The Somme 1916 - Martinpuich & Le Sars

The Somme 1916 - Martinpuich & Le Sars written by Bob Paterson and published by Pen & Sword Books - £14.99 - Softcover - Pages 240

Much of the popular attention on the Battle of the Somme 1916 is focussed on the first day of the infantry assault, 1st July, when such high hopes were dashed and British casualties ran into the tens of thousands. However, the Somme was a battle that lasted over twenty weeks, running well into the autumn.

This book is concerned with fighting south of the famous Albert-Bapaume road from mid-September to the official end of the battle. The coverage includes Martinpuich, the hamlet of Eaucourt l'Abbaye, Le Sars and that strange topographical feature the Butte de Warlencourt.

The action started with the major British attack of 15 September 1916, which enjoyed some success and which included the first use of tanks. The book takes up the story from the fall of Martinpuich and follows the British as they inched their way north-eastwards to Le Sars and Eaucourt l'Abbaye. This was gruelling warfare, fought in fast deteriorating weather conditions and in the face of ever-increasing volumes of artillery fire: the mud was almost as much the enemy of both sides as the weight of lead and iron fired at them.

The Butte de Warlencourt has come to have an almost iconic status. This rather insignificant hillock, almost certainly a burial mound of the Romano-Gallic period, marks the point at which the battle officially ceased along the Albert-Bapaume road. For days before the battle ended both sides tussled to secure its possession, numerous limited attacks taking place over the devastated, utterly waterlogged and featureless ground. Indeed it was the 'emptiness' of the area that made the Butte of such significance, a fearsome, solitary landmark standing out against a backdrop of desolation. It was the focus of the fighting in the area for almost six weeks.

As well as the customary walks, essential to an understanding of the confused fighting in the area, there is a long car tour, covering many less visited parts of the battlefield to the east and north of the Butte and which places it firmly in the context of the battle. Charles Carrington, who wrote one of the classic memoirs of the war, was not alone amongst those who fought here when he commented that, 'the Butte de Warlencourt terrified us'.

Another nice book added to the series looks good and feels good with the excellently written history, supported by great photos, maps, diagrams and information. This particular book focuses on the end of the Battle of the Somme and is a handy guide to have with you whilst travelling around those battlegrounds. Another excellent book for the Battleground series.

The U-Boat War - A Global History from 1939-1945

The U-Boat War - A Global History from 1939 to 1945 written by Lawrence Paterson and

published by Osprey Publishing. - £25 - Hardback - Pages 336

The accepted historical narrative of the Second World War predominantly assigns U-boats to the so-called 'Battle of the Atlantic', almost as if the struggle over convoys between the new world and the old can be viewed in isolation from simultaneous events on land and in the air. This has become an almost accepted error. The U-boats war did not exist solely between 1940 and 1943, nor did the Atlantic battle occur in seclusion from other theatres of action. The story of Germany's second U-boat war began on the first day of hostilities with Britain and France and ended with the final torpedo sinking on 7 May 1945. U-boats were active in nearly every theatre of operation in which the Wehrmacht served, and within all but the Southern Ocean. Moreover, these deployments were not undertaken in isolation from one another; instead they were frequently interconnected in what became an increasingly inefficient German naval strategy.

This fascinating new book places each theatre of action in which U-boats were deployed into the broader context of the Second World War in its entirety while also studying the interdependence of the various geographic deployments. It illustrates the U-boats' often direct relationship with land, sea and aerial campaigns of both the Allied and Axis powers, dispels certain accepted mythologies, and reveals how the ultimate failure of the U-boats stemmed as much from chaotic German military and industrial mismanagement as it did from Allied advances in code-breaking and weaponry.

This book is divided into three parts with the first two-thirds covering the first half of WW2 and the final third covering the second half. With the first half of the book covering the building and supply of U-Boats and their availability, it would seem from reading that Germany wasn’t ready with regards to the U-Boat situation with many not fully finished or engines that were not entirely up to standard. 

Having read a number of books previously about the U-Boats and the war, there were quite a few bits that I already knew about that might be new to other people, like the fact that torpedoes used to be unreliable weapons and in fact mines would often be more dangerous for shipping due to the fact that they could be laid more quickly and could be concentrated or less so.

I’m going to say that the first half of the book was better and it seemed more full of content and specifications, the second half lacked a little, but was still quite enjoyable. I found the bibliography at the back of the book looks very good and I recognised a few of the names mentioned so I will probably follow up by doing some further reading on the subject. As I said I really enjoyed this book, and I find the U-Boat gets relatively less attention than the ground or air-based war combat. It is certainly a good book I would recommend to others that want to gain more knowledge about the U-Boat situation in WW2. I would like to thank Osprey Publishing for allowing me to read this advanced copy.

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The Battle Against Slavery

The Battle Against Slavery written by Paul L. Dawson published by Frontline Books - £20 - Hardback - Pages 280

On 13 December 1776, the Rev. William Turner preached the first avowedly anti-slavery sermon in the North of England. Copies of his sermon were distributed far and wide – in so doing, he had fired the first shot in the battle to end slavery had begun.

Four years later, Rev. Turner, members of his congregation and the Rev. Christopher Wyvill founded ‘The Yorkshire Association’ to agitate for political and social reform. The Association sought universal suffrage, annual parliaments and the abolition of slavery. In the West Riding, despite furious opposition, by 1783 nearly 10,000 signatures were collected in support of the aims of the Association. Slavery, or rather its abolition, was now on the political agenda.

The Battle Against Slavery charts the story of a group of West Riding radicals in their bid to abolish slavery both in the United Kingdom and abroad. Such became the influence of this group, whose Unitarian beliefs were illegal in Britain, that the general election of 1806 in Yorkshire was fought on an abolitionist platform. At a time when the rest of the world engaged in slavery, this small body was fighting almost single-handedly to end such practices. Gradually, their beliefs began to spread across the country and across the Channel to France, the principles of which found resonance during the French Revolution and even across the Atlantic to America.

At a time, today, when the history of slavery is the subject of considerable debate worldwide, this revealing insight into the abolitionist movement, which demonstrates how ordinary men and women battled against governments and the establishment, needs to be told. The Battle Against Slavery adds an important dimension to the continuing debate over Britain’s, and other nations’, involvement in the slave trade and demonstrates how the determination of just a few right-minded people can change world opinion forever.

This book was a really interesting read indeed, I have to admit I had never heard of this group all mainly from the Yorkshire area. Fighting for a good cause that was such a big issue, these guys were from a relatively unknown background. This book was really good and I’m hoping to read bit further from some of the information in the bibliography section at the back of the book. The book seemed quite detailed and I would have thought the book was very well researched by the author Paul L. Dawson. I would certainly recommend this book to others.

A Judge in Auschwitz

A Judge in Auschwitz written by Kevin Prenger and published by Pen & Sword Books - £20 - Hardback - Pages 176

In autumn 1943, SS judge Konrad Morgen visited Auschwitz concentration camp to investigate an intercepted parcel containing gold sent from the camp. While there Morgen found the SS camp guards engaged in widespread theft and corruption.

Worse, Morgen also discovered that inmates were being killed without authority from the SS leadership. While millions of Jews were being exterminated under the Final Solution programme , Konrad Morgen set about gathering evidence of these ‘illegal murders’.

Morgen also visited other camps such as Buchenwald where he had the notorious camp commandant Karl Koch and Ilse, his sadistic spouse, arrested and charged. Found guilty by an SS court, Koch was sentenced to death.

Remarkably, the apparently fearless SS judge also tried to prosecute other Nazi criminals including Waffen-SS commanders Oskar Dirlewanger and Hermann Fegelein and Auschwitz Commandant Rudolf Höss. He even claimed to have tried to indict Adolf Eichmann, who was responsible for organising the mass deportation of the Jews to the extermination camps.

This intriguing work reveals how the lines between justice and injustice became blurred in the Third Reich. As well as describing the actions of this often contradictory character the author questions Morgen’s motives.

I quite like reading books like this that look at leading officers in the Third Reich, while I find what they got up to horrible and abhorrent, I find it fascinating that these seemingly intelligent men can stoop to such low depravities that they just went along with instruction seemingly without a care in the world. Afterall in society today we still have to deal with serial killers, but the chances of actually meeting a serial killer is very remote, and yet so many can be found in the WW2 German military. This book was a really good read, fascinating in detail and very comprehensive, I commend the author. Although this book is a bit disturbing in some places, I still find that we should still read books like this to always learn about how the mind works.

Cemeteries and Graveyards - A Guide for Local and Family Historians in England and Wales

Cemeteries and Graveyards - A Guide for Local and Family Historians in England and Wales written by Celia Heritage and published by Pen & Sword Books - £15.99 - Softcover - Pages 248

This comprehensive and fascinating guide from genealogist and historian CELIA HERITAGE will prove indispensable for both local and family historians. A wide-ranging examination of historical and archaeological findings means that the book will also appeal to anyone with an interest in death and burial.

Celia throws light on changing social attitudes to death and burial from pre-historic times to the modern-day, investigates the origins and evolution of cemeteries and graveyards, and discusses the many different types of graves and memorials as well as looking at how memorial designs have changed.

One chapter takes an in-depth look at the origins of the parish churchyard, while another looks at graveyards associated with nonconformist churches and institutions, including workhouses, asylums, hospitals and gaols.

Celia details a wide range of online and offline sources that will help locate burials and memorials, also offering vital advice regarding good research practice. There is plenty of detail about less well-known genealogy sources such as records relating to re-interment, undertakers’ and stonemasons’ records, together with better known sources such as burial registers and memorial inscriptions.

Throughout, there is a wide range of hands-on case studies which bring the subject to life and put it right into the hands of the researcher. This is far more than just genealogy, and Celia portrays this fascinating subject from the view of both historian and archaeologist.

This genealogy series from Pen & Sword should really be praised very highly, but what they have done is rather than lump everything into one book, the process has been broken into its important sections and each section is allowed to shine. This allows all the important details to be conveyed to the reader and supported by a very comprehensive contact/link section that would really be too vast for one book. This book about cemeteries and graveyards is brilliant, because who doesn’t love walking around a graveyard learning all the information you can acquire there. A great book and a perfect addition to the series.

The Hitler Assassination Attempts

The Hitler Assassination Attempts written by John Grehan published by Frontline Books - £20 - Hardback - Pages 296

Throughout his political life, Adolf Hitler was the subject of numerous assassination plots, some of which were attempted, all of which failed. While a few of these have become well known, particularly the bomb explosions at the Bürgerbräukeller in Munich in 1939 and the Stauffenberg Valkyrie attempt carried out at the Wolfsschanze on 20 July 1944, many others have received far less attention – until now.

In this book, John Grehan has examined the known planned or proposed assassination attempts on Hitler, from Chicago to London and from Sweden to Ukraine – some of which have not previously been presented to the general public by historians.

All manner of methods were proposed by those willing to bring Hitler’s life to a premature and sticky end and Hitler was well aware of the danger which lurked potentially around every corner of every road, railway track, every building and even every individual. As a result, an immense, multi-layered security apparatus surrounded the Führer day and night. Despite this, and knowing the risks they faced, many people sought to kill the German leader, and some very nearly did. Yet Hitler survived, often by just a minute or a millimetre, to die ultimately of his own hand.

These plots and conspiracies are detailed in this book, along with a unique collection of photographs of many of the proposed or actual assassination locations. All will be revealed in this fascinating compilation of the obscure, the fanciful and the carefully considered attempts to assassinate Hitler.

The Hitler Assassination Attempts tries to explain the often many number of attempts to kill Adol Hitler. Now it seems from reading this book that Hitler was never popular anywhere or with anyone, and this ranged from the ordinary person right up to highly promoted people within his own military. Also it should be said that there were attempts on his life all over Europe, with that being said it is strange how his personal protection was not better or closer. This if you know what Hitler was like as a person should come as no surprise. He was often very narrow-minded in his views and opinions and certainly, his personality never gave him any favours.

In this book the author John Grehan writes very well and informed, the many chapters come across as very concise and snappy, which did make the book very good and a very easy read. Whilst I had heard of many of the attempts before, reading through this book made it feel fresher and more interesting if that makes sense. I enjoyed this book a lot and would certainly recommend it to anyone with an interest in Hitler as the person.