by RNS | Jul 24, 2023 | Beating Tsundoku
Nigel West, H*tler’s Trojan Horse (Frontline, 2022)
Intelligence and counter-intelligence have been part of almost all wars. They are necessary components in uncovering enemy intentions while preventing them from uncovering yours. In World War II, the Abwehr was one of two German intelligence organisations, but their story has never been fully told. Nigel West’s H*tler’s Trojan Horse attempts to fill that gap.
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After a lengthy list of dramatis personae, which foreshadows some of the often bewildering detail to follow, West delves into the cut and thrust of the counter-intelligence battle that raged behind the scenes across Europe and North Africa. It is apparent that the Abwehr gave as good as they got at least until 1943. They were particularly good at infiltrating resistance networks in occupied Europe. However, West notes that as the tides of war began to flow in favour of the Allies, the Abwehr increasingly found itself on the back foot, a situation accelerated by a stream of defectors. West also describes the roles of the Abwehr and British intelligence in the attempted assassination of H*tler in July 1944, and he ponders the Klatt mystery on the Eastern Front, where we still do not know fully the extent of Soviet disinformation deployed against the Abwehr. With the Allies rampaging across Europe after D-Day, the Abwehr planned on ‘stay behind’ groups to cause havoc in the Allied rear, but the Abwehr was too compromised by Allied intelligence, and the effort came to almost nothing. In the end, West writes, the Abwehr simply evaporated in the dying days of the Reich.
If you judge a book on information and content, then H*tler’s Trojan Horse passes with flying colours. West takes a deep dive into the intelligence war and teases out some fascinating details, particularly on the July Putsch. However, the book is too ‘packed’; the writing suffers from too many interruptions to make room for source material, some of it very lengthy, that could have been incorporated into the flow of the narrative, and extraneous details riddle the text, gumming up the works. One effect of that is the reader loses the hierarchy of importance because everything seems equally important. Nevertheless, for students of the intelligence war, they are likely to enjoy substance over style and should enjoy this.
by RNS | Jul 18, 2023 | Beating Tsundoku
Robert Lyman, The Reconquest of Burma 1944-45 (Osprey, 2023)
Until 1944, the war in Burma had not gone well for the Allies attempting to fend off the Japanese invasion and protect India. The Allies finally held their ground then turned the tide in a relentless attack that drove the Japanese back to Rangoon and beyond. In this book in Osprey’s Campaign series, Robert Lyman narrates that story.
Lyman begins with the origins of the campaign 1944, which lay in the opportunity created by the Japanese failure to seize India. The British had struggled until then to reconquer Burma for logistical and strategic reasons, but victories at Imphal and Kohima opened the door. Despite misgivings from his command, Lieutenant-General Bill Slim was determined to push the retreating Japanese to their destruction. Slim’s perseverance is at the heart of Lyman’s story.
As in all Osprey’s Campaign series, consideration of the opposing commanders, forces, including orders of battle, and battle plans precedes the action. That began with Operation Capital, Slim’s initial assault across the Chindwin river. This was carried out in the face of severe opposition by the Japanese and the unforgiving Burmese environment. Then Slim crossed the Irrawaddy in a bold manoeuvre to drive the Japanese back again. Air power and transport proved decisive in allowing this to happen. Nevertheless, the fighting around Meiktila proved particularly intense, but the Commonwealth forces prevailed, unlocking the Japanese hold over the Irrawaddy. Mandalay fell soon afterwards. Meanwhile, Commonwealth forces gained ground in the coastal region of Arakan, resisting fierce but wasteful Japanese counter-attacks at every advance. Then began the race for Rangoon, which had to be completed before the May monsoon arrived and was conducted mainly by Indian army divisions. Lyman takes time out of his narrative here to praise the irregular Burmese forces and the SOE for their roles in the advance. Rangoon fell under the pressure of Slim’s advance and an amphibious operation, Dracula, just as the first storms hit. A Japanese attempt to break out over the Sittang river met with a hail of destruction. Over 180,000 Japanese troops died in the campaign to Slim’s 14,000 – Lyman has little sympathy. A quick guide to visiting the battlefields today follows. That sounds just about as difficult as the campaign itself, though without the worry over Japanese bullets and shells.
Lyman has written an enjoyable introductory narrative of a startlingly successful Allied campaign. It was also a complicated affair, and Lyman does well to single out Slim’s singular leadership in addition to the role that Commonwealth and local forces played in his victory. Lyman’s text is ably supported by Osprey’s usual high quality colour plates, and the selection of photographs was also well chosen. As a military history student or wargamer, you can enjoy this book as a survey, or use it as preparation for Lyman’s more detailed book on Burma, A War of Empires (Osprey, 2021).
by RNS | Jul 13, 2023 | Beating Tsundoku
Jeremy Black, The Geographies of War (Pen & Sword, 2022)
‘War occurs as a spatial process’, argues Jeremy Black, despite modern efforts to make it seem otherwise. Geography and military history are intertwined, and in this illuminating analysis of warfare at all levels and in many different environments, Black sets out to demonstrate how that linkage works and why it is so important.
The Geographies of War breaks down into two broad sections, conceptual and practical, and within those he divides geography into physical and human aspects. He begins at ground level, discussing tactics, then scales up into operations and strategy; a mountain under tactical consideration becomes a range of mountains for operations; weather becomes climate. Black notes that operations and strategy overlap and introduces wider concepts; for example, force-space ratios. Broadening his horizons one step further, Black considers geopolitics, including not just physical geography but cultural issues such as religion and the east-west divide. Changes in technology have affected how geography is used in war, including aspects beyond weaponry such as trains and printing. The latter leads into how commanders use geography in what Black terms the ‘militarisation of information’, particularly the need for accurate mapping and its attendant problems, which constitutes the last conceptual chapter before Black’s historical case studies.
The underlying theme of the second half of The Geographies of War is how geographical considerations ebb and flow with the expansion of war. Black begins in North America with the American Revolution and Civil War with an emphasis on mapmaking that threads its way through modern warfare. Black views the imperial era as the ‘the determination of imperialism to control geography’, though he fits that to all military empires from Rome to China to Britain. The First World War, Black argues, forged an unprecedented role for geography at all levels as warfare expanded, new technologies were introduced, and war became global. He notes in particular the introduction of aircraft. The Second World War continued the trend with mechanised warfare fought across much of the world on land, sea, and air with the attendant difficulties in managing resources and accurate mapping. The Cold War was ‘understood and presented in geopolitical terms’ and physical technology such as nuclear weapons and satellites appeared to abrogate geography. But this was not the case, argues Black; strategic elements of containment and influence, nuclear bases, controlling insurgencies etc., emphasized the importance of human geography. Finally, Black speculates on the direction of future wars with a warning regarding the folly of assuming geography is less important than in previous eras.
The Geographies of War is a thought-provoking reminder of the complexities involved in understanding military history. Black backs his marriage of geography and history with numerous examples drawn from across the globe, though maybe with too much western emphasis. Moreover, his range of topics and themes are comprehensive – anyone following the current war in Ukraine will recognize many of Black’s arguments. Some might find Black’s academic language challenging in parts, but that should not be a deterrent to reading a thoroughly enjoyable and enlightening book.
by RNS | Jul 7, 2023 | Beating Tsundoku
Jenn Scott, The Men of Warre (Helion, 2023)
That Scottish history is full of wars and warfare should come as no surprise. However, the popular image of wild Scotsmen charging around in kilts while wielding claymores is well wide of the mark, as Jenn Scott demonstrates in this book that surveys Scottish fighting men in the transitional era between the medieval and early modern worlds.
Scott sketches the colourful, warlike nature of the Scots, who when not fighting the English fought among themselves. There was, therefore, enough fighting to discern developments in both weapons, clothing, and accoutrements. Scott begins her survey of those with the evolution of Scottish artillery, including the massive named guns such as Mons Meg, which was serviced by a considerable force of men wearing various livery. The rank and file soldiers fought on foot with spears, axes, and swords, however, accompanied by archers, many of whom, perhaps surprisingly, were west coast highlanders not normally associated with bows in the modern public mind. As you might expect from medieval armies, armour wearing was mostly limited to the wealthy elites, which Scott describes before delving into the clothing and light armour worn by the rest of the men, some of whom also carried small shields.
A short and curious chapter on naval warfare interrupts the general flow of Scott’s survey, but this again is something not usually considered when it comes to Scottish warfare –placement here is more of an issue than the value. Then Scott moves onto the most famous, or infamous, battle of the period, the disaster at Flodden in 1513, and its aftermath. She describes in detail the arms, clothing, and banners of the Scots army, portraying them as more martial than the result suggests. Scott switches her attention to the Borders and its family based retinue warfare. She notes that the reliance on wee, hardy horses from this region proved useful for the main Scots armies, but also that the Borderers fought amongst themselves using unconventional methods for the time. The increasing use of firearms in the 16th Century brings us more into the early modern period, though the Scots seemed to be behind the European curve in deploying those along with adopting heavy cavalry. Scott concludes her survey in the highlands, where amongst other things, she discusses the introduction of bagpipes and tartan. She adds a very useful glossary and bibliography to round things off.
The Men of Warre is a fascinating survey of the Scottish military during this period of transition. Scott depicts a dynamic military, willing to change and adapt to the changing needs of warfare but also describes the restrictions in doing so. Scott writes with authority and is clearly an expert on her subject, though she skips around inside her chapters, which also could have been better packaged more neatly for her readers. Nevertheless, I suspect Scott’s book will be the go-to opening for any student of this period in Scottish military history.
by RNS | Jul 2, 2023 | Beating Tsundoku
William E. Hiestand, Allied Tanks at El Alamein 1942 (Osprey, 2023)
The desert war in WWII turned at a place called El Alamein in late 1942. Pivotal to that battle were the tanks of the Allied 8th Army. In this short but illuminating book, William Hiestand surveys those vehicles that won through despite some major technical and operational problems.
Hiestand opens with the evolution of British armoured warfare doctrine that came unstuck when Erwin Rommel and his Afrika Korps arrived in the desert. The British were blighted at almost all levels, and it was only when Montgomery arrived in August 1942 that effective reforms took place to make the Allies more operationally coherent and cohesive. By October, the British were ready to attack. Hiestand gives the order of battle and works his way through the technical aspects and modifications of the various British tanks. With that set up, Hiestand narrates the campaign that devastated Rommel’s Panzerarmee, though many of the Allied problems remained and would not be fixed until Normandy.
Even by Osprey standards, this is a slim volume at 46 pages of text, but it is informative, and the photographs and colour plates are of the usual high Osprey standard. Hiestand’s book on Allied tanks will provide a useful supplement to more in-depth works on this pivotal battle and pique the interest of wargamers and modellers.
