Japan 1945: From Operation Downfall to Hiroshima and Nagasaki by Clayton K.S. Chun is another excellent book in Osprey’s “Campaign” Series.   Chun examines the final campaigns of World War II in the Pacific as the Allies rolled back the Japanese.  Chun also looks at of Operation Downfall (the planned invasion of the Japanese home islands).   Chun explains why Hiroshima and Nagasaki were bombed rather than implementing Operation Downfall.

Chun does an excellent job of summarizing a very complex network of decisions made by President Harry Truman and the Allied military leaders.  In addition to the immense casualties that the Allies could incur in an invasion, the Americans and their British allies were wary of Soviet intentions with regards to the occupation of Japanese territory - there were already strains in American/British relations with the Soviets in Europe.

The book is beautifully illustrated by John White, including detailed diagrams of the atomic bombs and the bombing runs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.  In addition, Chun includes maps of the original invasion plans of Japan.
In short, this is an excellent analysis of the decisions and operations leading up to the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The more I read about the Iraq War, the more I am interested in it. For whatever reason (maybe the extreme differences of opinion of how the war is going between the media and the American troops on the ground), the war and its participants fascinate me. As a result of this fascination, I like to read accounts from all combat perspectives – Marines in Fallujah, Airborne in Baghdad, and so forth. Thus, when I saw The Fighting 69th by Sean Michael Flynn, I was intrigued.

The book chronicles the exploits of the famed infantry regiment from New York City – its fighting pedigree goes back to the Civil War as part of the famous Irish Brigade – from the September 11th attacks through their deployment in Iraq. Flynn writes from personal experience because he was an officer with the unit during the time period covered in the book.

Flynn does an excellent job of taking you through the process of refining the unit from one that could barely discipline itself into one that could effectively defend itself in Iraq. In Flynn’s own words, the Fighting 69th was one of the worst National Guard infantry units in the country before the September 11th attacks– it was poorly equipped, led, and staffed. Although he hammers home a little too much about how poor the unit is in performance and equipment, you get the point that the unit had almost reached a point of no return before the terrorist attacks.

Despite the lack of adequate equipment and training, Flynn explains that the unit does surprisingly well in Iraq. The unit loses fourteen men to IEDs, but they continue to stay focused and complete their mission. In fact, as a result of their performance, the road from Baghdad Airport to the Green Zone – once dubbed the most dangerous road in the world – becomes safe to drive on without excessive speeding.

Flynn captures the raw emotions that the men feel when they suffer their first casualties and how Lieutenant Colonel Geoffrey Slack, the 69th commander, keeps them from going over the deep end. Because of Slack’s leadership, the unit becomes an effective fighting force. In addition, the men grow to respect their leader and bond as a unit.

Based upon the experience of the Fighting 69th (and I would not be surprised of other National Guard combat units that are called to active service), it is very clear that our country needs to put more effort and money into training the National Guard for combat operations if we are to continue to call upon them to reinforce the active units.

World War II Japanese Tank Tactics by Gordon L. Rottman and Akira Takizawa is another booklet in Osprey’s “Elite” series, which explores the history of military forces, artifacts, personalities, and techniques of warfare.  The book is 63 pages, including a few pages of additional commentary at the back of the book.

The book is divided into the following parts: Introduction (covering the creation of the first armored unit in the Imperial Japanese Army in 1934 to 1941); Unit Organization (the most common unit was the regiment); Doctrine (from infantry support to spearheading assaults); Tactics (attack and formation movements at the various unit levels); Tank Troops (selection and training); Communications and Maintenance (radio and other methods of communication and maintaining the armored forces); and Battle History (examples of battles involving Japanese armor).

Any aficionado of armor warfare will appreciate this book.  The details in tactics and types of armor in the Imperial Japanese Army are excellent.  For example, there are diagrams detailing the various attack movements of platoon and company formations of tanks.  These visual aides, in conjunction with the text, help the reader have a better understanding of how the Japanese military leaders thought about the role of tanks in battle.

The authors argue that the Japanese Imperial Army never really embraced or understood the full potential of the tank.  A majority of the early battles that their tanks were in were against infantry, not armor.  Thus, the Japanese tank development never incorporated thicker armor.  As a result, when the Japanese did encounter armor later in the war, their tanks were sorely outmatched.

In addition to the detailed text, the book is full of color diagrams and black and white photographs (many from Japanese archives - never seen by Western publishers).

This book is an excellent reference for knowing and understanding how Japanese armor was used in World War II.

Alex Kershaw has done it again – he has written another fine non-fiction book that reads like a novel. His latest book, Escape from the Deep, tells the story of one of the most famous submarine patrols of World War II – the attack of the U.S.S. Tang in the Formosa Strait in September and October of 1944.

The book basically describes the final patrol of the U.S.S. Tang and how its crew dealt with a submariner’s worst fear – being alive in a submarine that has sunk to the bottom of the sea. The submarine was on its fifth patrol in the mine-infested waters of the Formosa Strait and its captain, Commander Richard O’Kane, was one of the most aggressive submarine commanders in the U.S. Navy. This aggressiveness pays off with the sinking of thirteen ships – one of the most destructive patrols during the war. However, the submarine’s last torpedo boomerangs back to the submarine and sinks it. Close to half of the crew survived the initial blast that sunk the submarine, but only nine survive the whole ordeal (five escaped from the sunken submarine and four others escaped before it sunk). The men then endured torture and captivity as POWs.

Kershaw has a unique knack for telling a true story in a novel- like fashion (similar to his previous books entitled The Bedford Boys, The Few, and Longest Winter). He brings the reader into the unique world of submarine warfare and the lives of the Tang’s crew. Kershaw’s account of the crew’s plight in the sunken submarine is especially gripping – you sense the fear and eventual resignation of most of the men as they realize that most of them will die 150 feet below the surface, but he also captures the intense desire of others to live.

Kershaw does not end the book with the release of the men as POWs, but he explains what the survivors did after the war. Some were able to fight their survivor’s guilt and others unfortunately were not. Kershaw also details the various medals and awards the crew were awarded (some posthumously) after the war, including the submarine’s second Presidential Unit Citation – becoming one of only three U.S. Navy vessels ever to receive that honor twice.

In addition to an excellent story, the book includes a map of the Tang’s last patrol, 16 pages of black and white photographs, and a side view diagram of the submarine (a helpful resource for when Kershaw discusses where the crew was when the submarine sunk). The book is a page-turner at 216 pages.

This book is an excellent tribute to the courage and service of the submariners of the U.S.S. Tang who gave everything, in most cases their lives, to their country.

The Royal Hungarian Army in World War II by Dr. Nigel Thomas and Laszlo Szabo is a booklet in Osprey’s (the book’s publisher) “Men-at-Arms” series.  The book is 47 pages, including several tables and charts at the back of the book.

If you ever wanted to know everything about the Hungarian Army during World War II, read this book.  The book chronicles the battles and activities of the Hungarian Army before and during the war.  In conjunction with the description, the book includes the orders of battle of the various Hungarian armies that fought on the Eastern Front.  Finally, the book includes an excellent array of color imprints, black and white photographs, and detailed insignia charts.

This is a very good detailed account of the Hungarian Army - probably Germany’s key ally on the Eastern Front.  The Hungarians provided the Germans with crucial men and supplies during the invasion of the Soviet Union.  After reading this book, you can better understand how and why the Hungarians were such crucial allies to the Germans.

Robert Kagan’s The Return of History and the End of Dreams is a small book (105 pages) that outlines his views on the current international scene.

Here is a brief synopsis of the book from the publisher’s website:

Hopes for a new peaceful international order after the end of the Cold War have been dashed by sobering realities: Great powers are once again competing for honor and influence. Nation-states remain as strong as ever, as do the old, explosive forces of ambitious nationalism. The world remains “unipolar,” but international competition among the United States, Russia, China, Europe, Japan, India, and Iran raise new threats of regional conflict. Communism is dead, but a new contest between western liberalism and the great eastern autocracies of Russia and China has reinjected ideology into geopolitics. Finally, radical Islamists are waging a violent struggle against the modern secular cultures and powers that, in their view, have dominated, penetrated, and polluted their Islamic world. The grand expectation that after the Cold War the world would enter an era of international geopolitical convergence has proven wrong.

Kagan is a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and has written several books on international relations. He writes a monthly column on world affairs for the Washington Post, and is a contributing editor at both the Weekly Standard and the New Republic. He served in the State Department from 1984 to 1988 as a member of the Policy Planning Staff, as principal speechwriter for Secretary of State George P. Shultz, and as deputy for policy in the Bureau of Inter-American Affairs.

Based on an internet search, this book is creating quite a stir. Some people are vehemently defending Kagan’s views and others are demonizing him as a warmonger. I find myself leaning toward those who think that he is a realist who is not trying to stir up support for war.

Kagan’s discussions seem to be fairly rational – that there are two competing philosophies today, democracy and autocracy. Although democracies are the majority governments in the world, Kagan states that autocracies are beginning to gain more power. Examples of these autocracies are Russia, China, and Iran. Kagan does not argue for democracies to go to war against the autocracies, just to be on guard against the resurgence of despotism.

Unfortunately, this guard has slipped in several areas. For example, Hugo Chavez in Venezuela (who is buying significant amounts of military hardware from Russia) has gained more power in the region. He has been causing more than a few headaches in Washington. However, this has begun to change. As a sign that the United States wants to contain Chavez’s influence, the United States Navy has reestablished its Fourth Fleet which will cover the Caribbean and Central and South America and the surrounding waters.

This is a fascinating look at the new world of international relations in the Twenty-First Century.

Knights of Jerusalem: The Crusading Order of Hospitallers 1100-1565 by David Nicolle is an excellent overview of this Order of knights. It is 201 pages, including three appendixes, with illustrations and photos interspersed throughout the text.

The book has a brief history of the Order detailing its roots, expansion, and changing mission. Additionally, Nicolle includes a wonderful timeline of the important events in the Order’s history. Following the history, the book is organized into basic topics about the Order – such as organization and command structure; recruitment, discipline, training, and daily life; and the Hospitallers at war.

The chapters organized by topic are the strongest part of the book. Nicolle brings together a wonderful array of knowledge in discussing these topics. For example, he discusses how the recruitment of brethren knights became more selective as time passed to the point where only men of noble birth could become brethren knights.

The illustrations and photographs in the book bring the text to life for the reader. The color photographs of the various Hospitaller castles allows the reader a better understanding of how formidable these castles were in the Holy Land – especially the castles of Margat and Crac de Chevaliers- and of how the Hospitallers were able to defend them against the Muslims for so long. In addition, the various paintings portray the daily life of a Hospitaller knight - both as a fighter and prayer warrior.

I have only one item of contention with the book (and it is a minor one). The history of the Order is a good overview, but I was expecting a little bit more history. I think it would have been stronger if Nicolle had included more on the fighting between the Order and the Muslims in the Holy Land.

This is an excellent book for anyone interested in the lives and organization of one of the most famous military orders in history.

Related Reading:

Serial Killers: They Live to Kill

Battles Lost and Won: Great Campaigns of World War 2 (Men at War)

Wars fought like World War II may be in the past for the United States. Our country’s wars of the future will be more counterinsurgency focused where our enemies will be in civilian clothes and hide within the civilian population. These assertions and many more are made by Bing West in his book The Strongest Tribe.

West’s book is a refreshing and insightful look at the Iraq War from 2003 to 2008. West examines the strategy and tactics used during the war – those that worked and those that failed miserably. He details why we were losing the Iraq War in the early years and how the corner was turned more recently.

Unlike many of the books written about the United States’ counterinsurgency efforts in Iraq, West brings personal experience and a vast array of knowledge into his examination of the war. West was a Marine captain in charge of a combined action platoon during the Vietnam War – these units lived in Vietnamese villages to become closer to the population in order to fight the Viet Cong. Based on his experiences, he wrote The Village – which is taught at war colleges as the primer in counterinsurgency.

Along with his battlefield experience, West knows how the higher levels of government work from his stint as Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs under the Reagan Administration. In addition, in researching the book, West spent fifteen extended tours in six years in Iraq talking to those at the lowest level (squads of Marines and soldiers) and those at the highest level (division, corps, and army commanders).

As you can see, West has the experience and knowledge to discuss the good and bad about the Iraq War. He begins the book with the bad. The American military and political leadership bordered on complete incompetence at the beginning of the war. For example, West asserts that Iraq fell apart because President Bush and the Pentagon leadership pursued opposing strategies after the invasion of Iraq – the Pentagon wanted to give the war effort to the Iraqis to win or lose and the President wanted the U.S. military to win the war, not hand it off. West contends that these conflicting goals led to confusion and a lack of cohesion in command.

As the war continued, it began to turn in favor of the Americans and their Iraqi allies. Many believe that the change was because of General Petraeus and his surge strategy that he instituted. However, West aptly points out that the war began to change prior to the appointment of Petraeus (although West points out that Petraeus did an excellent job in managing the surge). He contends that the war changed from the bottom up through the cooperation of the Sunni tribes in Anbar and the American commanders in that province. The emergence of the Sunni tribes in Anbar in support of the Americans – called the Awakening – occurred because they were tired of being poorly treated by al Qaeda in Iraq. Additionally, as a result of the Marines’ constant patrolling in Anbar, the Sunnis grew to trust and respect the Marines. The close relationship between the local leaders and Marine battalion commanders allowed the Americans to find the insurgents and either eliminate them or arrest them.

In addition to dispelling the myth that Petraeus single-handedly turned the war around, West also counters the claim that if more troops were present earlier in the war, the war would have ended much faster. There were more than 140,000 troops with 100,000 contractors in a support role after the invasion. West contends that these numbers were sufficient to suppress the enemy, but more men would not have countered the incompetence of Paul Bremer – head American administrator in post-invasion Iraq – and Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez – Corps commander of U.S. troops. These men “lacked a plan, a counterinsurgency doctrine, and proper training” to win the war. In addition, West states that more troops “operating alone under a doctrine of attack and destroy would have exacerbated the rebellion.”

Although many of the weaknesses of the fight in the early part of the war were remedied, West argues that many remained unresolved. One of the biggest, according to West, is the misuse of American forces. After the initial invasion, the Iraq War became more of a police war than a fighting war. In a police war, one has to understand police techniques. The American military did not (and still does not) understand how to fight a police war. West asserts that in order to fight an effective police war the male population of a country must be counted. The male population must be counted in order to identify who the enemy is through fingerprinting and other identification methods. If the American military was trained to understand police techniques and the population was fingerprinted, West contends that the insurgents in civilian clothes could have been identified and the war shortened.

As for the book’s style and organization, I think it is well organized along an historical timeline of the events of the war. The writing is smooth and the book reads well. At 376 pages, West’s arguments are clear and precise. In addition, there are three appendixes that cover such topics as America’s experience of counterinsurgency during the Vietnam War and West’s counterinsurgency lessons.

The Strongest Tribe is a fair and balanced analysis of the occupation of Iraq.

Related Reading:

Tried by War: Abraham Lincoln as Commander in Chief

Big Boy Rules: America's Mercenaries Fighting in Iraq

Tim Blanning’s The Pursuit of Glory: Europe 1648 – 1815 is a good book of the history of Europe during the time period between the Peace of Westphalia and the Congress of Vienna.

Rather than organizing the book chronologically, Blanning organizes it according to topics. I think this approach is wise in most regards because it is better for the reader to understand what changes occurred in one sector of culture over the time period, such as life in the country, rather than losing the cohesiveness of that topic in a chronological review – although this way does lose some continuity. The book has four major parts (Life and Death; Power; Religion and Culture; and War and Peace). Each part is composed of several different chapters covering such topics as communications, court and country, and the wars of the French Revolution and Napoleon.

This period in Europe is a time of immense change when nation-states began to form and people’s attitudes toward such subjects as religion changed. For example, in 1648, Prussia was a very small principality in northern Europe, but by 1815 it became one of the major powers in Europe. Blanning provides excellent examples of how the Prussians came to become a major force in European politics.

Blanning also weaves the various topics together into a fairly seamless history. For instance, he describes the horrible condition of the roads at the beginning of the Eighteenth Century – few of them were improved beyond the original Roman roads that were built fifteen hundred years earlier. This poor road network prevented adequate communication within and outside a country and stunted commerce. Blanning convincingly argues that those countries, mainly England, that built better roads were able to develop their economies faster than those countries that did not put their money and efforts into a better road network. As a result of a stronger economic foundation, England became one of the strongest powers, if not the strongest power, at the end of the time period studied.

I think that Blanning makes several good points with regard to how each country’s leadership made decisions and how those decisions influenced their future prosperity. For example, Blanning argues that Louis XIV harnessed his country’s nationalistic fervor to extend France’s borders at the expense of those principalities that were not as unified as a nation. This age of expansion for France vaulted it into major power status that it was able to sustain until the middle of the Eighteenth Century.

Although Blanning covers economic, political, military, and cultural aspects of Europe, he also looks at the more controversial subjects such as religion. The period begins at the end of the Thirty Years War, which pitted Catholics countries against Protestant countries. Many scholars contend that the Enlightenment “freed” Europe from the bondages of religion, but Blanning counters this belief by stating that many countries had revivals (both Catholic and Protestant) – although the importance of religion in public life did slip during this time. Several monarchs, such as Frederick the Great of Prussia, may have eschewed religion, but the vast majority of the common people strengthened their faith.

In some instances, I think that Blanning could have pared back some of his subjects. For example, I do not think that he should have had an entire chapter on palaces and gardens. This subject could have been incorporated into another chapter.

Overall, I think the book is well written with a good mix of direct quotations added in. Unfortunately, there are not any footnotes to see where Blanning gets his support for his arguments. The writing flows and it is a relatively fast read considering the nature of some of the topics and the length of the book – it is 677 pages. The book has a good assortment of general maps in the front of the book, but lacks some detailed maps that could have been added amongst the text for clarification purposes.

The Pursuit of Glory is a good overview of a very dynamic period of European history.

Related Reading:

A Divine Addiction

Shackleton's Boat Journey

Missed opportunities. With those two words I would describe the days after the Battle of Gettysburg. Eric J. Wittenberg, J. David Petruzzi, and Michael F. Nugent provide an excellent narrative and analysis of the retreat from Gettysburg and the pursuit of General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia in One Continuous Fight.

The book mainly covers July 4 through July 14, 1863 because, as the authors point out, the main action after the battle occurred during this time period. Although many have written and analyzed the Battle of Gettysburg, few have spent much time on Lee’s retreat and Meade’s pursuit. This book has a plethora of information on the time period - the authors cover everything from the evacuation of the wounded to the final withdrawal south of the Potomac River by the Confederates.

I like the balance of the authors as they discuss the decisions and dispositions of the two forces. In my opinion, neither the Union nor the Confederate forces is favored. The authors equally praise - the actions of the Union and Confederate cavalrymen during the retreat - and equally criticize - the actions of certain generals on both sides.

I once thought that the aftermath of the battle was anticlimactic and nothing much really happened. However, as the title infers, there were more than 20 engagements - mainly cavalry verses cavalry or cavalry verses infantry. These engagements took place over a large area of territory - from Greencastle, Pennsylvania to Williamsport, Maryland to Hagerstown and Falling Waters, Maryland. The authors do an excellent job of describing each of these battles and the significance of each to the overall campaign.

The authors interweave personal accounts from letters and diaries of the participants into the narration of the events. Thankfully, the text and the primary sources smoothly fit together unlike some books which are just a collection of primary sources with no real transition language between them.

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