The most famous Rifleman account in its complete and original form - unedited and unabridged Benjamin Harris' story has rightly won its place amongst the best and most well known British Army accounts of life on campaign during the war in Spain against Napoleon's French Army. It graphically tells of the gruelling retreat to Corunna; but it is the human detail of Harris' recollections on the march and on the battlefield that have made this a classic Napoleonic period memoir. This is Harris' full story - not readily available in this form for many years - in fact the Compleat Rifleman Harris!
#1183415 in Books Campaign Series - World War II - Pacific Asian 2001-09-25 2001-09-25Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 250.19 x 6.73 x 7.27l; #File Name: 184176390X96 pages9781841763903
Review
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful. A Decent; if Flawed SummaryBy R. A ForczykPearl Harbor 1941 is graphically very appealing. If one ignores the first 35 pages and the final few pages; one might even call this an excellent summary. For readers with only a general interest in the Pearl Harbor attack; this volume will suffice; but historians will probably only appreciate the excellent maps and order of battle information. Particularly troubling; given the immense primary and secondary sources available on this subject; is the author's tendency toward misleading and erroneous facts. The opening introduction and background section is totally inadequate. While the author takes time to mention Hawaii's historical background; he makes less effort to paint the immediate causes of the attack. There is no mention of either the Chinese invasion of China in 1937 that led to the deterioration of US-Japanese relations or the Russo-Japanese border fighting in 1939-40 that shaped Japanese strategic conceptions away from further Eurasian entanglements. The statement that the "US Pacific Fleet was a deterrent" is misleading; that was how FDR viewed it; not the Japanese; who saw it as a threat to their expansionist ambitions in the Pacific. Even Admiral Kimmel; who commanded the Pacific Fleet; felt wholesale transfers of men and vessels to the Atlantic undermined its deterrence value. The section on opposing commanders is more than a bit rambling and has odd choices of individuals; some of whom were not military commanders involved directly in the campaign. The US section has Kimmel; Short; Stark; Marshall; Hull and FDR. The Japanese section has Yamamoto; Fuchida; Genda; Nagumo and Nomura. Certainly politicians and diplomats such as FDR; Hull and Nomura do not belong here. Noticeably absent are the US air commanders in Hawaii; Bloch and Martin; who certainly bore some responsibility for the defeat. The entry for Nagumo is misleading; implying that he committed suicide at Saigon in 1944 "when the inevitable result of the war became clear." Instead; Nagumo was commander of the naval base on Saipan and committed suicide when US troops overran the island. The entry for Yamamoto that claims he was; "a man who fought but wanted peace" is nauseating. Just what did he ever do for peace? The chronology section; although detailed; is also marked with misleading or erroneous entries; further complicated by the fact that the author does not specify what time zone he is using. For example; he states that the Japanese fleet sailed on 25 November; but local time was actually 26 November. The crucial 27 November "war warning" is falsely delivered as advising Kimmel and Short that negotiations had failed and to "be prepared for any eventuality." It said no such thing. Although there is a section on the Japanese attack plan; there is no section on US defensive plans or the Rainbow War Plan. The author should have mentioned the Martin-Bellinger studied which addressed the vulnerability of Oahu to air attack. In the Japanese section; there is no mention of the vociferous opposition to the raid and how Yamamoto had to threaten resigning in order to get the operation approved. The whole approach to Japan's strategy is euphemistic: "Japan expanded into Asia..."and the US "thwarted every Japanese attempt to extend Asian influence;" instead of; the US sought to contain Japanese aggression. There are many other errors in this section; some so mundane; like claiming that the Japanese task force sailed from "Tankan Bay" instead of Hittokappu bay; that it is a wonder that the author even bothered to peruse secondary sources. Amazingly; the sections on the actual attack are quite good. To be fair; they are better than Gordon Prange provides in his long-winded At Dawn We Slept. Smith provides excellent maps and graphics for the attacks on each air base and the naval facilities; as well as a decent textual summary. Three-D maps are provided for the first and second wave attacks; as well as the attack on Hickam Field. There is even a map depicting US naval movements in Pearl during the attack; which is most unusual. Several excellent illustrations and many photos complement the text. Overall; these 36 pages that cover the attack (one more page than Prange) are excellent. Unfortunately; in the aftermath section the author reverts to his misleading tendencies. He claims "all eight [US] battleships [were] sunk or heavily damaged;" which is totally wrong. The USS Maryland and Pennsylvania were only slightly damaged and soon available for service; USS Tennessee was moderately damaged. His follow-up conclusions are overly generalized and ignore the immediate affects of the raid. Overall; this a handy; colorful summary volume; but it should not be used as a substitute for serious history. Unfortunately; the author has taken far too many liberties with the historical record for this to be considered a reliable summary.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy Jerry GundersonNew Vanguard is a Great Series of historical data.0 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Great guide to an important event in history.By L. Ford Ballard; Jr.This Osprey series is a really great help in keeping some of these extremely complex historical/military events under control. The Illustrations and write up are direct; easy to understand and helpful when reading way more complex books. I am loving the Pearl Harbor book and so looking for the Midway book to arrive.
