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10-15-11, 09:49 AM | #811 |
Seasoned Skipper
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Just finished "One of Our Submarines" by Edward Young, a memoir of his days in the RN Submarine Branch, from his first dive as a junior officer to his war patrols as commander of HMS Storm, from the Arctic Circle to the Indian Ocean. My copy is almost 60 yrs. old, but the book is still available. Very well written.
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Dietrich Schöneboom, U-431 "Es wird klappen, Herr Kaleun. Ganz sicher." |
10-24-11, 12:34 AM | #812 | |||
Ace of the Deep
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I've just read it off Kindle PC. The author makes some good points but others are too ... theoretical.
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His SEAD and escort plan basically draws on the fighters and dive bombers that were tasked in the real attack. In his "perfect attack", he attempts a TOT attack (good as a aim, not a precondition) and tasks the A6Ms with two missions (SEAD and OCA) separated by time. It reeks of the kind of "textbook solution" so loved by staff theoreticians and so hated by combat vets. One can easily see friction and fog of war turn his neat TOT strike into a prolonged affair (the real attack also became more prolonged), in which case without the suppressive effect of the fighters and VBs it is not hard to figure that many more fighters will get to take off and strike his bomber formations. Though they will be escorted in such a case, they will also likely be outnumbered and given that Zimms assesses a high effectiveness for American aircraft, the overall Japanese losses to fighters will be much higher. Zimm's doesn't even attempt to (as far as I can see) wargame this possibility - he just seems to assume his TOT attack will work. |
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10-24-11, 10:38 AM | #813 |
Stowaway
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Why is the Middle East so screwed up?
David Fromkin in A Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East addresses this question in the historical context of the Great War. This is a very readable book, well researched and referenced, that goes a long way to providing an answer to the above question. Cynical politicians and diplomats, Great Power rivalries, power-grabs and infighting, by allies, between tribal groups and the religious of various sects all are on display in this detailed narrative. Mr. Fromkin cuts through many of the myths and legends widely held by all concerned detailing the origins of many of the contemporary problems and why the prospects for real peace in the oxymoronically named Holy Land seems so remote even today. An interesting sidebar is the deconstruction of the legendary Lawrence of Arabia; how T.E. Lawrence was really a relatively minor player with a great publicist (American journalist Lowell Thomas) and knack at self promotion. Anybody with a desire to see how the past can affect the present as it relates to the question that opened this post should give A Peace to End All Peace a serious look. When read in conjunction with superbly objective One Palestine, Complete; Jews and Arabs Under the British Mandate by Israeli historians Tom Segev and Haim Watzman these books provide a solid basis for understanding why the problems in Palestine seem so unsolvable. Both books are available at Amazon through the SubSim link. |
10-29-11, 08:58 AM | #814 | |
Lucky Jack
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Reading one of the Osprey Campaign series that caught my eye.
Campaign 235 Walcheren 1944 Storming Hitler's island fortress By Richard Brooks Quote:
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Dr Who rest in peace 1963-2017. To borrow Davros saying...I NAME YOU CHIBNALL THE DESTROYER OF DR WHO YOU KILLED IT! |
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10-29-11, 05:42 PM | #815 |
Lucky Jack
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Finally started reading the first of the two books I got last christmas.
The book's called "Guerrilla Warfare on Long Range Patrols - Detachment Marttina's Patrol Reports 1941-1942" As the title implies, the book contains the reports from all recorded sabotage missions deep behind Soviet lines during the Continuation War conducted by detachment Marttina. Also included are personal stories from the invidual soldiers who took part in the missions, maps, equipment loadouts etc. The second book is the same but for 1943-1944. They're bricks, around 800 pages per book, but quite interesting read. |
11-05-11, 02:46 PM | #816 |
Lucky Jack
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Started reading..
Sledgehammers: Strengths and Flaws of Tiger Tank Battalions in World War II By Chris Wilbeck
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Dr Who rest in peace 1963-2017. To borrow Davros saying...I NAME YOU CHIBNALL THE DESTROYER OF DR WHO YOU KILLED IT! |
11-05-11, 04:15 PM | #817 |
SUBSIM Newsman
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The portfolio!
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Nothing in life is to be feard,it is only to be understood. Marie Curie |
11-06-11, 11:59 AM | #818 |
Airplane Nerd
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I am reading The Sum of All Fears
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11-06-11, 06:24 PM | #819 |
Seasoned Skipper
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I just finished Lawrence Paterson's "U-Boats in the Mediterranean, 1941-1944". If there's no such thing as too much historical detail, he's your man.
Now I'm starting on his other book, "Hitler's Grey Wolves: U-Boats in the Indian Ocean". Great photos!
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Dietrich Schöneboom, U-431 "Es wird klappen, Herr Kaleun. Ganz sicher." |
11-23-11, 10:06 AM | #820 |
Ace of the Deep
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Just read this
http://www.foia.cia.gov/docs/DOC_000...0000261309.pdf
Man, what a piece of spineless wishwash. We know there are conflicting views on this subject. At least side with one side and explain why you did so. |
11-23-11, 11:01 AM | #821 | |
Stowaway
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That said, the target audience for this briefing were apparently external agencies with their own intelligence requirements and agendas. Given the divisions within the US defence establishment and the general nature of the briefing, a lack of focus should not be a surprise. Intelligence is a commodity and without knowing who the briefing was intended for (NCA?, NSA?, DOD?, DOE?, NRO?, some defense committee?), drawing specific conclusions may well have been beyond the mandate of the report's authors. Still, the uncensored text contains little that could not have been found in open sources like Breyer's Guide to the Soviet Navy, Brassey's or published works then available from the USNI bookstore of the day. One has to wonder what was cut out of the original top-secret version. |
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11-28-11, 07:55 AM | #822 |
Rear Admiral
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Sir Ian Kershaw's The End: Hitler's Germany 1944 - 45
HunterICX
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11-29-11, 03:21 PM | #823 |
Bilge Rat
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Silent Victory
Blair's detail on so many operations has lead me to think of a strategy / tactics simulation game for smart but not historically informed smarties. Since Pearl Harbor day is just a few days away, starting a quasi real time re-enactment of the events of 70 years ago might be fun. Can today's brain-iacs do better at finding and fixing the problems? Are bureaucracies any more responsive nowadays?
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12-06-11, 01:34 PM | #824 |
Der Alte
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I actually stumbled across something in the library.
(Yes, some of us still use them) U-Boat Ace: The story of Wolfgang Luth. by Jordan Vause. It seems well researched and am looking forward to finishing it. I am only a few pages in thus far, but am riveted.
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If Hitler invaded Hell I would make at least a favourable reference to the devil in the House of Commons. -Winston Churchill- The most fascinating man in the world. |
12-06-11, 01:53 PM | #825 |
Rear Admiral
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I have both the books he did on u-boat commanders (as far as I know there are only two). Thought both of them were very well done and fascinating reads. The other is called "Wolf" and is a collection of about a dozen biographical sketches of different commanders. Definitely worth looking for if you enjoy the Luth bio.
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