Have you read "World War II Infantry Tactics" by Dr. Bull?

[Josh Coady]

Has anyone read "World War II Infantry Tactics: Squad and Platoon" and "World War II Infantry Tactics: Company And Battalion" both by Dr. Stephen Bull?

I am wondering if it is worth $25 and the time to read it..

Or, could you suggest another similiar book?

Thanks in advance!

-Josh

[Crinius]

I recommend "Infantry attacks". Written by Rommel.

I think its also much cheaper.

[soft skin]

I bought and read both. It's the standard Osprey thing: thin book (90-100pp) with color plates inserts. They did clarify all sorts of things for me as they deal with the german, american and british units. There is nothing about russian units.

I enjoyed them both very much.

[John D Salt]

Originally posted by Josh Coady:

Has anyone read "World War II Infantry Tactics: Squad and Platoon" and "World War II Infantry Tactics: Company And Battalion" both by Dr. Stephen Bull?

I am wondering if it is worth $25 and the time to read it..

Or, could you suggest another similiar book?

Thanks in advance!

-Josh

I haven't read the Coy/Bn one, but the "Squad"/Pl one is quite jolly. There's very little in it you wouldn't know anyway if you'd been wargaming in the period for a few years, but if it's all new to you then it's probably a very nice start. It will also point you towards some other books that are well worth getting (Jary's "18 Platoon", Ellis' "The Sharp End", and so on).

As to alternatives, if you can get hold of Farrar-Hockley's book on infantry tactics from the old Almark "Mechanics of War" series, that's very good; or if you can find a back-issue of Strategy & Tactics magazine no. 46, that has an excellent pair of articles on infantry minor tactics and combined-arms warfare in the 20th Centiry (the best pair of articles I ever saw in S&T, along with one of the worst games).

Then, of course, there are the Nafziger tactics books available from Battlefront, which are certainly worth a look.

There isn't really all that much to infantry minor tactics -- in the end it's all just fire and movement. More interesting, complex and mysterious by far is the way people behave on the battlefield, which has a decisive effect at the minor tactical elevel. On this topic I would recommend:

"Men Against Fire" and "The Soldier's Load and the Mobility of the Nation" by S. L. A. Marshall (ideally with a copy of the RUSI article by Dr. Roger Spiller pointing out the gaps in Marshall's method).

"The Face of Battle" by John Keegan.

"Firing Line" by Richard Holmes (also published as "Acts of War", I believe).

"Forward into Battle" by Paddy Griffith.

"The Sharp End of War" by John Ellis.

"The Anatomy of Courage" by Lord Moran.

"On Killing" by Dave Grossman.

"The Poor Bloody Infantry 1939-1945" by Charles Whiting.

If you can get hold of a copy of the Fort Sill Fire Suppression Symposium, that's got some interesting bits in it, too.

All the best,

John.