Military Professional Reading discussion

'Aussie Rick' wrote: "Along with Happy in this group I've just started reading the book Conquest by Juliet Barker which so far has been pretty good.

I look forward to hearing what the two of you think of it. It's on my shelf. I'm currently reading another of her books,

Hi Mike, I really enjoyed Conquest, it was a great account of the later stages of the Hundred Years War. Agincourt was a pretty decent book as well if I recall. How are you finding it, a good read?

'Aussie Rick' wrote: "Hi Mike, I really enjoyed Conquest, it was a great account of the later stages of the Hundred Years War. Agincourt was a pretty decent book as well if I recall. How are you finding it, a good read?"

So far it's pretty good, prior to this almost everything I knew about Agincourt I learned from Will Shakespeare and Bernard Cornwell.

Glad to hear you are enjoying the book, I'm pretty sure you won't be disappointed and the second book; Conquest I think is even better than her first book; Agincourt!

'Aussie Rick' wrote: "Glad to hear you are enjoying the book, I'm pretty sure you won't be disappointed and the second book; Conquest I think is even better than her first book; Agincourt!"

Agreed!

Thanks, I'm looking forward to reading Conquest. Now to find the time.

Yep, the age old problem with most of us :)

Mike wrote: "'Aussie Rick' wrote: "Hi Mike, I really enjoyed Conquest, it was a great account of the later stages of the Hundred Years War. Agincourt was a pretty decent book as well if I recall. How are you fi..."

It's quite funny you mentioned Bernard Cornwell's book, Azincourt. That is how I learned a great deal about the battle myself and was what got me so fascinated with the Hundred Years War. I most certainly cannot wait to read Conquest.

It's been pretty quiet over here in the group. I am about half way through a book that I first read in the late 1980's. I'm re-reading the book; Swords Around a Throne: Napoleon's Grande Armée as part of a buddy read in the Napoleonic group. This book is considered a classic in Napoleonic literature and was written by an American Army Officer (Colonel John R. Elting, Ret.).

Here is an account from the chapter; Allies and Auxiliaries, covering the Italians under Eugene in Russia in 1812. I found it thrilling and presented a great image in my mind as I read it:

"Probably the greatest deed of valor was that of the Royal Guard at the crossing of the Vop River in November. All the bridges were destroyed; the river was frozen, but its ice was too thin to support a man's weight. Cossacks held the west bank while others warmed around Eugene's flanks and read. Locating a ford, the Royal Guard marched into the river as if on parade, breaking the ice with their chests and coming up out of the water to send the Cossacks fleeing."

by John R. Elting

Amongst other things, I'm about half-way through Chris Kyle's "American Gun: A History of the U.S. in Ten Firearms." I'm not really sure who this book is targeted at, anyone who knows anything about American history or guns pretty much knows what's here. I was hoping for "A History of the World in Six Glasses" but didn't get it. Maybe the second half will pick up.

by Chris Kyle

Hi Mike, I would be interested in your final views on this book, I have been thinking about getting a copy but haven't committed yet.

In my current book; Swords Around A Throne, the author has been discussing Napoleonic weapons and ammunition, nothing new I suppose but still quite good. I am sure a few members will enjoy this:

" .... The most accurate round your men would fire during a battle probably would be the first one, which they had loaded carefully before the action began. Subsequent rounds, loaded hurriedly by jostling soldiers, seldom carried so true. Therefore there was a tendency to hold your first fire until the enemy was within easy range, where every shot would count. Moving up in step to the thudding drums against a waiting line of levelled muskets was rugged service. Out of one such advance in some forgotten battle long ago, a dry Scots voice still echoes: 'For what we are about to receive, Lord make us truly thankful'."

by John R. Elting

I've just started reading this book on the 1942 battle for Cholm on the Russian Front:



by Jason D. Mark

I am currently reading Rick Atkinson's final volume of his Liberation Trilogy

The Guns at Last Light: The War in Western Europe, 1944-1945

I enjoyed this account taken from the chapter; Strategy and Tactics in the book Swords Around A Throne. It's in regards to an incident during a siege in Spain:

"Late in the evening during one of Wellington's sieges of Badajoz, French sentries made out an English engineer laying tape to mark the line of a new trench to be dug that night. One of them slipped out after dark and changed its direction so that it let directly into the muzzles of a French battery."

by John R. Elting

Putting aside other reading to do a Gettysburg book on the 150th anniversary of the battle. Decided to read:

Enjoy the book Mike, I am sure you will find it an engaging account.

Mike wrote: "Putting aside other reading to do a Gettysburg book on the 150th anniversary of the battle. Decided to read:

"

Enjoy the book Mike - It goes on the TBR list (That thing never seems to get any shorter :))

When my brothers and I were at Gettysburg 10yrs or so ago, we did a NPS led terrian walk of the Culps Hill battle on the morning of the 3rd. Started at the Confederate jumping off point and ended up on the extreme right of the Union line. How the Confederates got 10K people through those woods in the dark with good enough unit cohesion to acutally make an assult is amazing - lots of discipline I guess.

If you go to Gettysburg I highly recommend the terrian walks - the are several offered by the NPS, and for the most part the Rangers know what they are talking about. The guide we had, had been leading that particular walk every summer for 11 yrs.

Happy, You will probably really enjoy this very detailed account, having walked the terrain. I find myself looking at the maps constantly and wishing for a 3D terrain model. I have a big project in Indiana later in the year and I am considering a side trip to Gettysburg.

GO!

That would be great to walk the battlefield Mike, very envious!

OK, I'm finally starting The Guns at Last Light, it should be an excellent read.

Having a BR with AR on . Excellent storytelling so far.

It is a good read so far, eh Mike!

IF ya'll don't mind I'll join you in reading If by Sea as soon as it comes in at the library

No problem's Happy, glad to have you aboard :)

I just finished , which I highly recommend- it was far better even than I expected it to be. Aside from that, I'm still reading and . I haven't decided yet what to tackle next, although and look like the top contenders...

Looks like some excellent books there Liam, I'd be interested in your final thoughts if you decide to read Tell Me How This Ends.

by Linda Robinson

Just finished The Hundred Day Winter War and have picked up Dennis Showalter's latest book on Frederick the Great.

by Gordon F. Sander

by Dennis Showalter

Dennis Showalter has been setting the background for the period of Frederick the Great and I found this statement from his book quite interesting:

"At the same time the flintlock was a system whose optimal use demanded levels of training, discipline, and commitment that created what amounted to a professional outlook. Man and weapon must be able to function as a single entity, in the context of a battlefield experience increasingly remote from even the most violent sectors of civil society. And that was only the initial step. The musketeer could not become so absorbed in the process of loading and firing that he became unresponsive to orders. The eighteenth-century soldier, far from being the automaton of so many later legends, had to combine mechanical skill and mental alertness in ways more familiar to the contemporary tanker or infantryman than to the uniformed civilians of the two world wars."

by Dennis Showalter

The author goes on to state that many misconceptions or fallacies have developed over the years in regards to Prussian brutality towards soldiers, he states:

"Intellectually, an increasing number of Prussian officers were influenced by Enlightenment concepts of the dignity and rationality of all men. On a more practical level, even the rawest and most arrogant of subalterns was unlikely to rejoice at the prospect of marching into battle in front of a hundred loaded muskets carried by men who hated him." - Fair point eh!

This one just came in for me from the library - I'll get to it sometime next month. It's sitting on the night stand right now (unfortunately I've got 9 books ahead of it - all from the library, some may have to go back unread :()

The Savage Wars Of Peace: Small Wars And The Rise Of American Power by Max Boot

I'm reading a classic from the Ancients; The Persian Expedition.


by Xenophon
(hardback edition)

Just started the final volume in Rolf Hinze's trilogy covering the Germany Army on the Southern Front in Russia:

by Rolf Hinze

Looks good Rick.

It's not been too bad so far Geevee.

Just started the first of a projected four volume set covering Napoleon and Europe:


by Frederick W. Kagan

Reading . Excellent!

Currently reading The Gallic War by Julius Caesar. So far so good. Recently finished Napoleon: A Life. It was marginal.

Hi Michael "The Gallic War" by Julius Caesar is a great story as is his account of the Civil War.


and by Julius Caesar

Who was the author for the book on Napoleon?

Paul Johnson. It was a bash on Napoleon. Several statements how Napoleon bred Hitler, Beria, Goebbels, and even Stalin. Got ridiculous after a while as he was very repetitive on this. Author appeared to be a Wellingtonphile.

I'll take that book off my list of books to read on Napoleon then!

Just starting

Just starting . How is this not a movie? Very engaging.

I'm glad your enjoying the book Mike, it's a great story eh!

I'm just enjoying a bottle of cold Bitburger premium beer in my cabin while listening to the Three Tenors and reading my book, God life is hard :)

'Aussie Rick' wrote: "I'm glad your enjoying the book Mike, it's a great story eh!

I'm just enjoying a bottle of cold Bitburger premium beer in my cabin while listening to the Three Tenors and reading my book, God lif..."

Well somebody's got to do it :)

Just reading about the battle of Durnstein in my current book that occurred after Ulm in November 1805. Only a few days ago I was lucky enough to walk through this little town and climb the Schlossberg where stands the remains of a medieval castle, Schlossberg Durnstein. For those who would like to read more about this interesting Napoleonic battle, below is a link to a very detailed article:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_o...

by Frederick W. Kagan

I've heard good things about that book Jerome, keep us all posted.

I am currently reading and ; I also just started . I had nearly forgotten what an insufferably pompous & arrogant bastard "Slam" Marshall was...

Nice Liam :)