 |
| The titles listed
here are consider top shelf works, worthy of reading by anyone
interested in miliary affairs, professional or private. They already are –
or promise to become – classics of military literature. |
|
Warfighting : The U.S. Marine Corps Book of Strategy,
by the US Marine Corps Staff.
Makers of Modern Strategy, by Peter Paret (editor) and
Princeton University Press. Required reading for anyone who wishes to attain a
clear overview of the general trends of political/military affairs since the
Renaissance. Makers of Modern Strategy is a composite work of over a dozen
authors combined into one large volume.
Defence of Duffer's Drift (out of print but worth
finding), by Ernest D. Swinton. A classic tactical combat primer for
students of military science. Since its publication in 1907, this book has been
used to train officers in most American and European armies. During the course
of World War One the Germans thought so highly of it that they added their own
chapter entitled A Midsummer Night's Dream!
Stormtroop Tactics : Innovation in the German Army 1914 -
1918, by Bruce Gudmundsson. An excellent presentation of the changes which
occurred in the German Army of the First World War. Gudmundsson's book
thoroughly tracks the progress of the various military factions which led to
the development of assault and small unit tactics.
The Rommel Papers, by Erwin Rommel, B. H. Liddell Hart
(editor). A compilation of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel's field notes written
throughout World War Two and carefully compiled after his death. An outstanding
insider's perspective of modern operational warfare, as viewed by one of the
masters of combined arms combat.
Tarawa: The Story of a Battle, by Robert Sherrod.
Sherrod's now famous account of the Tarawa landings, is seen from the view of a
war journalist who waded on shore immediately on the heels of the first three
assault waves. His eyewitness account of all but the very first men ashore
remains one of the most quoted sources for this terrible battle.
The Forgotten Soldier, by Guy Sajer. An account by one
of the few German Army survivors of the Russian front during World War Two. The
author served from 1943 through 1945 in the Gross Deutschland Division, and saw
action in most major campaigns during that time.
Iron Coffins : A Personal Account of the German U-Boat
Battles of World War II, by Herbert A. Werner. One of the classic
auto-biographies to come out of World War Two. This outstanding book was
written by one of Germany's more experienced U-boat commanders. His own
experience of having been at sea during the Allied counteroffensive of
April-May 1943 placed him in a unique position to tell the story from the
German perspective, all the more valuable because of the scarcity of
Kriegsmarine survivors from that time. |
Japanese Destroyer Captain
by Tameichi Hara
One
of the best autobiographies to come out of World War II, Japanese Destroyer
Captain supplies a priceless first-hand account from the pre-war preparations
for a Pacific-wide campaign to the final moments of the battleship Yamato and
the author's escorting cruiser.
Between these events, the reader is taken on a personal
tour of the naval battles fought during the first weeks of the war, and later
fighting in the Solomon Islands. Captain Hara engages the reader with a cool
self-assessment and critical - yet interestingly impartial analysis of fellow
officers and commanders. His style helps to clarify the obstacles facing field
commanders during the height of the Pacific War. |
