by RNS | Mar 11, 2024 | Beating Tsundoku
Harold A. Munnings, A Hard Lesson Wasted (Munnings, 2024)
On 16 September 1852, a sudden and violent illness overtook Ann Hall, a 60 year old white woman of New Providence in the Bahamas. She died the following morning. This was a moment the islands had feared; cholera had arrived to scythe through the unprepared Bahamians in what would prove to be the second largest natural disaster in their history. In this poignant book, Harold A. Munnings tells a ‘cautionary tale’ of confusion, neglect, bravery, and bungling that resonates still in a place many consider a paradise.
Munnings begins by introducing readers to the people and places that would figure so significantly in the cholera outbreak, revealing the fault lines in Bahamian society as he goes along. The unpreparedness of the Bahamas becomes clear when Munnings surveys the advance of cholera in the Caribbean, noting that by 1851 nearby Jamaica staggered under a severe outbreak. It was, therefore, only a matter of time and misfortune before it arrived on Bahamian shores. Munnings narrates how it did so with a vengeance, spreading illness, death, and terror across the islands. Public health, to the extent they had any, failed Bahamians, as did public prayers; efforts at treatment were, in Munnings’ words, ‘a form of benevolent homicide’. The government also fretted about the economic costs. Within six weeks, hundreds had fallen to the disease, so many that the government stopped publishing the numbers! Fear of famine and the breakdown of law and order soon stalked the Bahamas.
Enter Hector Gavin, an outspoken and belligerent doctor with a plan to fight back. He established a programme of house visits and allocated doctors, admittedly of varying professional standards, across different districts. They tackled the outbreak with mixed results, and the facilities some of them set up were, in Munning’s view, best avoided. But, by December 1852, the outbreak had waned. Munnings surveys the other islands in the colony, discovering much the same story with some wrinkles. He lingers on the case of Eleuthera, which required military intervention to establish control over the terrified inhabitants. Munnings also relates the tragic tale of immigrants on board the Ovando and their miserable fate.
Some normality returned to the Bahamas by January 1853, but cholera lingered. Unfortunately, government penny-pinching returned too. Moreover, Gavin was fired for complaining, prompting a scathing rebuke from him against the governor. Munnings closes with the, perhaps obvious, connection to the recent Covid outbreak and finds the cholera outbreak was over twenty times worse for fatalities. Most of the victims were black and poor, a situation not helped by a prejudiced administration that was more concerned with money than mortality – the number of annual deaths would not be exceeded until 1995! Munnings observes that very little was said about the cholera epidemic after 1853, when yellow fever outbreaks and the fear of smallpox took over, and he argues that this was deliberate: the government saved face, reinforced their racist notions on victimhood, and saved money. He adds that thousands still die from cholera worldwide and that the Bahamas must protect its water supplies to protect its citizens. Munnings adds sixteen appendices full of pertinent information relating to the outbreak.
A Hard Lesson Wasted is a timely book as the modern world reels from Covid and its aftermath, while some administrations appear to indulge in the same neglect that afflicted the cholera-stricken Bahamas. Munnings writes well, offering cogent analysis, and some barbed comments, alongside a fascinating, and sometimes infuriating, narrative. Thus, Munnings toes the line between academic and public history with considerable deftness. That makes his book an entertaining and valuable read with some important lessons as the world tiptoes into the future not knowing what potential disasters might lie in wait.
by RNS | Mar 2, 2024 | Beating Tsundoku
Norman Ridley, The Role of Intelligence in the Battle of Britain (Pen & Sword, 2021)
Most of us know the broad outlines of the Battle of Britain, and we still marvel at the skills and courage displayed in the skies over Britain during this intense aerial battle. Less well known is the role of intelligence fought in offices and bunkers on both sides of the Channel. Norman Ridley examines that unseen war and uncovers two very different stories that led to victory and defeat.
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Ridley argues that both sides were unprepared for the Battle of Britain when it came to intelligence, and that had a significant impact on how the battle was fought. He begins with the Luftwaffe, which had a number of disunited agencies and little overall interest in improving the situation before the battle started. The sycophantic nature of Nazi politics also prevented the establishment of an effective intelligence system. The Germans did have their successes, however, including breaking some RAF codes, but they did not take full advantage. Herman Göring receives his own chapter to explain why he was the ‘wrong man in the wrong place at the wrong time’. Göring was a vainglorious man, and he never put the work in while ignoring negative intelligence reports and inflating the Luftwaffe’s combat prowess. Ridley argues that Göring’s decision to switch to bombing London, thus losing the campaign on the brink of victory, exemplified his fatal character and professional flaws. Perhaps surprisingly, the Germans were initially ahead in the technical race to develop radar, but this too failed to bring its rewards, and underestimating the RAF’s capabilities proved destructive to the Luftwaffe.
Turning to the RAF, Ridley argues that they had their weaknesses too, along the same lines as the Luftwaffe. But the RAF responded differently. They increased their professionalism, improved communications and interceptions of German intentions, and used intelligence more wisely. Ridley gives much credit to Air Chief Marshal Dowding for his foresight in preparing for war and his introduction of the ‘Dowding System’ for a completely integrated defence with Radar to the fore. Nevertheless, the system creaked under trial by combat. Ridley then steps back to survey the Tizard Committee, set up in the 1930s to develop Britain’s air defences, including a mission to the USA to foster technological cooperation. He then provides a potted history of Enigma, which was not the panacea many have made it out to be, not during the Battle of Britain anyway. Ridley also gives full credit to the Polish codebreakers who pioneered the Enigma breakthrough. He concludes with a few informative curiosities in his appendices on Luftwaffe planes, how the Enigma machine worked, and the work of the influential Giulio Douhet.
If you have never considered the role of intelligence in the Battle of Britain, Ridley’s book will come as a bit of an eye-opener. The Germans, despite their internal problems, came close to breaking British defences, while the British employed foresight, professionalism, and expertise to turn the tide of the battle. Ridley lays that out clearly and methodically, which makes for a fascinating and informative book that readers of World War II and intelligence, in particular, will thoroughly enjoy.
by RNS | Feb 20, 2024 | Beating Tsundoku
Gregory Fremont-Barnes, The Soviet-Afghan War 1979-89 (Osprey, 2024)
It would all be very easy, the planners thought. The Soviet Union would invade, seize the capital, knock over the government, establish a new and stable regime, then spread the benefits of this revolution across the country while the military withdrew back over the borders. The result, however, was a decade-long quagmire and arguably the most consequential war of the late 20th Century. Welcome to the Soviet-Afghan War, and in this Osprey Essential Histories book, Gregory Fremont-Barnes will tell you all about it.
Fremont-Barnes traces the roots of Russia’s involvement in Afghanistan to the 18th Century, but it would be in the 19th Century when Russia’s entanglement accelerated. By the 1970s, Afghanistan, or perhaps more accurately Kabul, was securely in the Soviet sphere of influence, though seismic political unrest across the country resulted in the Soviet Union sending troops over the border. But the Soviet army was not set up to defeat the elusive Mujahideen, argues Fremont-Barnes. He runs through the Soviet problems, their tactics and weapons, and their capabilities but has nothing good to say about the allied Afghan army, though he is sympathetic towards them. The Mujahideen, on the other hand, were highly motivated and held many advantages. Not getting dragged into pitched battles was their primary tactic, relying on ambushes and hit and run raids.
Fremont-Barnes begins his narrative with the 1978 coup and its aftermath that brought the Soviet army into Afghanistan. He describes the resultant fighting as a ‘war without fronts’, an apt description considering the kaleidoscopic nature of the enemy’s strategy. The war was divided into four phases, which Fremont-Barnes narrates in turn: the attempt to create stability; a period of major operations and Soviet attempts to suppress the Mujahideen; an effort to make the Afghan army take the lead in combat operations; and the period of staged Soviet withdrawal. He concludes that the Soviets were unprepared and performed poorly. A trip into the world of the Mujahideen follows, with Fremont-Barnes identifying religion as the only bond between a plethora of diverse peoples. Other cultural unifying factors emerge, which led to the intractable force that opposed the Soviets as with any other historical invader with the temerity to poke their nose into Afghan affairs. In the end, the Soviets had to acknowledge their defeat and get out. The puppet government they left behind faltered then fell not long after the Soviet Union had also collapsed. For the latter, the war was an economic and political disaster. For Afghanistan, the war was an utter catastrophe by any measure.
The remit for an Essential Histories book is to tell the reader what they need to know about a conflict. In that regard, Fremont-Barnes has succeeded admirably even if he slants his work to the Soviet side of events, though I suspect that is an unavoidable problem given the paucity of sources from the Afghan perspective. Fremont-Barnes tells the story well and his conclusions appear merited; his scathing analysis of the Soviet performance is particularly well-judged. With the current wave of Russian imperialism in Ukraine in full swing, the Afghan War may seem like small potatoes now, but it was a crucial factor in the fall of the Soviet Union and the rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan. It is, therefore, well worthy of this treatment, and Fremont-Barnes does it justice.
by RNS | Feb 13, 2024 | Beating Tsundoku
Mark Stille, Philippines Naval Campaign 1944-45 (Osprey, 2024)
A new addition to Osprey’s Campaign series is Mark Stille’s survey of the campaign that came after the massive Battle of Leyte Gulf in October 1944. For those who think that ended the naval campaign, think again because there was much hard fighting to come before the Philippines were secured.
The Campaign series follows a template, beginning with the origins of the campaign. In this case, that is the cataclysmic Battle of Leyte Gulf that shattered the IJN. Casual readers of the Pacific Campaign may not know that this US victory failed to secure the island of Leyte, so the fighting continued. The Japanese spearhead for this new phase was their land-based aircraft that increasingly turned to suicide attacks, the infamous kamikaze, but the US proved relentless in its ambition to retake the Philippines. Stille turns to survey the opposing commanders; the Americans, including Halsey, Nimitz, and MacArthur, being more familiar to western readers. Then we have the opposing forces with the impressive US Third and Seventh Fleets taking on the remnants of the IJN and land-based forces – the orders of battle Stille includes highlights the disparity.
Stille continues his survey with the US plans to liberate the Philippines, which were not universally agreed by the US generals, but the ‘Luzon first’ approach won out. The author notes that the Japanese defence of Leyte was doomed from the start, but that did not stop them trying, which had a knock-on effect on the defence of Luzon. That the Japanese had no chance, according to Stille, colours his narrative of operations that follows, though it is no less fascinating for knowing the outcome as the US naval commanders worked through the problems presented by the resilient Japanese. This was particularly evident in the battles for Ormoc Bay in November 1944 and the bold actions of the Japanese ‘San Jose Intrusion Force’ in December. Stille also notes that fighting the Japanese was not the only problem; the weather could interrupt operations, as the typhoon of December 1944 demonstrated. The action continued into 1945, but the Japanese were running out of resources and time. ‘Halsey’s rampage’ stunning raid against Japanese convoys in the South China Sea in January encapsulates the campaign. Stille concludes by reiterating his view that the Japanese had no chance of succeeding against an overwhelming US force, though American mistakes ensured this campaign would not be a walk in the park.
Although this campaign does not rank highly among the great battles of the Pacific War, Stille does a great job of bringing out the drama of the intense combat fought around the myriad Philippine islands. He also manages to bring some suspense into a foregone conclusion as the kamikazes rained down on the American ships. Stille’s book is therefore engaging and informative. It is also well supported by maps, colour graphics, and some stunning photographs of ships in combat. Anyone interested in the Pacific War or naval and air warfare will enjoy reading this.
by RNS | Feb 4, 2024 | Beating Tsundoku
James F. Slaughter, The ‘Grossdeutschland’ Division in World War II (Osprey, 2024)
Over 18 million men joined the German Army in World War II. Some of them fought in units that became almost legendary in military history; units that saw intense combat or fought against terrible odds and survived. One of those was the Grossdeutschland division that operated mostly on the Eastern Front and blunted many Soviet attacks. In this book in Osprey’s Elite series, James F. Slaughter tells that story.
Slaughter traces the Grossdeutschland division to 1921 as a short-lived ceremonial force. Fast forward eighteen years to the invasion of Poland, and we find the Grossdeutschland not yet involved in combat but preparing to fight. It was ready in March 1940. Slaughter here provides the first of many sit-reps on how the regiment, as it was then, was organised and armed. He then narrates combat operations, beginning in Belgium in May 1940. He incorporates casualty statistics into his overview and biographical information on many of the officers. The first of the division’s war crimes, the massacre of French-African prisoners, does not go unnoticed either. The Grossdeutschland earned its combat reputation in Operation Barbarossa in June 1941. Officially a division before the summer offensive of 1942, and after a period or rest, the Grossdeutschland took the field from June to October, suffering heavy casualties in the process. The following year found the division still on the Eastern Front, where in a period of refit, it was restyled as a panzergrenadier division. That meant a considerable improvement in equipment and armour support.
The upgraded division took part in the massive Battle of Kursk and all that entailed, which drained the division’s combat effectiveness. Slaughter notes that this battle was the division’s high tide as they fell back against the Soviet onslaught. That continued in 1944 with the Grossdeutschland withdrawing to cover Rumania, striking the Soviets with counter-attacks along the way. In July, the division moved to Lithuania, while other elements moved west and took part in the Battle of the Bulge. Also in December, the division became a Panzerkorps, which it would remain until the end of the war. The scattering of the division across numerous fronts gained pace in 1945 as the Reich collapsed, though most of the division remained in the east. Slaughter concludes that while the Grossdeutschland had ‘dirty hands’, its reputation as an effective combat organisation outlived its physical existence.
It is not clear from this book that the Grossdeutschland deserves a place in the pantheon of elite units, but it was certainly a German mainstay in the thickest actions, particularly on the Eastern Front. Slaughter writes well, never letting technical information bog down his narrative. Along the way, he highlights the stories of some of the courageous soldiers who earned their medals, though quite a few did so posthumously. Slaughter’s text is accompanied throughout by excellent photographs and colour illustrations. Students of the German army and general military history readers will enjoy this book.
by RNS | Feb 1, 2024 | Beating Tsundoku
Ralph Riccio, Mario Pieri, Daniele Gugliemi, Italian Soft Skinned Vehicles of the Second World War Volumes 1 and 2 (Helion, 2023)
A major part of any modern land-based fighting force is transport, which often does not have the same protection as your main battle tanks or armoured cars. These two volumes are concerned with those soft skinned vehicles that the Italian Army had access to leading up to, and during, World War Two. They are extensive surveys, covering everything from motorcycles to heavy trucks, and include the variants that each may have had. Volume 1 covers Motorcycles, Motorcars, and Light Trucks, while Volume 2 details Medium and Heavy Trucks, Artillery Tractors, Special Purpose Vehicles, and Trailers.
These are encyclopaedia style books where each vehicle gets its own entry with accompanying photograph/s and technical specifications. You are also provided with developmental and service history in addition to a technical description and list of known variants. The authors have very obviously committed to extensive research to provide this run through of the lesser lights of Italian Transport, and there are surface details for all the non-armoured vehicles that the Italians used in World War Two.
Given the level of research, there seems to be details that could have been added to improve the reader’s understanding of what was used where and by who. That is a minor gripe, however, with the wealth of information the authors have provided. What it is really screaming out for is an index of the vehicles so that you can find the one you want easily. An indicator on some of the photographs of when it was taken would also be useful for those of us who need to know when something was used.
Those quibbles aside, these are two excellent reference volumes for anyone interested in vehicles used in World War Two by the Italian Army. Knowing exact capabilities of machines also allows the rules writers among us to more accurately model capabilities in our games. Outside of that, the photographs are often very interesting, such as the Lancia 3Ro towing an M13 tank on a trailer, which gives you a true grasp of just how big the trucks could be (clue: they are massive). Here’s hoping the authors are working on the armoured vehicles of the Italian Army for a future book or two.
Reviewed by Dom Sore
