Civil War Horror: Book Review: Seize and Hold, Master Strokes on the Battlefield

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Book Review: Seize and Hold, Master Strokes on the Battlefield

Seize And Hold: Master Strokes On The Battlefield (Cassell Military Classics)

Seize And Hold: Master Strokes On The Battlefield by Bryan Perrett

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book focuses one military tactic, the coup de main, by giving eleven examples of how it has been done well. Perrett writes in a clear, detailed, and exciting style that makes this volume a great read as well as a great resource.

As those familiar with my writings know, I'm more interested in the American Civil War and Colonial Wars. My interest drops off quickly after World War One. Despite the fact that the majority of chapters are devoted to World War Two, Korean, or Vietnam battles, I still found this book very interesting. The two chapters on the First World War, covering the Romanian Campaign of 1916 and Rommel's adventures on the Italian front in 1917, were of course my favorite!

One good aspect of this book is that many of its examples are of lesser-known engagements. Not only do we get the Romanian Campaign (the first truly motorized offensive) we also get a battle from the Russo-Polish War, the quick German conquest of Belgium and Holland in 1940, and the British victory over the Italian in North Africa.

The chapters are rather short and not definitive studies, so specialists may end up skipping some parts. Still, this book will please any reader interested in military history.

View all my reviews

No comments:

Radio Hope

In a world shattered by war, pollution and disease. . . A gunslinging mother longs to find a safe refuge for her son. A frustrated revolutionary delivers water to villagers living on a toxic waste dump. The assistant mayor of humanity's last city hopes he will never have to take command. One thing gives them the promise of a better future--Radio Hope, a mysterious station that broadcasts vital information about surviving in a blighted world. But when a mad prophet and his army of fanatics march out of the wildlands on a crusade to purify the land with blood and fire, all three will find their lives intertwining, and changing forever.

Refugees from the Righteous Horde

When you only have one shot, you better aim true. In a ravaged world, civilization’s last outpost is reeling after fighting off the fanatical warriors of the Righteous Horde. Sheriff Annette Cruz becomes New City’s long arm of vengeance as she sets off across the wildlands to take out the cult’s leader. All she has is a sniper’s rifle with one bullet and a former cultist with his own agenda. Meanwhile, one of the cult’s escaped slaves makes a discovery that could tear New City apart. . . Refugees from the Righteous Horde continues the Toxic World series started in Radio Hope, an ongoing narrative of humanity’s struggle to rebuild the world it ruined.

The Scavenger

In a world shattered by war, pollution, and disease, a lone scavenger discovers a priceless relic from the Old Times. The problem is, it's stuck in the middle of the worst wasteland he knows--a contaminated city inhabited by insane chem addicts and vengeful villagers. Only his wits, his gun, and an unlikely ally can get him out alive. Set in the Toxic World series introduced in the novel Radio Hope, this 10,000-word story explores more of the dangers and personalities that make up a post-apocalyptic world that's all too possible.

Trench Raiders

September 1914: The British Expeditionary Force has the Germans on the run, or so they think. After a month of bitter fighting, the British are battered, exhausted, and down to half their strength, yet they’ve helped save Paris and are pushing toward Berlin. Then the retreating Germans decide to make a stand. Holding a steep slope beside the River Aisne, the entrenched Germans mow down the advancing British with machine gun fire. Soon the British dig in too, and it looks like the war might grind down into deadly stalemate. Searching through No-Man’s Land in the darkness, Private Timothy Crawford of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry finds a chink in the German armor. But can this lowly private, who spends as much time in the battalion guardhouse as he does on the parade ground, convince his commanding officer to risk everything for a chance to break through?

Civil War Horror

Pages

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Book Review: Seize and Hold, Master Strokes on the Battlefield

No comments:

Post a Comment