The Battle of Reichswald - Rhineland - February 1945

The Battle of the Reichswald Rhineland - February 1945 written by Tim Saunders and published by Pen & Sword Books - £22 - Hardback - Pages 211

During winter 1944/45 few German officers believed that the Allies would attack the wooded

Reichswald Plug on the narrow neck of land between the rivers Rhine and Maas.

Consequently, relying on the natural defences of the forest, the vaunted Siegfried Line had

been allowed to peter out. The 84th Infantry Division held field defences that had been worked

on all autumn, but the defenders were thinly spread, and most German soldiers now faced

the certainty of defeat.

Originally hoping to use the frozen winter ground for a speedy assault, days before Operation

VERITABLE began a thaw set in and the Allies faced attacking in the worst possible ground

conditions. On the morning of 8 February, after protracted bombardment, delays multiplied as

vehicles became bogged in saturated fields and shell holes, and roads broke up under heavy

armour. However, just enough assault engineer equipment reached the outer German

defences, where they found the enemy infantry largely stunned by the bombardment.

It took all of the first day to break through the mud and defences into the Reichswald,

while to the north, Canadians and Scots struggled across equally sodden open country

with the Rhine floods rising fast. Despite the conditions, overnight the Canadians took to

the flood waters to seize what were now island villages and the Scots dashed to capture

the vital Materborn, which overlooked Kleve.

With heavy rain compounding difficulties, mud and flood waters made movement of men

and supplies increasingly difficult. Despite this and the arrival of German reinforcements,

the Allies fought their way forward, forcing the Reichswald Plug and opening the way into

the Rhineland and the final phases of the war.

The Battle of the Reichswald was a major battle fought between the Allies and the

Germans in February 1945, during the final stages of World War II. The battle took

place in the Reichswald forest, a large wooded area in the Rhineland region of

Germany. The Allies were attempting to break through the German Siegfried Line,

a series of defensive fortifications that ran along the German border. The author Tim

Saunders' book is a comprehensive and well-researched account of the battle.

Saunders draws on a wide range of sources, including official records and personal

accounts. He provides a detailed and balanced account of the battle, and he does not

shy away from the huge human cost of the war.

Overall, I thought that The Battle of the Reichswald was a well-written and

informative book. I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in the detailed

history of World War II.

The Three Battles of El Alamein

The Three Battles of El Alamein written by Jon Diamond and published

by Pen & Sword Books - £18.99 - Softcover - Pages 232

The 80th Anniversary of the historic final Battle of El Alamein is the ideal time to study the events leading up to General Bernard Montgomery’s famous victory over Field Marshal Rommel’s Panzerarmee Africa in Autumn 1942.

Four months earlier after the loss of Tobruk , Rommel’s forces were in the ascendancy. Prime

Minister Winston Churchill removed General Auchinleck from Command of Eighth Army and

appointed Bernard Montgomery in his place. After the successful defence of Alam El Halfa

Ridge in late August and early September ended Rommel’s inexorable advance, Montgomery

set in train plans for the set piece offensive campaign at El Alamein which took place between

23 October and 4 November 1942.

The stakes could not have been higher. Had Rommel broken through the Allied defences in

Summer 1942 or Montgomery’s forces not overwhelmed the German and Italian armies at

El Alamein, Egypt and the Suez Canal would have fallen to the Nazis.

Instead, the victory at El Alamein proved to be the turning point of the War against Hitler

and led to the victory in North Africa.

A really good book in the Images of War series. This book covers the three battles

at El Alamein through excellent information and detail, and is supported by a larger

than usual book of rare excellent photographs. The book covers the three battles

but also the weapons and vehicles used and the characters involved in the conflict.

An excellent book very worthy of being part of the series.

HMS Turbulent

HMS Turbulent written by Stephen Wynn and published by Pen & Sword Books

- £22 - Hardback - Pages 280

HMS Turbulent was a Royal Navy T-class submarine. From its launch in May 1941 to when it was lost at sea, along with its entire crew, in March 1943, it was responsible for the sinking of nearly 100,000 tons of enemy shipping.

Besides the number of enemy vessels it sunk, HMS Turbulent has gone down in history for the attack on the Italian merchant vessel the Nino Bixio, which at the time was carrying more than 3,000 Allied POWS who had been captured during the fighting in North Africa.

Having left the Libyan port of Benghazi on 16 August 1942, accompanied by the Italian cargo vessel the Sestriere, the Nino Bixio was attacked the following day. A total of 336 Allied POWs, most of whom were either Australian or New Zealanders, were killed or died of their wounds in the explosion.

Although badly damaged, the Nino Bixio stayed afloat and was towed to Navarino, in southern Greece, where the surviving POWs disembarked. The wounded were treated in hospital, while the rest were shipped on to POW camps in Bari, Italy.

Although there have been different theories put forward as to how HMS Turbulent met its end off the Italian coast in 1943, there is still no absolute certainty as to where, when and how the boat and its crew were lost.

This was an interesting story to read and I have to say that a good number of Pen & Sword Books produce such interesting books, such stories where there is little publicity of it or is rarely mentioned. For example this book, I had never heard of but now I have and I am thankful for that and I remember the author wrote The Shetland Bus, another great book on a subject I had never heard of. This book covers the little known story of HMS Turbulent which sank an Italian ship, the Nino Bixio which was carrying 336 POW’s, but then the HMS Turbulent would soon be lost too. The author argues a number of possible causes to it’s demise which are very though provoking and interesting. An excellent book and easy to read, a recommended book on a largely forgotten story of WW2.

Nazi UFO’s The Legends and Myths of Hitler’s Flying Saucers in WW2

Nazi UFO’s The Legends and Myths of Hitler’s Flying Saucers in WW2 written by S. D, Tucker and published by Pen & Sword Books - £20 - Hardback - Pages 208

Nazi UFOs tells the strange tale of how, following the first alleged flying saucer sightings made in the USA in 1947, a series of fantasists and neo-fascists came forward to create a media myth that the Nazis may have invented these incredible craft as a means for winning the Second World War, a plan which was tantalisingly close to completion before the Allies conquered Berlin in 1945.

Today, the fantasy of Nazi UFOs has grown into an entire mythology in books, on TV

and online. Did Germany back-engineer anti-gravity craft, and even a full-blown

time-machine, by stripping technology from a crashed alien saucer? Did the SS

secretly invent ‘Green’ technology for use in their starship engines, and was this

planet-saving discovery later suppressed at the behest of a sinister Big Oil conspiracy?

Did Himmler try to develop ‘lightning weapons’ for use in aerial combat?

By contrasting the fake military-industrial pseudo-histories of Nazi UFO theorists with

details of real-life Nazi aerospace achievements, the author demonstrates both how this

modern-day mythology came about and how it cannot possibly be more than fractionally

true. For the first time, this fake ‘alternative military history’ is laid out in full.

This book features an appealing cast of con-men and spies, complete madmen, real-life Nazis and completely made-up ones, operating right across the globe from South America to wartime Europe and Japan. A good example may be the ‘mad professor’, Viktor Schauberger, who actually genuinely did manage to gain a personal audience with Adolf Hitler in order to try and convince him that he had discovered and then exploited some amazing new source of natural ‘free energy’ which could make objects (such as saucers, in the opinion of some) float. Hitler dismissed his plan, but it does nonetheless show how close some bizarre schemes came to being implemented in Nazi Germany.

I have to admit that reading this book was a bit like being stuck on the History Channel, and we all know how far downhill that has gone in the past decade. Now in reality the book does try to look at the possibility of UFO’s or at least UFO technology, it also looks at the scams and fake news that took part or that was promoted around the world, especially since WW2. I liked the fact that fake news was explored and that there were scams being perpetrated, and I suppose I enjoyed some of the info that got carried away with the prospect of UFO technology. I would recommend this book, as it does try to be balanced, but I imagine it might annoy others or they might not read it in the first place.

Review originally posted in October 2022

From Churchill's SAS to Hitler's Waffen-SS The Secret Wartime Exploits of Captain Douglas Berneville-Claye

From Churchill's SAS to Hitler's Waffen-SS The Secret Wartime Exploits of Captain Douglas Berneville-Claye written by Michael Scott and published by Pen & Sword Books - £20 - Hardback - Pages 200

Captain Douglas Berneville-Claye was serving with the fledgling SAS with fellow officers

such as David Stirling and Blair ‘Paddy’ Mayne when he was captured in the Western

Desert. He was ‘turned’ and became a member of the Nazi Waffen-SS. Collaboration

with the enemy was confirmed when dressed as an SS captain he approached remnants

of the British Free Corps; the Waffen-SS unit composed of renegade British nationals.

He exhorted them to serve under his command against Russian forces.

Post-war Berneville-Claye was investigated by MI5 for treachery. Following an Army court-martial he was dishonourably dismissed and sentenced to six months imprisonment. Upon release, his escapades and private life were no less contentious. A philanderer and bigamist, he married four times, sired ten children and rubbed shoulders with the criminal underworld in and out of prison. Eventually he succeeded in emigrating to Australia.

Thanks to the author’s painstaking research, this is a compelling yet shocking biography of one of the most intriguing, colourful and disreputable characters of his era. How he escaped with his life is a question readers will ponder.

This book about Captain Douglas Berneville-Claye was the type of character that you could describe as a bit of a rogue mixed with a bit of a scoundrel, mainly because he would seem to lie, cheat and be a bit of a conman. Originally he had joined the RAF, but then ended up joining the army where he managed to serve with the newly formed SAS. It couldn’t be argued that he was the most loyal person or showed much loyalty, but then I think he kind of did what was best for him in whatever circumstance he found himself in. He would eventually find himself captured in North Africa, but then changed sides and began working with the German Waffen-SS.

Eventually, after the war he would be investigated by the British authorities and imprisoned for working with the enemy. But it wasn’t just his work life that would be controversial, his life after being prosecuted would be difficult and sordid before he moved to Australia. I think if you were being positive you could say he was a bit of a ducker ‘n’ diver character, and if you were being negative you could say he was a con artist and turncoat. A fascinating story about a character I had never come across before, I imagine probably a difficult story to research from the author’s point of view, but a good book and read all together showing that life can take all sorts.

Blood, Dust & Snow Diaries of a Panzer Commander in Germany and on the Eastern Front

Blood, Dust & Snow Diaries of a Panzer Commander in Germany and on

the Eastern Front written by Friedrich Sander and published by Greenhill

Books - £25 - Hardback - Pages 448

‘The infantry is only a few metres ahead of us when suddenly, on the left of our tank, a Russian stands up. The swine had pretended to be dead when our infantry came past him! That’s an old classic, pretending to be dead and then firing from the rear. But that isn’t a good idea when facing tank-men like us… floor the accelerator! Turn left and run over him!

“Unvarnished, absorbing, gritty and pulling no punches. One of the best accounts of war on

the Eastern Front I have ever read.” - Peter Caddick-Adams

The war on the Eastern Front from 1941 to 1945 was the bloodiest combat theatre in the

bloodiest war in history. Oberleutnant Friedrich Wilhelm Sander experienced this bloodshed

first-hand when serving with the 11th Panzer-Regiment. This regiment made up the core of

the 6th Panzer-Division, one of Hitler’s top armoured formations, which was involved in

most of the major campaigns on the Eastern Front; campaigns such as Operation

Barbarossa and Operation Winter Storm.

Sander recorded his experience of these campaigns in astounding detail in some recently

-discovered diaries covering the period from April 1938 to December 1943, translated here

for the first time by historian Robin Schäfer. Written during the fighting, these diaries not only

offer an honest assessment of the war on the Eastern Front, but also provide an insight into

the mind of a young and highly politicised officer, and offer an intimate glimpse into the

close-knit community of a German Panzer crew.

A brutally honest, immediate and unfiltered personal account, Sander’s translated diaries

make for some uniquely fascinating reading about some of the most important campaigns

of the Second World War. Supported by more than 100 photographs and maps from the period,

Blood, Dust & Snow will be of great interest not only to readers studying the war on the

Eastern Front, but also to any historian researching the Second World War.

Blood, Dust & Snow is a diary from German Panzer Commander Friedrich Sandler

from WW2 who served mainly on the Eastern Front. In this diary, we obviously we have

translated from German which is done very well, and we seem to get a lot of books

now published where English is not the primary language. But I have to say that this

book is one of the best I have read for a while, not only the translation but also the

writing is very descriptive and informative which makes it stand out from the crowd.

The book brings across the hardships of being a Panzer commander and the vivid

descriptions and battle accounts are very realistic and make for a great read. The

map is also supported by a good number of photographs which really help support

the story. A hit for me, would happily recommend to other WW2 history buffs.

The Road to Barbarossa Soviet-German Relations 1917-1941

The Road to Barbarossa Soviet-German Relations 1917-1941 written by

Norman Ridley and published by Frontline Books - £25 - Hardback - Pages 320

From the chaos of the First World War, during which Germany and Russia had fought each other to a standstill, there emerged two societies whose diametrically opposed ideologies of communism and fascism represented the opposite extremes of the political spectrum. Despite this, in time the governments and military establishments in both countries were able to create an environment where political expediency led to both cooperation and an eventual alliance.

Western democracies found both systems repellent but the two countries, Germany and the Soviet Union, embodied vast resources of, in the case of the Soviets, raw materials and, in the case of Germany, huge intellectual, scientific and industrial expertise. Both offered massive opportunities for trade, but neither made comfortable partners. Britain, whose sympathies lay more with the Germans, and France, whose history tied them more to Eastern Europe, tended to treat both Germany and the Soviet Union as outcast states. 

Whilst animosity was rampant on a political level, both countries, now having equal pariah status in the eyes of the Western allies, began to see huge benefits in military and economic cooperation. Collaborative ventures for covert armament production and training facilities were initiated in 1921. These schemes would continue, with varying degrees of success, for more than a decade until the rise of Nazism in Germany put an end to it.

The Spanish Civil War saw not only thee two rival political philosophies but opposing military doctrines also being tested against each other on the field of battle. It is remarkable, therefore, that these two nations emerged from this maelstrom to re-discover the ‘spirit of Rapallo’. It was a spirit which culminated in the signing of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact in August 1939. Within weeks, both sides would display their unity as they fell together with ruthless efficiency upon the hopless Poland.

This book looks at how these two ‘strange bedfellows’ dealt with western hostility and found ways to accommodate each other in a bid to recover from the economic devastation and dismantling of their historic territorial boundaries. The extent to which cooperation was achieved is unusual given the circumstances, especially as they had to contend with the machinations of the Western Powers. 

I really looked forward to reading this book, and I can say I wasn’t disappointed. I think I was just looking forward to the fact that it was about the Eastern Front, but it was giving the reader that extra dimension of concentrating more on the political/relations/pre-war part of the Eastern Front. Whilst there is nothing wrong with the battles or military side of things, it’s just nice to get the added story and depth that the political part brings to the story, a bit like getting more of the story. The book covers fascinating part of relations such as The Bolshevik Revolution, The Lorcarno Treaties, The Rise of Nazism, The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and more. The book is well written and Ridley is an excellent writer in making the information easy to understand with all the various personalities involved. The book contains excellent sources and notes, and definitely a good book if you prefer reading more about the paperwork side of war. Highly Recommended.

Hitler’s Last Chance Kolberg: The Propaganda Movie and the Rise and Fall of a German City

Hitler’s Last Chance Kolberg: The Propaganda Movie and the Rise and

Fall of a German City written by Kevin Prenger and published by Frontline

Books - £22 - Hardback - Pages 192

Apologies but I couldn't get the book description to format properly on this post

but you can read it at the Pen & Sword Website.

Hitler’s Last Chance is a book/story of the city of Kolberg in Poland that was attempted to be

taken by Germany during the Second World War. The story can be split into three like most

wartime cities, you went from the city just being Kolberg, to be taken or attempted, to be taken

by Germany during the war and then the city fell to the Russians. But during this process, or at

least the part about Kolberg being taken over by Germany Goebbels saw this as a chance to

sell this story to Germany as a good or a ‘saviour’ type event as a propaganda film. Eventually,

this film would not see general publication due to the events. But the fascinating thing I

found about this story was the fact that you could see parallels with the conflict currently

going on in the Russia/Ukraine conflict, in which you have one country trying to take one city

because they believe they are doing the right thing or making the citizens free. The book is a

really nice look at propaganda, how it could be done or put into place and the reasons for it.

I think the book is more for those interested in how propaganda works and how it can be used

to influence rather than those into the wider story of the war. A book that made me think, and

one I would happily recommend to others.

The Plot of Shame Us Military Executions in Europe During WW2

The Plot of Shame Us Military Executions in Europe During WW2 written

by Paul Johnson and published by Frontline Books - £20 - Hardback - Pages 224

The Oise-Aisne American Cemetery is the last resting place of 6,012 American

soldiers who died fighting in a small portion of Northern France during the First

World War. The impressive cemetery is divided into four plots marked A to D.

However, few visitors are aware that across the road, behind the immaculate façade of the superintendent’s office, unmarked and completely surrounded by impassable shrubbery, is Plot E, a semi-secret fifth plot that contains the bodies of ninety-six American soldiers. These were men who were executed for crimes committed in the European Theatre of Operations during and just after the Second World War.

Originally, the men whose death sentences were carried out were buried near the sites of their executions in locations as far afield as England, France, Belgium, Germany, Italy, and Algeria. A number of the men were executed in the grounds of Shepton Mallet prison in Somerset – the majority of whom were hanged in the execution block, with two being shot by a firing squad in the prison yard. The executioner at most of the hangings was Thomas William Pierrepoint, assisted mainly by his more-famous nephew Albert Pierrepoint.

Then, in 1949, under a veil of secrecy, the ‘plot of shame’, as it has become known, was established in France. The site does not exist on maps of the cemetery and it is not mentioned on the American Battle Monuments Commission’s website. Visits to Plot E are not encouraged. Indeed, public access is difficult because the area is concealed, surrounded by bushes, and is closed to visitors.

No US flag is permitted to fly over the plot and the graves themselves have no names, just small, simple stones the size of index cards that are differentiated only by reference numbers. Even underground the dishonoured are set apart, with each body being positioned with its back to the main cemetery.

In The Plot of Shame, the historian Paul Johnson uncovers the history of Plot E and the terrible stories of wartime crime linked to it.

A really fascinating book that tells the tales of a group of American men, you would very rarely her about as these are the tales of US servicemen sentenced to death for crimes at the time were seen as heinous even during a time of war. The book is good in that it starts out with the Articles of War, the executioners and the plot where the majority of these men were buried in uncelebrated graves. The book then goes through the various stories on a year-by-year basis. The stories are explained in great detail and a really good amount of research has gone into this book, a very well informed book. Certainly a great book for those true crime fans.

The Berlin Blitz By Those Who Were There

The Berlin Blitz By Those Who Were There written by Martin W. Bowman

and published by Pen & Sword Books - £25 - Hardback - Pages 236

The Allied bombing of Berlin was the longest and most sustained bombing offensive

against one target in the Second World War. The Berlin Blitz By Those Who Were

There is a compelling, gripping and thought-provoking story of the Allied bombing

forces and the ordinary people on the ground, told in their own tongue and with

meticulous attention to detail. The result is a coherent, single story which unfolds

in a straightforward and incisive narrative.

This work draws attention in some detail to the major raids on the Reich capital by RAF Bomber Command from the late summer of 1940 to September 1943. It begins with the reliable but largely ineffective twin-engined Blenheims, Hampdens, Wellingtons and Whitleys, through to the introduction into front-line service of the four-engined ‘heavies’ - the Stirling, Manchester and Halifax, which bore the brunt of the bomber offensive until the advent of the incomparable Avro Lancaster in 1942 and the superlative Mosquito. On 30 January 1943, on the tenth anniversary of Hitler’s usurpation of power, two formations (each of three Mosquitoes) appeared over Berlin in daylight and interrupted large rallies being addressed by Goering and Goebbels.

Sir Arthur Harris, Commander-in-Chief, RAF Bomber Command, hoped to ‘wreck Berlin from end to end’ and ‘produce a state of devastation in which German surrender is inevitable’. But the ‘Big City’, as it was known to his faithful ‘old lags’, was never completely destroyed.

This book is very much how the title explains, in that it is about the people who were there rather than specifics about flights, bombings and airforces. The book is very much a collection of ideas and opinions of people that were involved in the various raids and bombing run with the build up to the events and the thoughts and feelings when they were in progress. Concentrating on the mid war period, the book relies heavily on what Bomber Command specialised in, that of the heavy bombers like the Stirlings, Lancasters and so on.

Like previous Martin W. Bowman books, he is clearly a leading WW2 historian and this shines through in the book and the writing. He has the ability to include technical details, opinions and story timeline all together to produce and easy to read book of a high standard. A thoroughly good read involving the Berlin Biltz, and one that certainly deserves recommendation.

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.

Warships of the Soviet Fleets 1939-1945 Volume 2: Escorts and Smaller Fighting Ships

Warships of the Soviet Fleets 1939-1945 Volume 2: Escorts and Smaller Fighting

Ships written by Przemyslaw Budzbon , Jan Radziemski, Marek Twardowski and

published by Seaforth Publishing - £45 - Hardback - Pages 304

Seventy-five years after the end of the Second World War the details of Soviet ships,

their activities and fates remain an enigma to the West. In wartime such information was

classified and after a brief period of glasnost (‘openness’) the Russian state has again

restricted access to historical archives. Therefore, the value – and originality – of this

work is difficult to exaggerate. It sees the first publication of reliable data on both the

seagoing fleets and riverine flotillas of the Soviet Navy, listing over 6200 vessels from

battleships to river gunboats, and mercantile conversions as well as purpose-built

warships.

This second part of the three-volume series includes all the remaining fighting vessels not already covered in Volume I. Beginning with the Uragan class – rated as Escort Ships and the first seagoing warships designed by the Soviet Union – the book then moves on to Submarine Hunters, both large and small, Patrol craft, Minelayers and Minesweepers, and unusual types like Floating Artillery Batteries and Anti-Aircraft Defence Ships, concluding with Landing Ships and Craft. Many of these vessels have hitherto been poorly documented but given the nature of the land-centred Soviet war against Germany their contribution should not be underestimated. The details of their service and, not least, the circumstances of their loss, constitute a major addition to Western understanding of the Soviet Navy’s war effort.

This is undoubtedly one of the most important naval reference works of recent years and will be welcomed by anyone with an interest in warships, the Soviet Navy or wider maritime aspects of the Second World War. Furthermore, as recent Russian actions appear to revive Soviet-era aspirations, this book offers both new insights and valuable background of contemporary relevance.

This volume of the Soviet Fleets concentrates on the smaller boats of the fleet, covering vessels such as Escort Ships, Mine Layers, Patrol Boats, Submarine Hunters and much more. The research and technical details in this book is huge, and so much effort shows. The book is crammed with facts, statistics, photographs, drawings and tables all seem to be a first-class, and if anything I think I’ve learnt more about the Soviet fleet than I know about the Royal Navy. A fantastic book that will delight those who have an interest in the Soviet Navy, and I imagine the book would be good for model collectors or makers.