Post: #1

Wondering if anyone else here is interested in this topic? If so, are there any good books or shows you'd recommend?

I've been studying this topic for ten years now and it's been a great way of gaining knowledge of not only great men, but important events in the evolution of civilization.

Post: #2

One aspect of it that I find interesting is how in the present time it seems that little attention is given to military and war oriented knowledge. I suppose when we can nuke ourselves out of orbit it becomes more theoretical.

Post: #3

Patton-A Genius for War by Carlo D'Este

Post: #4

Stalingrad by Antony Beevor is a must read in my opinion.

Post: #5

(10-23-2013 09:12 AM)Idlenations Wrote:  Stalingrad by Antony Beevor is a must read in my opinion.

I concur.

Post: #6

Those who have banged Colombia probably remember a statue in front of San Felipe castle, in Cartagena de Indias, the man to whom it is dedicated, Blas de Lezo, is the responsible that South America didn't fall into the anglosphere in the mid 18th century.



Probably the biggest defeat in the history of the Royal Navy:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_C..._de_Indias

Post: #7

Anyone have a good book on the Sekigahara campaign?

I'm trying to write a book in the area of most decisive battles but I'm having trouble finding sources for that one. Preferably a source that is in either the public domain or has some sort of creative commons arrangement or something similar.

Post: #8

(10-23-2013 08:43 PM)Libertas Wrote:  Anyone have a good book on the Sekigahara campaign?

I'm trying to write a book in the area of most decisive battles but I'm having trouble finding sources for that one. Preferably a source that is in either the public domain or has some sort of creative commons arrangement or something similar.

Not a serious source, but "Shogun" by James Clavell is a great fictionalized account of the events around the time of Sekigahara and the rise of Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Post: #9

The Second World War by Anthony Beevor is probably the best account of WW2 I've read.

Post: #10

Stirling's Men - Gavin Mortimer

"The inside history of the SAS in World War II"

Haven't got round to reading it yet, but my Dad said it was great.

Post: #11

I'll bite:

*Peter Englund - The Battle that Shook Europe: Poltava and the Birth of Russian Empire
*Barbara Wertheim Tuchman - The Guns of August
*Otto Carius - Tigers in the Mud: The Combat Career of German Panzer Commander Otto Carius
*Catherine Merridale - Ivan's War
*Michael R. Gordon & Bernard E. Tarinor - Cobra II: The Inside Story of the Invasion and Occupation of Iraq
*Ronald D. Asmus - A Small War that Shook the World

Although this literature is interesting and I'd love to read more, nowadays I tend to pick books related more to military theories, strategies, international relations and other security related topics. Still, understanding bits and pieces of the Second World War is essential, if you want to understand the current issues. Especially in Eastern Europe, next to Russia.

Post: #12

Anyone read anything by Cornelius Ryan?
He's written a few very solid books about WW2 battles in Europe. I re-read A Bridge Too Far over the span of two weeks, and it was fantastic. Many saw the movie, but it couldn't hold a candle against the book. I'm re-reading The Last Battle, which is an account of the Russians taking Berlin in 1945, and it's excellent too. Definately worth reading.

Post: #13

I'm reading An Army at Dawn by Rick Atkinson. I really like it so far.
It's the first book out of three that he's written about WW2. This first one focuses on the campaign in Africa.

Synopsis
The liberation of Europe and the destruction of the Third Reich is a story of courage and enduring triumph, of calamity and miscalculation. In this first volume of the Liberation Trilogy, Rick Atkinson shows why no modern reader can understand the ultimate victory of the Allied powers without a grasp of the great drama that unfolded in North Africa in 1942 and 1943. That first year of the Allied war was a pivotal point in American history, the moment when the United States began to act like a great power.

Beginning with the daring amphibious invasion in November 1942, An Army at Dawn follows the American and British armies as they fight the French in Morocco and Algeria, and then take on the Germans and Italians in Tunisia. Battle by battle, an inexperienced and sometimes poorly led army gradually becomes a superb fighting force. Central to the tale are the extraordinary but fallible commanders who come to dominate the battlefield: Eisenhower, Patton, Bradley, Montgomery, and Rommel.

Post: #14

The Campaigns of Napoleon

by David Chandler

A really astonishingly well-researched book - the book is well worth the maps themselves, but this mammoth belongs in any man's library.

Post: #15

If you want a good overview of the most important battles in Western history before the World Wars, I recommend Edward Creasy's The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World. It's a classic. You can download it for free from Amazon. It's written in a good nineteenth century prose that has no hint of our era's suffocating political correctness. It is written by a skilled man of letters and military analysis. The author not only provides good summaries of the events in between the 15 decisive battles, he explains their significance in a way that affords a deeper understanding of how the battles shaped history.

Here are the 15 battles that Creasy selected:

1. The Battle of Marathon, 490 BC
2. Defeat of the Athenians at Syracuse, 413 BC
3. The Battle of Gaugamela, 331 BC
4. The Battle of the Metaurus, 207 BC
5. Victory of Arminius over the Roman Legions under Varus, 9 AD
6. The Battle of Chalons, 451
7. The Battle of Tours, 732
8. The Battle of Hastings, 1066
9. Joan of Arc's Victory over the English at Orleans, 1429
10. Defeat of the Spanish Armada, 1588
11. The Battle of Blenheim, 1704
12. The Battle of Pultowa, 1709
13. Victory of the Americans over Burgoyne at Saratoga, 1777
14. The Battle of Valmy, 1792
15. The Battle of Waterloo, 1815

Post: #16

(10-27-2013 01:29 AM)Consul Wrote:  If you want a good overview of the most important battles in Western history before the World Wars, I recommend Edward Creasy's The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World. It's a classic. You can download it for free from Amazon. It's written in a good nineteenth century prose that has no hint of our era's suffocating political correctness. It is written by a skilled man of letters and military analysis. The author not only provides good summaries of the events in between the 15 decisive battles, he explains their significance in a way that affords a deeper understanding of how the battles shaped history.

Here are the 15 battles that Creasy selected:

1. The Battle of Marathon, 490 BC
2. Defeat of the Athenians at Syracuse, 413 BC
3. The Battle of Gaugamela, 331 BC
4. The Battle of the Metaurus, 207 BC
5. Victory of Arminius over the Roman Legions under Varus, 9 AD
6. The Battle of Chalons, 451
7. The Battle of Tours, 732
8. The Battle of Hastings, 1066
9. Joan of Arc's Victory over the English at Orleans, 1429
10. Defeat of the Spanish Armada, 1588
11. The Battle of Blenheim, 1704
12. The Battle of Pultowa, 1709
13. Victory of the Americans over Burgoyne at Saratoga, 1777
14. The Battle of Valmy, 1792
15. The Battle of Waterloo, 1815

Sounds awesome. I'm going to check it out for sure.

I also recently watched one of Jeremy Clarkson's documentaries, this one was on the St. Nazaire raid in WW2. It's called 'The Greatest Raid of All', and it's on Youtube. Really solid documentary, and it's actually quite moving and exciting. He has another one on the Victoria Cross, which focuses mainly on the Arnhem drop in 1944, because Clarkson's uncle won a VC there (!). If you have an hour, they are worth watching.

Post: #17

(10-23-2013 09:18 PM)Therapsid Wrote:  Not a serious source, but "Shogun" by James Clavell is a great fictionalized account of the events around the time of Sekigahara and the rise of Tokugawa Ieyasu.

I presume the author had access to real-world sources. Did he cite anything interesting?

As for Creasy, he is certainly required reading for students of this genre. My own work is a direct descendant of his, as are all others in the "decisive battles" section.

I don't agree with all of the battles he listed- as in, I wouldn't put them in a list of top 15 (maybe top 50 or something), but it's certainly a great work, a classic that keeps continuing. I wrote a short response to someone else's take on that subject on a new blog I started if anyone's interested.

There's also an interesting addendum that came out in the 1960's called "20 Decisive Battles of the World" that updates Creasy's work and refines it, as well as adds five more battles:

16. Vicksburg, 1863
17. Sadowa, 1866
18. First Marne, 1914
19. Midway, 1942
20. Stalingrad, 1942-43.

All well-chosen.

There's also a book called 100 Decisive Battles from Ancient Times to the Present by Paul K. Davis (preview). I find myself agreeing with many of his choices also.

Post: #18

(10-27-2013 01:29 AM)Consul Wrote:  If you want a good overview of the most important battles in Western history before the World Wars, I recommend Edward Creasy's The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World. It's a classic. You can download it for free from Amazon. It's written in a good nineteenth century prose that has no hint of our era's suffocating political correctness. It is written by a skilled man of letters and military analysis. The author not only provides good summaries of the events in between the 15 decisive battles, he explains their significance in a way that affords a deeper understanding of how the battles shaped history.

Here are the 15 battles that Creasy selected:

1. The Battle of Marathon, 490 BC
2. Defeat of the Athenians at Syracuse, 413 BC
3. The Battle of Gaugamela, 331 BC
4. The Battle of the Metaurus, 207 BC
5. Victory of Arminius over the Roman Legions under Varus, 9 AD
6. The Battle of Chalons, 451
7. The Battle of Tours, 732
8. The Battle of Hastings, 1066
9. Joan of Arc's Victory over the English at Orleans, 1429
10. Defeat of the Spanish Armada, 1588
11. The Battle of Blenheim, 1704
12. The Battle of Pultowa, 1709
13. Victory of the Americans over Burgoyne at Saratoga, 1777
14. The Battle of Valmy, 1792
15. The Battle of Waterloo, 1815

Its interesting that the author didn't include the American civil war in that list. I think that was one of the decisive points in Western History.

EDIT: Realised that the book was probably written before it had occurred, or at least before its full significance was clear.