Originally Posted by littlejim

"WINGED VICTORY" is a 1934 novel by English World War I fighter pilot Victor Maslin Yeates that is widely regarded as a classic description of aerial combat and the futility of war.

As the story is told, RAF pilots during the Battle of Britain paid up to £5 (more than a week's wages for most of them) for a copy of this novel.

"THE CAULDRON" by Zeno.

Books by convicts always have a certain curiosity value, if not a literary one. But this first novel by a British prisoner serving a life sentence for murder rises above its origins. The publishers will say nothing about the author, who uses the pen name Zeno (borrowed from the founder of Stoic philosophy), except that at various times he was a sailor, a soldier, a farmer and a timber merchant. More to the point, he was a World War II parachutist with the British 1st Airborne Division, which was trapped and methodically riddled to pieces at the Battle of Arnhem.

Zeno tells the grim story of a single pathfinder platoon in that battle. Heartened at first because they encounter almost no enemy opposition when they land in their drop zone, the 50-odd men in the platoon soon discover that they are in fact hopelessly trapped. After a few days of unrelieved agony, death becomes relatively unimportant. What matters more is how it will come. Using prose as direct and brutal as a trench knife to the gut, and with utter fidelity to military fact, the author meticulously ticks off the manner in which each man dies. The Cauldron may not win a prize as high art, but as an unsparing and authentic eyewitness account of the sights and sounds and pains of war, it is a bitterly superb tale.

(Note: because the platoon was an independent path finders' unit it therefore had a larger establishment than a normal platoon).

"Bugles and a Tiger" By John Masters

John Masters was commissioned into the Gurkha Rifles on the eve of the Second World War and rose to command one of the Chindit columns fighting behind the lines against the Japanese in Burma. He left the Army after the war to pursue a very profitable career as a novelist.

John Masters learnt his business as an infantry officer fighting Pathan (Pushtu) tribesmen on the North West Frontier. It's unlikely that very much has really changed. Especially the ability of the tribesmen to mount an ambush at precisely the time and place which suits them best.

not quite, John Masters graduated from Sandhurst in 1933, he was seconded to the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry (DCLI) for a year before electing to serve with the 2nd Battalion of the 4th Prince of Wales's Own Gurkha Rifles. He saw service on the North-West Frontier and was rapidly given a variety of appointments within the battalion and its regimental depot, becoming the battalion's Adjutant in early 1939.

Bloody good book though

Originally Posted by littlejim

"WINGED VICTORY" is a 1934 novel by English World War I fighter pilot Victor Maslin Yeates that is widely regarded as a classic description of aerial combat and the futility of war.

As the story is told, RAF pilots during the Battle of Britain paid up to £5 (more than a week's wages for most of them) for a copy of this novel.

I've just finished my late (very) Grandfather's copy. He served in the RFC and was eventually diagnosed with Flying Sickness D and was discharged after a horrific crash that immolated his observer. He very rarely spoke to me of his service and when he did he was rapidly silenced by my Grandmother. It was incredibly moving to read of these brave young pilot's experiences.

Its not long out but will go down as a classic. "Attack State Red" Col Richard Kemp and Chris Hughes.

Fields of fire.

James Webb USMC. A brilliant read.

Originally Posted by littlejim

"THE CAULDRON" by Zeno.

Books by convicts always have a certain curiosity value, if not a literary one. But this first novel by a British prisoner serving a life sentence for murder rises above its origins. The publishers will say nothing about the author, who uses the pen name Zeno (borrowed from the founder of Stoic philosophy), except that at various times he was a sailor, a soldier, a farmer and a timber merchant. More to the point, he was a World War II parachutist with the British 1st Airborne Division, which was trapped and methodically riddled to pieces at the Battle of Arnhem.

Zeno tells the grim story of a single pathfinder platoon in that battle. Heartened at first because they encounter almost no enemy opposition when they land in their drop zone, the 50-odd men in the platoon soon discover that they are in fact hopelessly trapped. After a few days of unrelieved agony, death becomes relatively unimportant. What matters more is how it will come. Using prose as direct and brutal as a trench knife to the gut, and with utter fidelity to military fact, the author meticulously ticks off the manner in which each man dies. The Cauldron may not win a prize as high art, but as an unsparing and authentic eyewitness account of the sights and sounds and pains of war, it is a bitterly superb tale.

(Note: because the platoon was an independent path finders' unit it therefore had a larger establishment than a normal platoon).

.

Excellent book, I have read it several times. The story of the author is quite bizarre:

http://thebigretort.blogspot.com/200...-literary.html

http://www.mysteryfile.com/blog/?p=250

Catch 22, Hellers humour is spot on; Satire at it's best.

The 13th Valley. Fictional account of a 101st Airborne Division platoon in action in the Ai Shau (spelling mongness?) Valley. Heart rending emotion and exhilarating battle scenes interspersed with detailed description of the jungle hell they were stuck in.

Tam

The Forgotten Soldier by Guy Sajer. Life on the Eastern Front and leave in places like Berlin seen through the eyes of a young Alsacien.

Eastern Front by Leon Degrelle, More like a diary of his War fighting with the SS Wallonians, he was the most decorated non German in WWII.

Red Strom Rising, Tom Clancy.