Military History

Reviewed by Charles C. Kolb, PhD Charles Stephenson is the author of previous works on naval and siege warfare and the history of fortifications, with four volumes in print: The Fortifications of Malta 1530-1945 (Fortress 16, Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2004, 2010); The Admiral’s Secret Weapon: Lord Dundonald and the Origins of Chemical Warfare (Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 2006); The Channel Islands 1941-45: Hitler’s Impregnable Fortress (Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2014); and – especially relevant to the book under review here – Germany’s Asia-Pacific Empire: Colonialism and Naval Policy, 1885-1914 (Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 2009; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,…

Reviewed By Jeff Schultz Mike Norman and Michael Jones’ The Falklands War: There and Back Again – The Story of Naval Party 8901 is a gripping memoir of the 1982 Falklands/Malvinas War told from the perspective of the Royal Marine commander of Naval Party 8901 (NP-8901), the British troops assigned to defend the islands. NP-8901 surprisingly survived the initial Argentine occupation without loss and steadfastly volunteered to participate in the later recovery of the Falklands in this peculiar, late-stage, imperial conflict set against the backdrop of the Cold War. Mike Norman is a thirty-year veteran of the Royal Marines who served proudly from 1962 to 1992 in loca…

By David F. Winkler, Ph.D. Staff Historian Finally on the morning of Saturday November 18, Cdr. Kenneth Whiting, the executive officer of the USS Langley, climbed into the cockpit of a PT seaplane which was positioned on that trolley contraption connected to the end of the catapult that had been installed on the flying deck of the U.S. Navy’s first aircraft carrier that was nicknamed “Little David.” What he was attempting to do would not go unnoticed. An hour earlier, representatives from five different motion picture companies set up their cameras alongside those of the Navy as the ship remained anchored in the York River. Not only did the Bureau of Naval Aeronautics…

By David F. Winkler, Ph.D. Staff Historian Just over a century ago, on October 26, Langley, departed from a York River anchorage at 7:15 a.m., and steamed into the Chesapeake Bay off the “Tail of the Shoe” shoal just inside Cape Henry. Having taken over as the officer of the deck for the 8 till noon watch, Ensign Tate recorded the morning events noting “At 10:50 started maneuvering ship to land plane, at various courses and speeds.” With that, Langley turned into a 30 mile-per-hour northeast breeze that Chief Electrician Joseph Weller termed as “very rocky.”. Tate then recorded: “At 10:59 plane A-606 piloted by Chevy circling ship.” Flying over Langley’s stern in an A…

Reviewed by CAPT Richard Dick, USN (Ret.) The German Armoured Cruiser SMS Blücher is a 2018 offering in the Kagero Publishing series, “Super Drawings in 3D.” It truly lives up to the series title. It is a collection of breathtaking color 3D renderings of the Blücher, commissioned in 1909 and sunk at the Battle of Dogger Bank in January 1915. The short book includes representations from above, both sides, bow, and stern of the ship as built, as well as exquisitely detailed renditions of the starboard side from bow to stern. The illustrator then narrows his focus to individual positions and areas of the ship, including the foredeck, steering position, conning tower, boa…

Reviewed by James P. Rife, M.A. Amateur historian, ship modeler, and rocket scientist Mark Lardas packs much into Osprey’s latest addition to its excellent ‘Campaign Series’ of reference books, The Glorious First of June 1794. This was the British name for the first major fleet action against the French Navy since the Battle of the Saintes in April 1782. In only ninety-six pages, Lardas concisely recounts the events of that campaign, the key commanders on both sides, the three-day battle itself, and its aftermath, while placing everything within the larger context of the French Revolution. This is no small feat considering the complexity of the overall subject matter,…

Welcoming the U.S. Atlantic Fleet to Sydney, Australia, August 1908. Artwork by Norman Carter, published in The Sydney Mail, Wednesday, 19 August, 1908. Courtesy of John C. Reilly, Jr.. U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph. The cruise of the Great White Fleet took the U.S. Navy around the globe in fourteen months on a journey totaling 43,000 miles. They visited twenty unique port calls across six continents. It was a monumental “show of flag” for the burgeoning world power. The fleet showcased the naval and maritime capabilities of its new “Steel Navy” to nations around the world. Here are ten interesting facts about the historic around-the-world cruise. …

Reviewed by Jeff Schultz Derek Walters’s The History of the British ‘U’ Class Submarine fills a gap in the historiography of World War II regarding short-range Allied submarine operations. In particular, Walters profiles the small ‘U’ (and ‘V’) class and their use by British and seven other Allied nations both during and after the conflict. Walters spent a decade as a Royal Navy submariner who served aboard HMS Talent and later spent 30 years in the Derbyshire Constabulary, rising to the rank of Superintendent. After authoring a number of articles, this book, which honors the efforts of the gallant submariners who fought and died some eight decades ago, is his fi…

Reviewed by LCDR Brian Hayes, USNR (Ret.) The Indestructible Man tells the story of Dixie Kiefer, a naval officer and aviator who served in several of the legendary battles of World War II’s Pacific Theater. Kiefer has been the subject of profiles by the Naval History and Heritage Command and other Internet and print publications, but Don Keith and David Rocco have written the first book-length account of his life. Although not a scholarly biography, it is a fast and enjoyable read. Born in Idaho, Kiefer joined the U.S. Naval Academy’s class of 1919. The class graduated early because of World War I, and Kiefer spent the first year of his naval career patrolling …

We are joined today by former MCPON Mike Stevens, the 13th Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy, and FLTCM April Beldo-Lilley to weigh in on the subject. The post Blog first appeared on Naval Historical Foundation. View the full article

We are joined today by former MCPON Mike Stevens, the 13th Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy, and FLTCM April Beldo-Lilley. The post Blog first appeared on Naval Historical Foundation. View the full article

Reviewed by Charles C. Kolb, PhD The sinking of HMT Lancastria on June 17, 1940, is an intriguing chapter of naval history in World War II primarily because of the tragic loss of life and how much information pertaining to the event was—and still is—classified. The numbers of passengers aboard, survivors, and casualties are unreported or vary wildly. Stephen Wynn, a retired police constable with 30 years’ service in Essex, began writing prior to his retirement. Wynn has previously authored and co-authored books for the “Your Towns & Cities in the Great War” series published by Pen & Sword in addition to half a dozen non-fiction books and “crime thrillers.”…

By Capt. P.T. Deutermann USN (Ret.) St. Martins Press (2022) Reviewed by Capt. C. Herbert Gilliland, USN (Ret.) In his latest novel, P. T. Deutermann continues his successful mining of World War II themes. This time we follow the spectacular fortunes of USS Holland, a destroyer escort sent from convoy duty in the North Atlantic to an uncertain assignment in the western Pacific. In Deutermann’s braided narrative, alternate chapters are told by ship’s CO, Mariano deTomasi, and his XO, Ephraim Edmond “Eeep” Enright. This structure allows each to observe and comment on the other while working well as a team despite great differences in background and makeup. Lieut…

By Capt. P.T. Deutermann USN (Ret.) St. Martins Press (2022) Reviewed by Capt. C. Herbert Gilliland, USN (Ret.) In his latest novel, P. T. Deutermann continues his successful mining of World War II themes. This time we follow the spectacular fortunes of USS Holland, a destroyer escort sent from convoy duty in the North Atlantic to an uncertain assignment in the western Pacific. In Deutermann’s braided narrative, alternate chapters are told by ship’s CO, Mariano deTomasi, and his XO, Ephraim Edmond “Eeep” Enright. This structure allows each to observe and comment on the other while working well as a team despite great differences in background and makeup. Lieute…

Reviewed by Master Chief David Mattingly, USN (Ret.) One need only mention 9/11 and most people will recall the confusion that spilled from televisions and radios throughout the country. September 11, 2001 was a beautiful day with clear skies in New York when the world turned upside down as two planes careened into the World Trade Center towers. New York City streets were soon a melee of victims, survivors, and first responders who quickly clogged the streets around the World Trade Center. Authorities soon saw New York Harbor as a means to evacuate the injured and other survivors from Lower Manhattan. Bestselling author and documentary producer L. Douglas Keeney h…

Reviewed by LCDR Joseph L. Ilk, SC, USNR (Ret.) “On May 12, 1975 – only two weeks after the fall of Saigon and the collapse of South Vietnam – Cambodian Khmer Rouge forces boarded and seized the U.S. merchant vessel SS Mayaguez in international waters and took its crew hostage.” Thus begins Dr. Christopher J. Lamb’s analysis of the Mayaguez crisis. Lamb devoted five years of his life to understanding the Mayaguez crisis while earning his master’s and doctorate in the 1980’s. However, in the past few years new sources of information have become available, including interviews with primary participants as well as previously classified material. These enabled Lamb to…

Reviewed By Dr. Diana Ahmad Stationed at Ft. McKinley Hospital Clinic in the Philippines on the day the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, Henry “Hank” T. Chamberlain became a prisoner of war (POW) of the Japanese by April 1942. Trained as an Army Medic and surgical technician prior to the start of the war, Chamberlain used all his skills during the next three-and-a-half years to help his fellow POWs survive as best as they could. Chamberlain witnessed the worst of human nature during his years in the Philippines and later while he worked in the mines in Sendai, Japan. Although rarely exhibited, he even noticed a few, small kindnesses by the Japanese to the POWs, as well…

Reviewed by Jeff Schultz Marc Lohnstein’s The Netherlands East Indies Campaign 1941-42: Japan’s Quest for Oil covers a typically unheeded early Pacific campaign, fought for the resource rich Dutch East Indies, which showcased a dysfunctional Allied coalition effort conducted under fraught circumstances exacerbated by prewar decisions but which fought desperately until overwhelmed. Lohnstein is a historian, assistant curator of the Royal Home for Retired Military Personnel and Bronbeek Museum in Arnhem, and a writer who focuses on Dutch colonial topics.This 96-page Osprey monograph is divided into several sections: “Origins of the Campaign,” “Chronology,” “Opposi…

Reviewed by Capt. C. Herbert Gilliland Jr., USN (Ret.) Waking from a drunken evening, newly minted dive-bomber pilot Robert Steele finds himself in Pearl Harbor aboard the battleship Oklahoma. From that ominous moment, almost as though he wanted to cover the entire Pacific war in this single book, retired Navy Captain Deutermann shows us life and death in various terrifying ways at sea, as well as ashore. The novel’s title comes from the nickname for an air squadron newbie, which Steele is when he reports to Enterprise’s air group. Taking part in the Battle of Midway, “Nugget” scores a direct hit on a Japanese carrier and earns the new nickname “Fish.” Caught up …

By Edward Farley Aldrich, Guilford, CT: Stackpole Books, (2022). Reviewed by Ed Calouro When he first set out to write The Partnership: George Marshall, Henry Stimson, and the Extraordinary Collaboration That Won World War II, author Edward Farley Aldrich did not plan to write a dual biography. His original intention was to focus on the five years Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson and US Army Chief of Staff General George C. Marshall, worked side-by-side in the War Department. While undertaking his extensive research on these two major World War II leaders, Aldrich concluded their stories could not properly be told without also describing their upbringing, educ…