Photographic research can be a powerful adjunct to primary documents and secondary sources such as operational military history, memoirs, journal articles, and other such publications. The Battle of Stalingrad: Then and Now is a great example of that idea.
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Steve Mercatante
on: Feb 25 2024 - 8:30pm
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Steve Mercatante
on: Dec 5 2023 - 1:28am
The Germans And The Dieppe Raid is well worth your time. James Shelley's reasearch is thorough and comprehensively explains how the Wehrmacht defeated Operation JUBILEE in spite of relying mostly upon a second-rate "static" infantry division to do the heavy lifting in terms of defeating a well-trained and equipped Allied raiding force. The book also provides considerable analysis as to what this victory meant for the more important fighting in France that would come two years later in 1944.
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Steve Mercatante
on: Aug 15 2023 - 5:39pm
By July of 1944 (with the Allied success of D-Day coupled with the even bigger Soviet success of Bagration) it was obvious Germany had lost the Second World War. The German military commander-in-chief of the western front was Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt. By that point in the war Rundstedt had acquired a reputation for saying and doing what he saw fit, regardless of the consequences.
So, perhaps it was no surprise that on July 1, 1944 he bluntly informed Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel (the
Review Type: AFU, Bakhmut, Bradley IFV, Combined-Arms, Leopard MBT, Rundstedt, Russia, Special Military Operation, Steve Mercatante, Ukraine, War in the Ukraine, World War II
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Steve Mercatante
on: Jun 12 2023 - 5:46pm
Perhaps no military establishment in the world has focused more heavily on operating interceptors, ground-based radars, and surface to air missile systems than Russia. The two-volume set recently published by Krzysztof Dabrowski explains the long gestational process that has produced a modern Russian surface to air missile based defense force that is one of the world's best. You can read my review here.
Review Type: Defending Rodinu, Krzysztof Dabrowski, MiG-25, PVO, S-300, Soviet Union, Steve Mercatante, SU-15, U-2, Ukraine, VVS
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Steve Mercatante
on: May 23 2023 - 7:59pm
The largest armored battles of the Second World War's Normandy campaign took place on the eastern side of the Allied bridgehead. These battles, fought by the Germans in defense against the British and Canadian attacker's seeking to liberate France, were the key to understanding the outcome of this crucial campaign. Bloody Verrieres Volumes I and II offers unprecedented insight into how the Germans ultimately prevailed against the major Allied Operations Goodwood, Atlantic, and Spring.
Review Type: Atlantic, Bourguebus, D-Day, Goodwood, Gullachsen, I. SS Panzerkorps, Normandy, Spring, Steve Mercatante, Verriers, World War II
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Steve Mercatante
on: Feb 26 2023 - 12:50am
The Long Range Desert Group is a small book, but packed with good detail and adventure. Check out my review today!
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Steve Mercatante
on: Jan 12 2023 - 4:05pm
I last commented on the Russian-Ukrainian war about eight months ago. In that article I speculated on whether or not a breakthrough of the first Ukrainian defensive line in the Donbas would lead to a Russian breakout.
Review Type: AFU, Donetsk, Gerasimov, Luhansk, Russia, Soledar, Special Military Operation, Steve Mercatante, Surovikin, Ukraine, War in the Ukraine
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Steve Mercatante
on: Jan 4 2023 - 6:26pm
This month we take a look at the Korean War. More specifically, the struggle for survival the U.S.1st Marine Division engaged in at the Chosin Reservoir during the winter of 1950. The full review can be found here.
Review Type: 1950, 1st Marine Division, 7th Army Division, China, Chosin, Eric Hammel, Korean War, North Korea, Steve Mercatante
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Steve Mercatante
on: Dec 18 2022 - 8:31pm
In Battlegroup professor and former British Infantry Officer Jim Storr takes his considerable, training, knowledge, and experience and condenses it down toward assessing the comparative strengths and weaknesses of the NATO and Warsaw Pact armies that faced off across the East/West German border during the 1980s. I enjoyed this book and think you will too. Check out my review here.
Review Type: Abrams, Armor, British Army of the Rhine, Bundeswehr, Cold War, French Army, Fulda Gap, Jim Storr, M60, Marder, Mechanized Warfare, NATO, Red Army, Steve Mercatante, T-72, US Army, Warsaw Pact
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Steve Mercatante
on: Nov 7 2022 - 7:10pm
The Desert Air Force In World War II offers readers an interesting first-person perspective on what it was like to fight with the Allies in the skies of the Mediterranean theater of operations during 1940-1942. For my review please see here.
Review Type: Axis, Egypt, Hurricane, Ken Delve, Libya, Luftwaffe, Malta, Me-109, North Africa, RAAF, RAF, Spitfire, Steve Mercatante, The Desert Air Force, World War II
