@ABWorsham4
Hi AB nice to see you :)
Yea read a good one on stalingrad years ago. Posted on the old site. Can’t remember the name. I’ll try and look it up.
Shanghai 1937: Stalingrad on the Yangtze
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I got this book for my birthday last week and I haven’t been able to put it down!
http://www.amazon.com/SHANGHAI-1937-Stalingrad-Peter-Harmsen/dp/161200167X
I say it is a must read for any WW2 historian as it fills a critical gap in lot of peoples knowledge on this front and the beginnings of the Pacific war. It gives a detailed account of the event leading up to the battle and then follows proceedings step by step through the battle. It gives a lot of detail on individuals big and small and their involvement in the battle but does so in a easy to follow narrative that is fun to read. Can not recommend this book enough.
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Thank you for bringing it to our attention Clyde.
I am afraid that my WW2 interest has always been in the European theatre, so it is not something I would read.
Glad you are enjoying it. You could post a few thoughts on it when you finish it.
I would happily read that. -
Wittmann,
I understand that and I feel there are a lot of people who are the same way. It’s not that this is inherently a bad thing, I myself started with a keen interest in the ETO, especially in the Eastern Front. However (and please don’t take this as an insult towards you) I feel that it’s such a shame that there is such little interest in the China theater of WW2. Being able to speak Chinese and having spent a considerable amount of time traveling in China gives me somewhat of a bias towards this theater, and also gives me access to a larger wealth of material on the subject, but I think it should be better known among western audiences as it was the events in China which brought America into WW2 in the end. -
Clyde,
––I just finished that same book about 3 weeks ago and found it very interesting. It added to my knowledge of the Sino-Japan war. In order to get a fuller understanding of the Pacific War (WW2) I have read of the many different conflicts and their social and economic as well as military backgrounds that led to it. If you’d like I can recommend several books that I really enjoyed and learned from. I always enjoy, and usually learn from good discussions on military history topics.
“Tall Paul”
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Clyde85,
––One EXCELLENT book I’d recommend is:
"Japan Prepares for Total War, The search for Economic Security, 1919-1941" by Michael A. Barnhart.
––This was an excellent study on the many different powers that were all effecting the Japanese Empire in Military and Economic terms. It gives a background for how and why things actually took place, including many of the things that Westerners and many historians take for granted are illuminated. I gained a much better understanding from this book and would suggest that any and all WW2 Pacific historian/enthusiasts would also benefit from it’s reading. I happened to get my copy as an e-book from Amazon-Kindle.“Tall Paul”
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Thank you Clyde and Tall Paul.
I have picked up books on subjects of which I have no knowledge in order to broaden my reading, but I can never make much headway and have to put them down. I just can’t get interested enough to finish and enjoy them. I fear China is another such subject.
I am happy to reread subjects I know well, to remind myself I suppose.
I know it is not a good situation to be in: it is just how it is.
I do have a lot of respect for many here and am happy to read their thoughts on subjects I do not understand.
At the moment I am deep into the US Civil War and I will be happy here for some time. -
Wittman & Others,
@wittmann:
Thank you Clyde and Tall Paul.
I have picked up books on subjects of which I have no knowledge in order to broaden my reading, but I can never make much headway and have to put them down. I just can’t get interested enough to finish and enjoy them. I fear China is another such subject.
I am happy to reread subjects I know well, to remind myself I suppose.
I know it is not a good situation to be in: it is just how it is.
I do have a lot of respect for many here and am happy to read their thoughts on subjects I do not understand.
At the moment I am deep into the US Civil War and I will be happy here for some time.––I can completely understand your feelings on the subject of “books that broaden your understanding”. I seem to have an all encompassing passion for knowledge,…and I just feel better when I’ve read/studied enough to reach an intelligent understanding of the subject(s).
----I have approximately 25 books on the start of the Pacific War which I’ve found to be very hard to read and finish. Books about the Japanese invasion of the Philippines, operations in Borneo, ships histories that were sunk at this time, December 8, 1941 about MacArthur’s allowing his air force to be bombed on the ground, the Dutch Navy, etc. Many of these books I had to stop reading and return to them later to finish. And although I didn’t enjoy reading them,….I came away with a better understanding of WHY things happened the way they did, and in several cases, WHO was to blame.
----Although my Dad was in the ETO,…for the last couple of years I’ve concentrated on the Pacific theater of WW2. Almost everyone here on A&A.Org has at least a good perception of this theater, and many are well versed in it. I myself learned a long time ago that to get a real understanding of ANY subject,….you must read/ study all of the aspects of that conflict: Guadalcanal is a good example. There are books of the Marines, Army, and the Navy. Machine gunners, mortar men, riflemen, squad, company, & division commanders, Area Commanders, Intelligence Officers, etc. Then there are biographies, battle summaries, campaign summaries, unit ship/histories and on and on. FOR BOTH SIDES! As far as the air war is concerned, it’s almost impossible for any pilot to give a realistic report on his effects on the enemy when many of the air battles were only split-seconds in length and happened at several hundred miles an hour. Official reports of kills can and were incorrect, and some were intentionally “fudged” for morale, propaganda, or personal benefit.
––IMHO it really adds a greater understanding when you can go back BEFORE the battles and find out how both sides got to where they were, not only militarily,…but socially and financially, too. These subjects really give you a true understanding of WHY things happened the way they did.
----In the last six months or so I’ve been reading books on the Indo-French war, Sino-Japan “conflicts” and war, Russo-Japanese war, and the many revolutions and then battles of the Spanish-American war. The two conflicts Japan had with it’s MAIN enemy, Russia, were very telling,…especially the Nomonhan incident. Japan’s 1895, and then 1905 battle for Korea/Manchuria are fascinating.
----And another thing is that what so many regular citizens of this country believe what they see in movies, or a single book is FACT! For decades, many noted military historians based their understanding of the battle of Midway on a Japanese book by Fuchida, “Midway, the Battle that doomed Japan” and the 1970’s movie, Midway. It turns out that this was a white-washing of many of the events by Fuchida to ingratiate himself to his countrymen. In the last 20 years with the growth of the internet his story has been refuted as untrue and a great book, “Shattered Sword” has been exhaustively researched and published giving the true events of the battle, including the near mutiny of a U.S. Navy air squadron form it’s commander while in flight. I truly think EVERYONE here on A&A.Org would benefit greatly by reading this great book on the subject.
––While I’m sure that Wittman, Dr Larson, IL, and a few others would be well informed on these subjects, IMHO most WW2 enthusiasts might not have read enough to have found the “real story”. I would be delighted to discuss/learn from any and all who might care to do so. This is (one of) my passion. Military history is something that must be discussed to be relevant and known to everyone, and it’s very interesting, too.“Tall Paul”
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Great post Tall Paul.
I Thank you for (kindly) assuming my WW2 knowledge is good; I would not say that it the case.
I read very little on the subject now, but enjoy the WW2 threads here and read all that those who find time to post here have to say. -
Wittman & Others,
––I also enjoy the threads here on A&A.Org. I learn from them and get a lot of enjoyment simply from the interaction between the members and their knowledgeable discussions on many varied subjects. And who couldn’t help but be entertained by Gargantua! :-D
––I also have been reading many books on the U.S. Marines and their missions in China, Hawaii, Cuba, Haiti, Mexico, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, etc. A lot of good stories of fine leaders came from these operations,…like
“Chesty” Puller and Smedley Butler among many others.“Tall Paul”
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So I just finished reading this book a few days ago and It was very interesting. One of the most fascinating thing was to learn just how deeply involved Germany was in China’s war effort. Right down to the Company level German officers were posted to units as advisers and assistants to their Chinese counterparts. The entire plan for the assault on Shanghai by Chinese forces was written and drawn up Gen. Alexander von Falkenhausen and his staff of German officers. The level of involvement led to Japanese veterans of the battle for Shanghai to call it “the German war” afterwards.
This was a really great read as gives a lot of useful information on a number of figures who were very important to China’s war effort. People like Claire Chennault who had be brought in to help build a Chinese airforce after the disastrous Italian effort, and Bai Chongxi who would become one of the stand outs in the Chinese army and an able and capable commander (and the only one who could ignore Chiang Kai-sheks orders and get away with it).
The book filled me with the same feelings that I got when reading Anthony Beevor’s “the Battle for Spain”. I knew the ending and the “good guys” lose, and in both instances they lose less because of the power of their enemy and more because they get in their own damn way!
As a result of finishing this book I’ve moved on to Iris Chang’s “The Rape of Nanking” as it seems like a logical next step as the battle of Shanghai was directly followed by the fall of the Chinese capital. There are a series of books in this theme that I intend to read, Battle of Shanghai is done, i’m about 70 pages into Rape of Nanking, after that I intend to read “Wuhan 1938” by Steven MacKinnon which covers the next major event in the second Sino-Japanese war, including the Chinese victory at Taierzhuang and the siege and battle for Wuhan.
Tall Paul and wittmann- As far as books on this subject go, I recommend Robert Thompsons Empires on the Pacific, which presents WW2 from American, Japanese, and Chinese perspectives, and Jonathon Fenby’s Chiang Kai-Shek; China’s Generalissimo and the nation he lost which is a wonderfully written and very informative biography on the figure who was central to China’s war effort in WW2 (and it also serves as a detailed history of his period in time as well.
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Clyde85,
––I don’t recollect having read Empires on the Pacific, by Robert Thompson. Thank you very much for the reference and I’ll put it “in the que” of books to be read.
––I’m currently reading a book concerning the other side of the Pacific…"War on our Doorstep the Unknown Campaign on America’s Northwest Coast", by Brendan Coyle. This is an interesting compilation of all of the submarine actions against shipping, the shelling of lighthouses, refineries, and cities themselves through the Aleutian Islands, Alaska, British Columbia, and down the U.S. west coast including the incendiary balloon campaign, too. It’s interesting to have all of these things that I’ve mostly read about in one book. Some new stuff, too!
“Tall Paul”
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Just finished the book, awesome read.
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