Current Reading August 2023

Just finished Machine Guns and the Great War by Paul Cornish. This is a very good book if you are interested in the subject. Aside from the expected presentation of the development of machine guns and some descriptions, there is also much discussion of doctrine, procurement and usage during the war. I had some knowledge about WW1 and machine guns, but I was surprised to find that they were used not just as direct fire weapon, but as the war progressed they were grouped en masse and used for barrage and in-direct fire as a sort of light artillery. Towards the end of the war they had indeed superseded the rifle as the basic element of infantry use during the last hundred days or so that saw a more mobile conflict. Highly recommended.

Since the final volume of Sumption’s The Hundred Years War is supposed to be published later this year, I guess it was high time I got started on vol 3, Divided Houses, last week.

Finished Italian Heavy Cruisers; in short, now the preeminent English-language book on the topic. Hopefully, there will be companion books on the Italian light cruisers.

Working my way through The Guns of August.

Finished up The Queen's American Rangers; while it's a useful monograph, the author is so editorially reticent that you wonder what the point was, besides making a muted argument that the Loyalists were people too.

Finished an excellent Artillery in the Great War by Paul Strong and Sanders Marble. This is not a book about the technology of the artillery, rather it is about doctrine and usage throughout the war. It would help if the reader has some knowledge of WW1 battles and campaigns. Quite a good book.

Completed a very short, but well done Battle Of Tanga, German East Africa, 1914 by Major Kenneth J. Harvey. The battle was an overwhelming defeat for the British forces in German East Africa at the beginning of WW1. The book contains background on the colony, the build up of forces by both sides and the eventual battle.

Wrapped up the second half of Yugoslav Fighter Colours 1918-1941, which deals with the machines Belgrade actually took into battle in 1941.

Burned through Fire and Fortitude by John C McManus. Billed as the first volume of a Pacific companion to Atkinson's Liberation trilogy, it lives up to that standard. Glory, warts, terror and everything in between, from the bottom up. McManus is rather sceptical of McArthur, and appears to have a worse opinion of "Howing Mad" Smith. Looking forward to the next volume.

Finished The Savoia-Marchetti S.79 Sparviero, which is probably the best single book about an Italian warplane that I've ever read.

Finished Armoured Trains. Even by my standards this is an esoteric topic, but if you're into 20th-century military history, and a train buff, this will probably be worth the investment to you.

>11 Shrike58:

Now that sounds like my cup of tea! Thanks. Also interested in late 19th century armoured trains, eg during the Anglo-Boer war. Winston Churchill was captured from one in 1899.

>12 John5918: There's some 19th-century stuff in this book too; the author really did aspire to write an all-encompassing encyclopedia of the subject.