that road to power, even if the US’s naval ambition was not realised in the Great War: there is also an interesting ‘what if?’ just below the surface in Herder’s book. The colour plates of service people don’t quite match the text, which is mostly about the ships and aircraft, but figure modellers will appreciate them, and they are of the usual high quality. The photographs and illustrations sprinkled throughout the book are more on point and add to what is an entertaining and informative read.
