... a most illuminating and readable general survey.... This book is well organized; well produced; and well written. It belongs among the ten most useful books on this period to the historian and... to the general reader. -- American Historical Review"This splendid volume fills a gap in the vast outpouring of literature on the military aspects of the era of the French Revolution and Napoleon by combining a description of the major changes and trends of warfare with a comparative discussion of the French military establishment and the armies of its major opponents.... As another contribution to 'synthetic' history; it is a very successful exercise." -- Military Affairs"... a splendid little study which will be of considerable interest both to the general student and specialist.... [it] fills a definite need for a survey of the military developments of the period and one can learn a great deal from a close reading of it." -- History"A clear; lively; and well-produced survey that relies upon the best scholarship of several languages.... " -- Library JournalIn a comprehensive study of a crucial era in warfare -- from the last decades of the ancient régime to Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo -- Rothenberg describes the organization; training methods; equipment; tactics; and strategy of France and its adversaries. He also explores staff systems; logistics; fortifications; medical services; and insurgency and counterinsurgency.
#583922 in Books Anthony P Tully 2014-10-21Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.80 x .85 x 5.55l; .0 #File Name: 0253009715352 pagesBattle of Surigao Strait Twentieth Century Battles
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. This excellent account of one of the decisive battles of WW ...By Robert AbelThis excellent account of one of the decisive battles of WW II is both well written and very accurate. Mr. Tully has again added to our knowledge of that war by using both American and Japanese sources to tell the tale of what really happened so long ago in the Surigao strait. I have both this book and the earlier Shattered Sword; detailing the battle of Midway; and I can say that without a doubt these are well worth reading as they both lay out the action that happened as well as the reasons for that action. This book is a must read for all interested in the Naval aspects of WW II36 of 37 people found the following review helpful. Order; Counterorder; DisorderBy L. VeidThis is an excellent addition to the 20th Century Battles series; which addresses a number of relatively obscure battles. While Surigao Strait isn't particularly obscure; being part of the huge Leyte Gulf battle; it most often is referred to only as "the last battle between battleships".Mr. Tully does an excellent job of rescuing the battle from that historical ghetto. He has tapped not only previously overlooked original Japanese records of the battle; but also the memories of Japanese survivors. These sources have been added to the US records to provide a balanced view of not only the Surigao Strait battle but also the strategic and operational situations that led to the battle.The Japanese naval command sent Yamashiro and Fuso; their two oldest and slowest battleships on what was essentially a one-way mission to attack portions of the US landing force in the Phillipines; supposedly in coordination with other Japanese forces. In a nice bit of historical irony these two antiques were met by six old; slow US battleships; five of them Pearl Harbor survivors.The Japanese forces were plagued by an overly intricate plan; constantly changing orders; and communications problems. The Americans had their own confusions from split commands and communications. Through all the confusion; Admirals Nishimura and Oldendorf kept focused on their respective missions; leading to the battle in Surigao Strait.The narrative of the actual battle in Surigao Strait is very well done; and clarifies a very confused night battle in restricted waters. Mr. Tully disputes several received "truths" about the battle and provides good documentation and/or reasoning for his opinions. We now have a very complete record of what all the ships were doing at each stage of the battle; which ended with one Japanese destroyer as the sole survivor of Nishimura's force.I would liked to have seen large-scale purpose-made charts illustrating each stage of the battle. The reproductions of Japanese charts don't quite do the trick.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. I really enjoyed this bookBy CustomerI really enjoyed this book; my dad was on the Bache DD 470 during this engagement; so I was able to put some details to his accounts that I didn't have before. I read the book "Battle of Leyte Gulf" by Thomas Cutler which I also found very good but it didn't have the level of detail about the Surigao Straight that this one has. I found a web page for the Bache that has the action reports and ships diary for this engagement so I pulled them up while reading this book; the book matches the action reports perfectly; plus gives me the whole picture of why the Japanese did what they did and how our forces where positioned and why. I really liked that the authors level of research even went to the statements from the Japanese officers and survivors with analysis of what the admirals would have been thinking and why.
