Any Good Books on Greek Operations?

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Any Good Books on Greek Operations? - 9/16/2004 8:29:04 PM

Tzar007

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Anybody has good books to suggest that covers the Grece invasion and battles during WWII (with more specific operational details and good maps) ?

I started reading Alan Clark's Crete book, but I don't have anything for Greece

< Message edited by Arjuna -- 6/16/2006 2:15:48 AM >

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RE: Any Good Books on Grece Operations? - 9/16/2004 8:44:42 PM

Bil H

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Start here: Essential Reading

I'm sure Golf33 wil be along shortly with a full list of every conceivable book written about the Greek Campaign.

Bil

< Message edited by Bil H -- 6/18/2006 7:43:37 AM >

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RE: Any Good Books on Grece Operations? - 9/16/2004 9:36:59 PM

Tzar007

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Thanks Bil H, I should have searched a bit more to find this

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RE: Any Good Books on Grece Operations? - 9/17/2004 1:38:12 AM

Burkowski

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Tzar.

Not detailed ops like Marita, but great for a great, quick (less than 200 p.) big picture read of the lead up to and of the Greek campaign, I recommend Charles Cruickshank's Greece 1940-1941 . Pretty much ends at the threshhold of Crete. It is U. of Delaware Press, 1976 and can be had interlibrary from lots of places... more political than anything else, but will definitely put you in the proper mood, whichever side you play...

Regards,

Burkowski

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RE: Any Good Books on Grece Operations? - 9/17/2004 2:06:19 AM

Golf33

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Buckley, Christopher. Greece and Crete 1941. London: HMSO, 1952. Pretty good.

Detweiler, Donald S. (ed). World War II German Military Studies. New York: Garland, 1979. Contains an article on Marita which is good for outline information but lacks detail.

Farndale, Gen Sir Martin. The Years of Defeat Europe and North Africa 1939-1941. London: Brassey's, 1996. A general history of British field artillery with some notes on AA and AT artillery.

Horner, David. The Gunners. Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 1995.
Some detail on Australian and to a much lesser extent NZ and UK arty. Snippets on organisation & equipment but nothing concise or complete.

Kaltenegger, Roland. Deutsche Gebirgsj�ger. Stuttgart: Motorbuch, 1977.
Excellent information about Greek border defences � lists strongpoints with manning and no. of MG of each.

Lehmann, Rudolf. Die Leibstandarte vol I. Winnipeg: J.J. Fedorowicz, 1987.
Contains several transcripts of orders, sitreps etc. Excellent.

Long, Gavin. Greece, Crete, and Syria. Canberra: AWM, 1953. Australian official history, a bit hard to follow and lacks detail in some areas.

Lucas, James. Alpine Elite. New York: Jane�s, 1980. Some brief information about minor engagements in Greece.

NZ in the Second World War official histories. http://www.nzetc.org/etexts/WH2-27Ba/index.html
Simply outstanding and probably the best resource for detailed information on battles involving NZ troops. Well-organised and easy to follow.

Routledge, Brig N.W. Anti-Aircraft Artillery 1914-1955. London: Brassey's, 1994.
General history of British AA artillery.

Terzakis, Angelos. The Greek Epic 1940-1941. Greek Army Press, 1990. A bit hard to follow as place names aren't consistent with other sources (possibly local name variations?). A good read in the 'heroic' style.

Weingartner, James. Hitler's Guard. Illinois: Southern Illinois University, 1974.
Outline history of LSSAH. Relies on German sources.

Defence of Greece Website. http://www.geocities.com/ww2greece/
Only available online source for detailed Greek data so far.

Regards
33

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RE: Any Good Books on Grece Operations? - 9/17/2004 7:01:59 PM

stall84

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Check the following link, these guys have good prices too

http://www.scholarsbookshelf.com/listing.asp?titlesearch=greece&userid=&pageid=2&catid=3&subjectid=26&method=search&searchmethod=simple&bargain=0&newbooks=0&starter=0&x=9&y=4

< Message edited by stall84 -- 9/17/2004 6:02:26 PM >

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RE: Any Good Books on Grece Operations? - 9/18/2004 3:22:12 AM

Arjuna

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stall84,

Thanks for the link.

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RE: Any Good Books on Grece Operations? - 7/19/2005 7:03:01 AM

Rooster

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Stumbled across this site - it's chocked full of really detailed info... good reading in advance of the game launch.

http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-WH2Gree.html

Woops! Didn't see it above... good show there Golf.

Hmmmm.... well... click here>>>>> http://www.news.com.au/story/0%2C10117%2C15891104-13762%2C00.html

or here...

http://www.attackchi.org.au/kits.htm

< Message edited by Rooster -- 7/19/2005 7:17:48 AM >

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RE: Any Good Books on Grece Operations? - 7/22/2005 2:31:21 AM

JohnO

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The book that I'm reading right now, is "Crete" by D. M. Davin. Its the officail History of New Zealand in the Second World War 1939-45.

JohnO

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RE: Any Good Books on Grece Operations? - 2/11/2006 12:38:51 PM

JeffroK

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Both the Australian & Enzed Official Histories are available online

http://www.awm.gov.au/histories/chapter.asp?volume=18

http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/UN/NewZealand/index.html

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RE: Any Good Books on Grece Operations? - 6/8/2006 3:29:26 AM

bugbear

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Hello!

YES, there are several excellent articles and books available although they might prove difficult to find in some countries. The following focus on Malta operations BUT that is the biggest interest for me in COTA because that part of the game has been "untested" by history, so to speak--- And, to date, there has been minimal published on the Malta situation. . .

Moreover, Malta's strategic importance impacted Hitler's Greece operations. Particularly, the Beaufort Torpedo Bomber from Malta's allied airfields could drop presents on Axis shipping lines and airports that were facilitating support of Hitler's Greece operations. Additionally, the Swordfish Torpedo Bomber with less range and often supported by fighter support groups would also interdict Rommel's supply lines while screwing up GeneralFeldmarschal Kesselring's overall plans in the Mediterranean. Studying Greece without Malta is like watching "half a movie."

Three are:

"The Magazine of Warfare & History: Military Chronicles" Volume 1 No. 2 Spring 2006. Article entitled: "Axis plans for invasion: Malta:Operation C3/Herkules"

AND

"Malta at War" edited by Mark Vella.

"Operazione C3" by Mariano Gabriele.

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RE: Any Good Books on Grece Operations? - 6/15/2006 10:38:13 PM

pvthudson01

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Here is some good Wiki info on Battle of Crete

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Crete

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RE: Any Good Books on Grece Operations? - 6/15/2006 11:13:45 PM

Banquet

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I just bought Crete by Antony Beevor.. only had time for the first few pages but it looks like it'll be a good read.

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RE: Any Good Books on Grece Operations? - 6/18/2006 1:47:28 AM

wodin

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Grenadiers by Kurt Meyer has a small section on Greece.

Well worth a read.

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RE: Any Good Books on Grece Operations? - 6/18/2006 6:03:46 AM

iaidoka2

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Hitler's Mediterranean Gamble is useful if you want a description in the context of the whole Mediterranean theatre. Its by Douglas Porch. Highly recommend it (it covers the early days in Nth Africa right up to the invasion through Italy, Southern France etc).

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RE: Any Good Books on Grece Operations? - 6/19/2006 8:18:38 PM

panda124c

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If you can find it, "The Gods Were Neutral" by Robert Crisp
British tank comander in Greece.

I believe the correct term is "a complete lash up"

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RE: Any Good Books on Grece Operations? - 6/19/2006 11:27:41 PM

jhdeerslayer

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Ten Days to Destiny: The Battle for Crete, 1941 (Paperback)
by G. C. Kiriakopoulos

Good read but biased towards the Allies and in particular Greeks/Cretans

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RE: Any Good Books on Greek Operations? - 6/20/2006 8:37:30 PM

pvthudson01

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Not a book but here is a good website about NZ in Crete

http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/war/crete-battle1-3

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RE: Any Good Books on Greek Operations? - 6/29/2006 6:37:26 AM

sanch

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There's the old classic, "Panzer Battles", by F.W. von Mellenthein (sp?). It covers much more than the Greek campaign, but does describe the Greek campaign, and in particular, the Tempe Gorge. The author was on the staff of the Panzer Division forcing the gorge, so has a first-hand point of view.

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RE: Any Good Books on Greek Operations? - 6/30/2006 3:22:29 AM

bobwalt

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F.W. von Melenthin's (looked it up) book is a classic and a must read for anybody interested in tactics. It is interesting to note that General Schwarzkopf (Looked it up- my spelling is terrible) said he kept it by his bedside to use as a reference. Another interesting source (although I may get some debate on this is the game from AH Air Assault on Crete. It also came with a copy of the invasion of Malta and, of course, we do not want to forget the game from HPS that also has the invasion of Malta.

Bob

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RE: Any Good Books on Greek Operations? - 7/17/2006 10:22:05 PM

c00k1e

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Any chance we will see a strategy guide like the one for HTTR or is it just too big a campaign for this type of product. I loved the way the SG was written with the wargamer in mind..

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RE: Any Good Books on Greek Operations? - 7/18/2006 1:25:54 AM

Arjuna

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Stephen,

No we have no plans to do a strategy guide for COTA. The main reason being the amount of time required versus the likely return. However, we are working on a concept at the moment that will establish what we call the Panther War College. This will be a special forum ( you'll have to register to post ) that will focus on the strategy and tactics of playing COTA. It will be like a workshop of peers, where members can discuss what works and doesn't and we will from time to time post articles and AARs designed to stimulate discussion on strategy and tactics. More later.

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RE: Any Good Books on Greek Operations? - 7/18/2006 7:02:39 AM

Deathtreader

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Great Idea!!!!!!!!

Rob.

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So we're at war with the Russkies eh?? I suppose we really ought to invade or something. (Lonnnng pause while studying the map)
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RE: Any Good Books on Greek Operations? - 7/19/2006 5:33:22 AM

ChrisGer

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Arjuna
However, we are working on a concept at the moment that will establish what we call the Panther War College. This will be a special forum ( you'll have to register to post ) that will focus on the strategy and tactics of playing COTA. It will be like a workshop of peers, where members can discuss what works and doesn't and we will from time to time post articles and AARs designed to stimulate discussion on strategy and tactics. More later.

In what way does this differ from the curent forum (other than simply opening up a new subsection)? Registration is required as it is, and in the AAR section it is common to discuss strategy and tactics.

Cheers,
Chris

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RE: Any Good Books on Greek Operations? - 7/19/2006 6:32:32 AM

Arjuna

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We're tossing around ideas at the moment. I'll get back to you once we've thrashed out the details.

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RE: Any Good Books on Greek Operations? - 7/19/2006 11:02:49 PM

GoodGuy

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Interactive solutions would be cool here (like let's say tiny flash movies)...

I could imagine a mix of Judge's AAR-style and my style:
J's AARs are detailed and he keeps posting several zoom levels, to go into detail on several aspects/formations in the specific area........
My graphical approach, trying to create something that contains some eye candy to make it more user friendly.......while still maintaining a good detail level regarding events.

Such a war college would need one subpage on the COTA site only, and discussions could be held in this forum here......alternatively, a simple forum/guestbook on the same subpage (next to the swf or the link to the swf) with login.

My 2 cents.

< Message edited by GoodGuy -- 7/20/2006 8:25:59 AM >

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RE: Any Good Books on Greek Operations? - 7/24/2006 7:00:05 PM

Robin le guetteur

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Some photos and a good map here :

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Battle_for_Crete

For the map in high resolution, here :
http://www.dean.usma.edu/history/web03/atlases/ww2%20europe/ww2%20europe%20pages/ww2%20europe%20map%2018.htm

< Message edited by Robin le guetteur -- 7/24/2006 7:02:20 PM >

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RE: Any Good Books on Greek Operations? - 7/24/2006 7:46:41 PM

HansBolter

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While it has only one chapter on Crete, Infantry Aces, by Franz Kurowski (the Stackploe Military History series) includes the story of the exploits of Erich Lepkowski, a paratrooper on Crete. He was captured and rescued thre times over the course of the battle! It's great read.

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RE: Any Good Books on Greek Operations? - 8/27/2006 7:46:20 PM

Dietl

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As the division features in the game

Gebirgsj�ger zwischen Kreta und Murmansk by Karl Ruef. The divisional history of the 6 Gebirgs Division. It includes a detailed account of the division's operations in Greece and a smaller section on those divisional units involved in Crete.

Das gelbe edelweiss by Andreas Weinberger (published 1943) A wartime published book about the 6 Gebirgs Divisions history up until 1943.

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RE: Any Good Books on Greek Operations? - 10/22/2006 12:05:14 PM

JeffroK

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Mark of the Lion by Kenneth Sandford.

A biography of Charles Upham VC & Bar who fought in Greece & Crete

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