Caesar’s Great Success - Sustaining the Roman Army on Campaign

Published: March 12, 2021
Book Author(s): Alexander Merrow, Agostino von Hassell, Gregory Starace
Company: Frontline Books

Thanks to Casemate Books (an imprint of Pen & Sword Books) & Casemate Publishers for the review copy!

Alexander Morrow received a PhD in European history from Georgetown University, and has taught history at Georgetown, Franklin & Marshall University and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Alexander is a prolific writer of military history and fiction.

Agostino von Hassell graduated from Columbia Journalism School and has taught at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York. He too is a prolific writer of military history, but also of food history.

Gregory Starace is a Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Marines, 19 years on active duty. His service in Europe, Africa, Middle East, Eurasia and India has allowed him to visit numerous… more

The Battle of Znaim. Napoleon, the Hapsburgs and the End of the War of 1809.

Published: March 4, 2021
Book Author(s): John H. Gill
Company: Greenhill Books

Thanks to Casemate Publishing & IPMSUSA for the review copy!

John H. Gill is currently a Professor at the National Defense University, and an Associate Professor at the Near East-South Asia Center for Strategic Studies in Washington, D.C. Jack is a retired Colonel with over 27 years of service, including the Liaison Officer to the Pakistani Army, and has worked on South Asia affairs such as the Kargill Crisis in 1999, Military Advisor to Ambassador James Dobbins, and US Envoy to Afghan Opposition forces. He has held positions with the US Joint Staff, US Pacific Command and more. Pertinent to this book, Jack is an acknowledged military historian and expert on the Napoleonic Era.

What You Get

A 9.25 X 6 inch hardcover book 1.7 inches thick with 12/15.2 font… more

Warsaw 1920 - The War for the Eastern Borderlands

Published: October 30, 2020
Book Author(s): Steven J. Zaloga
Company: Osprey Publishing

Thanks to Osprey Publishing & IPMSUSA for the review copy!

Steven J. Zaloga has a BA in History from Union Collee and a MA from Columbia University. Steven was an analyst on missile systems and international arms trade for the aerospace industry for over 30 years, and served on the Institute for Defense Analyses, a Federal think tank. He is a prolific author on military issues, specializing on WW2 US Army and Poland/Russia/Soviet Union history.

Steve Noon illustrated the book and painted original artwork of battle scenes.

This book is in the Campaign series from Osprey Publishing (#1349). Here is Osprey’s description of the Campaign Series: “Books in the Osprey Campaign series span military history from the ancient… more

Red Star and Roundel: A Shared Century

Published: September 12, 2020
Book Author(s): Philip Wilkinson
Company: Fonthill Media

Thanks to Casemate Publishing & IPMSUSA for the review copy!

Philip Wilkinson has written a tome on a topic seldom seen – Anglo-Russian air force togetherness from before the First World War to a few years ago. This book contains a wealth of historical information that is very difficult to find, along with a first-hand view of military cooperation (or not) by the author. Mr. Wilkinson served in the RAF and thus this book is chiefly concerned with British airpower and its changes through war and peace. His perspective and insights are many and astute. If you are looking for technical details or operational histories, this is not the right book. If you want to know the highlights of RAF-Russian interactions from an RAF viewpoint, this is the right book.

What You Get… more

WWII YD72 USN Crane Barges I

Published: September 1, 2020
Company: Lion Roar

Thanks to DragonUSA for supplying the resin/PE set for review and IPMSUSA staff for handling the request and publishing this review.

Bottom Line: LionRoar has produced a line of WW2 US Navy barges, either mixed resin + photoetch or all metal photoetch. Few parts, a tricky PE folding and assembly job for an unusual subject that would be a necessity for dockyard dioramas. Would have liked better instructions and decals for the barge YD number, but a quirky, fun build. Change of pace weekender for the more advanced modeler.

Brief History

Cranes are ubiquitous at harbor dockyards. Some are permanently mounted on a flat barge and towed to wherever they are needed. Unlike warships and auxiliary ships, information on barges is rare and suspect. In… more

American Destroyer USS Fletcher 1942. Super Drawings in 3D

Published: July 25, 2020
Book Author(s): Waldemar Goralski
Company: Kagero Publishing

Thanks to Casemate Publishing & IPMS/USA for the review copy!

Waldemar Tubus Goralski is a prolific author of illustrated warship books for Kagero Publishing. He also makes exhibitions of his illustrations in Poland where visitors can virtually walk on ships. The late Piotr Forkasiewicz designed the ocean and battle settings (this virtual tour is not in this book). Waldemar is lucky to turn his passion into a career, igniting passions of many modelers around the world.

Kagero Publishing, from Poland, is one of the major military history publishing houses. Since 1998, when Kagero started publishing in English, over 550 titles have been produced. Topics focus on individual planes, armor and ships, along with a bevy of focused topics, such as a class of warships or an… more

The Paraguayan War 1864-70. The Triple Alliance at stake in La Plata. Campaign 342.

Published: July 24, 2020
Book Author(s): Gabriele Esposito, illustrated by Giuseppe Rava
Company: Osprey Publishing

Gabriele Esposito is an Italian student of military history with an interest in 1800s Latin America. Giuseppe Rava contributed three two-page and a smaller paintings in color of the pivotal battles of this war.

Osprey’s Campaign 342 covers the war that involved the eastern countries of South America as they joustled their own revolutions with military actions against their neighbors, setting the stage for current countries and boundaries. Like other Osprey Campaign books, this issue is 96 pages (not counting the front/back covers) –enough for a discussion on the war and its aftermath.

This book provides twelve maps of the theatre, individual battles and subsets of battles. Sixteen B&W and twelve color photographs, 28 B&W and 12 color illustrations, three Tables… more

Portuguese Dragoons 1966-1974. The Return to Horseback

Published: July 11, 2020
Book Author(s): John P. Cann
Company: Helion & Company

Thanks to Casemate Publishing & IPMSUSA for the review copy!

John P. Cann has written nine titles on Portugal’s colonial actions in Angola. This book is part of Helion & Company’s Africa@War Series - #42. John Cann is a Research Fellow and retired Professor of National Security Studies at Marine Corps University (www.usmcu.edu) in Quantico, Virginia. John Cann acknowledged the generous help of Lieutenant Colonel (Cavalry) Miguel Freire and Colonel (Cavalry) Paulo Manuel Madeira de Athayde Banazol for their help. In other words, the author learned about this topic from the horses’ mouths, so to speak.

What You Get

An 11 11/16 X 8 1/4 inch softcover book of 96 pages (not counting covers) with color covers and four… more

Bomber Squadron - Men Who Flew With XV Squadron

Published: May 5, 2020
Book Author(s): Martyn R. Ford-Jones
Company: Fonthill Media

Thanks to Casemate Publishing & IPMSUSA for the review copy!

This book is a second edition, with three new chapters. Martyn R. Ford-Jones is the historian for No. XV Squadron Association, Royal Air Force (http://www.xvsqnassociation.co.uk ). His wife, Valerie, is the Treasurer and would have been a co-author but declined the honor. Years were spent interviewing the participants in this book, their families, and careful gleaning of historical records to weave a compilation of human stories set in WW2 of a squadron of British bombers.

What You Get

A 6 3/8 X 9 3/8 inch hardcover book 1 inch thick with 10.5 font written in British English (not American English). A short foreword by Group Captain Graham Bowerman… more

The Japanese Battleship Kirishima 1940 - Super Drawings in 3D

Published: March 20, 2020
Book Author(s): Waldemar Goralski
Company: Kagero Publishing

Thanks to Casemate Publishing & IPMSUSA for the review copy!

Waldemar Tubus Goralski is a prolific author of illustrated warship books for Kagero Publishing, and has previously authored Super Drawings in 3D book on Kirishima’s sister ships Kongo (in 2015) and Haruna (in 2013, previously reviewed in IPMSUSA). He is still working on the Hiei, the final sister ship in the foursome of battlecruisers-turned-fast battleships. Each book shows improvements and advancements in the quality and clarity of the CG-generated drawings. He also makes exhibitions of his illustrations in Poland where visitors can virtually walk on ships. Waldemar has cooperated with the late Piotr Forkasiewicz for ocean and battle settings, and dedicates this book to Piotr. Wojciech Lizakowski collaborates… more