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News about books, authors, publishers, and booksellers

Hiatus
10 January 2024

Due to circumstances beyond our control, we will be on hiatus for an indefinite period of time.


Forthcoming from Air World
28 December 2023

Zubov, Dmitry. Stalin's Falcons: Exposing the Myth of Soviet Aerial Superiority over the Luftwaffe in WW2. Forthcoming from Air World / Pen & Sword in January 2024


Forthcoming from Kentucky
27 December 2023

Keyes, Geoffrey and James W. Holsinger Jr (editor). Patton's Tactician: The War Diary of Lieutenant General Geoffrey Keyes. Forthcoming from University Press of Kentucky in January 2024


Now available from Stackpole
26 December 2023

DeGraw, Lawrence A. Sitting Ducks at Guadalcanal: The U.S. Navy's Disaster at the Battle of Savo Island in World War II. Guilford, CT: Stackpole Books, 2023


In quotes
24 December 2023

Interesting excerpts from books old and new:

Army

Under the law of 21 June 1927, military service is for 18 months in the infantry and for 2 years in the cavalry, artillery, and air service, while naval service is for 3 years. Men are called up at the age of 20, and liability for service lasts 26 years. The annual contingent of men liable to service is about 175,000, of whom about half are required to serve. The strength of the active army in 1938 was approximately 20,000 officers and 174,000 men. Since the outbreak of the war the Army has been maintained at approximately war strength by the inclusion of reservists, by the premature enlistment of a new class, and by calling up men previously exempted. In 1941 it comprised 11 army corps, made up of 23 divisions, an armoured brigade, 3 cavalry divisions, and 7 fortress commands.

The total number that could be mobilized is estimated at nearly 2,000,000. The active formations would seem to provide for a war strength of about 500,000. Until recently, much of the military material dated from before the last war, but there have been increasingly large purchases of anti-aircraft guns and anti-tank guns, so far as these could be obtained. Owing to scanty industrial resources, Turkey has been mainly dependent on arms from abroad.

The infantry is equipped mainly with Mauser rifles; the artillery with 75 mm. field-guns and 10.5 and 12 cm. howitzers of various foreign makes. The army estimates for 1939-40 amounted to £T 93,977,000.

Navy

The Turkish Navy has for some time past been undergoing reorganization, all vessels of any fighting value being taken in hand for refit, when money for this purpose can be spared. The effective fleet in 1941 included the battle cruiser Yavuz, formerly the German Goeben, launched in 1911, displacing 23,100 tons, and armed with ten 11-inch guns; the cruisers Hamidtye, 3,830 tons, and Meczdzye, 3,300 tons, both dating from 1903; 2 gunboats, 6 minesweepers, 4 destroyers, 9 submarines, 3 motor torpedo-boats, 10 minelayers, a surveying vessel, a depot ship, a fleet tug, a collier, and an oiler.

A sum of £T 17,500,000 was provisionally allocated to new construction in 1934. This was to include the cost of 4 destroyers and 4 submarines, which were to be built in England and to be completed in 1941.

A new naval base in the Gulf of Izmit is in being, and a scheme for enlarging and improving this base comprises building of docks and building-slips which will finally replace the former dockyard in the Golden Horn, where merchant ships only will then be built.

The future strength of naval personnel does not appear to have been fixed, but no difficulty is anticipated in manning the ships at present ready for sea. Effective strength at present is about 800 officers and 4,000 men. Naval estimates for 1940-1 were £T 6,979,000.

Air Force

The Turkish Air Force comes under the direct control of the Turkish General Staff. Its strength in 1940 was approximately 370 first-line aircraft, and a total personnel of about 8,500. Details of recent developments are not divulged. Air estimates for 1940-1 were £T 78,294,000.

— Naval Intelligence Division. Geographical Handbook Series: Turkey, volume 1. London: HMSO, 1942


Forthcoming from Berghahn
23 December 2023

Huener, Jonathan and Andrea Low. Poland under German Occupation, 1939-1945: New Perspectives. Forthcoming from Berghahn Books in January 2024


The hits keep coming
22 December 2023

Per email from Juan Fraile-Nuez, the latest volume in the English translation of his series is now available:

Ferrer-Martinez, Lilianna and Juan Fraile-Nuez. Chronology of the Soviet Aircraft Industry during the Great Patriotic War, December 1941. N.P.: Self-Published, 2023


Now available from PM
21 December 2023

Siammas, Marios. Cyprus and its Regiment in the Second World War. London: Palgrave Macmillan Publishing Company, 2023


Latest from Helion
20 December 2023

The busy crew at Helion tells us three new WWII titles are now available:


News from Poland
19 December 2023

Marek Sobski, researcher and author of the growing Mussolini's War series of books, provided us with this update:

"I am still working on The Struggle and Bitter End of the Italian Army in Russia, 1942-1943. I would like to close the text by 1 March and hand it over to a proofreader and translator. As for the release date, it's hard to assume anything 100%. However, it seems to me that the second half of 2024 is a realistic date.

"I also already know that the next books will be on Ethiopia 1935-1936 (with a broad introduction: the Italian colonial presence in East Africa, the development of their colonial forces, relations with Ethiopia, including an outline of the First Italo-Abyssinian War 1894-1896 and guerrilla warfare until the outbreak of WW2) and Spain 1936-1939 (land forces, navy, aviation, diplomacy)."


Forthcoming from CUP
18 December 2023

Porch, Douglas. Resistance and Liberation: France at War, 1943-1945. Forthcoming from Cambridge University Press in January 2024


In quotes
17 December 2023

Interesting excerpts from books old and new:

The idea of supplying the Soviet Union with 100-octane spirit from Abadan dated back to the autumn of 1941; indeed, the first 100-octane extension to the refinery had been conceived with precisely this purpose in mind. There were obvious transport difficulties, since road and rail communication from the Persian Gulf were undeveloped; the main road from Tehran stretched only as far south as Dizful and the railway reached the south coast at Bandar Shahpur, far to the east of Abadan. For the next two years the Russians received their supplied of 100-octane spirit by shipments direct from the United States to their Arctic ports. However, when in the spring of 1943 Arctic sailings were interrupted, some 40,000 tons of Russia-bound aviation fuel was diverted to Britain instead. The Russians then suggested that these supplies due to them should be replaced by supplies from Abadan. The British rejected the idea that they were under a financial obligation to replace them; but, in view of Russia's need they offered to supply 5,000 tons from Abadan during the month of June and a total of 30,000 tons between July and September 1943.

Meanwhile the Americans and Russians were in the process of negotiating the third of the annual 'Protocols' which regulated the flow of United States supplies to Russia. Now that deliveries of aviation spirit across Iran had started there seemed no reason to discontinue them; and the Russians for their part preferred to receive some supplies in the south. The Russians therefore proposed that during the Protocol period July 1943 to June 1944 they should take only 360,000 tons of 100-octane spirit from the United States instead of 565,000 tons originally contemplated, provided that 10,000 tons a month was also delivered from Abadan; 10,000 tons was fixed as the maximum that transport capacity across Iran could handle. The British gave their consent on the understanding that the Americans would ship equivalent quantities to those areas in the East which otherwise would have received the Abadan supplies sent to Russia. The Americans agreed to this, although it involved them in a much longer sea delivery than supplying the North Russian ports. The third Soviet-American Protocol, embodying this arrangement, was signed on 19th October 1943; under it the supplies from Abadan counted as American lend-lease aid to Russia.

The deliveries of 100-octane spirit from Abadan were maintained and expanded under the Fourth Protocol, covering the year 1944-45. By that time increased transport capacity across Iran had made it possible to raise the monthly supply commitment from Abadan to 20,000 tons of 100-octane spirit and 5,000 tons of 'alkylates' [additives for blending high-octane fuel]; these 'alkylates' were surplus to requirements at Abadan. Apart from these deliveries under the Protocol additional quantities were also transported for Frantic, the code name for an American project to operate bombers from bases in South Russia. Nothing ultimately came of Frantic, but supplies for it continued and were delivered to the Russians.

The deliveries of aviation spirit actually made from Abadan to Russia varied considerably from month to month. They were negotiated monthly between the Petroleum Department and the Soviet Trade Delegation in London, and subsequently 'allocated' by the Aviation Petroleum Products London Assignment Committee. On occasions it proved impossible to deliver the precise amounts stipulated. More often the supplies delivered were greatly in excess of, rather than less than, these set amounts. The Russians always pressed for delivery up to the limit of transport capacity. But there was no means of weighing their demands against the claims of other war theatres since the Russians provided no statistical backing for their demands. The British therefore took the view that their own needs must take priority over those Russian demands in excess of commitments under the Protocols. The British were willing to supply any output which was surplus to their own needs; but otherwise London would only agree to allocate supplies from Abadan against concurrent replacement from American sources. In practice, therefore, deliveries in excess of the Protocol commitments (and the deliveries for Frantic) were governed by the availability of tankers to ship replacements from the western hemisphere to India. Total deliveries of aviation spirit and components from Abadan to the Soviet Union between June 1943 and May 1945 (when lend-lease aid to Russia stopped) amounted to 542,000 tons; more than two-thirds of this was sent between July 1944 and May 1945.

— Payton-Smith, D. J. History of the Second World War: Oil: A Study of War-Time Policy and Administration. London: HMSO, 1971


Forthcoming from Casemate
16 December 2023

Staiger, Jorg. Anzio Nettuno 1944: A Battle of Leadership Mistakes. Forthcoming from Casemate in January 2024


Forthcoming from Diversion
15 December 2023

Lachman, Charles. Codename Nemo: The Hunt for a Nazi U-Boat and The Elusive Enigma Machine. Forthcoming from Diversion Books in May 2024


Forthcoming from Holt
14 December 2023

Milton, Giles. The Stalin Affair: The Allies' Secret Mission to Wartime Moscow. Forthcoming from Henry Holt and Company in June 2024


Now available from Air World
13 December 2023

Wolf, William. Special Operations Consolidated B-24 Liberators: The Unknown Secret and Specialized Duties Aircraft. Barnsley, UK: Air World / Pen & Sword, 2023


Now available from Schiffer
12 December 2023

Afiero, Massimiliano. The 11th Waffen-SS Freiwilligen Panzergrenadier Division Nordland: An Illustrated History. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing Ltd, 2024


News at sea
11 December 2023

Donald Bertke notified us his latest volume of World War II Sea War, number 23, is now available:

Bertke, Donald A. et al. World War II Sea War, volume 23: Updates and Corrections, October 1942 - December 1942. Dayton, OH: Bertke Publications, 2023


News from Osprey
9 December 2023

Our friends at Osprey Publishing tell us they have three softcovers of interest scheduled for release later this month:


Now available from Air World
8 December 2023

Stone, Trevor. Forward Air Bases in Europe from D-Day to the Baltic: Supporting the Allied Advance. Barnsley, UK: Air World / Pen & Sword, 2023


Now available from Grub Street
7 December 2023

Wroblewski, Chris and Garth Barnard. Sabotage: An In-Depth Investigation of the 1943 Liberator Crash that Killed Polish General Sikorski. London: Grub Street, 2023


In memoriam
7 December 2023

Norman Lear—who flew 52 combat missions in the Mediterranean theater as a radio operator/gunner on B-17 Flying Fortresses with the Fifteenth Air Force, later becoming an important figure in American television—passed away in California on 5 December at the age of 101.


War Diary reminder
7 December 2023

This seems like a good opportunity to remind everyone about our detailed day-by-day chronicle of the Second World War, now amounting to more than 65,000 entries and growing, with 7 December 1941 standing out as an important date.


Now available from Wing Leader
6 December 2023

Thomas, Andrew. Wingleader Photo Archive Number 28: Boston/Havoc in RAF Service, NW Europe. Walton on Thames, UK: Wing Leader, 2023


Now available from P&S
5 December 2023

Orde, Roden. Household Cavalry at War: Story of the Second Household Cavalry. Barnsley, UK: Pen & Sword Books Ltd, 2023


News from Munoz
4 December 2023

Author Antonio Munoz tells us he has new editions—revised and expanded—of two older titles now available, plus one brand new book due next year:


In quotes
3 December 2023

Interesting excerpts from books old and new:

At midnight on 05NOV41, German He-111 bombers attacked Moscow and dropped nine high-explosive bombs on residential areas of the city.

At 01:40AM, three powerful explosions shook the GAZ factory. One bomb fell in the engine workshop No. 2, in the crankshaft line, the second exploded outside and another hit the corner of the wheel workshop, but there had been no warning of the air attack and there was no action from the AAA batteries. As personnel struggled to extinguish the fires, somewhere in the distance, anti-aircraft gunfire could be heard. Meanwhile, a second bomber was approaching the city from the southwest and, due to cloudy weather, again went unnoticed by the VNOS posts. At 02:15HM, 1x He-111 reached the burning target and dropped 2x 500 kg bombs that missed the target.

When the fires were extinguished in the early morning, workers and soldiers from the Ministry of Defence Industry began inspecting the damage. The roof of engine workshop No. 2 had been destroyed, as well as an area of 1,700 m2, streetlights and glazing with an area of 7,700 m2; Inside the workshop, an explosion destroyed the hardening oven, damaged the tempering oven of the hardening machine, as well as the washing machine, and four air heaters and four engines broke, cutting off the fuel oil, gasoline, compressed air and heating distribution pipes. The extinguishing of the fire also caused extensive damage, the entire basement was flooded with water, 27 pieces of equipment and 350 machine tools were damaged.

At approximately 16:10HM over the Oka River, in the direction of Dzerzhinsk, 1x He-111 suddenly appeared out of the clouds. Passing through the village of Strigino, it headed to the Voroshilovsky district, located on the upper right bank of the river. The bomber was carrying a BM-1000 mine and was not detected by the VNOS posts, so the alarm was not raised. When the observer in the tower at the factory No. 197 "Lenin" saw the rapidly approaching plane, it was already late. The mine fell directly onto the four-story main building and exploded with a powerful explosion, collapsing most of the building. Afterwards, in different parts of the city, air raid sirens sounded for a long time and anti- aircraft guns began to fire from the Tobolsk barracks area. The pilot of the Heinkel He-111 calmly steered his plane toward the city centre, inspecting local landmarks. Above the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin, he made a kind of "circle of honour," demonstrating his complete impunity, leaned out of the cockpit and even waved his hand at the people who were looking at him.

Meanwhile, 2x He-111 approached the city, passing by the surrounding villages and frightening the collective farmers, at around 16:20HM, at an extremely low altitude, they appeared over the Avtozavodsky district. The planes were flying about 400 m apart. A sentry at the checkpoint informed the GAZ Air Defence Forces headquarters by telephone about the imminent danger. Each He-111 dropped four bombs that directly hit the mechanical repair workshop, but one 500 kg bomb did not explode because it did not have time to arm its fuze.

Another Heinkel He-111 appeared at 16:40HM from the south, from the village of Ankudinovka, and flew low over the railway. Some even managed to make out a huge bomb suspended beneath the fuselage. Emerging behind the mountainous coast, the plane flew over the Oka River and, after a gentle dive, dropped a BM-1000 mine at the "Dvigatel revolyutsy" plant. The explosion rumbled through the company's power plant building, which housed steam boilers, diesel substations, compressors and transformers. Power lines were damaged by the shock wave and shrapnel, leaving Gorsetey's small power plant No. 620 and distribution central No. 251 out of service, and part of Leninsky District without electricity.

Sirens were sounding everywhere, anti-aircraft guns were firing somewhere in the distance, fire trucks were driving through the streets ringing bells. The air defence forces also began to move. Fighters took off from the Seim and Arzamas airfields, and the Major Alifanov's squadron was scrambled and arrived over the automobile plant area, but the German planes did not appear again.

At 17:12HM, 2x He-111 appeared from the southwest and attacked again the "Molotov" automobile plant. However, the darkness and smoke from the fires made the work difficult for the German navigators and most of the bombs fell between the factory buildings. This time, the Germans were attacked as they returned west by three squadrons of LaGG-3 under Major Alifanov. However, all of their attacks proved fruitless, while German gunners shot down 1x LaGG-3 and damaged two other fighters. LaGG-3 #3121771 made an emergency landing near the city of Bogorodsk with a shot through the propeller blades, wings, fuselage and even a riddled fuel tank. In total, mechanics counted about 50 bullet holes in the plane.

— Ferrer-Martinez, Lilianna and Juan Fraile-Nuez. Chronology of the Soviet Aircraft Industry during the Great Patriotic War, November 1941. N.P.: Self-Published, 2023


Now available from Chandos
2 December 2023

Akra, Kjetil, Andreas Brekken, and Bjorn Hafsten. Heinkel He 115 Developmental and Operational History, 1937-1952. Hull, UK: Chandos Publications, 2023


News from Spain
1 December 2023

Juan Fraile-Nuez notified us that he and Lilianna Ferrer-Martinez have released the latest volume in the English translations of their extensive series:

Chronology of the Soviet Aircraft Industry during the Great Patriotic War, November 1941


Forthcoming from Bloomsbury
30 November 2023

Davis, Vicky. Central Asia in World War Two: The Impact and Legacy of Fighting for the Soviet Union. Forthcoming from Bloomsbury in December 2023


In memoriam
30 November 2023

Henry Kissinger—a veteran who served as an enlisted man in the US 84th Infantry Division during WWII, later serving as US Secretary of State—passed away in Connecticut on 29 November at the age of 100.


War Diary reminder
30 November 2023

This seems like a good opportunity to remind everyone about our detailed day-by-day chronicle of the Second World War, now amounting to more than 65,000 entries and growing, with 30 November 1939 standing out as an important date.


Now available from Knopf
29 November 2023

Bass, Gary J. Judgment at Tokyo: World War II on Trial and the Making of Modern Asia. New York: Knopf Publishing Group, 2023


Forthcoming from Bantam
28 November 2023

Fisher, Stephen. Sword Beach: The Untold Story of D-Day's Forgotten Battle. Forthcoming from Bantam Doubleday Dell in May 2024


Now available from Bodley Head
27 November 2023

Englund, Peter. November 1942: An Intimate History of the Turning Point of World War Two. London: Bodley Head, 2023


In quotes
26 November 2023

Interesting excerpts from books old and new:

I was standing thus, watching the flowering tulips of war unfold, when my eye was attracted by a swarm of low-wing single-engined Dewoitine D.520 fighters, for all the world like British Hurricanes, swooping like wasps upon the firing gunners just over a rise in the ground. I thought, "Poor devils, they are catching it pretty hot," but the words had scarcely formed themselves in my mind when I saw one of them coming straight on at me. It was a roar and a black shadow and I threw myself flat on the ground which spurted up all round me before the thing had gone over—so low that I felt the draught caused by its rush through the air. I got up, dazed, and thought it time to put on my tin helmet which was lying on the floor of the driving seat, where I had been sitting. I reached for it and asked the [POW] Frenchman if he were all right. He was quite unmoved.

I looked round vaguely for Grose's rifle, then remembered that he had taken it. I felt the need to take some action and picked up the camera with the idea of photographing the aeroplane when it came at me again. I should, of course, have seized my prisoner by the arm and shouted, "Come on, mon vieux," and legged it while there was still a second left. But his calm seemed to freeze my own pride and I remained. Besides, vaguely at the back of my mind, was the idea that he could drive off to [Vichy-held] Palmyra with all the Brigade secrets in my car and the knowledge of everything he had seen. So I turned back, facing the desert, placing the tin helmet on my head with my left hand and holding the stupid camera with the other. There was the black thing roaring at me again, almost on a level with my head. I went down on the desert beside the running board, turning my back to the menace and holding my tin helmet over the side of my head. My ankle felt a crashing blow; the ground throbbed round me as if it were being beaten with silver rods, and I was stung all over. The violence passed like a storm and I felt a great surprise, "I have been wounded. This has happened to me. How odd."

I looked down at my leg. The bright red blood was pumping out in great gulps, pouring down over my khaki stocking into my shoe, filling it up and spilling on to the desert. I thought, "I shall die, I suppose, if that doesn't stop." My left hand was also bleeding where a bullet had torn across it as I held my helmet. My body seemed all right, except for that single cat-o'-nine-tails lash. I got up on one leg and hopped round the back of the car to the other side. The Frenchman was still in his seat, undamaged, while the windows of the car were starred with holes and part of the windscreen was shot away. There was also a gaping hole in the radiator where a cannon shell had hit it. But I did not know this and it was lucky that the hole was not inside me, for a direct hit from these explosive bullets tears too much away and men die from the bleeding.

—De Chair, Somerset. The Golden Carpet. New York: Harcourt, 1945


Forthcoming from P&S
25 November 2023

Smith, William. Allied Convoys to Northern Russia, 1941-1945: Politics, Strategy and Tactics. Forthcoming from Pen & Sword Books Ltd in January 2024


Now available from Yale
24 November 2023

Kenyon, David. Arctic Convoys: Bletchley Park and the War for the Seas. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2023


Forthcoming from Grand Central
20 November 2023

Canestaro, Nathan. The Mighty Moo: The USS Cowpens and Her Epic World War II Journey from Jinx Ship to the Navy's First Carrier into Tokyo Bay. Forthcoming from Grand Central Publishing in June 2024


In quotes
19 November 2023

Interesting excerpts from books old and new:

Sunday, March 16 [1941].

Will never forget what happened Friday night. With three friends I had gone into Stamford where, over beers in a pub, we discussed forming a station rhythm club. Returned to Camp at eleven, booked in at the guardroom. The countryside was bathed in moonlight. Near the moon could be seen the familiar white streaks, vapour trails of high-flying aircraft. We turned past the cookhouse, walked the remaining dozen yards to hut 9, my billet. It was warm and nicely lighted inside and we talked idly before undressing for bed. A thunderous bang shook the hut. I dived under the bed, froze face down, and frantically chewing a wad of gum. A louder crash rocked the hut, glass shattered, and the blackout screens toppled from windows suddenly ablaze with a blue-green glare. Someone had the presence of mind, and courage, to make for the light-switches. The hut remained lit with that strange and frightening glare. A third bomb exploded nearby, I heard shouting outside, an ambulance starting up, the crackle of flames.

Dazed and still chewing that infernal gum, filed with companions to the shelter where we cowered for twenty minutes but no further bombs fell. Sid Heiger, former West End dance-band drummer, worried about his drum kit stored in the camp cinema, which someone shouted was on fire. With Rhodes, I walked over to the cookhouse. It was half-wrecked, and smoke and the reek of gunpowder filled the night air. Officers and men, some tin-hatted and others half-dressed, picked their way over debris. There were pools of blood at the wrecked entrance to the dining hall where an airman had his legs blown off and died almost immediately.

We walked along to Block 2, once my quarters. Firemen on 50-foot-tall ladders fought a fire devouring the roof. On to the cinema, a gutted shell. Met our Polish CO and accompanied him to the officers' mess, also shattered with cars on fire nearby. Our CO's quarters were uninhabitable and we helped him salvage some of his belongings.

Next morning. Breakfast (bread and corned beef, smoky tea) served to long queue by sleepless cooks and WAAFs. No. 25 Hanger was wrecked, two new Beaufighters written off—inside rested an unexploded bomb, 50-yards radius from it roped off. Out on the field our Lysanders and Blenheim were untouched, though shrapnel lay not far from them, and dozens of burn patches showed where incendiary bombs had exploded.

I've heard so far that three were killed, over 30 injured. Last night a number of men left the camp for safety, but fog descended, ruling out further attack. There are shrapnel holes in the wall three feet from where I write this.

—Guttridge, Leonard F. We Kept Britain Flying: Diary of an RAF Mechanic in World War II. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc, 2023


Press Release
18 November 2023

From Osprey:

"Of the 50,000 or so airmen that were downed over Europe, only around 3000 evaded death or capture. Bill Yenne's new book contains the first-hand accounts of many of these men, the stories of intrepid airmen who eluded the prison camps and the enemy who controlled a continent. Compiled from the original intelligence debrief, these are compelling war stories of individuals and small groups of airmen that, with ingenuity and an incredible amount of luck, continued fighting, resisting, and living despite the odds stacked against them."

Yenne, Bill. The Ones Who Got Away: Mighty Eighth Airmen on the Run in Occupied Europe. Forthcoming from Osprey Publishing in January 2024


Two from Red Kite / Wing Leader
17 November 2023

A pair of new books from the Photo Archive series are now available:

Alexander, Richard. Wingleader Photo Archive Number 26: Spitfire MkI/II Special Edition. Walton on Thames, UK: Red Kite / Wing Leader, 2023

Allam, Peter. Wingleader Photo Archive Number 27: Handley Page Halifax, part 1: Early Merlin Variants. Walton on Thames, UK: Red Kite / Wing Leader, 2023


News from Stroud
16 November 2023

Amberley Publishing reminds us that Jonathan Trigg's The Air War Through German Eyes: How the Luftwaffe Lost the Skies over the Reich is scheduled for publication in February 2024


Now available from NIP
15 November 2023

Kuehn, John T. Strategy in Crisis: The Pacific War, 1937-1945. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2023


Now available from Brill
14 November 2023

Newman, John Paul, Ljubinka Skodric, and Rade Ristanovic. Anti-Axis Resistance in Southeastern Europe, 1939-1945. Leiden, the Netherlands: Brill Academic Publishing, 2023


Forthcoming from Casemate
13 November 2023

McNab, Chris. Fighting from the Heavens: Tactics and Training of USAAF Bomber Crews, 1941-45. Forthcoming from Casemate in December 2023


In quotes
12 November 2023

Interesting excerpts from books old and new:

The most representative unit of the communist-led Albanian National Liberation Army [from 1943] was the Assault Brigade, generally made up of 4 battalions (minimum 3, maximum 5) and 1 Heavy Weapons Company. Sometimes it included one or more artillery batteries, a mortar company and reconnaissance and liaison units (usually with 3 or 4 squads), a structure similar to that of the Yugoslav Partisan Brigade. Initially the Albanian brigade included around 400 - 600 men but over time the numbers could expand, reaching and even exceeding the figure of 800 - 1,000 fighters. Each battalion was usually divided into 3 or 4 companies, each with around 150-200 fighters. Each company was divided into 4 or 5 squads of 50-70 men. Partisan groups had also been formed bringing together various battalions and territorial squads, directed by area commands. Practically at every level there was a command with military commander, political commissioner and related deputies.

The Albanian National Liberation Army mobilized 24 Assault Brigades [from 1943 through 1944]....

The armament of the partisan formations of the Albanian National Liberation Army included various models of rifles and machine guns. These weapons were most frequently those that made up the German, Italian and British equipment. With the capitulation of Italy, the partisans were able to get their hands on large quantities of arms and ammunition. Each rifle squad had at least one light machine gun and each company was armed with a heavy machine gun. The artillery essentially consisted of 75/13 mountain howitzers, 65/17 pieces, 47/32 Italian anti-tank guns, and mortars of various calibers, mainly 45 and 81 millimeters. During the second phase of the partisan war, the Albanian National Liberation Army managed to deploy around 180 guns, often decentralized in support of the individual battalions. However, artillery tractors were rare. In the final stages of the battle for the liberation of Tirane, the communist partisans managed to put a couple of unspecified armored vehicles back into operation which were used in the fighting against the Germans. The clothing of the partisans, at least in the early periods of the struggle, was a mix of civilian clothes and items of military origin, especially Italian, Yugoslavian and German. As time passed, the Albanian patriots took on an appearance more and more similar to that of their counterparts in other European countries thanks also to the Allied supplies, consisting above all in the characteristic British Battledresses. At the end of the war, rather elaborate ranks also appeared, very similar to those applied on the uniforms of the Yugoslav partisans. The headdresses of various origins, worn by the fighters of the Liberation Army, were often embellished with red stars sometimes complete with hammer and sickle.

— Manes, Luigi. Albanian Units in the Second World War. Zanica, Italy: Luca Cristini Editore, 2023


News from Solihull
11 November 2023

Our friends at Helion tell us they have a new WWII book, now available:

Riccio, Ralph, Mario Pieri, and Daniele Guglielmi. Italian Soft-Skinned Vehicles of the Second World War, volume 1: Motorcycles, Cars, Trucks, Artillery Tractors 1935-1945. Solihull, UK: Helion & Company, 2023


Now available from P&S
10 November 2023

Allison, Richard. Fight Your Way Out: The Siege of Sangshak, India-Burma Border, 1944. Barnsley, UK: Pen & Sword Books Ltd, 2023


Now available from De Gruyter Oldenbourg
9 November 2023

Boghardt, Thomas. U.S. Army Intelligence in Germany, 1944-1949. Berlin: De Gruyter Oldenbourg, 2023


Forthcoming from Stackpole
8 November 2023

DeGraw, Lawrence A. Sitting Ducks at Guadalcanal: The U.S. Navy's Disaster at the Battle of Savo Island in World War II. Forthcoming from Stackpole Books in December 2023


War Diary reminder
8 November 2023

This seems like a good opportunity to remind everyone about our detailed day-by-day chronicle of the Second World War, now amounting to more than 65,000 entries and growing, with 8 November 1942 standing out as an important date.


Now available from Italy
7 November 2023

Manes, Luigi. Albanian Units in the Second World War. Zanica, Italy: Luca Cristini Editore, 2023


News from Juan Fraile-Nuez
6 November 2023

English translations of the original Spanish "Chronology of the Soviet Aircraft Industry" series continue at a rapid pace, and a new Soviet air biography is now available. The latest:

Ferrer-Martinez, Lilianna and Juan Fraile-Nuez. Chronology of the Soviet Aircraft Industry during the Great Patriotic War, October 1941. N.P.: Self-Published, 2023

Ferrer-Martinez, Lilianna and Juan Fraile-Nuez. Lavrinenkov: Return to the Sky: Translation, Research and Analysis of His Air Victories. N.P.: Self-Published, 2023


Forthcoming from The History Press
4 November 2023

Whitmarsh, Andrew. D-Day Landing Craft: How 4,126 Ugly and Unorthodox Allied Craft Made the Normandy Landings Possible. Forthcoming from The History Press in May 2024


Now available from Hurst
3 November 2023

Kaszeta, Dan. The Forest Brotherhood: Baltic Resistance against the Nazis and Soviets. London: Hurst, 2023


Forthcoming from Casemate
2 November 2023

McNab, Chris. Building the Battlefield: The Tactics and Techniques of U.S. Army Engineers in World War II. Forthcoming from Casemate in December 2023


Now available from Routledge
1 November 2023

Donohue, Alan. Warlord Hitler: With Reference to the Campaign in Southern Russia in 1942. London: Routledge, 2023


Forthcoming from Air World
31 October 2023

Wolf, William. Special Operations Consolidated B-24 Liberators: The Unknown Secret and Specialized Duties Aircraft. Forthcoming from Air World / Pen & Sword in November 2023


Forthcoming from Fonthill
30 October 2023

Wolf, William. The Consolidated B-24 Liberator, volume 1: Reuben Fleet, the Factories, and the Product. Forthcoming from Fonthill Media Limited in November 2023


In quotes
29 October 2023

Interesting excerpts from books old and new:

The Yugoslav offensive started on 20 March [1945] against Bihac in Bosnia, and after this town fell, JA troops moved to Gospic and Karlobag and prepared to land on Pag.

Some 350 German and Croatian troops were holding Pag and Novalja, and JA was on 4 April to land 1,850 troops in three columns on the western and southern coast of the island, from Mlinica to Goricka Coves, with flanks secured by Marine Infantry. Kvarner Naval Detachment was patrolling with three NBs in the Morlacca Channel and with four PCs along the western coast of Pag, protecting the bridgeheads. Allied supporting force included two gunboats, one howitzer battery and a squadron of attack aircraft. First and second column with the harbour of Pag as their final objective started from Nin near Zadar. The first column included one Battalion of the 1st Brigade with a 75 mm howitzer battery, transported by one PC and three landing boats, to land in the Dinjiska cove; the second was formed by another Battalion of the same Brigade with one 105 mm howitzer battery, transported by four coasters and one landing boat to coves of Nova Povljana and Bas. Third column included two Marine Infantry Battalions, sailing with four coasters and two PCs from Zaton to Simuni harbour, with Novalja as the main objective. All destinations were reached in time in spite of adverse weather and delays during embarking, and Pag was liberated after harsh fighting in the evening of 5 April. During the night of 4/5 April, one German E-boat allegedly left the Bay of Pag and escaped to the north after a short skirmish with NB 14, NB 13, PC 23 and PC 24, waiting on the entrance to the bay after being informed on her presence at Pag. It was in fact the German Küstenjäger boat KJ 5, looking for survivors from the German garrison, but managing to rescue only one officer. Afterwards Yugoslav boats attacked other two "enemy" boats, in fact Allied gunboats, which unexpectedly entered the "forbidden zone". According to Yugoslav historians, British aircraft were successful in their attacks against fortified enemy positions, but MGBs and LCGs were not, being inefficient and "more dangerous for Yugoslav than for enemy units".

After liberating Pag, Karlobag and Jablanac (where German Küstenjäger were finally compelled to surrender and several were summarily executed), it became possible to land on Rab, and the island was taken during the 12 April. The German garrison of Rab, some 500 men strong, was holding Cape Stojan, Cape Kristofor and the town of Rab, protected by bunkers and barbed wire, and having at its disposal 15 guns with 120 mm, 88 mm and 76 mm calibres, together with 15 anti-aircraft guns and machine-guns. Yugoslav Navy landed 3,434 troops in four columns, four Battalions of the 3rd Brigade with parts of the 9th Division, three Marine Battalions and three 75 mm howitzer batteries. These convoys started from Karlobag, Prizna, Jablanac and Zavratnica, to land on the south-eastern coast of Rab, at Crnika in the North-East, and north of Cape Kristofor. They were again supported by Yugoslav NBs and PCs, by two British LCGs, two MTBs (in fact four, MTB 670, MTB 697, MGB 658 and MGB 643, under command of LtCdr Montgomerie) and four Royal Yugoslav MGBs. Because of navigational errors and some delays, landings were not perfect, with some of the coasters sailing over three lines of German mines (without detonating them), but finally all went well, and this first phase of operations in Lika and on Croatian Coastland was completed even before the envisaged timeline.

— Freivogel, Zvonimir and Achille Rastelli. Adriatic Naval War, 1940-1945. Zagreb, Croatia: Despot Infinitus, 2015


Forthcoming from PM
28 October 2023

Siammas, Marios. Cyprus and its Regiment in the Second World War. Forthcoming from Palgrave Macmillan Publishing Company in December 2023


News from Helion
27 October 2023

Our busy, busy friends at Helion report they have released three new WWII titles within the last week or two:


Now available from Pen & Sword
26 October 2023

Mitchell, Stewart. Fighting Through to Anzio: The Gordon Highlanders in the Second World War: 6th Battalion and 1st London Scottish. Barnsley, UK: Pen and Sword Books Ltd, 2023


Forthcoming from Stackpole
25 October 2023

Molyson Jr., Joseph T. Six Air Forces Over the Atlantic: How the Allies Won the Battle of the Atlantic from the Air. Forthcoming from Stackpole Books in April 2024


War Diary reminder
25 October 2023

This seems like a good opportunity to remind everyone about our detailed day-by-day chronicle of the Second World War, now amounting to more than 65,000 entries and growing, with 25 October 1944 standing out as an important date.


Now available from McFarland
24 October 2023

Guttridge, Leonard F. We Kept Britain Flying: Diary of an RAF Mechanic in World War II. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc, 2023


Self Publisher
23 October 2023

We've added a new self-publisher and his book to our online database:

Lehman, Barry A. Buddy's War: A World War II Medic's Journey and the Power of Family. Rochester, MN: Barry Lehman, 2023


In quotes
22 October 2023

Interesting excerpts from books old and new:

Arrested on 4 September 1944 in Grenoble and then transferred to Paris, General Dentz was put on trial in the High Court. Madame Dentz, looking haggard, was present at the trial. For a long time it was difficult, if not impossible, to think about the tragic fate of this broken man.

First in his class at Saint-Cyr, an excellent frontline fighter, first in his year at the Ecole de guerre (Staff College), then general d'armee (British four-star general; French five-star), the fate of this Lorraine patriot, of this exceptionally gifted officer, turned tragic on 12 May 1940 when General Weygand ordered him to receive the Germans in Paris, which had been declared an open city. Next, appointed High Commissioner of France in the Levant by Marshal Petain, he had, in a difficult local situation and subject to indecisive directions from his government, to fill extremely delicate political functions for which nothing had prepared him.

Sabotaging as much as possible the arms shipments he had been ordered to send to Iraq, urging the German aircraft that had been sent to him to disappear, warning Wavell of their departure, adopting as low a profile as possible, Dentz had done everything to minimise the consequences of Vichy's orders.

After having tried everything to avoid the conflict [in the Levant in June 1941], but obeying his duty when his hand was forced, he defended himself with courage and initiative until his forces were exhausted. His units, except Collet's, showed exemplary discipline. Neither soft nor narrow-minded, he had confidence in his commanders, letting them carry out evolutions that he had not thought of himself. Friends or enemies, all professionals saluted his competence. Having spent more than a month among British troops, he had never been bothered, and they had rendered military honours to him when he left them. If he hesitated a few hours about soliciting German [Luftwaffe] help to spare his men's blood—those hours overwhelmed him—he had finally refused. Beaten, he tried to protect France's position: no destruction was carried out either in the cities, or in the ports, or in the industrial and economic centres of the country. He refused to destroy the pipeline and warehouses in Tripoli. Was he a traitor?

— de Wailly, Henri. Invasion Syria, 1941: Churchill and de Gaulle's Forgotten War. London: I.B. Tauris & Co. Ltd, 2016


Now available from NIP
21 October 2023

Hemler, Christopher Kyle. Delivering Destruction: American Firepower and Amphibious Assault from Tarawa to Iwo Jima. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2023


Forthcoming from Hurst
20 October 2023

Kaszeta, Dan. The Forest Brotherhood: Baltic Resistance against the Nazis and Soviets. Forthcoming from Hurst in November 2023


Now available from Air World
19 October 2023

Degtev, Dmitry and Dmitry Zubov. Air Battle for Leningrad 1941-1944. Barnsley, UK: Air World / Pen & Sword Books, 2023


Forthcoming from Yale
18 October 2023

Rentola, Kimmo. How Finland Survived Stalin: From Winter War to Cold War, 1939-1950. Forthcoming from Yale University Press in January 2024


Now available from Osprey
17 October 2023

Forczyk, Robert. Desert Armour: Tank Warfare in North Africa: Gazala to Tunisia, 1942-43. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing, 2023


Forthcoming from Air World
16 October 2023

Stone, Trevor. Forward Air Bases in Europe from D-Day to the Baltic: Supporting the Allied Advance. Forthcoming from Air World / Pen & Sword in November 2023


In quotes
15 October 2023

Interesting excerpts from books old and new:

So what conclusions [regarding Ilyushin Il-2 performance vs AFVs] can be drawn from all these figures if the number of tanks destroyed is the measure of success? Well, to put it bluntly, considering the Il-2 was supposedly the most 'successful' ground attack aircraft in WWII, and considering it was one of the premier anti-tank aircraft of the war, then its average performance against German fully tracked AFVs was nothing short of dismal.

On average, over 9.4 Il-2s were irrecoverably lost for every German fully tracked AFV irrecoverably lost on the East Front due to direct air attack (23,600 vs. 2,500). The real reason for this figure is, of course, that Il-2s spent far more time and effort attacking targets which were not tanks, and this is where this aircraft excelled both in quality and sheer quantity. Critical targets included supply lines, supply depots, trains, marshalling yards, truck columns, bridges, airfields, artillery emplacements, bombardment support for infantry and tank attacks, etc. It was in this regard that Il-2s did by far the most damage to the Axis war machine. Unfortunately the images of destroyed trucks, trains, horse-carts and supply depots will never fire the imagination like the image of a burning Panther or Tiger tank.

Having said all this, the Il-2 was at least as good at killing tanks as any aircraft fielded by the Westen Allies during WWII. To be fair, the RAF and USAF claims of German tanks destroyed in Normandy, and the Western Front in general, were no more realistic than the VVS's claims. It is hard to distinguish the winner between the RAF, USAF and VVS for the title "having achieved the most tank kill over-claims during WWII".

The reality is that right up to the end of the war, tanks remained one of the hardest targets to hit with effective anti-armour weapons, and tank battle groups remained one of the most hazardous targets for any ground-attack aircraft to engage. In addition it was very difficult for a pilot flying away from a tank, probably under enemy fire and obscured by smoke and debris, to accurately assess the real damage inflicted. The problems and difficulties the Il-2 faced in attempting to destroy German tanks were replicated by all the Western Allied ground-attack aircraft fielded during WWII, as well as by the Luftwaffe's Hs-129 and late war fighter-bombers.

— Askey, Nigel. Operation Barbarossa: The Complete Organisational and Statistical Analysis, and Military Simulation, Volume IIIA. N.P.: Nigel Askey, 2016


Now available from Helion
14 October 2023

Morisi, Paolo. Damned Hunchbacks: Italy's Forgotten Torpedo Bomber Units of the Second World War. Solihull, UK: Helion & Company, 2023


Now available from NIP
13 October 2023

Budzbon, Przemyslaw, Marek Twardowsk and Jan Radziemski. Warships of the Soviet Fleets 1939-1945, volume III: Naval Auxiliaries. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2023


Forthcoming from Y Lolfa
12 October 2023

Deakin, Quentin. Wales in World War 2. Forthcoming from Y Lolfa in November 2023


News from Zagreb
11 October 2023

Our friends at Despot Infinitus tell us the translation is nearly complete, and next month should see publication of the English edition of this book about Yugoslavia in the April 1941 campaign:

Miletic, Marko B. Banovina Hrvatska i Dravska Banovina u Travanjskom Ratu, 1941. Zagreb, Croatia: Despot Infinitus, 2023


Now available from Kentucky
10 October 2023

Nance, William Stuart. Commanding Professionalism: Simpson, Moore, and the Ninth US Army. Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky, 2023


In memoriam
10 October 2023

Chuck Bartley—a veteran who served in the US 10th Mountain Division during WWII—passed away in California on 4 October at the age of 99.


Now available from Wing Leader / Red Kite
9 October 2023

Parry, Simon. Battle of Britain Combat Archive, volume 14: 16 September - 23 September 1940. Walton on Thames, UK: Red Kite, 2023


In quotes
8 October 2023

Interesting excerpts from books old and new:

On 18 August [1944], the Nineteenth Army was confronted with an entirely new operational challenge. If all efforts up to and including 17 August had been aimed towards making the enemy work hard for every centimetre of ground and gaining time for our forces to prepare a counter-attack, those afterwards, in accordance with the order that had arrived from the OKW on the morning of 18 August, would be focused on bringing the formations of Army Group G to the north in a swift retreat. This would enable Army Group G to avoid the threat of being cut off and, once it reached the area near Dijon, to re-establish contact with Army Group B.

The initial considerations of the headquarters of the Nineteenth Army revolved around the question as to at what pace the retreat would best be carried out. The enemy would apply great pressure in his advance from the south-east, but it had to be borne in mind that the distance to be covered by the IV Luftwaffe Field Corps in its movement from the Spanish frontier to the Rhone Valley would be considerable.

If a rapid retreat was to be carried out by the Nineteenth Army, its route would need to follow the valley of the Rhone and subsequently that of the Saone. This route had been the main supply line of the Nineteenth Army since the beginning of the occupation of southern France. The mountains on either side of the Rhone meant that a withdrawal on a wide front would be quite impossible.

A further problem that would need to be addressed was the orderly return of all administrative and supply personnel who had accumulated in southern France during the one and a half years of occupation there. Such personnel included customs officials at the border in the Pyrenees, railwaymen in Marseille and Toulon, auxiliary volunteers from Indochina in the vicinity of Toulouse [this probably refers to elements of the Wehrmacht's 950th (Indian) Infantry Regiment, also known as the Free India Legion], members of Organisation Todt, and the professor for special tasks in Marseille with his two secretaries. There were three times as many non-combatants as there were combat troops, and their transportation would mean the use of the roads and railways to an extent that would hinder the flow of supplies to the front. However, it was essential that they be brought back in a completely organised manner so that the chances of mass panic would be reduced.

—Staiger, Jorg. Retreat through the Rhone Valley: Defensive Battles of Nineteenth Army, August-September 1944. Philadelphia: Casemate, 2023


Forthcoming from Osprey
7 October 2023

Boylan, Kevin. Lage Ost: The German Army's Atlas of the War in the East, 1941. Forthcoming from Osprey Publishing in July 2024


Now available from Routledge
6 October 2023

Vergez-Chaignon, Benedicte. The Man Who Murdered Admiral Darlan: Vichy, the Allies and the Resistance in French North Africa. London: Routledge, 2023


Now available from Casemate
5 October 2023

Nash, Douglas E. The Defeat of the Damned: The Destruction of the Dirlewanger Brigade at the Battle of Ipolysag, December 1944. Philadelphia: Casemate, 2023


Now available from Osprey
4 October 2023

Buttar, Prit. To Besiege a City: Leningrad 1941-42. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing, 2023


News from Italy
3 October 2023

Author Ludovico Slongo writes:

"I'm writing to tell you that I Cavalieri Erranti (The Wandering Knights) has finally been self published after around 14 years of research and writing. (The project started in 2009 with myself and four co-authors.) The book is packed of original info and photos and constitutes the perfect companion for La Guerra Aerea in Africa Orientale 1940-41 (Dust Clouds in the Middle East) by Ricci and Shores. Filling many gaps present in that wonderful book.

"A short description in English you can find here, in the site of my Swedish friend: http://surfcity.kund.dalnet.se/.

"The book is only in Italian and I'm for sure interested in finding a possible editor in English language, but this Italian version is a very limited edition luxury book (heavy paper, hardback, off-set print). A potential future edition (if it will ever come) will be most likely the usual "light" paperback of these times. So—for the time being—for those interested in nice books old-style, I can offer an automatic translation in English printed."

Slongo, Ludovico. I Cavalieri Erranti. N.P.: Self-Published, 2023


Now available from Bantam
2 October 2023

Holland, James. The Savage Storm: The Battle for Italy 1943. London: Bantam Press, 2023


In quotes
1 October 2023

Interesting excerpts from books old and new:

It is clear that by this time the Soviets were apprehensive about Allied intentions in the Balkans and Near East. On March 15 [1940] [French ambassador to Turkey] Massigli passed on to [British ambassador to Turkey] Knatchbull-Hugessen a message from his counterpart in Moscow. Ambassador Naggiar had told Massigli that "the Russian are in a great panic about a possible bombardment of Baku from the air and had asked American advice as to what exactly would happen in such an event and how great the damage would be." What was more, [US ambassador to the Soviet Union] Steinhardt had told the Turkish ambassador in Moscow that "the Russians are so anxious of the danger of fire and bombardment in the oil region of Baku that the Soviet Russian management has asked American engineers whether and how fire caused by bombardment could be fought with success." "The engineers are supposed to have answered," Massigli informed Paris, "that, as a result of the manner in which the oil fields have been exploited, the earth is so saturated with oil that fire could spread immediately to the entire neighboring region; it would be months before it could be extinguished and years before work could be resumed again."

. . . .

As of April 1, preparations were being made to transfer 48 new Bristol Blenheim Mk IV bombers (four squadrons) to the Middle East Command to replace the older and slightly slower Mk I models. Although Slessor hoped to have aerodromes in Turkey and Iran at his disposal, all three of the major targets, Baku, Batum, and Grozny, were within range of Mk IV Blenheims if they were stationed in Syria or Iraq. The Blenheims could be supplemented by obsolete single-engine Wellesley bombers that could operate at night if their bomb loads were reduced. The French had offered an additional force of 65 Glenn Martin bombers and two dozen Farman 222 aircraft (the latter were rather slow despite the use of four engines and would be used for night operations as well). These aircraft were scheduled to be ready in Syria by May 15.

Even without the Wellesley's and French support, Slessor estimated, three squadrons of 18 Blenheims flying two sorties a week "could lay waste to all three refineries between 5 and 12 weeks." The same job could be accomplished in as little as one week or as much as three weeks if the 60 French Glenn Martins were combined with the British effort. Since refineries could not be left unattended for more than four hours at a time, owing to the need to regulate temperatures and adjust valve pressures, it would be desirable to sustain raids for up to four hours or make use of bombs with delayed fuses. Slessor was not much concerned by Soviet antiaircraft capabilities, deprecating the ability of the standard Soviet fighters, the Polikarpov I.15 and I.16 models, to do damage to the British bombers. "They are likely to be ineffective against Blenheim aircraft with a top speed of 280-290 miles per hour approaching from the sea."

. . . .

The French planners readily admitted that owing to the "absence of photographs or detailed plans of the objectives listed above, it is not possible to determine exactly the number of bombs that would be required to destroy the various objectives." Nonetheless, the French Air Staff calculated in detail how the refineries would be assaulted. The French based their calculations on the assumption that the average refinery covered an area of 250,000 square meters and that bombers flying at the height of 5,000 meters (about 16,400 feet) at a speed of 250 kilometers per hour (155 miles per hour) could hit such targets with 15 percent of their bombs. If 50 bombs were required to destroy one refinery, and each aircraft carried ten 100-kilogram bombs (220 pounds each), then one group of 11 aircraft would be capable of destroying a single refinery after three sorties (15 percent of 330 bombs, to be precise, is 49.5 bombs). "The destruction of 120 refineries would," the French planners thought, "call for 360 group sorties. Assuming that 12 groups are available, each group would have to carry out 30 sorties. If each group carries out 3 sorties a week, the total time required would be 10 weeks."

—Osborn, Patrick R. Operation Pike: Britain versus the Soviet Union, 1939-1941. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2000

 

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Second World War Books Review

Sharp, Lee. French Army, 1939-1940: Organisation, Order of Battle, Operational History, volume V. Milton Keynes, UK: Military Press, 2006

ISBN: 978-0-85420-342-7

Pages: vi + 168

Introduction; Abbreviations/Glossary; Numbering of French Military Units; Comparative Table of Ranks; tab....

 

 

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