VETERANS DAY: SIX RECOMMENDED BOOKS PLUS MORE

Happy Veterans Day, formerly called Armistice Day since it marked the end of World War One on “the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month” of 1918. Here are six books on that often-neglected conflict. (I will omit Barbara Tuchman’s Guns of August because of how well-known it already is.) 

THE HAT IN THE RING GANG: THE COMBAT HISTORY OF THE 94th AERO SQUADRON IN WORLD WAR ONE – Written by Charles Woolley, this excellent book covers America’s 94th Aero Squadron aka The Hat in the Ring Gang.

When it comes to Flying Aces of World War One the Americans in the Lafayette Escadrille get the lion’s share of the attention. That’s ironic since Eddie Rickenbacker, America’s greatest ace of the war, served in the Hat in the Ring Gang along with many other famous paladins of the skies. To buy it click HERE 

DOUGHBOY WAR: THE AMERICAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCE IN WORLD WAR I – Written/ edited by James H Hallas. I feel this book is perfect for people who are just diving into World War One and don’t want inundated with all of the overwhelming details of more involved works. Doughboy War covers every aspect of American soldiers’ experiences in the Great War, often in their own words.

Follow them from enlistment, training and crossing the Atlantic to facing action in Europe, including accounts of the ordeals faced by wounded Doughboys. To buy it click HERE   

THE GREAT WAR IN AFRICA: 1914-1918 – By Byron Farwell. If, like me, you fell in love with Queen Victoria’s Little Wars, Farwell’s book on the monumentally misnamed Pax Britannica, then you’ll thoroughly enjoy this book of his, too.

Long-overlooked military campaigns of World War One come to life as the author treats readers to assorted clashes which involved comparatively small armies but enormous chunks of territory. Tired of trenches and men being fed into machine guns on the Western Front? This book is ideal for you and goes WAY beyond just Lettow-Vorbeck. Click HERE   

THE ARAB REVOLT: 1916-1918 – By David Murphy. As the previous book looked far beyond the well-covered Lettow-Vorbeck this one looks far beyond the well-covered Lawrence of Arabia.

Long overlooked aspects of the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire take center stage here. For my fellow obsessive World War One geeks this work is pure heaven as it lets you have a fuller picture of the larger military and political developments on the Arabian Peninsula and vicinity during the conflict. To buy this book click HERE 

THE BATTLE OF THE OTRANTO STRAITS: CONTROLLING THE GATEWAY TO THE ADRIATIC IN WORLD WAR I – By Paul G Halpern. If you’re as tired as I was of Jutland Peninsula and Coronel then hunker down with this baby.

Halpern’s book reads almost like a novel in some sections as he immerses you in the Spring of 1917, culminating at the Otranto Straits in May. As you may have gathered, I much prefer works that don’t leave the reader mired in the Western Front’s mud, blood and rats. I genuinely think that focus is what drives away most newcomers to World War One history. To buy this book click HERE 

BAND OF BRIGANDS: THE EXTRAORDINARY STORY OF THE FIRST MEN IN TANKS – By Christy Campbell. If you absolutely HAVE to start your World War One reading with the Western Front then you can at least start with the first tanks in warfare.

The Diesel-Punk appearance of some of the early prototypes will amuse you as you’re led along in the development of these motorized weapons. At length tanks go on to provide an end to the stupefying deadlock on the Western Front by restoring mobility to the military forces. To buy this book click HERE   

BONUS: DIFFERENCES BETWEEN WORLD WAR ONE AND WORLD WAR TWO

Here is a handy, brief guide to some differences and key players between World War One and World War Two.

WW I – Lasted from 1914 to 1918  *** WW II – Lasted from 1939 to 1945 

WW I – America entered the war in April, 1917 *** WW II – America entered the war in December, 1941

WW I – Italy and Japan fought on the side of the Allied Powers *** WW II – Italy and Japan fought on the side of the Axis Powers

WW I – Germany, under Kaiser Wilhelm, led the Central Powers *** WW II- Germany, under Adolf Hitler, led the Axis Powers

WW I – Sinking of the Lusitania *** WW II – Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor

WW I – The Allied disaster at Gallipoli *** WW II – The Allied disaster Operation: Market Garden

WW I – Douglas MacArthur is an American Commander in charge of the Rainbow Division in Europe *** WW II – Douglas MacArthur is Commander in Chief of the entire Pacific Theater of Operations

WW I – George S Patton is an American Cavalry Officer who eventually becomes a tank commander *** WW II – George S Patton is an American Army commander leading troops in North Africa, Italy and France

WW I – Winston Churchill is the architect of the Allied disaster at Gallipoli *** WW II – Winston Churchill is the British Prime Minister who courageously guided the British Empire through the conflict

WW I- Franklin Roosevelt is an Under-Secretary of the Navy and is able to walk *** WW II – Franklin Roosevelt is a wheelchair-bound President of the United States guiding the nation through the conflict 

WW I – Erwin Rommel is a German officer distinguished for his heroics at the Battle of Caporetto *** WW II – Erwin Rommel is called the Desert Fox for his tank corp’s successes against the Allies in the Sahara

WW I – Harry S Truman is a Captain in America’s Artillery Battery D *** WW II – Harry S Truman goes from being a U.S. Senator to Vice President and, following Roosevelt’s death in office – President

WW I – Hermann Goring is a successful fighter pilot *** WW II – Hermann Goring is a subhuman piece of filth accommodating Adolf Hitler’s insane whims

WW I – General “Black Jack” Pershing, Sgt York and Lawrence of Arabia *** WW II – General Dwight “Ike” Eisenhower, Audie Murphy and Field Marshall Montgomery

WW I – The Ottoman Muslims commit the greatest atrocities of the war *** WW II – The German Nazis commit the greatest atrocities of the war

WW I – Very, very late in the war the Germans use their Big Berthas and similar large weapons to inflict long-range deaths in England *** WW II – Very, very late in the war the Germans use their V-2 rockets to inflict long-range deaths in England

WW I – The Lafayette Escadrille *** WW II – The Black Sheep Squadron

WW I – Japan seizes the Pacific Islands that the German Empire still holds onto *** WW II – Japan is an ally of the Third Reich 

WW I – Lettow-Vorbeck is the most respected enemy officer of the war *** WW II – Rommel is the most respected enemy officer of the war

WW I – The Great Salient of 1918 *** WW II – The Battle of the Bulge

WW I – “Vinegar Joe” Stilwell is an officer in the American Fourth Corps during the St Mihiel Offensive *** WW II – “Vinegar Joe” Stilwell is the highest-ranking American commander in the China-Burma-India Theater of Operations

WW I – Dwight Eisenhower is a very capable young officer in the U.S. overseeing the training and supplying of the American Expeditionary Force in Europe *** WW II – Dwight Eisenhower is the Commander in Chief of the entire European Theater of Operations 

FOR MY LOOK AT FORGOTTEN AMERICAN NAVAL BATTLES OF WORLD WAR ONE CLICK HERE:  https://glitternight.com/2013/05/25/the-top-forgotten-u-s-naval-battles-of-world-war-one/

FOR THE TOP FOUR FORGOTTEN WARS IN AMERICA’S HISTORY CLICK HERE:  https://glitternight.com/2013/05/21/the-top-four-forgotten-conflicts-in-american-history-2/

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