Recent Reads - A Trio.

Another chance to get through the reading pile occurred recently and it must be said that the to be read pile is getting rather low now, no more than two dozens titles left. Believe me when I say this is quite good for me. This time, I managed to finish three titles of interest, two very informative and one entertaining.

I'll start with the entertaining title first: "Disaster at Stalingrad" by Peter Tsouras. I picked this up at a book shop just off the Minster in York last year and I must say it's been a fun read. Tsouras has form in the alternate history genre and this is another corker. Taking up most of 1942, Disaster at Stalingrad posits a naval battle around supply convoy PQ17 that destroys the German surface fleet as a going concern but also ends the Allied convoys to Murmansk. A simultaneous move to bring supplies in via Persia and German intrigues in Turkey combine to affect the conflict around Stalingrad and the German push to the Caucasus region. The end result? Well, you'll have to read the book for that, but I can say that Tsouras writes in an easy going and plain style, combining action with information that gives you a well defined image of the conflict and the actions of those within that conflict. You may not agree with the ending of the book, and it certainly leaves more questions than answers (as does most alternate history), but as a take on what could have happened in World War Two, this definitely beats space lizards.

Next up is "Hue 1968" by Mark Bowden. This is a narrative history of the battle of Hue during the Tet Offensive, and boy does it not pull any punches. A journalist by trade, Bowden has written an excellent account of the battle, even-handed in its portrayal of both sides, immaculately researched (the source notes and interviewees give a sense of the effort put into this book), and packed with visceral detail. Some of the descriptions are not for the faint of heart yet he paints a vivid picture of a battle that few expected to fight. Neither the Viet Cong/NVA forces (who expected the general population to rise up and support the North), nor the US armed forces (more experienced in jungle warfare and very derogatory about the capabilities of the Viet Cong/NVA, which was to cost them dearly) were ready for urban warfare, and preconceptions on both sides were torn up by the bloody, bitter fighting that caused massive casualties for both the armed combatants and the civilian population caught in between. Indeed, the American generalship of the period is put very much under the microscope as well as the political motives that guided the military's actions and it is very much true that the battle of Hue and the Tet Offensive in general made real the fears that America did not have the will to win, just the will to get out without too much a loss of face. "Hue 1968" is an extraordinary book about a period that seems to have been forgotten. Indeed, 'Nam 1965-1972 by Battlefront games doesn't mention Hue at all in its 1968 section, preferring the siege of Khe Sanh. This may fit into the stereotype of the conflict, but that is to miss the point. Of course, there are other rule sets available. Any wargamer who wishes to re-fight Vietnam would be well served if they read this book first as even if it does not cover your area of interest, it certainly puts the human story into perspective.

Finally, "The Challenge" by Andrew Lambert takes us back a bit further in time to the War of 1812 and the naval battles fought between America and Britain. It is an easy read and extremely detailed, Lambert has a good eye for detail and a writing style that suits this type of book. I certainly learned a lot about the naval actions, ships and the participants. Tactics are well described as is the basis of the war. The conflict on land gets only brief mentions: this is a story of economic embargo, fraught naval battles and gentlemanly conduct. It is also nice to have a non-American view of the conflict, as not everything is about the debacle that was New Orleans. I mean, when you go to war ostensibly to end a supposed wrong but really to take Canada and Florida but end up with a ruined economy, no coastal trade, neither Canada nor Florida and a rather singed Presidential home, yet still claim victory, well, that says something. One of the points of this book is that the War of 1812 was something Britain considered a nuisance, a side show to the existential struggle against Napoleon. Britain ended the war having secured peace and so began the era of Pax Britannica, hardly the sign of a defeated nation. A comment raised by Lambert is that the true losers in America were the Native allies of the British and slaves and that is a very fair point. Criticism of the book: it can come across as a little bit too biased to the British, but then again, maybe not. After reading several tomes on the War of 1812 and the inherent American bias, it is nice to read an alternative view. As with all history, the more sources you read on a period, the greater your understanding of that period, and I heartily recommend this one to create a balanced view.