Pushies, Fred:10th Mountain Division
- Taschenbuch 2013, ISBN: 9780760333495
Osprey Pub Co, 2012. New book, 64 pages, WAR162. Soon after the Caudine Forks fiasco, where Roman citizens had suffered the humiliation of being forced to pass under the yoke, an act symb… Mehr…
Osprey Pub Co, 2012. New book, 64 pages, WAR162. Soon after the Caudine Forks fiasco, where Roman citizens had suffered the humiliation of being forced to pass under the yoke, an act symbolising their loss of warrior status, the tactical formation adopted by the Roman army underwent a radical change. Introduced as part of the Servian reforms, the legion had originally operated as a Greek-style phalanx, a densely packed block of citizens wealthy enough to outfit themselves with the full panoply of an armoured spearman or hoplite. The function of a hoplite had been the privilege only of those who owned a certain amount of property, poorer citizens serving either as auxiliaries or as servants. Now, however, the Romans adopted the manipular system, whereby the legion was split into distinct battle lines, each consisting of tactical subunits, the maniples. In contrast to the one solid block of the phalanx, the legion was now divided into several small blocks, with spaces between them. The Romans, in other words, gave the phalanx 'joints' in order to secure flexibility, and what is more, each soldier, or legionary, had twice as much elbow room for individual action, which now involved swordplay instead of spear work. Even though still a citizen militia recruited from property owners supplying their own war gear, it was the manipular legion that faced Pyrrhus and his elephants, the Gauls and their long swords, Hannibal and his tactical genius, the Macedonians and their pikes, to name but a few of its formidable opponents. This book, therefore, will look at the recruitment (now based on age and experience as well as on wealth and status), training (now the responsibility of the state as opposed to the individual), weapons (new types being introduced, both native and foreign), equipment (ditto) and experiences (which included submission to a draconian regime of military discipline) of the legionary at the epoch of the middle Republic. The middle Republican era opens with the last great war with the Samnites (Third Samnite War, 298-290 BC) and closes with the Republic at the height of its imperial glory after the victory in North Africa (Iugurthine War 112-105 BC). The provisional legion in which the legionary served now exhibited many of the institutions and customs of the later professional legions, perhaps best reflected in one of its most notable practices, the construction of a temporary camp at the end of each day's march. Lest we forget, however, for our legionary, military service was not a career, but an obligation he owed to the state, and it was this militia army that conquered the peninsula of Italy, defeated the magnificent Hellenistic kingdoms and the mercantile empire of Carthage. All of the Mediterranean basin was now within the imperium of Rome, some of it organized into provinces governed by Roman magistrates, the rest reduced to client status. Romans were acquiring a sense that they possessed a world empire. . Soft Cover. As New. Illus. by O'Brogain, Sean. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall., Osprey Pub Co, 2012, Osprey Pub Co, 2013. New book, 64 pages, ELI195. On the major European and Russian fronts throughout World War II, the challenge of crossing rivers and other water obstacles under fire was absolutely central to any advance. The Panzers that crossed the Meuse at Sedan in May 1940 cut the French Army in two; the Wehrmacht's ability to cross the great rivers of the western USSR was vital to the lightning advances of Operation Barbarossa in 1941, and in 1943-45 the Red Army had to drive the Germans back from a succession of river lines during their advance to the Reich, culminating in the Vistula and Oder lines; in Italy the Rapido formed a bloody moat for the Cassino defences; and after D-Day the milestones on the Western Allies' advances were the Seine, the Somme, the Moselle, and finally the Rhine. The initial (hopefully surprise) assault could be made by infantry in light assault boats, and over rudimentary improvised bridges. But World War II armies depended on heavy mechanized equipment, and even if a bridgehead was seized, it then had to be held for long enough for engineers to bring up and erect prefabricated bridges strong enough to carry the tanks and artillery without which the bridgehead was doomed. Some of the most savage fighting of the war took place around bridgeheads, and the Allies invested considerable resources in the development of equipment and tactics for contested river crossings. This book explains the methods and the means, and analyzes specific successes and failures. It features a wealth of wartime photos, particularly from German sources, and full-color plates illustrate tactical scenarios that bring the subject alive. . Soft Cover. As New. Illus. by Dennis, Peter. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall., Osprey Pub Co, 2013, Zenith Press, 2008. New book, 128 pages. Inspired by and modelled on the famous Finnish 'soldiers on skies' who destroyed two Russian tank divisions in 1939, and first activated as the 10th Light Division (Alpine) in 1943 and most recently deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq, the 10th Mountain Division has more than half-a-century's service as an elite force fighting for its country. "10th Mountain Division" takes us through this military combat unit's history and its most recent missions, personnel, and equipment. Military historian and journalist Fred J. Pushies follows the 10th Mountain Division from its first action in Italy in late 1944 (when Bob Dole served in its ranks) to its return to service training soldiers for the Korean War and work on NATO defense bases throughout Germany; from its reactivation during the Reagan military build-up of the 1980s to its deployment for Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm; from its role in disaster relief in Florida after Hurricane Andrew and during the famine in Somalia to its current service in Afghanistan and Iraq. More than any ever written, his book provides a true sense of what it means to be a part of this elite division.. Soft Cover. Very Good. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall., Zenith Press, 2008<
