Reviews

2SAS – Bill Stirling and the Forgotten Special Forces Unit of World War II

Book by Gavin Mortimer Drawing on recently declassified files and interviews with veterans, this is a fascinating history of Bill Stirling and 2SAS – pioneering founders of modern special forces. David Stirling is the name synonymous with the wartime SAS, but the real brains behind the operation were, in fact, Bill Stirling, David’s eldest brother. …

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Book Review: Jutland 1916: The Archaeology of a Naval Battlefield.

Book Review by Peter L. Belmonte The author is Innes McCartney, Jutland 1916: The Archaeology of a Naval Battlefield. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing, 2016. Hardcover, illus., 272pp.In Jutland 1916: The Archaeology of a Naval Battlefield, marine archaeologist and author Innes McCartney discusses his examination of the underwater wrecks of twenty-two of the twenty-five vessels sunk …

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War Along the Wabash by author Steven P. Locke

     On November 14, 1791, First Nations warriors from a coalition of nations to include the Shawnees, Miamis, Delawares and Potawatomis surprised an American Army under General Arthur St. Clair in the territory of the Northwest Frontier, handing the nascent United States a terrible defeat, causing almost 1,000 casualties for the cost of a few …

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Washington’s Marines: The Origins of the Corps and the American Revolution, 1775 – 1777 By Major General Jason Q. Bohm, United States Marine Corps

     Washington’s Marines is a niche history, focusing on the contributions of the Continental Marines at the beginning of the American Revolution. The book is brought to the public by Savas Beatie, a publisher renowned for introducing micro-histories and volumes focused on lesser-known aspects of American military history to readers. General Bohm has performed research …

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The Pattern, The 33rd Regiment and the British Infantry Experience During the American Revolution, 1770-1783 by Robbie MacNiven

     The Pattern, part of the From Reason to Revolution series from Helion & Co, is a unique blend of traditional military history and modern social history focused on a microcosm of the British Army in the American Revolution. Author Robbie MacNiven focuses on the recruiting, training and equipping of the 33rd Regiment, diving deeply …

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The Archaeology of the Royal Flying Corps: Trench Art, Souvenirs, and Lucky Mascots by Melanie Winterton

     The Archaeology of the Royal Flying Corps, part of the Modern Conflict Archaeology series edited by Nicholas J. Saunders, is an absorbing discussion of the material culture of WW1 aviation, viewed through the lens of “the things they carried”, to borrow a phrase from author Tim O’Brien. Author Melanie Winterton’s goes beyond the notion …

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Gavin At War: The World War II Diary of Lieutenant General James M. Gavin, edited and annotated by Lewis Sorley

General Gavin is a legend among American paratroopers, leading the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment and later the 82ndAirborne Division in four combat jumps in the European Theater during World War II. Lewis Sorley provides an unprecedented look at Gavin’s innermost thoughts as he fought his way from Sicily, through Italy, France, Holland, Belgium, and Germany …

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Lieutenant General James Longstreet: Innovative Strategist by F. Gregory Toretta and James Longstreet and the American Civil War by Harold M. Knudsen

Published by Casemate Publishers and Savas Beatie This weekend is the 159th anniversary of The Battle of Gettysburg and thus it seems like an excellent time to review two new biographies of one of the most famous commanders who fought on that field, Confederate Lieutenant General James Longstreet. Longstreet commanded the First Corps of the …

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