Tanker Books/Novels

[ssidiver]

On 24/09/2016 at 7:04 PM, Panzer_Leader said:

 

Which other of his titles do you have?

Just got home, so I'll reach for the shelf:

 

Military Briefs:

 

1- Australian Fire Support Vehicles

2- Israeli Tank Based Carriers

3- Australian Centurions in Vietnam

 

Also next to them I found Australian Military Equipment Profiles vol 4 The M113 and M113A1 Armoured Personnel Carriers in Australian Service 1962 to 1972 by Michael K Cecil

 

Oh and a quite thick one by John Myszka Israeli Military Vehicles The First 50 Years 1948 - 1998

 

Enjoyed them all

 

 

 

Edited October 3, 2016 by ssidiver

[Panzer_Leader]

On 10/3/2016 at 11:28 PM, ssidiver said:

Just got home, so I'll reach for the shelf:

 

Military Briefs:

 

1- Australian Fire Support Vehicles

2- Israeli Tank Based Carriers

3- Australian Centurions in Vietnam

 

Also next to them I found Australian Military Equipment Profiles vol 4 The M113 and M113A1 Armoured Personnel Carriers in Australian Service 1962 to 1972 by Michael K Cecil

 

Oh and a quite thick one by John Myszka Israeli Military Vehicles The First 50 Years 1948 - 1998

 

Enjoyed them all

 

Thanks ssidiver.  I've got 'Australian Military Equipment Profiles vol 4 The M113 and M113A1 Armoured Personnel Carriers in Australian Service 1962 to 1972' in my library as well.  If you're interested in Australian Centurions in Vietnam I can highly recommend the two-volume history 'Canister! On! Fire!: Australian Tank Operations in Vietnam' by Bruce Cameron, a former Centurion troop leader in Vietnam.  It is a superb, thoroughly researched and lovingly written history of Australian Centurion operations in Vietnam. Published by a bespoke Australian publisher as well, so worth the investment to support.

 

Cheers

[Panzer_Leader]

I can't believe I've only just come across this, having found and purchased every other meaningful title on the Challenger 1, but the Haynes Owners' Workshop Manual on the Challenger 1 looks like an interesting and worthwhile addition to the collection: https://www.amazon.com/Challenger-Main-Battle-1983-2001-Model/dp/0857338153/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1476326280&sr=1-3&keywords=challenger+main+battle+tank

 

Does anyone already own this and, if so, how would you rate it and would you recommend I purchase it?

 

Cheers

[ssidiver]

7 hours ago, Panzer_Leader said:

two-volume history 'Canister! On! Fire!: Australian Tank Operations in Vietnam' by Bruce Cameron, a former Centurion troop leader in Vietnam

 

Thank you That does sound interesting!

 

[Iarmor]

A chapter from the book "Fire" by Yuval Neria, describing the battle against the crossing Egyptian forces near Qantara during the opening of the 1973 war. See the video thread:

 

 

[Koen]

19 hours ago, Iarmor said:

A chapter from the book "Fire" by Yuval Neria, describing the battle against the crossing Egyptian forces near Qantara during the opening of the 1973 war. See the video thread:

 

 

 

Thx !

[Lawrence]

I'm reading "Thunder Run" by David Zucchino right now, and as others confirmed, it is a swell account of the 3rd ID's push into the Baghdad Suburbs to the Airport, then straight through the crossed sabers into the city center. The books first half is from the viewpoint of 2nd Brigades Thunder Run to link up with 1st Bde at the airport on April 5th, and later the Thunder Run to make Sahaf shut up. Right now, I'm on some accounts of the combat in Baghdad from an Iraqi point of view (approx pg 140).

[Trackpin]

Hi,

Have been reinforcing my rather venerable reference library with second hand reference books published in the last ten years.

Splashed out on pre-ordering a small tome "The Modern Russian Army 1992-2016 " (Elite). Should turn up in March sometime.

Will post an opinion when read. However, not qualified to give a proper review, which is why I still buy books

Hell, all my references still say M113s *are* amphibious. Yikes!

Trackpin

[Panzer_Leader]

23 hours ago, Trackpin said:

Splashed out on pre-ordering a small tome "The Modern Russian Army 1992-2016 " (Elite). Should turn up in March sometime.

 

Thanks Trackpin, good tip (https://ospreypublishing.com/the-modern-russian-army-1992-2016). I've pre-ordered a copy too as the topic's of interest and relevant to contemporary scenario building, plus I'm a big fan of Osprey reference books, usually as a visual / equipment / organisational complement to more in-depth material, and have maybe 100 or so (through the ages of military history) in my library.

[Mirzayev]

I also pre-ordered a copy, in addition to South African Armour of the Border War, which is released on the same date. 

 

While this isn't exactly a "Tanker" book, I finished reading the book The SADF in the Border War: 1966-1989 by Leopold Scholtz. It is extremely well written, and Scholtz manages to balance hard facts, statistics, and anecdotes, all in an easy to read format. The battles are described well, and the discussion of the employment of 61 Mech throughout the war is an excellent study of how to use Mechanized Infantry very effectively. There is also a very good analysis into the Cuban, Russian, and Angolan strategy, and what each side hoped to get out of their fight against South Africa. My two complaints about the book are that there is little focus on the Counter-Insurgency Efforts, with only 21 pages out of 526 devoted to discussing it. The other is that the ending, trying to justify the Border War as being "worth it," seemed a bit forced. That being said, this is a great book to pick up, especially as an introduction to this fairly overlooked conflict. 

 

Also, this book contains one of my favorite anecdotes of all time:

 

"So the major picked up his six-foot pointer, walked to the almost blank wall map which was meant to depict the "enemy situation". It covered the whole of Cunene province, in Angola, and all of Ovamboland south of the cutline.

 

Tentatively, he pointed to an insignificant little spot in western Ovambo. "Generals, gentlemen," he said. "This is Ongulumbashe, a former 'terr' base that was discovered in 1966, about twelve years ago. Police and paratroopers attacked the place. They shot the hell out of SWAPO and the survivors scattered all over the place." He swept his pointer over all of the Cunene province and Ovamboland.

 

"And now we don't know where the f*** they are!" He stood his pointer in the corner against the wall and sat down."  

[Koen]

On 1-2-2017 at 5:45 AM, Mirzayev said:

... The battles are described well, and the discussion of the employment of 61 Mech throughout the war is an excellent study of how to use Mechanized Infantry very effectively.

 

...

 

"And now we don't know where the f*** they are!" He stood his pointer in the corner against the wall and sat down."  

 

Re use of Mech Inf:

any take aways for SB ?

 

Re pointer: 

:-)

 

Thx !

[Mirzayev]

6 hours ago, Koen said:

Re use of Mech Inf:

any take aways for SB ?

 

Nothing revolutionary, but there were a few points. Most of it is pretty common sense in modern military teachings.

 

1. The SADF placed a very specific focus in their doctrine to attack the enemy from an unexpected direction. They realized that they would never achieve complete surprise (the enemy always had an idea of when they would attack) but that they could achieve tactical surprise. They would rather spend hours (or days) moving through the most unforgiving terrain to attack an objective, rather than take an easier, more expected route. 

 

2. Whenever possible, the SADF would always attack an objective with close air support, followed by a barrage of indirect fire prior to launching the assault. Close air support proved harder to use during the late 80's at Cuito Cuanavale, due to Cuban/Angolan Air Superiority, and the extreme ranges SAAF aircraft would have to travel to reach the FEBA. 

 

3. Ratel-20s would provide fire support, for the infantry, but would constantly maneuver while the infantry advanced. This is similar to the concept of berm drills, or jockeying (for you Commonwealth folks.) 

 

4. The infantry would be supported by Ratel-90s, who would use their 90mm cannons to great effect in clearing fortified structures for the infantry. A common tactic for clearing a bunker was to have a Ratel-90 (or an Olifant Mk1A at Cuito Cuanavale, the only time tanks were deployed in the war,) fire a HE round into the bunker at close range. As you can imagine, this was effective at achieving the desired result. 

 

5. Speaking of the Ratel-90, the wingman concept proved vital to their success. The Ratel-90 was the greatest tank killer of the Border War, despite having armor that could easily be penetrated by 23mm rounds, and despite using the aging 90mm cannon taken straight from the Eland Mk7. When an enemy tank was identified, Ratel-90s would action on in opposite directions, using cover and concealment to approach the target. Once a flank shot was possible, they would fire, destroying the enemy's armor. 

 

6. Tactical patience was another hallmark of the SADF. When encountering weapon systems that could destroy the Ratel (generally the feared ZU-23-2), the Commander would elect to halt the attack, and destroy it with either close air support, or with indirect fire. 

 

Keep in mind, these TTPs worked in Angola against the Angolan Army, and the Cubans. The Angolans rigorously followed the Soviet Union's techniques for conducting a static defense, so much so that they would dig their tanks into fighting positions and never move them during a battle. Combined with a doctrine that strongly discouraged individual initiative, a lack of training, and a serious morale problem, the Angolans were not on par with the South Africans. While the Cubans were much better, and were both praised and feared by the South Africans for their tenacity and bravely during fights, they were ultimately fighting a South African Army that had more than ten years of experience fighting a Conventional War in Angola. In short, a large part of the South African success was due to the fact that their Soldiers were significantly better trained than their Angolan and Cuban counterparts. 

 

Hopefully something that I have written can be applied to Steel Beasts.  

[Koen]

Thx !

[Furia]

About to start with this one in my Kindle.

With an M-60 on front page I simply could not resist 

 

 

And it will be followed by this one

 

Edited May 14, 2017 by Furia

[Furia]

Just finished MARINE CORPS Tank Battles in the MIddle East and I can just highly recommend it. I really enjoyed it. It is well written and documented. 

 

Yesterday I have started another interesting although this time as well chilling book wrote by a very sennior NATO Commander about actual events and a possible escalation with Russia.

I have started it yesterday but so far I have to say it is quite thrilling, extremely well documented and mixing so well actual political and military data with "future possibilities" that surely makes it interesting.

Many people copare it to "Red Storm Raising"

 

In the words of Admiral James G Stavridis, US Navy, former Supreme Allied Commander Europe

 

You fail to read this book at your peril.

 

 

War With Russia: An urgent warning from senior military command

Edited June 5, 2017 by Furia

[Nike-Ajax]

On a tangentially relevant node, then a very good WW 3 representation is

 

Dragon' s Fury by Jeff head

 

https://itunes.apple.com/lu/book/dragons-fury-world-war-against-america-and-the-west-volume-i/id421348537?mt=11

 

Its like Red Storm Rising on Steroids.

 

Cheap on Itunes and very politically UNcorrect which just adds to its worth.

Some of the science in the last part is stretching it a bit, even though major wars have a hyperaccelerating effect on science. Point of example being medical science which during WW 1 was accelerated more than in the preceding 300 years combined.

 

However the politcal and military stuff is pretty much on the mark. Including what ifs if the russian Shkval-2 Supercavitating torpedo was upgraded and fielded as an offensive weapon in larger numbers.

Edited July 8, 2017 by Nike-Ajax

[Lawrence]

It would be nice if an English translation of "Leopard 2 sein Werden und seine Leistung" by Paul-Werner Krapke was available. 

[CharlieB]

Recent reading has been:

 

First Clash - Kenneth Macksey

https://www.amazon.co.uk/First-Clash-Combat-Close-Up-World/dp/0425107566

Red Storm Rising - Tom Clancy

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Red-Storm-Rising-Tom-Clancy/dp/0006173624/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_img_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=WDBZXD8H9VDT6RBA3429

Panzer Commander - Hanz Von Luck

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Panzer-Commander-Memoirs-Colonel-Hans/dp/B0036HVHTC/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1506101629&sr=1-2&keywords=panzer+commander+the+memoirs+of+colonel+hans+von+luck

Team Yankee - Harold W. Coyle

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Team-Yankee-Novel-World-War-ebook/dp/B01I2ZX2E0/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1506101668&sr=1-1&keywords=team+yankee

Now reading Panzer Tactics - Wolfgang Schneider

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Panzer-Tactics-German-Small-unit-Armor/dp/0811732444/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1506101696&sr=1-1&keywords=panzer+tactics

 

What next...

[Hedgehog]

40 minutes ago, CharlieB said:

Recent reading has been:

 

First Clash - Kenneth Macksey

https://www.amazon.co.uk/First-Clash-Combat-Close-Up-World/dp/0425107566

Red Storm Rising - Tom Clancy

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Red-Storm-Rising-Tom-Clancy/dp/0006173624/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_img_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=WDBZXD8H9VDT6RBA3429

Panzer Commander - Hanz Von Luck

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Panzer-Commander-Memoirs-Colonel-Hans/dp/B0036HVHTC/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1506101629&sr=1-2&keywords=panzer+commander+the+memoirs+of+colonel+hans+von+luck

Team Yankee - Harold W. Coyle

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Team-Yankee-Novel-World-War-ebook/dp/B01I2ZX2E0/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1506101668&sr=1-1&keywords=team+yankee

Now reading Panzer Tactics - Wolfgang Schneider

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Panzer-Tactics-German-Small-unit-Armor/dp/0811732444/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1506101696&sr=1-1&keywords=panzer+tactics

 

What next...

 

 

Tank Action by David Render

ISBN: 978-1-474-60328-7

 

Memoirs of a Tank Troop leader from D Day +4 up to 5 May 45 in Bremerhaven.

(via Cloppenburg, Odd to see a cold war associated name pop up in a WW2 book, for me, really brought the 2 eras together, that one fed into the other.)

 

The after word is pretty poignant.

 

 

 

[Panzer_Leader]

Has anyone else here read 'The Breaking Point: Sedan and the Fall of France, 1940' by Robert Doughty?  I bought it after reviewing this reading list (https://fromthegreennotebook.com/2016/07/15/so-you-want-to-learn-about-maneuver-warfare/) - I hadn't come across it before - and am close to finishing it now.  Although it's written in a rather dry, matter-of-fact style, it contains some really interesting learnings, in my opinion, for those interested in the study and practice of manoeuvre warfare, including:

 

- The impact superior junior leadership, mission tactics / command, leading from the front (e.g. Balck, Guderian) and aggressiveness (e.g. Guderian's acceptance of risk to his left flank in order to push XIX Panzer Corps immediately west after crossing the Meuse) can have to mission success

- French lack of understanding of the potential rapidity of German manoeuvre, e.g. expecting to have days while German forces built up prior to attempting a crossing of the Meuse, even after Poland

- French lack of command and control.  This is probably the best account I've ever read of how lack of appropriate, timely command and control can contribute to defeat

- French lack of reserves.  It seems the French committed all forces to defence at every echelon from Division down.  There was only one unsuccessful local and one (planned) Corps counter-attack after the Germans crossed the Meuse.  Again, another great teaching point for me about the importance of reserves (continually reinforced by @Gibsonmduring TEWTs!)     

 

There's more but, overall, this book provides an excellent study of the benefits of manoeuvre warfare well conducted on one hand and its antithesis (the French seemed ready for a replay of World War 1's attrition warfare) on the other.  I'd definitely recommend it for those interested in the theory and practice of manoeuvre warfare like me. 

Edited October 26, 2017 by Panzer_Leader

[Ssnake]

Well, of course they picked one of the more spectacular successes. Maneuver warfare didn't help the Wehrmacht in the Falaise pocket, or at Kursk. Then again, it worked brilliantly in the Ardennes again - as long as you discount the effect of Allied air strikes and the effects that they had on the supply situation.

 

To me, Auftragstaktik and maneuver warfare are first and foremost a matter of army culture. A culture that tolerates mistakes for the assumed benefit of shorter and therefore less costly wars (well, that didn't work out exactly from '39-'45). The question is whether this culture of fault tolerance is actually possible/tolerated when the political leadership adopts a zero defects mindset to contain PR fallout. IMO, this simply is unlikely today.

[Stevo]

Time to reread this classic!

[CharlieB]

TOP read and still one of my favourites!!

[Gibsonm]

3 hours ago, Stevo said:

Time to reread this classic!

 

 

As long as you don't read the re-released "revised" edition apparently.

[Scrapper_511]

6 hours ago, Stevo said:

Time to reread this classic!

Exactly Gibsonm! This edition is terrible!