Mines, Bombs, Bullets and Bridges

Mines, Bombs, Bullets and Bridges Memoirs of a WW2 Sapper written by

Brian Moss and published by Pen & Sword Books - £25 - Hardback - Pages 256

Soldiers’ first-hand accounts of Second World War active service invariably make

inspiring and exciting reading but Mines, Bombs, Bullets and Bridges is exceptional

for several reasons. First, Brian Moss’s role as a bomb disposal specialist was

especially hazardous. Secondly, he was in the thick of the action from the start,

dealing with unexploded ordnance during the London blitz. He was then deployed

as a frontline sapper to North Africa and onto Sicily before landing on Gold Beach

on D-Day. Despite many close calls he was relatively unscathed until taken out by

a butterfly bomb at Nijmegen. Fortunately, despite serious injury he lived, quite

literally, to tell the tale but his war was over.

While the Author’s graphic account compares favourably with the very best wartime memoirs, it also has a unique element, namely examples of his outstanding artistic skill. It is truly remarkable that he not only managed to produce so many fine works under combat conditions and that he was able to draw such accurate maps from memory. His sketches and paintings bring a special dimension to this story.

A really good and fascinating book about a guy called Brian Moss, a Sapper that served during WW2, as a Bomb Disposal Specialist. Brian originally spent time serving during the Blitz until he was sent out to North Africa in his role and would then go on to serve in Normandy and Operation Market Graden. The book is about the work of Brian as he served, and has been edited by his son Michael. The book as well as being written by Brian also contains drawings, pictures and diagrams from Brian, but what also shines through his writings is his dark humour and self-confidence, which I assume you really need when you're facing that much possible danger every day. The book is enjoyable and written well but also put together well by his son, Brian comes out of this as a really nice fella. An enjoyable book which would go down well with men who had served in the Army.

D-Day, Arnhem & The Rhine

D-Day, Arnhem & The Rhine written by Robert F. Ashby and published

by Pen & Sword Books - £20 - Hardback - Pages 176

Foot soldiers, commandos, parachutists, naval seamen, bomber and fighter pilots –

their varied personal experiences of the Second World War have been widely recounted,

and the parts they played in the conflict are well known. But there are specialized wartime

roles that have received very little attention, notably the gallant actions of the men of the

Glider Pilot Regiment. That is why Robert Ashby’s rare and vivid pilot’s memoir is so

valuable. In it he offers a fascinating insight not only into the major operations he took

part in – including D-Day, Arnhem and the Rhine crossing – but into the exacting flying

skills required to carry out perilous glider landings on enemy territory while under fire.

His account of his hair-raising training, together with his pen-portraits of his comrades and officers, takes the reader inside the world of a ‘citizen soldier’. The glider landings at Arnhem and the intense fighting that followed are the climax of his narrative, offering us a remarkable insight into one of the most controversial Allied disasters of the entire war.

This book is about the life of Robert Ashby, a pilot who was involved in Operation Market Garden and the Operation on D-day in Normandy, what makes a difference to these is that they are the personal papers and writings of this airman. Ashby was lucky in that due to the mess of Market Garden, he wasn’t captured in Arnhem and managed to make it back to Britain. His thoughts on this particular part of his life are interesting in that we know how hard it was to take the bridges in Arnhem and many were under threat from the Germans. But this shows the importance of personal papers from individuals such as Robert Ashby.

This 177-page book was an interesting book and one you don’t really hear much about in his role as a glider pilot, but a quite interesting read. I would recommend this book as you don’t often get books about this role in the war.

D-Day Gunners

D-Day Gunners written by Frank Baldwin and published by Pen & Sword Books

- £25 - Hardback - Pages 272

Part history book and part travel guide, D-Day Gunners is aimed at anyone interested

in the artillery on the D-Day beaches and landing grounds. While the heritage of the D-Day

beaches and landing sites is well documented, this rarely includes the artillery story.

The author of this book aims to correct this by providing a visitors' guide to the artillery

stories associated with the battlefield heritage that remains on the D-Day beaches,

mapping the fire-plan for D-Day against the known German locations, and looking

at what happened at these places.

There is relatively little explanation about the role of the artillery in general or the deeds of artillerymen, in particular those of the Royal Regiment of Artillery. This book tells of the significance of artillery on D-Day and the part it played in the outcome. Initial reports published stressed that the coastal defences were effectively neutralized by the bombing and that no significant counterattacks developed on D-Day. However, post-war accounts increasingly attributed allied success to allied firepower.

The book tells the story of the men who served the guns on the D-Day beaches, and the effects they had on the outcome of the battles on D-Day and afterwards. This volume is primarily about British Gunners and certain German Kannoniers. The book has been written as a guide to the battlefields on the D-Day beaches and landing grounds, telling the gunners’ stories that are not always commemorated on memorials, interpretation boards, or recorded in more general guides. These poignant stories include war poets and heroes decorated for bravery, or just the tales of some of the men buried in the war cemeteries or commemorated on the memorials. It also provides a guide in lay terms of the technical impact of field anti-tank and AA artillery on the war.

A second volume will tell the story of artillerymen on the American beaches and landing grounds.

This book covers the D-Day operations of World War Two, looking primarily at the locations of the landing grounds and the artillery used in the early morning attack. It looks at the importance of the artillery and tells the stories of the men manning the artillery units from both sides, which often gets forgotten about.

The book also serves as a battlefield guide that tours along the various beaches used for landings and then looks at the artillery guns & firing plans used. The book contains a large number of photographs, plans and maps which really do help explain the information though out and then does a great review of the beaches used. This feels like a thoroughly detailed and comprehensive book and in my very humble opinion, this has the look, feel and detail of a really decent book that would sit on the top of anyone's book on the D-Day subject. 

Tank Craft 35: Panzer IV, Medium Tank

Tank Craft 35: Panzer IV, Medium Tank written by Dennis Oliver and published

by Pen & Sword Books - £16.99 - Softcover - Pages 64

When the Allied armies landed on the Normandy beaches on 6 June 1944 the backbone of the armoured reaction force awaiting them was made up of 758 Pzkpfw IV tanks, a number which represents almost half the fully-tracked vehicles available for the defence of the West. The first models of these tanks had entered service in November 1937 and although replacements had been considered, the original design was continually up-gunned and up-armoured. Perhaps lacking the glamour of the Panther and Tiger, the most recent variant, the Pzkpfw IV ausf H, was at least the equal of the best British and American tanks. Drawing on official documentation and unit histories Dennis Oliver investigates the formations that operated these deservedly famous vehicles and uses archive photos and extensively researched colour illustrations to examine the markings, camouflage and technical aspects of the Pzkpfw IV tanks that served on the Western Front during the critical summer of 1944. A key section of his book displays available model kits and aftermarket products, complemented by a gallery of beautifully constructed and painted models in various scales. Technical details as well as modifications introduced during production and in the field are also examined, providing everything the modeller needs to recreate an accurate representation of these historic vehicles.

This book Panzer IV focuses on the latter part of the war from D-Day onwards. Although this series of books is primarily aimed at model crafters, the actual history, technical detail and chat about specifications is excellent so these books should never be seen as just for model makers. The photographs that run throughout this book whether it be photos of the time of these tanks in battle or the pictures of the models are very good and detailed and really help make the book. In the back of the book, there is always a really good contacts section and product list to help the reader out. Certainly a good book for the series.

The Waffen-SS in Normandy 1940

The Waffen-SS in Normandy 1940 written by Ian Baxter and published by Pen & Sword Books - £14.99 - Softcover - Pages 128

In June 1944, Operation OVERLORD, the greatest ever amphibious invasion, initially overwhelmed German Normandy defences. To attempt to stabilize the situation, Hitler deployed his elite Waffen-SS divisions to avert the crisis.

This classic Images of War book describes how the formidable Leibstandarte, Das Reich, Hitlerjugend, Hohenstaufen, and the Frundsberg SS divisions with supporting Wehrmacht divisions fought fanatically despite facing overwhelming enemy airpower and determined well-led Allied armies. Mounting losses and supply and fuel problems culminated in the Falaise Pocket defeat, when twenty-five out of the thirty-eight German division was completely destroyed. As a result, the remaining Waffen-SS units had to be reluctantly withdrawn and transferred back to Holland and, Belgium to recoup, or sent to the Eastern Front to attempt to stem the relentless Soviet advance.

With many rare and unpublished photographs with detailed captions, Waffen-SS in Normandy is a graphic account of the Waffen-SS operations in Normandy and their subsequent retreat through France.

This book in the Images of War series looks at the Waffen-SS in Normandy in 1940, a German operation in response to the allied forces' invasion of Normandy in the D-Day landings. Now as this was getting towards the end of the war, Germany was beginning to run out of supportive troops and his army was being stretched almost to the limit. Hence why and you’ll notice this looking through the book at the pictures, Hitler was having to rely heavily on troops formerly of the Hitler Youth. You’ll see from the photos that many of the soldiers in this book look very young, and as leader in a youth organisation personally, some of these soldiers look around the age as some of the young members in my group. But this shouldn’t be seen as a bad thing, as quite a few allied soldiers would go to remark how well these young German soldiers fought. 

This was a really enjoyable book to read, fascinating to see really young men being soldiers and having to endure war at such a young age. I must credit the author Ian Baxter, as it seems when you read an Ian Baxter book, you’ll always get a well written and researched book. This book feels a little smaller than others in the series, but it is certainly an excellent book.