Literature recommendations for WW2

[Harry Faversham]

Well, if you want the very best of the Limey memoirs. Read 'Men at Arnhem' by Tom Angus.
 

[aphillathehun]

panzer battles by von Mellenthin is a good read....

[Will Bailie]

  Keep the recommendations coming guys, I'm learning a lot. The vast majority of memoirs I've read are from American and a smattering of German authors. I've never considered the British perspective.

I always recommend 'And No Birds Sang", by Farley Mowat, about his time with the Canadian Army in Sicily and Southern Italy.  Mowat also wrote 'The Regiment', about the Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment (the Hasty P's) in WWII.

Other good memoirs include George Blackburn's 'The Guns of Normandy' which focusses on Canadian artillery in NWE, '18 Platoon' by Syd Jary (British infantry in NWE), and 'Quartered Safe Out Here' by George MacDonald Fraser (author of the Flashman series).

[jon_1066]

Battalion by Alastair Borthwick

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Battalion-British-Infantry-Actions-Alamein/dp/1898573352

Traces a British Battalion from El Alamein.

[carlos marighela]

Well, if you want the very best of the Limey memoirs. Read 'Men at Arnhem' by Tom Angus.
 

For the very best of seppo memoirs I'd second the suggestion of Manchester's Goodbye Darkness, albeit it's about the Pacific. It's a genuinely great piece of literature.

For an Australian perspective on El Alamein I'd recommend Dornan's The Last Man Standing.

I'd also recommend reading the Australian Official Histories if you are interested in the desert, Syria, Greece and Crete. Unlike many official histories, the Australian versions are particularly well written and read easily, especially the ones authored by Gavin Long. They are an invaluable source for scenario creation and full of glorious detail.

Best of all, they are all available, free and online through the Australian War Memorial site. Boo sucks to those of us who collected complete sets over the years. 

https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1417143

[Munindk]

I'm overwhelmed by the recommendations, thanks guys 

I've started with With the Scots, as it arrived first, and I've got a question about a weapon.
There's mention of a mountain gun used the the KOSB. Its breaks down so its portable by a handful of men. Is it this beast: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QF_3.7-inch_mountain_howitzer?

[carlos marighela]

Yes, the 3.7" howitzer is the gun provided to 52 Lowland Division which was nominally a Mountain Division, as opposed to the 51st Highland Division which was not.  For added irony, the Mountain Division spent most of its operational history in the very unmountainous Low Countries.  At least the Lowland part was apposite I suppose.

The gun was developed at the end of the First World War as a mountain piece and saw a lot of service in India, alos seeing WW2 service in New Guinea. For a time between the wars it was also the official landing party gun for capital ships, usually crewed by Royal Marines.

Empress Miniatures do one in their Jazz Age range if you want one.

[Tom Dulski]

 Men at Arnhem by Tom Angus is not available on (US) Amazon it might be difficult but not impossible to track down.

 18 platoon by Jary is going for $100

  The other recommendations can be easily and cheaply purchased on Amazon, keep the recommendations coming guy!

[Cubs]

Another for Alan Moorehead's 'The Desert War'. What is unique is that it was written by a war correspondent who was in theatre at the time and the book was actually written in real time. The author is not using distant historical sources or writing with the benefit of hindsight, it's a collection of his work at the time from his own perspective and those of the men he was talking to.

[frank xerox]

Anyone mentioned The Recollections of Rifleman Bowlby yet?

[Munindk]

Yes, the 3.7" howitzer is the gun provided to 52 Lowland Division which was nominally a Mountain Division, as opposed to the 51st Highland Division which was not.  For added irony, the Mountain Division spent most of its operational history in the very unmountainous Low Countries.  At least the Lowland part was apposite I suppose.

The gun was developed at the end of the First World War as a mountain piece and saw a lot of service in India, alos seeing WW2 service in New Guinea. For a time between the wars it was also the official landing party gun for capital ships, usually crewed by Royal Marines.

Empress Miniatures do one in their Jazz Age range if you want one.

Thanks for the confirmation and miniature recommendation. Its far larger than I'd have thought "man portable", even if its a squad carrying it.

[Ash]

Quite a few of the books I'd recommend are already here, so I'll just add; 'So Few Got Through' By Martin Lindsay (Gordon Highlanders) & 'Lion Rampant' by Robert Woollcombe (KOSB).
Just an aside for those hunting for a copy of 'Men at Arnhem' by Tom Angus, 'Men at Arnhem' by Geoffrey Powell is the same book.
Originally released under a pseudonym

[Tom Dulski]

Quite a few of the books I'd recommend are already here, so I'll just add; 'So Few Got Through' By Martin Lindsay (Gordon Highlanders) & 'Lion Rampant' by Robert Woollcombe (KOSB).
Just an aside for those hunting for a copy of 'Men at Arnhem' by Tom Angus, 'Men at Arnhem' by Geoffrey Powell is the same book.
Originally released under a pseudonym

 ohhhh thanks for the tip.