Books About Tactics

Last updated September 1994

I have found the following books to offer very usefull details on battle tactics. This list is mostly on WWII armor tactics along with some other books.

Combat Studies Institute: U.S. Army Command & General Staff College, Fort Leavonworth KS, 66027-6900. They (used to) send out their combat studies monographs at no charge. I don't know what their policy is these days.

• Research Study #5 German Defensive Doctrine, Russia 1941-1945. This is an excellant analysis, and was writen to correct some rather serious errors in Von Mellinthin's work.
  
  
• Research Study #2 Towords Combined Arms. A very good general summary of combined arms operations and principles.
  
  
• Leavonworth Paper #7 August Storm. This looks in detail at the Russian attack on Manchuria 1945.
  
  
• Leavonworth Paper #4 German Doctrine in World War I
  
  
• Leavonworth Paper #12 Tank Destroyers in World War II
  
  
• There are several monographs, you can write them for more info.
  
  

David Hackworth: About Face. Hackworth describes in detail some combat actions from his service in Korea, and (at a higher level) some battles from his service in Vietnam. I learned a great deal from this book.

Russel Weigley: Eisenhower's Lieutenants. To my mind the single best book on the Western Front, it contains some tactical analysis of parts of the campaign.

F. von Mellenthin: Panzer Battles. This is a great read but it is somewhat over enthusiastic about the performance of General Balck in 1942-43 on the Chur River. Read the Research Study #5 for some needed balance.

Liddel Hart: The German Generals Speak (formerly titled "The Other Side of the Hill"). This contains some wonderful insights into tactics collected by Hart just after World War II when the German generals were all in POW camps.

Paddy Griffith (previously mentioned): Battle Tactics of the Civil War. Very interesting. Paddy usually writes good books and this one is quite effective.

Bren Adan (previously mentioned): On the Banks of the Suez. A detailed description of the actions of one armored division in the 1973 Arab-Israeli war. Great material, and a good read.