What is everyone reading on WW2?

[Hans1906]

A few days ago I received the german book "Generation Hitlerjugend - Reflexionen über eine Verführung"
(E: "Generation Hitler Youth - Reflections on a Seduction")

The author Herr Hilmar Hoffmann passed away in June 2018, at the age of 92 years.

Hilmar Hoffmann (E) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hilmar_Hoffmann

Axel Dielmann Verlag / Frankfurt http://www.dielmann-verlag.de/de/conten ... ste.html#x
(Also av. in english language)

In his last book, an outstanding memoir, highly recommended, but unfortunately published only in german language.


Hans1906

Source for attached photo: Dielmann Verlag.

[Rostick]

Currently on "By Chance Alone: A Remarkable True Story of Courage and Survival at Auschwitz" by Max Eisen. Almost finished it and it's pretty good, I'll probably give it a 7 or 8 out of 10.

Auschwitz: A Doctor's Eyewitness Account (Miklos Nyiszli) is probably next. I hear it's amazing.

[Sheldrake]

Lizzie Collingham - The Taste for War

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Taste-War-Worl ... 0143123017

Should be compulsory reading before posting...

[UHF51]

Hello to all of you,

I'm reading Roderick Bailey's: „The wildest province. SOE in the land of the eagle”, Vintage Books, London 2009.

https://www.amazon.com/-/de/dp/18459507 ... 466&sr=8-1

I came across the topic of SOE in Albania while I had worked with the British National Archive file KV-2-752 of Fred Hermann Brandt. Brandt was a Baltic-German former butterfly researcher and Brandenburger whose assignment on behalf of Abwehr II was to foment trouble in the Afghan-Indian border region, later on he was deployed to Albania where he led a troop of Tajiks (remenants of the Caucasus-based Operation Schamyl or Sonderkommando Lange named after Hauptmann Erhard Lange) against the Albanian communist partisans under Enver Hoxha.

Fred Brandt had three peaceful meetings with his British counterparts of SOE under the command of Wing-Commander Tony Neel before he defected to the SOE and was transfered to Bari/ Italy.

The book shows in detail the difficile ethnic and political division in Albania and how difficult the situation for the different SOE-teams was reagarding bad weather, rough terrain and a lot of inter-resistance rivalries.

The author mentioned also that SOE's operation had helped to some extent to bring Enver Hoxhas communists to power and if that was possibly fueled by communist sympathizers within the British intelligence community.

I also learned from this book that the actor Anthony Quayle had participated as a Major in SOE's Albanian campaign.
All in all, it is a very good and informative book which offers good background information about the political environment in which SOE's operations had taken place and shows in a well written style the sometimes funny situations which SOE's members had to deal with. I like the book!

For this topic see also: https://soetrails.wordpress.com/tag/neel/


Best regards

Robert

Nur zur Ergänzung:
BRANDT Fred, Gefr., ab 3/43 III./804 (Abt. v. Koenen), zuvor Restkdo. 802 (*13.4.09).
BRANDT Fred-H., Ogefr., Dolmetscher, Sdr.-Kdo. "B" [Bajadere] in Meseritz (*13.4.09), 3/43 III./804 (Abt. v. Koenen).

LANGE Erhard, Oblt., 4. Rgt. Brandenburg (führte das Unternehmen Schamyl durch).

Quelle: Meine Ausarbeitung bzgl. "Brandenburger"!
__________
MfG Uwe

[Ginagchoc]

I would like to read
"between all stools. The history of the Italian military internees 1943-1945"

Anyone read this? Anyone know where to get a copy of this?
Thanks

[Hans1906]

I received a good (used) copy of this book a few days ago, the price was reasonable.
The book has been on my personal wish list for a some years.

Jim Pool
Rations of the German Wehrmacht in World War II
Verlag: Schiffer Publishing Ltd, 2010

Link: https://www.abebooks.de/9780764335204/R ... 335200/plp

Very recommended!


Hans1906

[Carl Schwamberger]

Picked up used copy of 'Turn of the Tide'. Its a analysis/commentary on selected items from Brookes diary & memos 1939-1943. This material has been heavily quoted, so its looking familiar. So far I've not seen a lot of direct inclusion of other source material to reflect off Brookes writings. The author makes some statements, but has not quotes or presented much in the sections I've read.

[JeroenPollentier]

I finally finished William Manchester's "American Caesar: Douglas MacArthur 1880-1964".
It's very long and a bit tedious at times.

I found the WW2 years in the Pacific rather disappointing. The war and the fighting are really in the background, you only read about what MacArthur himself did. But this is perhaps logical, since it's a biography and not a history of WW2. I was looking forward to MacArthur's thoughts and feelings about the atom bombs and the end of the war.But this was mentioned almost as an afterthought. Manchester almost seemed to write:

"Oh yeah, by the way, the US won at Okinawa and Iwo Jima and then they dropped two atom bombs on Japan and then Japan surrendered."

The irony is that I read this book to learn more about WW2 in the Pacific, but this was the weakest part of the book. I felt that Manchester threw too much information at the reader, to the detriment of pace and suspense.

But everything before and after WW2, especially the Korean War, was very interesting, though. I'm glad that I read the book, though I'm not sure whether I will ever read it again in its entirety.

[Ivan1987]

I'm currently reading When Titans Clashed: How the Red Army Stopped Hitler by David M. Glantz and Jonathan M. House. Superb piece of work. Goes into great detail of all the units, operations and overall situation during the various stages of the war in the East.

[trespasser07]

Capitulation 1945 by Marlis Steinert - Excellent

[Cult Icon]

Finished ""Seven Days in January: With the 6th SS-Mountain Division in Operation NORDWIND".

A very good history, well organized and filled with details & personal accounts. IMHO one of the best on the Battle of the Bulge and its relations.

Composed of these parts:

1. Unit history of 6.SS "Nord"
2. Operational history of Op NORDWIND and US countermeasures against it
3. 7 days of coverage, including the Battle of Wingen-sur-Moder from both the American, German, and civilian perspectives. In particular the German account also includes the memoir recollections of the SS officer Zoepf (the author).
4. An open attempt to demonstrate the honor of the 6 SS division (and differ it from the atrocities committed by other SS units) with accounts from American veterans. This is largely pertaining to the humane treatment of American & German prisoners and wounded by both sides. During the battle the Aid station was jointly operated using American and German medical personnel.

Apparently, due to this.. post-war this division's veterans group was on good terms with the American ones, including their former enemies, 70th Infantry division.

Overall, the situation described in the book would make a good film or mini-series (scratches all the beats) but that will never happen.

[sailorsam]

'Silent Victory'
US submarines
stumbled early, dominated later
well written imho. enough detail to be interesting but not boring.

[Jan-Hendrik]

Hans Werner Hoffmann "Sie wussten nicht, wo hin es geht"- Eine Jugend in Rheine 1927 bis 1945

Edited by Peter Heckhuis ( still avaiable as PDF on his website)

The book contains the unedited Diary of Hptm. Hoffmann who entered Service before ww2 begun at IR 79.
Which became later IR(mot.) and PzGrenRegt. 79. He stayed nearly the whole war in this unit, was wounded three times. 458 pages with many personal pictures.

Jan-Hendrik

[LineDoggie]

''Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors" James Hornfischer
Taffy 3 Escorts and Light Carriers versus the heavy units of the Imperial Japanese Navy off Samar

"The Tank Killers" Harry Yeide
History of WW2 US Tank Destroyer units

"Can Openers" Nicholas Moran
US Tank Destroyers development from jeep mounted 37mm to the M36 Jackson

[Tamari]

Hi,

the book which I read in the last days is not exclusively about WW2. It is from Peter Joachim Lapp "General bei Hitler und Ulbricht - Vizenz Müller". It deals with Müller's childhood and social background from Bavaria and hard way to become a soldier. His time as a subaltern Engineer officer (Mineur) and his service at the Gallipoli front is presented with a lot of details.

Also his service with the Reichswehr and his good relationship to Reichs chancellor Kurt Schleicher is covered to large extent as Müller's long and successful period as chief of staff of the 17th Army which was always treated as a stepchild by its superiors in the OKH and the specific Army Groups.

A large part of the book deals with Müller's interesting role in the formation of the GDR's armed forces and the German re-unification efforts of the 1950-ties.

All in all it is a good read.

Best regards
Robert