by RNS | Jun 20, 2026 | Beating Tsundoku
Angus Konstam, Königgrätz 1866 (Osprey, 2026)
In June 1866, the Austrian Empire still held sway as the most powerful force in Europe. But a former ally was intent on upsetting the Austrian apple cart. Prussia, with Otto von Bismarck at the helm, wanted to flex its growing muscles. In 1864, the Prussians had bullied Denmark into submission, and Austria was next in line. The Austrians were concerned but not worried. However, they were in for a rude awakening in July 1866 at a small town called Königgrätz in an epic battle that would change the European political landscape forever. In this Osprey Campaign series book, prolific historian Angus Konstam tells the story of an epoch changing day.
Konstam glides through the build-up to the war of 1866, explaining briefly the machinations of Bismarck in service of his German unification vision. The Austrians could do little about it diplomatically, and both sides prepared for war. In command of the Austrian defence was Feldzeugmeister Ludwig von Benedek, a general arguably behind the times, and for Prussia, Helmuth, Count von Moltke, a thoroughly modern commander. Konstam highlights how modernity in tactics and weaponry allowed the Prussians to dominate the battlefield. As for the battle, a truly massive affair, Konstam breaks that down into the actions of the three Prussian armies against a formidable Austrian defensive position near Königgrätz in Bohemia. The Prussians won the battle and broke the mould of European geopolitics in the process. Konstam concludes with a visit to the battlefield today, which is very well preserved.
Angus Konstam’s survey of the Battle of Königgrätz is not an in-depth study, but it covers all the necessary information to provide an understanding of what happened and why. There is a sense of inevitability in the grinding Prussian offensive, but no developed explanation of why that was beyond Prussia’s tactical and technological advantages. That quibble aside, Konstam has written a useful and informative guide to this critical 19th century battle that will appeal to military history readers.
by RNS | Jun 7, 2026 | Beating Tsundoku
Lawrence Paterson, Kriegsmarine Southern Command 1941-45 (Osprey, 2026)
World War II naval history tends towards the big battles between the big ships. There is nothing wrong with that, but the war was full of action along all the belligerents’ coastlines fought by small and sometimes ad-hoc fleets. In Kriegsmarine Southern Command, Lawrence Paterson surveys a smaller German naval command that was put in place as the war expanded into the Balkans and the Soviet Union. The purpose of the new German command was to cooperate with other Axis fleets in the Balkans region, including the Black Sea and the Aegean Sea. The Germans would provide the umbrella while the other fleets mostly provided the muscle.
Paterson begins with the establishment of the fleet to meet the growing Allied threat after 1940. The ships in this new command included a single German destroyer, some German E-boats and minesweepers, a few submarines, and converted trawlers. The Italians, Romanians, Bulgarians, and Croatians also deployed ships in the region. Paterson examines the command structure in the Black Sea, Aegean, and Adriatic, and he considers the thorny problem of moving ships from Germany into the theatre. He then embarks on a detailed narrative of the fleet’s operations from 1940 through the deteriorating conditions on the eastern front, ending in 1944. In his analysis of this fleet, Paterson argues that Hitler’s failure to grasp the importance of naval operations undermined the fleet’s capacity to make a difference. That was not helped by persistent logistical problems and lack of supply. Nevertheless, Paterson concludes, the Axis forces still punched above their weight against the Soviets.
Kriegsmarine Southern Command is an interesting survey on a little known fleet operating in a theatre that does not get much attention. Patterson’s narrative sections are well written, though he could have joined the dots a bit better on his descriptions of the fleet’s components and command. The illustrations and maps that accompany the text are very useful for following the action. World War II naval history enthusiasts will enjoy this diversion into something of a backwater.
by RNS | May 26, 2026 | Beating Tsundoku
John Jordan, ed., Warship 2026 (Osprey, 2026)
Warship is an annual wide-ranging collection of articles written by notable experts in the field of maritime history. In this year’s edition, the subjects covered are an eclectic group: Russian Novik class destroyers; battle damage on RN fleet carriers during WWII; the inter-wars Imperial Japanese fleet; Imperial German torpedo boats; Allied escort forces in World War II; French 450-tonne destroyers; Royal Danish minesweepers; the capture of World War I German codebooks; Royal Navy training ships; the story of the Italian aircraft carrier Falco; and there is a useful and sometimes robust review section of the past year’s naval history books.
All of the articles take deep dives into their topics, making this a book primarily for the committed naval military history reader. However, they are well written and supplemented with a cornucopia of photographs, ship diagrams, and technical tables. The diversity of articles makes some more interesting than others, but there is something for everyone interested in this field. Warship is not an easy read, but it is a worthwhile one.
by RNS | May 20, 2026 | Beating Tsundoku
Angus Konstam, Warships at Dunkirk 1940 (Osprey, 2026)
The myth of the fleet of wee boats that saved an army at Dunkirk in May 1940 has lingered in certain quarters. In this book in Osprey’s New Vanguard series, the prolific Angus Konstam does not denigrate the efforts of those boats but places the proper emphasis on the Royal Navy and French Navy in the evacuation labelled as Operation Dynamo.
Konstam begins with the narrative of events that created the Dunkirk pocket and the efforts to extract the troops. Gathering a suitable fleet was a remarkable achievement in itself, sending them across the English Channel into the teeth of a luftwaffe storm of bullets and bombs even more so. Such was the relentlessness of the German air assault, supported by MTBs, submarines, and mines, that daylight operations gave way to nighttime actions. Nevertheless, the Allied navies rescued nearly 400,000 soldiers, though not without some tragic losses at sea. Konstam adds some hair-raising accounts from those who sailed along with the specifications of the various ships involved. There are also many photographs and illustrations that illuminate the text.
This is a solid, though slim, survey of the ships involved in Operation Dynamo. Konstam does a creditable job in boiling down a lot of information from a complex operation into a tidy narrative and useful sections on the ships and their specifications. His inclusion of survivor accounts adds an interesting human touch. Military and naval history students will appreciate Konstam’s book.
by RNS | May 14, 2026 | Beating Tsundoku
David Smith, Kings Mountain 1780 (Osprey, 2026)
In 1780, at the height of the American War of Independence, the British secured Charleston and the Carolinas coast, which just left the backcountry to establish control over. A force of locally recruited Loyalists could do that job, reasoned the British command, while a significant part of the main army could head north for the real fight. They were wrong. All they did was poke the Patriot bear in the form of thousands of militiamen. An over-confident Scottish officer, Patrick Ferguson, commanded the Loyalists, and they would meet their fate on an isolated hilltop at Kings Mountain, North Carolina, in October that year.
Smith provides brief biographies of the commanders on both sides before considering the forces they commanded. As with most irregular warfare, there was a distinctly ad-hoc feel to these backcountry militiamen, on both sides, with sometimes merely a nod to traditional military discipline. The overall British commander, Lord Cornwallis, notes Smith, opted to advance into North Carolina with Ferguson’s Loyalists on his flank. The Patriots only had to disrupt the British, and if they could defeat Ferguson then all the better for them. The campaign initially went Cornwallis’s way but not without setbacks. In August, the British won a major battle at Camden, but the see-saw of victories and defeats for the Loyalist militia continued. Smith follows the action to Mackay’s trading Post, where the Patriots were forced to retreat and Ferguson pursued. It was a miscalculation that would cost him his life.
Ferguson’s pursuit went well at first, despite his small command, but he underestimated the Patriots who were organising to deal with his incursion into the North Carolina backcountry. The hunter had become the hunted. Too late, Ferguson realised the danger, but he was determined to stand his ground if it came to a fight even as he retreated towards Cornwallis’s army. He arrived at a ridge known as Kings Mountain, threw up earthworks, and awaited the Patriot attack. The Patriots surrounded the ridge but began their assault before that was fully accomplished. At first, the intensifying battle seemed to be going the Loyalists’ way, but the Patriots squeezed the Loyalist position, which began to break down. Then came the fateful moment; Ferguson was shot out of his saddle, and the Loyalist resistance collapsed. The Patriots had won a stunning victory. Smith notes that this was a significant turning point, loosening the British grip in the South.
This is the book I wish I’d had when I visited Kings Mountain – Smith offers a brief description of the battlefield as an epilogue for future visitors. Smith surveys the principal actors at the tactical and strategic levels then follows them in a clear narrative along their routes to the battle. His account of the fighting is also lucid, clarifying what was a confusing action for all involved. Smith illuminates his story with quotes from men who fought, and he is helped by maps, artwork, illustrations, and modern photographs. Readers of the American Revolution already know how complex the fighting was in the backcountry; for others, Smith lays the groundwork for a better understanding at the broader level in this entertaining and informative read.
