Reviewed by Jeff Schultz Leo Marriott’s Naval Battles of the Second World War: The Atlantic and Mediterranean offers a brief glimpse of select naval engagements involving the Royal Navy engaged against their major European foes, the Italian and German fleets. Marriott is an established author with multiple books about a range of military, naval,
Reviewed by Jeff Schultz John J. Domagalski’s Escape from Java: The Extraordinary World War II Story of the USS Marblehead delves into the gut-wrenching experiences of an aging light cruiser caught up in the early Pacific War as part of the US Asiatic Fleet. Almost lost to enemy air attack and badly damaged during the
Reviewed by Jeff Schultz Marc Lohnstein’s The Netherlands East Indies Campaign 1941-42: Japan’s Quest for Oil covers a typically unheeded early Pacific campaign, fought for the resource rich Dutch East Indies, which showcased a dysfunctional Allied coalition effort conducted under fraught circumstances exacerbated by prewar decisions but which fought desperately until overwhelmed. Lohnstein is
Reviewed by Jeff Schultz Charles Melson’s Vietnam 1972: Quang Tri – The Easter Offensive Strikes the South provides a concise look at the role played by the South Vietnamese Marine Corps (VNMC) and their US Marine Corps (USMC) advisors during Hanoi’s 1972 Easter Offensive. The South Vietnamese defenders, in particular the VNMC, alongside American air
Reviewed by Jeff Schultz Ben Skipper’s Landing Craft & Amphibians: Seaborne Vessels in the 20th Century briefly delves into the interesting world of landing craft and amphibians involved in various conflicts in the 20th century from World War II to the present. While it is not authoritative, it does detail many such craft with useful
Reviewed by Jeff Schultz Dr. Wigand Wüster’s An Artilleryman in Stalingrad: A Soldier’s Story at the Turning Point of World War offers insight into a pivotal World War II campaign through the rarely told artilleryman’s perspective. His frank memoir lacks the self-serving elements common to historical retellings where pride takes precedence and real experiences require
Reviewed by Jeff Schultz Derek Walters’s The History of the British ‘U’ Class Submarine fills a gap in the historiography of World War II regarding short-range Allied submarine operations. In particular, Walters profiles the small ‘U’ (and ‘V’) class and their use by British and seven other Allied nations both during and after the conflict.
Reviewed By Jeff Schultz Mike Norman and Michael Jones’ The Falklands War: There and Back Again – The Story of Naval Party 8901 is a gripping memoir of the 1982 Falklands/Malvinas War told from the perspective of the Royal Marine commander of Naval Party 8901 (NP-8901), the British troops assigned to defend the islands. NP-8901
Reviewed by Jeff Schultz Mariano Sciaroni and Andy Smith’s “Go Find Him and Bring Me Back His Hat”: The Royal Navy’s Anti-Submarine Campaign in the Falklands/Malvinas War is an important look at the relatively obscure rivalry between a few Argentine diesel submarines and the Royal Navy’s anti-submarine defenses such as helicopters, warships and the Royal
Reviewed by Jeff Schultz Michael Claringbould’s Operation I-Go: Yamamoto’s Last Offensive — New Guinea and the Solomons, April 1943 skillfully utilizes Japanese and Allied sources to thoroughly investigate Operation I-Go, an aerial operation set against the backdrop of the March-April 1943 Pacific War. While this ambitious operation employed a large number of Imperial Japanese Navy
Reviewed by Jeff Schultz Kerry Jang’s Large Scale Warship Models: From Kits to Scratch Building fills an important gap in the literature meant for the ship modeling enthusiast, whether novice or intermediate. This short but lavishly illustrated book provides valuable instruction on how to conceptualize, construct, paint and finish large-scale ship models for display and
Reviewed by Jeff Schultz Abraham Rabinovich’s The Boats of Cherbourg: The Navy That Stole Its Own Boats and Revolutionized Naval Warfare takes the reader on a rollicking ride through an early Cold War techno-thriller which does not disappoint. A mixture of diplomacy, desperation, rank skullduggery, and above all clever statecraft; this timely nonfiction account sheds
Reviewed by Jeff Schultz. Michael Green’s United States Navy Submarines 1900-2019 provides a succinct look at the evolution of American submarines from early to modern designs, heavily supported with images, particularly wartime archival sources. It spans designs from the turn of the 20th century across the World Wars, the Cold War and the post-Cold War
Reviewed by Jeff Schultz Jean-Charles Stasi’s Operation Chariot: the St Nazaire Raid, 1942 explores the audacious World War II British commando raid that disabled the only suitable drydock on the French coast, thereby preventing the German battleship Tirpitz from harassing Allied convoys. In particular, the book provides a concise, well-illustrated overview of the memorable raid
Mark Lardas’s Russian Battleships and Cruisers of the Russo-Japanese War (New Vanguard #275) delves into the little discussed Russo-Japanese War. In particular, the Imperial Russian capital ships that fought in the losing effort against an unexpectedly tough opponent in the first defeat of a European power by an Asian foe, with strong repercussions for all
