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  Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2017, ISBN: 978-1-316-62369-5, 344 pp Written By : Brian N Hall Reviewed By : Chris Roberts   The thrust of Communications and British Operations on the Western Front, 1914-1918 is that communication systems are at the heart of command and control, and those employed by the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) at each stage of the war had a profound effect on the ability of British commanders to control operations. In addressing this matter, Brian N. Hall seeks to …

  Penguin Books, 2015, New York, ISBN: 9780143107446, 519 pp RRP: $37.99 (softcover) Author: Jean Lartéguy Reviewed By: Anastasia Easton First published in 1960, Jean Lartéguy’s The Centurions chronicles the experiences of a group of French paratroopers who survive imprisonment in Indochina during the First Indochina War and return to France before later deploying to Algeria in military operations against the National Liberation Front. Having himself served in North Africa and Korea with the French Free …

The Allied Invasion of Europe and the D-Day Landings   Cambridge Oxford University Press , New York USA, 2014 (First Edition), 422 pp Hardcover ISBN: 9780199986118 Written By : Craig L Symonds Reviewed By : Felicity Petrie   Ten years since it was first published, Neptune - The Allied Invasion of Europe and the D-Day Landings remains fresh and relevant. It reviews the D-Day landings and the events leading up to the Allied invasion of Europe in the final stages of the Second World War that is both …

  Penguin 2024, 480 pp $45.00 Hardback ISBN: 9781761342882 Author: Mike Carlton Reviewed By: John Nash   Mike Carlton has now written five books on Australian naval history, focused on the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) in both the World Wars. His latest work is Dive! Australian Submariners at War , which starts by looking at the history of Australian submarines and submariners in the World Wars, and then branches out into more modern history. It is a topical work given submarines are a regular news item with …

  The Australian Defence Force (ADF) has been traditionally been viewed as a predominantly military institution focused on conventional warfighting. However, over the past few decades, this perception has broadened significantly. The ADF's remit now includes a variety of non-military tasks, such as disaster relief and support during public health emergencies. These activities have highlighted the inadequacies in our existing legal and policy frameworks, particularly the ambiguous term "domestic violence" …

Unsung Hero of the Pacific War   by Kevin C Holzimmer University Press of Kansas , 2007 (paperback reprint 2022), 330 pages Paperback ISBN: 978070064040 Reviewed By: Dayton McCarthy, CSC   Hailing from the University Press of Kansas – a long-standing publisher of high-quality military history – Kevin C Holzimmer’s book on General Walter Krueger book joins a growing body of work that (re)examines the role of the United States Army in the Southwest Pacific Area (SWPA) during the Second World War. These …

Case studies of German offensive and defensive operations on the Western Front 1914-17   By Captain G.C. Wynne Helion , Solihull, 2011, 216pp, Images : c 40 b/w photos, 19 maps 9781906033767 - Paperback 9781909384033 - Hardback 9781907677915 - ebook Reviewed by Chris Roberts Within the English-speaking historiography of the Great War, the emphasis is largely from the British perspective, with only brief mention of the enemy’s action. In this admirable series of battle narratives, Wynne counters this trend …

The Forging of a First World War By Elizabeth Greenhalgh Cambridge University Press, 2011. 550. Online ISBN: 9780511835254 Reviewed by BRIG Chris Roberts AM, CSC (Retd.) Within the English speaking world, many volumes have been written on Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, Commander in Chief of the British Expeditionary Force, with seven biographies devoted to him in the decade prior to the centenary of the Great War. One such volume attributes him as ‘The Architect of Victory.’  This is not surprising given …

How Victory Turned into Defeat in Afghanistan and Iraq By Ben Barry Osprey , Oxford: UK, 2020, 528pp Paperback ISBN: 9781472831040 Hardback ISBN: 9781472831019 eBook (ePub) ISBN: 9781472831026 eBook (PDF) ISBN: 9781472831002 Reviewed by Dr. Al Palazzo When reviewing a book, I have a definite preference. I like to review books that I enjoyed reading so that I can share my pleasure with others — which explains why I found it so frustrating to review Ben Barry’s Blood, Metal and Dust: How Victory Turned into …

With Fear of Change By Williamson Murray Cambridge University Press , Cambridge, 2011, 342pp Online ISBN: 9781139005241 Reviewed by BRIG Chris Roberts AM, CSC (Retd.)   The only constant in war is change. Williamson Murray addresses this factor through the lens of five case studies ranging from the Great War (1914-18) to the Yom Kippur War (1973).  Murray has written extensively on the subject of military effectiveness, defining military change during periods of peace as innovation, and during war as …