Das Buch!

Book Reviews

by Mark Hannam

Whilst the economists bleat about the woes of a strong pound, I`ve put it to good use on my credit card to order these books from the United States. Most were purchased via the internet bookstore AMAZON.COM who offered up to 40% discount on each book. The dirt cheap world surface mail rates meant that I was still getting them cheaper by around 20% than buying from a UK outlet !!

CITIZEN SOLDIERS: The US Army from the Normandy Beaches to the . . . Surrender of Germany, by Stephen E. Ambrose (H/bk, 508 pages, ISBN 0-684-81525-7; $19.25 from Amazon.Com). Stephen Ambrose has written a fine narrative history of the US Army and it`s campaigns through France, Holland and Germany from 1944 through 1945. The book provides plenty of insights into the character of the US Army, it`s operations, tactics, generals and even the GI`s themselves. Over the past two weeks I have found myself dipping into the pages again and again. However, in my mind, Ambrose would have been better to create a marriage between stastistical and anecdotal data such as John Ellis` classic The Sharp End of War. Overall, I`m left feeling like a guest at a wedding reception after the bride failed to show up.

CLOSING WITH THE ENEMY: How the GI`s Fought The War in Europe, 1944-1945 Michael D. Doubler (p/bk, 354 pages, ISBN 0-7006-0744-7). This is one of those "Must Have" books. If Citizen Soldiers provides the flavour, then Closing With the Enemy is the meat and potatoes. Doubleday bisects the US Army`s tactical doctrines and it`s performance in combat to lay bare on the tabletop an almost scientific study of US battle tactics in the European Theatre of Operations. It`s ten chapters include Busting the Bocage ; Battles against Building and Cobblstones ; Struggles against Steel and Concrete ; Hell and High Water ; Confusion and Slaughter among the Firs.

The book shows how the US Army adapted it`s tactics and learnt it`s trade very much on-the-job. Nor does Doubleday forget that tactics are carried out by flesh and blood human beings. There`s also an excellent chapter on the American Soldier, which examines his background, outlook, training and his ability to withstand fire and steel. If you are a World War Two wargamer and you don`t have this book on your shelf, then you are just playing with toy soldiers, mate.

BREAKOUT & PURSUIT by Martin Blumenson (H/bk, 748 pages, 12 colour fold out maps, CMH Pub 7-5, $45 from US Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402). Breakout & Pursuit is the official US Army history of events in northern France from July - September 1944. Blumenson picks up the story of US operations in Normandy from the final assaults on St.Lo and takes us through the 'Cobra' breakout, Patton`s drive on Brest, the Mortain counter-attack, the Falaise Pocket ; and then on across the Seine to the liberation of Paris and drive towards the Siegfried Line.

At each stage Blumenson looks at the political, strategic and tactical considerations which influenced these operations. But, even at 750 pages, the scope of a book dealing with the US Army`s breakout from means that it is not as detailed as the earlier volumes in the series - OMAHA BEACHEAD, FROM UTAH BEACH TO CHERBOURG and ST.LO. However, it is a very important addition to the library of anyone wargaming or researching the campaign in France. Whilst within the narrative are dozens of battle vignettes from which wargame scenarios can be created.

UTMOST SAVAGERY: The Three Days of Tarawa by Col. Joseph Alexander, USMC (Ret.) (326 pages, p/bk, ISBN 0-8041-1559-1). Whilst small in format, this book is huge in scope. Tarawa Atoll was "the most heavily defended place on earth" in 1943, and took such a heavy toll of the US Marine assault waves that Marine recruitment dropped by 30% once the details became known Stateside.

Col. Alexander has done a terrific job in describing the planning and organisation leading up to the three day trial by fire which faced the US Marines and Japanese defenders on Betio island. All I will say, is that I can assure you that the battle will erupt around you as you turn the pages of this book from the comfort of your armchair. Exciting, informative and immensely wargameable, if you`re interested in the Pacific Theatre at all - BUY THIS BOOK ! In the next issue we`ll be looking at three books on the Wehrmacht in World War Two as well as several books on US special forces in Vietnam, and of course anything else I happen to read between now and then.

The Thin Red Line..... is a forthcoming movie based upon James Jones` excellent novel of the same name which details the lives of several soldiers on the Pacific island of Guadalcanal during WWII. The cast includes Nick Nolte, Sean Penn, John Cusack, George Clooney and Bill Pullman, amongst others. 

The film was shot in Northern Queensland to a budget of $65 millions. Terence Malik`s film spans from just after the invasion of Guadalcanal to the end of fighting for those soldiers on the ground. Expected release is December 1998. . . . BANZAI !

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© Copyright 1998 by Craig Martelle Publications
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