What WW1 books are you reading?

[pierssc]

Re Bandy, I first read Three Cheers for Me in about 1973, and re-read it every few years.  Only the first three volumes in the series seem to have been published in the UK (the third volume It's Me Again was split into two, the second part (Russian Revolution) appearing as a separate volume in the UK as Me Among the Ruins.  You therefore need to be check out whether you have the full or truncated version of It's Me Again).  I only discovered the existence of the others in the series a few years ago and had to order them from Canada.  I think the WW1 books are the best of the bunch and the others get a bit same-y after a bit, but they're still enjoyable if one can cope with the wild swings of Bart's career.  There's a website at http://www.pippin.ca/bandy/  which is worth a look as it includes things like his military records - a note explains that "The historical community should rest assured that Dr McCreery does not make a habit of forging historical documents, but felt that in Bandy's case an exception had to be made. "

 

One effect of reading the series is that it has left me a bit of a fan of the Sopwith Dolphin!

 

Piers

[Sapper D.]

The New Zealand Division 1916-1919 (Col. H. Stewart)

Up to page 126 and I am very satisfied with the way this story is told.

[Sapper D.]

On ‎31‎/‎05‎/‎2018 at 18:16, Marks13 said:

Ive just finished “Pioneer Battalions in the Great War” by K.W. Mitchinson,  fantastic insight into what seems to me a under appreciated and difficult role.

 

mark h

 

Very difficult qiestion but is this book an interesting read?

I mean, is it a story or just a long list of battalions?

Hope you can help

[paulgranger]

It's ben a while since I looked at Mitchison's book, but IIRC it's a good history of the background to, and formation of the Pioneer Battalions, and isn't just a list of them.

[paulgranger]

I am reading 'To Conquer Hell' by Edward Lengel, a history of the American Meuse-Argonne Offensive of late 1918. it is a a slightly difficult read, as I'm not familiar with the AEF as a formation, I'm reading it on a Kindle, and the maps are therefore inadequate. What I have so far decided is that Pershing shouldn't have been in charge of anything larger than a scout troop, and that the whole offensive seems to have been conducted by ill-trained, badly led, demoralised infantry, poorly supported by inadequate artillery and armour, blundering into heavy machine-gun and shellfire, whenever they attacked. Quite how they won I am not sure.

All that said, this is the first book I've read of the American effort on the Western Front. I have others which I will now get into for a more rounded view.

[Martin Bennitt]

Haven't posted on here for a bit but that doesn't mean I haven't read anything. I much enjoyed "The Trigger", a biography of Gavrilo Princip by Tim Butcher, who was a journalist in Bosnia during the break-up of Yugoslavia. He managed to find additional source material to illustrate the character and career of "the man who started the Great War"and links it to the ezcznt history of the region. The book has been deservedly praised by other Forum Pals.

I am now into "Where Poppies Blow: the British Soldier, Nature, the Great War", by John Lewis-Stempel, an analysis of the relationship between the men in the trenches and the animals and birds around them, which helped especially to maintain their morale. Some very good descriptive writing.

 

Cheers Martin B

 

 

[Marilyne]

Hi everybody,

 

having returned to civilization not two months ago, I have take some time off from reading, because I've been sleeping, marching and catching up with the mess left here at normal work, but now I'm fully back in the reading saddle, because I promised the 4 days of the Yzer organizers another Historical Guide for this year... So I have a huge pile here, including Tomas Termote's "Oorlog Onder Water", as I'm going to talk about the 2017 find of the UB-29; Michael O'Connor's "Airfields and Airmen: Ypres" for information on Abeele Airfield; Diane Atkinson's "Elsie and Mairi go to war" as we are passing Perwijze and that's only a start...

I have two weeks to write the Guide... talk about working under pressure...

 

M;

[593jones]

9 hours ago, David Ridgus said:

Thank you. The blurb in my copy says that a ninth volume Stalin versus Me was published posthumously in 2009. Bandy in the Cold War?

 

David

 

I didn't know there was a ninth volume, sadly posthumous, though, as you say, so there won't be a tenth.  Bandy in the cold war would be interesting.

 

7 hours ago, pierssc said:

One effect of reading the series is that it has left me a bit of a fan of the Sopwith Dolphin!

 

It had the same effect on me, so much so that I had to buy the recently produced Wingnut Wings 1/32 scale kit of the Dolphin at rather more that I wanted to pay.  Now I really need to work out what Bart's aircraft's marking were.  (I'm not really an obsessive, I just act like one!)

[Knotty]

6 hours ago, Martin Bennitt said:

ezcznt history of the region

 

I’m sorry to appear stupid Martin, but what does “ezcznt“ mean in this instance,I have looked in a couple of Serbian translators without any joy.

 

John

Edited 30 July , 2018 by Knotty

[Anneca]

On ‎28‎/‎07‎/‎2018 at 22:41, Fattyowls said:

 

Anne,  I assume you have come across the secrets of Egbert's granddad's trunk which is on the page opposite the titles.

 

Pete.

Hi Pete, yes I enjoyed seeing this in the book but again I would like to have read more.  I had followed Egbert's thread 'The Secret of Grandad's Trunk' on the Forum some time ago and reckon it must be one of the longest running threads.  Revealing the secrets contained in the trunk bit by bit had many people teased including myself.  The suspense waiting for an image of the next item to appear was killing me.  He was such a tease but well worth the wait to eventually see all of the items.

Anne

[Martin Bennitt]

5 hours ago, Knotty said:

 

I’m sorry to appear stupid Martin, but what does “ezcznt“ mean in this instance,I have looked in a couple of Serbian translators without any joy.

 

John

 

Languages can change a lot in 100 years. It means in this case, roughly, in the last quarter of a century.

 

Cheers Martin B

[Guest]

13 minutes ago, Martin Bennitt said:

 

Languages can change a lot in 100 years. It means in this case, roughly, in the last quarter of a century.

 

Cheers Martin B

 

    I think the late Terence Milligan ahd the right attitude to typos.   He often used to sign letters

 

          "Spine Millington

                The Well-Known Typing Error"

[Knotty]

Thank you Martin, you learn something new everyday.

Mr Wiki was no help at all.

[The Scorer]

I think the late Terence Milligan ahd the right attitude to typos.   He often used to sign letters

 "Spine Millington

The Well-Known Typing Error"

I always thought that it was "Spike Milligna" (etc.)

[Guest]

52 minutes ago, The Scorer said:

 

I always thought that it was "Spike Milligna" (etc.)

 

     

[DoughboyFighter]

I just completed The Reconographers: Intelligence and Reconnaissance in British Tank Operations on the Western Front, 1916-18 by Colin Hardy. This is an absolutely fantastic book, which makes me appreciate the amount of work that it took just to get the tanks to their jumping off points. The first few chapters are a bit of a slog, as Hardy provides a short overview of reconnaissance theory and his own framework for the book, but it picks up steam once you make it to the practical application of the reconnaissance. Who knew reading about someone sketching and laying down tape could be so exciting?

 

Now, to read what is surely another riveting book, No Labour, No Battle by John Starling, or something with slightly more action?

[Barnbarroch]

On 21/09/2017 at 19:26, Black Maria said:

Just finished ' Veteran Volunteer : Memoir of the trenches , Tanks & Captivity 1914-1919 ' ( P&S Books 2014) . Captain Frank Vans Agnew M.C

travelled from his home in the U.S ( he had emigrated there in 1884 from England ) to join up in 1914 , he was 46 years old but said he was 40.

He joined the 2nd King Edward's Horse and went to France in May 1915 , he became a bomber and later that year took a commission

and returned in 1916 and joined the Mounted Machine Gun Section. He did observation post duties during the Somme and joined the Tank Corps

in January 1917 ( B Battalion ) . He fought at Messines where he was wounded and awarded the M.C and Third Ypres where he promoted to

Captain . He fought at Cambrai and on 23 Nov was section Commander in Bandit 2 when he was wounded and made a P.O.W , he spent the

rest of the war in Germany .

 

Captain Vans Agnew was a brave and tough soldier who took the trials and tribulations of army life in his stride . He didn't seem to let his age

get in the way and appeared to be fitter than men half his age . He didn't have a high opinion of the Germans , to put it mildly and this view

seemed to apply to journalists who wrote about the war . He wrote that " I wish they would send the staff of the MANCHESTER GUARDIAN

into the front line trenches and never release them again , A burial party is what they need and no more ! ". ( I do like this man ! )

 

I did enjoy reading this book despite the endnotes instead of footnotes and would recommend it .

I'm glad you enjoyed the book, Frank was certainly a character though not very politically correct from the perspective of the 21st century. I think we opted for end notes because some of them were rather long and might have disrupted the text a bit.

Regards,

Jamie Vans.

[Black Maria]

1 hour ago, Barnbarroch said:

I'm glad you enjoyed the book, Frank was certainly a character though not very politically correct from the perspective of the 21st century. I think we opted for end notes because some of them were rather long and might have disrupted the text a bit.

Regards,

Jamie Vans.

The endnotes were only a minor irritant   A brilliant book , thank you for editing and getting it published . The phrase "They don't make 'em like that anymore"

certainly applies to your great uncle . I'm just surprised the book hasn't had more coverage in the forum's book section , it certainly deserves to .

 

[Marks13]

On 30/07/2018 at 11:10, Sapper D. said:

 

Very difficult qiestion but is this book an interesting read?

I mean, is it a story or just a long list of battalions?

Hope you can help

I personally found it interesting , it was a mix of both , the story was behind the origins and the whys the pioneer battalions were formed and the selection/reason for selection of several pioneer battalions from normal Infantry. The book does go into detail of specific actions were at time the pioneers downed tools and picked up their rifles to man the line so there is plenty of stories about unit experiences during the war. There was also information in the book about the specific jobs pioneers undertook and tools used and how these were transported. However there was a element of lists Simply to understand better the deployment of various pioneer battalions across the front, but the list side of the book doesn’t drag on to much or spoil the enjoyment. There’s also a interesting section in the back of the book with diagrams on how certain trenches were Maintained with a correct and incorrect way. 

Although the book didn’t mention allot about Labour Battalions which I’m  interested in i did find the book enjoyable and informative about often overlooked units.

 

Hope this helps a little , 

mark 

Edited 2 August , 2018 by Marks13

[Sapper D.]

On ‎02‎/‎08‎/‎2018 at 12:42, Marks13 said:

I personally found it interesting , it was a mix of both , the story was behind the origins and the whys the pioneer battalions were formed and the selection/reason for selection of several pioneer battalions from normal Infantry. The book does go into detail of specific actions were at time the pioneers downed tools and picked up their rifles to man the line so there is plenty of stories about unit experiences during the war. There was also information in the book about the specific jobs pioneers undertook and tools used and how these were transported. However there was a element of lists Simply to understand better the deployment of various pioneer battalions across the front, but the list side of the book doesn’t drag on to much or spoil the enjoyment. There’s also a interesting section in the back of the book with diagrams on how certain trenches were Maintained with a correct and incorrect way. 

Although the book didn’t mention allot about Labour Battalions which I’m  interested in i did find the book enjoyable and informative about often overlooked units.

 

Hope this helps a little , 

mark 

 

 

Thanks Marks!

[Marilyne]

Hi everybody, 

 

so first things off: I finished my Historical Guide to the 4 Days of the Yzer... in a record time of three weeks from first to last word... not bad. Now I can go to the 100Km Through Flanders Fields and then the Yzer with an eased mind! 

 

This being done I'm now "relaxing" by re-reading David Crane's "Empires of the Dead": the story of the CWGC. fascinating. 

 

And by the way, I've been pointed out to the definition of the condition of which we certainly all suffer from here (well Pete and me first I think): TSUNDOKU. Read all about it here; https://www.treehugger.com/cleaning-organizing/tsundoku-practice-buying-more-books-you-can-read.html

 

toedeloe, 

 

M.

[Fattyowls]

5 minutes ago, Marilyne said:

(well Pete and me first I think)

 

Good find Major. At least you read some of yours, I'm not making a dent in my book pile. It's starting to behave like an unstable hillside and is gradually slumping, it may fail catastrophically soon sweeping me out of Owls Towers completely. Reading Nick Lloyd's 'Passchendaele' is unlikely to save me from being swept away.

 

Pete.

[DoughboyFighter]

1 hour ago, Fattyowls said:

 

Good find Major. At least you read some of yours, I'm not making a dent in my book pile. It's starting to behave like an unstable hillside and is gradually slumping, it may fail catastrophically soon sweeping me out of Owls Towers completely. Reading Nick Lloyd's 'Passchendaele' is unlikely to save me from being swept away.

 

Pete.

 

I have the exact same problem, as I’m over 40 books behind schedule. I actually keep forgetting that I have “Empires of the Dead”, because it’s underneath a pile of books!

 

Currently, I’m reading Beaten Down by Blood: The Battle of Mont St Quentin-Perrone, 1918 by Michele Bomford. It’s the first book I’ve read about the Australians and I would definitely recommend it!

[hazelclark]

Unfortunately I get bogged down sometimes in books that I know I am not enjoying but persevere thinking it’s going to get better.

 

Currently reading “The Christian Soldier” by Charles Beresford.  It is supposed to be the life of Lt. Col. the Rev. Bernard Vann, but since none of his personal papers survive it is a composite of stuff supplied by official diaries and family and friends.  Consequently it consists of a lot of would have should have’s and sports scores.   I purchased it purely because he was a Sherwood Forester and if one had a relative in the 8th Sherwoods, it might be worth while, because the author does mention a lot of names.  However, I suspect I will shortly give up and check the pile for something more interesting.

Hazel  C.

[Len Trim]

Currently reading volume iv of the Churchill Companion the primary sources for Martin Gilbert's magnum opus on Churchill. Attention currently on demobilisation of the conscript army and the rapid build up of a volunteer army. Just coming to the creation of the Black and Tans fascinating as my paternal grandfather was one.

Unfortunately can't find a copy of volume v, the exchequer years, for under £100 which I am not prepared to pay.