View Full Version : What's In your Library?
What books do you suggest one could read to enhance their gaming.?:hmmm:
Maybe you know of books that would just give some realism and history to the battles.:horse:
If you want book reports or other things could be posted here. Give reasons why a certain book is god or bad.:) :upset:
Knowledge is a sad thing if wasted, :cry: or you may have some insite that others are not aware of.
Post away and happy reading.:toilet: :)
AChmielowski
04 Mar 07, 13:28
(As well as playing CM of course !):)
I have a number of books in my collection and here is a review of one.
Monuments To Courage
David Harvey
ISBN 1843423561
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Monuments-Courage-Victoria-Headstones-Memorials/dp/1843423561/sr=1-1/qid=1169283063/ref=sr_1_1/202-5490632-5043824?ie=UTF8&s=books
My abiding passion in military history is the history of the Victoria Cross and its winners.
This is a two volume set which deals with every single winner of the 1351 winners of the highest award for valour for those serving in The British Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force.
The first award was made to Midshipman Charles Lucas, for throwing overboard a live shell that landed on the deck of HMS Hecla in 1856 during the Crimean War.
(Since the book was written there have been a further two awards of the VC to :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnson_Beharry and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bryan_Budd .
When the first medals were awarded there were two different coloured ribbons used :
Blue for the Royal Navy and Red for the Army.
This has now changed and only the Red Ribbon is now used.
There have been only 3 awards of the VC and bar in the history of the medal and the three winners are :
Noel Chavasse : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noel_Godfrey_Chavasse
Charles Upham : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Upham
Arthur Martin – Leake : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Martin-Leake
Also up until 1920 it was possible for a VC winner to be stripped of his award, if convicted of a criminal offence.
In all 8 men suffered this punishment, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Victoria_Cross_forfeitures
But King George V decreed that a VC winner would still be entitled to retain his medal, and could wear it on the scaffold if convicted of murder.
The volumes contain details of all the actions that led to the award of the VC and also details and pictures of their gravestones (where applicable).
The books also contain pictures of the winners and details of where the medals are available for public view.
The two volume set is expensive, but is an invaluable reference source.
If you like this, then I will do more.
Well...I love reading and I've read many books so I'll post the ones I think that you would like that I thoroughly enjoyed, along with my personal ranking.
1)Stalingrad- I think we all already know about this one. 9/10(hadn't read it in a while so 9 since it's been 4 yrs since I've read it)
2)Armor Battles of the Waffen SS: 1943-1945- It had lots of action from a majority of the major battles that were fought on the Western and Eastern front...sadly they didn't go into detail about the mighty tank fight at Kursk :(. But is was a good and fun read about these guys and the battles they fought in.You also get a first person account of how these guys fought ,literally, as a machine within a machine, no matter which tank there were fighting in. It also has a HUGE potential for scenario and battle creations. 10/10Obviously if you are looking for any info on war crimes or blah blah blah, this is a purely operational, tactical, and fighting book, none of that garbage is in it. If you want a book like that read The Fall of Berlin, but that's another story. It also has a HUGE potential for scenario and battle creations.
3)The Road to Stalingrad- What a book that is! It has a TON of information about Barbarossa up to Stalingrad covering the entire front. There are many many many chances in here to create all sorts of battles and actions, like a pocket within a pocket. The only problem with the book is the lack of maps(and I mean laaack!). There are very few, if any maps, and he consistently mentions towns, cities and villages all over Russia that played large or small roles during Germany's offensive. That was the biggest downfall of the book, other than that it was a stellar read, albeit except for the amount of pages in it, and I read it from cover to cover. 9/10<-MAPS!!!!
4)An Army at Dawn- This was my first book on the North African campaign that focused mainly on the "green" American forces that were going into action for the first time. It talks about their initial difficulty in overcoming the Vichy French during Torch, who either dealt token resistance to the American's or fought a pitched battle that required a solid fight to evict them. It talks about how Patton was molding his command into a fighting machine and how he always wanted to kill Germans(some of the stuff it talks about is even in the movie!) and how little air cover he was receiving in the form of his British allies. Anthony Beevor describes the tentative relationships between the British and American generals and how Ike did his best to appease both sides while trying not to favor one over the other too much. There is more I could say about this book, and you can already tell that I really liked it. It has potential for improving your gameplay? and also could inspire any battles or scenarios that you might want to create.
It's a 10/10 in my book and well worth the read.
5)Beyond The Beachhead: The 29th Infantry Division In Normandy-This is a history of the 29th infantry from their early days as weekend warriors to a tough, experienced division on the front in Normandy. The author takes you from boot camp, to the bloody beaches of Omaha, to the deadly Bocage country where they were ground down, by the Bocage and their elite enemy the Fallschirmjager. This is an excellent story of the fighting in the Bocage and the difficulties it presented the men fighting among it's labyrinth's. You also breifly learn about how the German armed forces defended and how the Americans did their best to adapt to the terrain and their enemy, like for instance they turned all of their uniforms inside out, and muddied anything that was shiny, and muffled any equipment that would give their position away and have mortars come raining down on them. CM wise, it also has potential, for instance, it talks about how they had difficulty clearing the immediate town(forgot it's name) overlookin Omaha, and how there was this German holed up in a barn who had just about killed 18 men before they got him. There is more to say but having not read for a while I can't say too much about it. 10/10
These are the ones off the top of my head. I own all of them except forThe Road to Stalingrad. I have read many other books that are also very well written(except for one which totally displeased me*hint it's mentioned in #2,and I lost alot of respect for that author too:() and have exceptional detail about those battles and operations like the Korsun Pocket, D-Day, and the divisional history of the 12th SS, both volumes. BTW, can any of you guys tell me if these are any good? There were sitting around at me local book store for a very long time so I finally bought them.
Here's links about the books described above and other one's that I have yet to read:
Listed books:
1) http://www.amazon.com/Stalingrad-Fateful-1942-1943-Antony-Beevor/dp/0140284583/ref=pd_bbs_2/103-3583764-5175826?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1173033797&sr=1-2
2) http://www.amazon.com/Battles-1943-45-Stackpole-Military-History/dp/0811729052/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-3583764-5175826?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1173033831&sr=1-1
3) http://www.amazon.com/Road-Stalingrad-Cassell-Military-Paperbacks/dp/0304365416/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-3583764-5175826?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1173033858&sr=1-1
4) http://www.amazon.com/Army-Dawn-1942-1943-Liberation-Trilogy/dp/0805074481/ref=pd_bbs_2/103-3583764-5175826?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1173033931&sr=1-2
5) http://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Beachhead-Infantry-Division-Stackpole/dp/0811732371/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-3583764-5175826?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1173032434&sr=8-1
Other Mentioned Books:
The Fall of Berlin:http://www.amazon.com/Fall-Berlin-1945-Antony-Beevor/dp/0142002801/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-3583764-5175826?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1173033971&sr=1-1
D-Day:http://www.amazon.com/D-Day-June-1944-Stephen-Ambrose/dp/0743449746/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-3583764-5175826?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1173034225&sr=1-1
HELL'S GATE: The Battle of the Cherkassy Pocket January to February 1944:http://www.amazon.com/HELLS-GATE-Cherkassy-January-February/dp/0965758435/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/103-3583764-5175826?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1173034054&sr=1-2
12th SS Histroy-Volumes I&II:Vol.I- http://www.amazon.com/12th-SS-Division-Stackpole-Military/dp/0811731987/ref=pd_bbs_2/103-3583764-5175826?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1173034099&sr=1-2
Vol.II- http://www.amazon.com/12th-SS-Division-Stackpole-Military/dp/0811731995/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-3583764-5175826?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1173034099&sr=1-1
War Without Hate: The Desert Campaign of 1940-43 by John Bierman and Colin Smith was my last good read. A great account of the desert war but it doesn't help me like desert in CMAK battles any more so :clown:
Is any of your Stalingrad books the one by Theodor Pliever?
That has got to be one of the most isturbing accounts that I have ever read.
While reading it...a person would feel like you were there.... That was hell on earth.:surprise: :smoke:
Is any of your Stalingrad books the one by Theodor Pliever?
That has got to be one of the most disturbing accounts that I have ever read.
While reading it...a person would feel like you were there.... That was hell on earth.:surprise: :smoke:
No did you check out the links at the bottom? I never heard of it, can you send me the title of it and I'll check it out.
A couple other books worth mentioning for a good read and anything CMy are:
Patton's Ghost Corps-It's about Patton's only corps that didn't take part in relieving the Bulge and what it did covering Patton's entire "front".
The Longest Battle-About the battle for the Ruhr, and who fought in it, it covers both sides and you can read it in about 1-2 days of reading. Very enjoyable.
The Pendulum of Battle-A book that has the same feel of The Longest Battle, but it is by a different author and focuses on Operation Goodwood with some excellent first hand accounts from the British tankers and the German infantry that took part in the battle.
Is any of your Stalingrad books the one by Theodor Pliever?
That has got to be one of the most isturbing accounts that I have ever read.
While reading it...a person would feel like you were there.... That was hell on earth.:surprise: :smoke:
I have Plievers books on Stalingrad and Berlin kicking around here some place. I definately agree that he has a style that puts you right there in a often not very comfortable way. Two of the best reads I've come across. a more technical one I read recently was Fighting in Hell based on the U.S army's study of east front combat immediately after WW2. It was written by different German officers who had served there and covered everything from actics, terrain, weather, weaponry, etc
John Powderly
05 Mar 07, 00:18
I looked through a couple small piles and found a few. Not all related to Combat Mission, but what the heck...
From Sun Tzu to XBox: War and Video Games - a commentary about how war games (FPS mostly) are great advertising for the military.
Blitzkrieg in Their Own Words: First-Hand Accounts From German Soldiers 1939-1940 - stories from the grunts.
Swords Against the Senate: The Rise of the Roman Army and the Fall of the Republic - I'm enjoying Rome: Total War right now.
For the Homeland! The History of the 31st Waffen-SS Volunteer Grenadier Division - lots of scenario information in this one.
Eighth Army: The Triumphant Desert Army that Held the Axis at Bay from North Africa to the Alps, 1939-1945
The Knight Triumphant: The High Middle Ages, 1314-1485 - As soon as I finish enjoying Rome: Total War, I'm moving on to Medieval 2: Total War. :)
AChmielowski
05 Mar 07, 00:29
Invasion :
The Alternate History of the German Invasion of England July 1940
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Invasion-Alternative-Greenhill-Military-Paperback/dp/1853673617/sr=1-1/qid=1169094505/ref=sr_1_1/202-5490632-5043824?ie=UTF8&s=books
This 223 page book, deals with the hypothetical invasion of England in 1940.
It deals with the birth of Operation Sealion and how the German Army originally thought of the invasion as a scaled up river crossing !.
The German Navy realised that that the key to success was to either neutralize the Royal Navy OR keep them away from the proposed landing sites.
The real key to success though would be the Luftwaffe.
If they could achieve air superiority, they could protect the invasion fleet AND keep the Royal Navy at bay.
But the most important (non) player in the proposed invasion was the USA.
Churchill had already requested for destroyers and weapons, from Roosevelt- which had been granted, but when Churchill asked for an American destroyer squadron to make an extended visit to the Irish Free State to deter any possible invasion, this request was denied as 1940 was an election year in the USA, and Roosevelt wanted to win again.
The original plan was to land between Hythe and Deal, on the English south coast, so as to provide maximum fighter cover from the short ranged Me109.
The original assault was to be made by the 7th FJ Division (by parachute) and the 22nd Air Landing Division(Glider) with the seaborne assault being made by 17th Inf Div and 6th Mountain Div.
The initial objectives were :
• The Army to land on a narrow front of 20 miles between Hythe & Deal
• Link up with airborne forces
• Seize control of the ports of Folkestone & Dover
• And gain control of many airfields as early as possible.
The first stage of the plan was for the Luftwaffe to gain air superiority over the English Channel and force the withdrawal of the Royal Navy to safer ports.
Once this had been done the invasion began on the 14th July 1940, with the Armistice being declared on the 1st August 1940.
Although this is a piece of fiction, it is a well researched book, and with the possible combination of events it might have happened !.
After all, the British Army was woefully short of tanks, artillery and ammunition after the Dunkirk evacuation.
If the Luftwaffe had changed tactics, it could have possibly defeated the RAF.
Overall, it is an excellent read !.
TacCovert4
05 Mar 07, 08:54
The Rommel Papers, by Erwin Johannes Rommel, edited by BH Liddel Hart. If you want to study blitzkrieg, or want something of a heads up as to TtT, this is it right here.
Neilm85uk
05 Mar 07, 13:16
I think Sun Tzu is mentioned above, a bit grand strategy for CM maybe but some interesting stuff. Achtung Panzer by Guderian is well worth a read for his tactical thoughts.
Great Land Sea and Air battles of WW2 from Peerage books might provide some interesting scenario ideas if you can find a copy and Tanks and Armoured fighting vehicles of WW2 by B T White, also Peerage Books, gives a load of technical stuff on tanks (and funnily enough) other armoured vehicles.
It's not much of a library but there you go!
TacCovert4
05 Mar 07, 17:16
Sun Tzu is great, as is von Clauswitz, though I like Napoleon better, more concise and an all around easier book to understand. The problem with these is that they tend to deal more with grand and strategic level strategy, back when a full scale battle took up a few hundred acres to a couple of thousand acres. CM can represent battles taking place on a field greater than 4 square miles! And the scale is further driven off by the fact that a squad might cover a 50m square in CM, where in those eras, a whole platoon would be in less space.
The books that cover tactics on the battalion level or below are best, followed by general works on mental methods of strategizing. Save the grand strategy for bigger wargames.
I have just finished reading a Colonel Alexander Samsonov article on the liquidation of the 6th army after the Manstein relief stalled out. It is above the scope of CM, but he does get into some smaller engagements and how they played out. I believe he writes in English as well, as i have seen his name on books from the 50's and 60's, might be a translation by another party though. He gives a very balanced account of events, and shows little bias, it helps me out with my Russian as well, I don't even have English down pat yet according to my wife.:)
Victor Charlie
15 Mar 07, 08:41
Well the pick of my library is:
Panzer Leader – Guderian
Band of Brothers – Ambrose
Goose Green – M.Adkin (Falklands War, Best read about a modern battalion level battle)
About Face – Hackworth (one of the classic war books)
The Bitter Woods – Eisenhower
A Bastard of a Place – P.Brune (the Australian campaign in New Guinea in WW2)
Well, I have 25 meters of books.
But the best for CM play is probably Antal's Armor Attacks.
AChmielowski
15 Mar 07, 14:14
Any book by John Erickson is a good read also (Road to Stalingrad & Road to Berlin) are perefect examples of his craft.
Any book by John Erickson is a good read also (Road to Stalingrad & Road to Berlin) are perefect examples of his craft.
I've read The Road to Stalingrad but I cannot find Road to Berlin :(. Any ideas of wear I can find it?
AChmielowski
15 Mar 07, 23:41
I bought mine from Amazon.co.uk a while back, perhaps try looking for it @ amazon.com ?.
Both books are excellent, but the second is just better than the first, by virtue of having some maps !
I bought mine from Amazon.co.uk a while back, perhaps try looking for it @ amazon.com ?.
Both books are excellent, but the second is just better than the first, by virtue of having some maps !
Hallelujah!! The first one without maps just drove me nuts! I couldn't stand how many times he'd mention a town, a battle, or a operation and there be no maps. It was crazy:nuts:! Just found it too. Say do you own both? I now that a newer version of The Road to Stalingrad came out, with maps hopefully.
KG_AirborneBob
17 Mar 07, 06:09
If you want fictional works...try Last Citadel by David L. Robbins. Tells the tale a Spanish Tiger cammander during Kursk.
Does anyone own Handbook on German Military Forces from the U.S. War Department? I discovered it at my local Borders Bookstore and snapped it up. Really cool. Any of you other guys own this?
Amazon.com: Handbook on German Military Forces: Books: U. S. War Department (http://www.amazon.com/Handbook-German-Military-Forces-Department/dp/0807120111/ref=sr_1_9/103-3583764-5175826?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1174805719&sr=8-9)
Anyone have any recomendations for any books that cover the differences, specs, calibers, & uses of various WWII AT & Field Guns? More specifically--sort of a comprhensive title on the assorted guns used by the major WWII powers and how they stacked up?
Ref in Cm--I'm getting it figured out using the armor & penetration charts--but would like to have more reference for how well specific "guns" (towed & self-propelled) stacked up and were used?
Also, any personal recomendations for books covering the german 40' campaign in france and the lowlands?
Hey Snafu:ciao:, I found a few books on Amazon for you. The first one has had mixed reviews from several magazines that I read (WWII, Military History, & WWII History), it's called, The Blitzkrieg Legend: The 1940 Campaign in the West by Karl-heinz Frieser. From what I can tell its one of the leading books on the subject. There are two more easy reads about the 1940's campaign but I have to do some more digging around. In the meantime you can check out the reviews on Amazon and see what you think: Amazon.com: The Blitzkrieg Legend: The 1940 Campaign in the West: Books: Karl-heinz Frieser,John T. Greenwood (http://www.amazon.com/Blitzkrieg-Legend-1940-Campaign-West/dp/1591142946/ref=pd_sim_b_4/102-8248429-6336913?ie=UTF8&qid=1179883753&sr=1-39)
AHA! Found another book:Never really heard of it so here it is.
Amazon.com: Strange Victory: Hitler's Conquest of France: Books: Ernest R. May (http://www.amazon.com/Strange-Victory-Hitlers-Conquest-France/dp/0809088541/ref=pd_sim_b_2/102-8248429-6336913?ie=UTF8&qid=1179883753&sr=1-39)
traygreen
24 May 07, 12:02
Hey Tac... on that note I have an English First edition of Infantry Attacks. Have not managed (or gotten around) to tracking down a reading copy... so I have read my "good" copy twice...
Just got through re-reading Victories Lost. After 5-6 straight Normandy books, I needed a break from D-Day ;)
Thank you Kawaiku,
"The Blitzkrieg Legend: The 1940 Campaign in the West by Karl-heinz Frieser." looks like a good pick. Just noticed that hps used it along with "Lightning War: Blitzkrieg in the west 1940 by Ronald Powaski" as reference for their operational title France 40. Going to have to check out Both.:thumup:
From my own amazon search noticed a lot of titles on the strategic/reasons for victory,defeat,etc in france 40 but not as many on purley operational aspects & details. going to have to search some military book websites. (although these will keep me occuopied for awhile between real life & my PC hobbies)
Thank you Kawaiku,
"The Blitzkrieg Legend: The 1940 Campaign in the West by Karl-heinz Frieser." looks like a good pick. Just noticed that hps used it along with "Lightning War: Blitzkrieg in the west 1940 by Ronald Powaski" as reference for their operational title France 40. Going to have to check out Both.:thumup:
From my own amazon search noticed a lot of titles on the strategic/reasons for victory,defeat,etc in france 40 but not as many on purley operational aspects & details. going to have to search some military book websites. (although these will keep me occuopied for awhile between real life & my PC hobbies)
Anytime bud:smoke:.
I also noticed the same titles when I searched Amazon and figured that the first is one of the better books for ya and the second seems decent. Cheers and have fun.
:salute:
liuzg150181
29 May 07, 09:55
My recommendation for WWII German tactics-"Panzer Tactics:German Small-Unit Armor-Tactics In World War II":
Amazon.com: Panzer Tactics: German Small-Unit Armor Tactics in World War II: Books: Wolfgang Schneider (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0811732444/ref=wl_it_dp/103-4212506-8373463?ie=UTF8&coliid=I1PBBYIH1Q89K4&colid=11ADM00XD3N3K)
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