Aragorn2002 Posted December 10, 2020 Share Posted December 10, 2020 Since it seems that we can forget about Fire and Rubble until after the Season holidays, I suggest that this is also a good time to re-read books about the Ardennes offensive. The Duel in the Mist-series by Timm Haasler, Roddy MacDougall and Hans Weber comes to mind. Apart from that I've started the Kampfgruppe Peiper-campaign again, which is great for this time of the year. I'm also planning on a self made winter battle in Italy, using MJKerners great Goumiers-mod. Still one of my favorite mods. As I always use to say, there's still so much to explore.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtsjc1 Posted December 10, 2020 Share Posted December 10, 2020 The Bitter Woods by John S.D. Eisenhower and Snow And Steel by Peter Caddick- Adams are two excellent books on the Battle Of The Bulge. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glubokii Boy Posted December 10, 2020 Author Share Posted December 10, 2020 Yepp...anyone looking to read up on FR has gotten quite a few nice suggestions... But other fronts and topics...perhaps not as much ... The ardennes is a nice addition... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucky_Strike Posted December 10, 2020 Share Posted December 10, 2020 Those Who Hold Bastogne by Peter Schrijvers is a good account of the battle for Bastogne. The Battle East of Elsenborn & The Twin Villages By William Cavanagh is a fast-paced narrative which makes for a good bedtime read. Seven Days in January: With the 6th SS Mountain Division in Operation Nordwind by Wolf Zoepf offers a very detailed and personal account of action in the Vosges Mountains during the first seven days of 1945. Also covering the same campaign from the perspective of the US Seventh Army When the Odds Were Even: Vosges Mountains Campaign, October 1944-January 1945 by Keith Bonn. And Victory Was Beyond Their Grasp: With the 272nd Volks-Grenadier Division from the Hurtgen Forest to the Heart of the Reich by Douglas Nash is an insightful account of a rarely covered subject. All of these are manageable size for bedtime reading! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerKommissar Posted December 10, 2020 Share Posted December 10, 2020 (edited) I recommend Island of Fire, by Jason D. Mark. It's a day-by-day coverage of the German assault on Stalingrad, from both Wehrmacht and Red Army perspectives. It's jam-packed with real maps, photos and reports. The focus is put on the tactical and operational levels, but not without strategic context. Perfect to get you hyped for urban, and prepared for winter, operations on the Ostfront -- that we'll hopefully see soon in F&R. Edited December 10, 2020 by DerKommissar 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocketman Posted December 10, 2020 Share Posted December 10, 2020 9 hours ago, RepsolCBR said: I recieved my copy of Bloody Streets today I have obviosly not read it yet...simply had a quick look at it... The book comes with high quality paper, A4-size (standard printersize). A decent number of pictures...not exesive though. Close to 500 pages... As for the map-book...most maps are fairly high altitude areal photos. Some other maps are included also but the vast majority of them cover a fairly large area... Will it be useful for scenario design ? Maybe...to some degree i guess. The pictures will give you a good picture of the larger area but perhaps not so much when it comes to being able to plot down the individual buildings and other terrain features with the highest level of accuracy. I will dive into the book comes weekend . Maybe it will work well with the Berlin master maps included in the module. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocketman Posted December 10, 2020 Share Posted December 10, 2020 (edited) 9 hours ago, RepsolCBR said: I recieved my copy of Bloody Streets today I have obviosly not read it yet...simply had a quick look at it... The book comes with high quality paper, A4-size (standard printersize). A decent number of pictures...not exesive though. Close to 500 pages... As for the map-book...most maps are fairly high altitude areal photos. Some other maps are included also but the vast majority of them cover a fairly large area... Will it be useful for scenario design ? Maybe...to some degree i guess. The pictures will give you a good picture of the larger area but perhaps not so much when it comes to being able to plot down the individual buildings and other terrain features with the highest level of accuracy. I will dive into the book comes weekend . Double post. Edited December 10, 2020 by rocketman 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vacillator Posted December 10, 2020 Share Posted December 10, 2020 9 hours ago, Aragorn2002 said: Since it seems that we can forget about Fire and Rubble until after the Season holidays Who knows, there may be a late surprise just like the total fiasco of a Brexit 'deal'. Or probably not . I could go on, but this is not the 'idiotic Brexit' forum. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glubokii Boy Posted December 11, 2020 Author Share Posted December 11, 2020 8 hours ago, DerKommissar said: I recommend Island of Fire, by Jason D. Mark. It's a day-by-day coverage of the German assault on Stalingrad, from both Wehrmacht and Red Army perspectives. It's jam-packed with real maps, photos and reports. The focus is put on the tactical and operational levels, but not without strategic context. Perfect to get you hyped for urban, and prepared for winter, operations on the Ostfront -- that we'll hopefully see soon in F&R. If its anything like his Death of the leaping horseman then its a must buy imo... Leaping horseman cover the deeds of the 24th panzerdivition during its Stalingrad adventure. The divition had the good fortune of being pulled from the line infront of moscow in 41 when it still was a cavalry divition. No such luck during 42 though. This book is of the highest quality with nice pictures and some of the best maps i have ever seen. As I understand it...Island of fire is more concentrated on the fighting in the factory district to the north...not so much on the earlier fighting in the city... Not that that is a bad thing though ! It is for sure on my...to buy list . 7 hours ago, rocketman said: Maybe it will work well with the Berlin master maps included in the module. Yes. And i'm sure that the book as a whole will be an excellent companion to F&R.. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aragorn2002 Posted December 11, 2020 Share Posted December 11, 2020 3 hours ago, RepsolCBR said: If its anything like his Death of the leaping horseman then its a must buy imo... Leaping horseman cover the deeds of the 24th panzerdivition during its Stalingrad adventure. The divition had the good fortune of being pulled from the line infront of moscow in 41 when it still was a cavalry divition. No such luck during 42 though. This book is of the highest quality with nice pictures and some of the best maps i have ever seen. As I understand it...Island of fire is more concentrated on the fighting in the factory district to the north...not so much on the earlier fighting in the city... Don't forget the new Panzerkrieg series by the same author, on the panzer units that fought at Stalingrad. Stunning research and lots of new pictures. The first book has already been released. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glubokii Boy Posted December 11, 2020 Author Share Posted December 11, 2020 10 minutes ago, Aragorn2002 said: Don't forget the new Panzerkrieg series by the same author, on the panzer units that fought at Stalingrad. Stunning research and lots of new pictures. The first book has already been released. Outstanding ! Will defenetally check this out... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerKommissar Posted December 11, 2020 Share Posted December 11, 2020 8 hours ago, RepsolCBR said: Leaping horseman cover the deeds of the 24th panzerdivition during its Stalingrad adventure. The divition had the good fortune of being pulled from the line infront of moscow in 41 when it still was a cavalry divition. No such luck during 42 though. Oh yeah, dude! That's next on my list. 8 hours ago, RepsolCBR said: As I understand it...Island of fire is more concentrated on the fighting in the factory district to the north...not so much on the earlier fighting in the city... 100%, would love a prequel. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aragorn2002 Posted December 11, 2020 Share Posted December 11, 2020 17 hours ago, Lucky_Strike said: Those Who Hold Bastogne by Peter Schrijvers is a good account of the battle for Bastogne. The Battle East of Elsenborn & The Twin Villages By William Cavanagh is a fast-paced narrative which makes for a good bedtime read. Seven Days in January: With the 6th SS Mountain Division in Operation Nordwind by Wolf Zoepf offers a very detailed and personal account of action in the Vosges Mountains during the first seven days of 1945. Also covering the same campaign from the perspective of the US Seventh Army When the Odds Were Even: Vosges Mountains Campaign, October 1944-January 1945 by Keith Bonn. And Victory Was Beyond Their Grasp: With the 272nd Volks-Grenadier Division from the Hurtgen Forest to the Heart of the Reich by Douglas Nash is an insightful account of a rarely covered subject. All of these are manageable size for bedtime reading! Don't forget The Devil's Adjudant, the book on Jochen Peiper during the assault in the Ardennes by your fellow countryman, the late Major General Michael Reynolds, for me still one of the best books ever written on both Kampgruppe Peiper and Jochen Peiper himself. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danfrodo Posted December 11, 2020 Share Posted December 11, 2020 Thanks everyone for the excellent book tips. It is Ardennes Offensive time of the year, so I'll do some of those. I read Seven Days in January (excellent) and When the Odds were Even (also excellent). But the others are new to me and some are even available on kindle, can't wait. I've got Snow and Steel on my wish list, more likely to but it now that someone here recommends it. My favorite is still A Time for Trumpets, by Charles MacDonald, also author of the well known Company Commander. That book first instilled in me the image of a daring and very desperate offensive stalled by mud & traffic jams those first critical days. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucky_Strike Posted December 11, 2020 Share Posted December 11, 2020 4 hours ago, Aragorn2002 said: Don't forget The Devil's Adjudant, the book on Jochen Peiper during the assault in the Ardennes by your fellow countryman, the late Major General Michael Reynolds, for me still one of the best books ever written on both Kampgruppe Peiper and Jochen Peiper himself. For sure. Also have to echo Aragon’s recommendation for Duel in the Mist, volume 1 in particular is an outstanding piece of work. 2 hours ago, danfrodo said: My favorite is still A Time for Trumpets, by Charles MacDonald ... I suspect a lot of us were inspired by Charles MacDonald, he had a distinct, pioneering, important voice and spun a good yarn based on his own very vital experiences. Certainly looks like you’ll need a new bookshelf in the not too distant future! Happy days! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtsjc1 Posted December 12, 2020 Share Posted December 12, 2020 Last panzer battles in Hungary | PeKo Publishing (pekobooks.com) Not cheap but this looks pretty good. About $50 on Amazon. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aragorn2002 Posted December 12, 2020 Share Posted December 12, 2020 (edited) 12 hours ago, jtsjc1 said: Last panzer battles in Hungary | PeKo Publishing (pekobooks.com) Not cheap but this looks pretty good. About $50 on Amazon. Expensive, but worth the money if you like details like I do. His other books are also very good. Btw, there's also a reprint of Robert Forsyth Mistel book, in case any Luftwaffe fans are reading this. Hope they will also republish his book on the Galland Circus (JV 44). Edited December 12, 2020 by Aragorn2002 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtsjc1 Posted December 13, 2020 Share Posted December 13, 2020 9 hours ago, Aragorn2002 said: Expensive, but worth the money if you like details like I do. His other books are also very good. Btw, there's also a reprint of Robert Forsyth Mistel book, in case any Luftwaffe fans are reading this. Hope they will also republish his book on the Galland Circus (JV 44). The Galland Circus book is one I've had my eye on for a long time. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aragorn2002 Posted December 14, 2020 Share Posted December 14, 2020 The greatest espionage writer, John Le Carré had died, aged 89. A gentleman of the old sort and a superb writer of espionage novels. As a statement described it; '"We will nog see his like again". May he rest in peace. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aragorn2002 Posted December 14, 2020 Share Posted December 14, 2020 3 hours ago, Aragorn2002 said: The greatest espionage writer, John Le Carré had died, aged 89. A gentleman of the old sort and a superb writer of espionage novels. As a statement described it; '"We will nog see his like again". May he rest in peace. "Nog" should be "not" 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warts 'n' all Posted December 14, 2020 Share Posted December 14, 2020 Essential Christmas reading 1944 vintage. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erwin Posted December 14, 2020 Share Posted December 14, 2020 7 hours ago, Aragorn2002 said: The greatest espionage writer, John Le Carré had died, aged 89. A gentleman of the old sort and a superb writer of espionage novels. As a statement described it; '"We will nog see his like again". May he rest in peace. Very sad. My favorite espionage thriller writer. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danfrodo Posted December 14, 2020 Share Posted December 14, 2020 8 hours ago, Aragorn2002 said: The greatest espionage writer, John Le Carré had died, aged 89. A gentleman of the old sort and a superb writer of espionage novels. As a statement described it; '"We will nog see his like again". May he rest in peace. Hear hear! I read that Russians would actually use Le Carre novels in their training. He was that good -- because he was not just a brilliant writer but also had been in the espionage business. thanks for posting this, Aragorn 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aragorn2002 Posted December 14, 2020 Share Posted December 14, 2020 1 hour ago, danfrodo said: Hear hear! I read that Russians would actually use Le Carre novels in their training. He was that good -- because he was not just a brilliant writer but also had been in the espionage business. thanks for posting this, Aragorn You're welcome, Danfrodo. It really saddens me to realize that with people like this kind and modest gentleman also a world is disappearing. A little taste of what getting older really means, I guess. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danfrodo Posted December 14, 2020 Share Posted December 14, 2020 For sure, Aragorn. I just got his latest book on audio, but he narrated himself and I turned it back in and will instead read it. Have you read any Ben MacIntyre? True espionage stuff that's most excellent. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.