I have just finished this delightful book on the Imperial Austrian Army; “For God and Kaiser”. As soon as I saw this book I knew I had to have a copy I have just finished this delightful book on the Imperial Austrian Army; “For God and Kaiser”. As soon as I saw this book I knew I had to have a copy for my library as it appeared to cover those periods of history that I find fascinating; from the Thirty Years War, the Turks at the gates of Vienna, the Wars of Austrian Succession, the Seven Years War, the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, the battles and campaigns of Austria and Italy followed by Austria and Prussia and through the many skirmishes and battles in the Balkans to the end of the Great War.
I figured that this would be a hard task for the author, to cover over 300 years of warfare and keep the reader interested. In this case the author did amazingly well considering the amount of history to be covered. Obviously the story had to be general in nature due to the confines of space (591 pages of which 540 is narrative) but enough detail was provided to keep me glued to the pages. The book certainly allowed me to mark out areas for further reading.
I have read a fair bit of most of the periods covered but usually from the other side. I have read mostly accounts of Austria’s enemies; Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, Frederick the Great, Napoleon, etc, but never from the Austrian point of view. It was great to read of Albrecht von Wallenstein, Count of Tilly, Eugene of Savoy, Maria Theresa (more needs to be written of this woman!) and many other famous Austrian soldiers and commanders.
The book was easy to read and full of interesting bits of information and first-hand accounts, like this account of an incident during, the battle of St Gotthard during the Austro-Turkish War of 1663-64: "The Austrian centre was cleverly split by the Janissaries and Montecucccoli began to fall back, ordering one final counter-attack to be spearheaded by Sporck's cavalry. When Sporck received the order he rode to the head of his riders, removed his helmet, dismounted and knelt before them. In a loud voice he shouted: 'Almighty Generalissimus above us! If you do not wish to help your Christian children at least do not support the Turkish dogs! Just watch on and you will get your joy'."
Most of you may know how Eugene of Savoy was turned away by Louix XIV when he asked for a commission in the French Army: "When many years later, after France had come to regret all to painfully its rejection of Eugene. A message from the French court gingerly enquired whether Eugene after all might consider serving France and said that a dazzling career awaited him in the service of Louis XIV. The Prince of Savoy demonstrated that he neither forgot nor forgave: 'I should like to accept the invitation to return to France,' he replied, 'but only at the head of an invading army to occupy it'."
During the Battle of Landshut between Austrian and Prussian forces, the Prussian General Fouque was shot and wounded and was about to be finished off by an Austrian hussar when an Austrian cavalry officer, Colonel Voit, recognised him and managed to spare his life: "Voit, an officer in the Loewenstein Dragoons, brought up his own beautifully saddled remount for the wounded Prussian who at first declined the offer, noting that 'the blood will spoil your fine horse furnishings', to which Voit replied with old Austrian courtesy: 'It will become far more precious when it is stained with the blood of a hero'."
During the Battle of Aspern & Essling in 1809, Archduke Charles had to rally the Austrian centre which was about to be broken by Napoleon's troops: " ... Charles galloped off to the colours, his horse rearing, and pointing with his arm at the enemy he screamed at his troops to hold the line .... Many accounts have the Archduke seizing the colours ... Such was Charles's innate modesty, he always denied seizing the colours, usually with the self-deprecating observation: 'Me carry such a heavy weight? ... hardly!' "
[image]
There are a number of basic maps(7) outlining the major battles during this period and numerous B&W photographs/illustrations however a few colour prints wouldn’t have gone astray. Overall I really enjoyed this book and I am sure anyone interested in this period of Austria’s history or even just an interest in military history would definitely enjoy this book.
I have just finished reading Kristen Alexander’s latest WW2 aviation book, covering eight Australian pilots who flew Spitfire and Hurricanes in the RAI have just finished reading Kristen Alexander’s latest WW2 aviation book, covering eight Australian pilots who flew Spitfire and Hurricanes in the RAF and fought over England during the Battle of Britain. The pilots that the author decided to cover in her book were Jack Kennedy and Ken Holland from Sydney, Stuart Walch from Hobart, Dick Glyde from Perth, Pat Hughes from Cooma, Bill Millington from Adelaide, John Crossman from Newcastle, and Des Sheen of Canberra. Of these eight pilots only one survived.
Firstly a disclosure; I was given a copy of this book from the author who I know as a result of a shared passion in Australian military history and books. My review below is based solely on the contents of the book.
Australia’s Few and the Battle of Britain is well researched and finely written, easily drawing the reader into the young lives of these eight men. We get to read about them growing up in Australia, their love for flying, their training, and the various reasons for them leaving Australia to join the RAF, then the accounts of their missions over England during the Battle of Britain.
The book is so well written and easy to read that we get caught up in their lives and loves and then are saddened as we read of their deaths whilst fighting against the Luftwaffe in 1940. You know what the likely outcome is to be with these young men but still their demise in action still hits a nerve, a feeling of loss for men the reader never knew, and in some cases had never previously heard of.
The author has utilised numerous first-hand accounts, after action reports, diaries and letters to help tell the story of these brave young men. Like this account of one of the pilots training flight back in Australia: "One damn bump after another. Tried some forced landings to such a reckless extent the poor old instructor couldn't say a word. I damn near hit a fence about 20 times."
And this account from the period known as the ‘Phoney War’ in France in 1939: "His fellow Australian Flying Officer Johnny Cock overshot the landing strip on one occasion and ended up in a reservoir. On another, Flying Officer Roderick 'Roddy' Rayner landed with his wheels still retracted. His excuse? 'Just forgot them, old boy.' As Flight Lieutenant Ian 'Widge' Gleed recalled it, 'life was rosy' during the Phoney War."
This incident occurred during the early stages of the Battle of Britain and it brought a smile to my face, although I wondered if Sergeant Badger was smiling at the time: "Dick returned from battle uninjured, but his Hurricane was not so lucky; it was pocked with bullet holes. At least one other Hurricane was holed as well: such was the confusion in the air Dick had mistaken Sergeant Ivor Badger's Hurricane for an enemy aircraft. With a broad grin, Badger later declared to Dick, 'You are a rotten shot, sir!' "
I have read many good books on the Battle of Britain and this new title ranks up there with the best. Although this book is written about the life and death of Australians who flew during the Battle of Britain, anyone who has an interest in the RAF, RAAF or this battle will enjoy this book. It shows the progression of keen young men full of life and energy being worn down by constant missions and combat against the Luftwaffe till they paid the ultimate price.
The stories of those they left behind; friends, lovers, wives and family is also well told and the book continues past the end of the battle to the years after the war and how these men were remembered and commemorated. Overall this is a book every Australian, or anyone who has an interest in this period should read. It is about what these young men gave in the service of their country and to defend England at a time of dire need.
Although I felt sad every time I read of the death of one of these brave young men I am glad I read this book. I think we all needed to be reminded at times that history is more than dates and places, it is about what others have given for the benefit of all.
In closing here is something that one of these young pilots, Pat Hughes, wrote as a school boy back in Australia that resonated with his death, titled AN AUTUMN EVENING:
“The cool evening wind came whispering over the lonely land … The watcher rose slowly to his feet, and with the beauty of that autumn evening impressed on his soul, he started again on his journey. For a moment he was lost to view behind an outcrop, but then for a short time he stood, vaguely outlined against the lighter gloom of a wide-arched sky – and then he passed from sight – over the skyline.”
I purchased a copy of Washington Irving's Spanish Papers on a whim. It was sitting on a 'special's' table outside a second hand book shop, looking quiI purchased a copy of Washington Irving's Spanish Papers on a whim. It was sitting on a 'special's' table outside a second hand book shop, looking quite forlorn and forgotten. It was a small brown "Knickerbocker Edition" with beat up ends and raggedy corners. Looking inside I saw it was marked down from $45 to just $5. I was uncertain if I wanted the book but flicked through it anyhow, put it down but then picked it up again on the way out and purchased it. I must say it was one of the best purchases I made this year (besides my new car).
This book is not great history but it is great reading! It's been a while since I have so thoroughly enjoyed a book like this. "Spanish Papers" is a number of stories and legends covering the history of the Muslim conquest of Spain and the later recovery by Christian forces. These stories are from unpublished manuscripts left by Washington Irving in his will after his death.
The style of writing is from a period that is well worth visiting from time to time, written by an author who truly loved the subject, a romantic of this period. Washington Irving was resident in Spain for a period of time and had access to the many Muslim and Christian chronicles written during this period of Spain's dramatic history. I loved the stories, all based on fact but told with the flair for the melodramatic, the style of writing was truly engaging and I loved being dragged into these old accounts. For example, This is the authors description if an advancing Muslim army about to give battle:
"Their turbans and robes, of various dyes and fashions, gave a splendid appearance to their host; as they marched a cloud of dust arose and partly hid them from the sight, but still there would break forth flashes of steel and gleams of burnished gold, like rays of vivid lightning; while the sound of drum and trumpet, and the clash of Moorish cymbal, were as the warlike thunder within that stormy cloud of battle."
The aftermath of that battle:
"On the morning after the battle, the Arab leader, Taric ben Zeyad, rode over the bloody field of the Guadalete, strewed with the ruins of those splendid armies which had so lately passed like glorious pageants along the river banks. There Moor and Christian, horseman and horse lay gashed with hideous wounds; and the river, still red with blood, was filled with the bodies of the slain. The gaunt Arab was as a wolf roaming through the fold he had laid waste. On every side his eye reveled on the ruin of the country, on the wrecks of haughty Spain. There lay the flower of her youthful chivalry, mangled and destroyed, and the strength of her yeomanry prostrated in the dust. The Gothic noble lay confounded with his vassals, the peasant with the prince - all ranks and dignities were mingled in one bloody massacre."
So if you like tales of daring-do from knights and cavaliers of old then I think you will really enjoy the stories in this book. I was happily surprised in how much I did!...more
How to do justice to a book full of accounts of brave young men being horrifically wounded and dying in the course of their duty – I can’t! All I can How to do justice to a book full of accounts of brave young men being horrifically wounded and dying in the course of their duty – I can’t! All I can say is that people need to read this book, the story of brave young American servicemen based in a deadly and highly vulnerable valley just a few miles away from the Pakistan border and surrounded by enemy forces.
The book’s main focus is on the troops manning Combat Outpost Keating – named after an officer who lost his life at that location. The outpost was first established in 2006 and the author follows the various units and their men throughout their rotation of duty at the post till it’s dramatic end in 2009.
At times some of the accounts of soldiers being wounded and killed by the enemy is quite confronting and graphic and you think to yourself; ‘God I hope the families don’t read this book’. I think the author was trying to confront the reader with the reality of combat, to make us sit back and think, that really should we, as a nation, be so quick to put our young men in harm’s way.
I understand that the author interviewed many of the men and the families whose stories are told here. I came away with nothing but admiration for all the soldiers involved and a sense of rising anger at those who put these men in this situation that lead to many fine young men losing their lives or being wounded, in both body and mind.
The book is well-written and easy to read and appears to be well researched with numerous footnotes to various items of interest. At times I found it hard to put the book down and the accounts of the many battles and skirmishes had me reading till late at night or early next morning.
Some of the accounts were funny, like this one; “Howard had told Keating that he wanted him to switch Able Troop’s focus from strictly fighting the enemy to counterinsurgency work: more meeting with local leaders and assisting on development projects, less driving around trying to find insurgents. That wasn’t so easy: ‘nobody told them,’ Keating would quip about the enemy. ‘The little bastards keep shooting at us every day’.”
Or this account of when Sergeant First Class Jeff Jacops was wounded one morning when a recoilless rifle round hit a wall right in front of him, blowing him backward and knocking him unconscious. He awoke with a number of injuries caused by shrapnel and also realised that he was spitting out teeth. He was stabilised by the base medic and medevac’d to a larger support base:
“At Forward Operating Base Bostick, the surgeon told Jacops he was going to put him under so he could take a good look at his wounds. Preparing for the anesthesia, he asked his patient, ‘What did you have for breakfast?’ 'A fucking rocket,’ Jacops replied”
I was happy that I decided to read this book although I will confess that at times I felt saddened at the loss of so many good young men in a war that would appear was badly handled and supported by the very government that sent these men into action. I do not understand how these men were not provided the full support with all the resources that the United States military has at is disposal. This was the war that had to be won, but appears may have been lost, I hope not, for these men’s sake and their families. ...more
Battle Scarred The 47th Battalion in the First World War is a new book by Australian author Craig Deayton. This is his first book and what a great achBattle Scarred The 47th Battalion in the First World War is a new book by Australian author Craig Deayton. This is his first book and what a great achievement it is as well. I really loved this book, it’s a great story of ordinary men thrust into one of the worst wars known to man.
The author presents the good and the bad about the men who served in the 47th Battalion, 1st Australian Imperial Force. We read about those ordinary men who carried out great acts of bravery and were never recognised for their efforts but we also read about the cowards, maligerers and deserters.
This is the story of ordinary men thrown into the malestroem of the Western Front and who fought in some of the hardest and toughest battles along that line including; Pozieres, Mouquet Farm, Bullecourt, Messines, Passchendaele and Dernancourt. At the end of the war the remaining soldiers of the 47th gathered for one final photograph, only 73 men were left. (a battalion of that period was normally around 1000 men).
This is a great unit history and anyone who enjoys reading about the Great War should enjoy this book. In closing I’d like to add the review below from a well-respected Australian historian:
“Battle Scarred is surely the finest battalion history I have ever read… Craig Deayton has written a superb evocation and analysis of the life of one of the less celebrated of the AIF’s infantry battalions. This is no flattering hagiography full of derring-do, but an honest, critical, but still sympathetic, portrait of a run-of-the mill AIF battalion. Highly readable and richly descriptive both of the 47th’s men and their actions, it helps to explain not just what the AIF did on the Western Front, but what it was like for those involved, and why the AIF’s part in that terrible war remains such a profound part of Australian memory so long after.” - Dr. Peter Stanley Australia’s leading military historian...more
Cameron Forbes new book; The Korean War: Australian in the Giants Playground, is just as good as his previous book Hellfire, which covered Australian Cameron Forbes new book; The Korean War: Australian in the Giants Playground, is just as good as his previous book Hellfire, which covered Australian POW’s in the Pacific War.
His new book on the Korean War takes you by surprise, as it’s not your standard military history following campaigns and battles as they took place across the map of Korea. No, this book is sort of a social history with great little stories and anecdotes covering numerous subjects within the context of the Korean War but it never goes too far off track.
The book’s primary focus is upon the Australian men who volunteered to go to Korea and what happened to them and it really draws you in. You’re not sure where the author is taking you sometimes but it always comes back to the men and their battles in Korea.
I have read numerous books on the Korean War and although this one didn’t cover every single battle it provided good accounts of those major battles involving the Australian forces as part of the Commonwealth effort. The stories of the men involved in those battles is what makes this book shine, it’s excellent, men I’ve never heard of before but now will never forget.
Many have said that the Korean War was the ‘forgotten war’, after reading this book let’s hope that changes, as these men deserve their due, they truly are the forgotten heroes of Australia. It’s a great story, sad, poignant and thoughtful, well done to the author for bringing their stories alive.
This is a great book of Napoleonic art, well produced and presented by the publishers. Keith Rocco has provided the Napoleonic community with a magnifThis is a great book of Napoleonic art, well produced and presented by the publishers. Keith Rocco has provided the Napoleonic community with a magnificent visual reference book which is a pleasure to open and read. Should be in every Napoleonic library....more
This is a excellent account of the Iron Brigade, the "Black Hat Brigade", the only all western brigade in the Eastern army. This Federal unit fought aThis is a excellent account of the Iron Brigade, the "Black Hat Brigade", the only all western brigade in the Eastern army. This Federal unit fought at 2nd Bull Run, South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville and Gettysburg and they fought well. This book was a delight to read and is one of my favourite books on the American Civil War. The book is well written and the narrative of the battles is assisted by easy to understand maps. One of the best unit histories to be printed for some time. ...more
'Aussie Rick'
>
Books:
favourites
(80)
Loading...
