World War II Jungle Warfare TacticsReviewed by John Prigent
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Publisher and Title | Elite 151, World War II Jungle Warfare Tactics, by Dr Stephen Bull, illustrated by Steve Noon, Osprey Publishing Ltd |
ISBN: | 1-84603-069-7 |
Media and Contents: | 64 pages |
Price: | US Price: $17.95, UK Price: £11.50, available online from Osprey Publishing |
Review Type: | First Read |
Advantages: | A readable account jungle of warfare tactics on both sides; interesting photos. |
Disadvantages: | |
Recommendation: | Highly Recommended |
FirstRead
Many
people think that Japan won the early WW2 battles in Malaysia and
elsewhere because Japanese troops were better trained in jungle
fighting than Commonwealth or US forces.
This is not true – in fact, although most British, Indian, US and Australian troops were not “jungle trained” until well after the fighting had started, so had to learn by experience, the Japanese Jungle Warfare school on Taiwan had no jungle to train in! But Japanese tactics were better for jungle fighting, with flanking movements that “bounced” the Allies out of their positions.
This book covers all aspects of jungle fighting as experienced by both Allied and Japanese troops, with plenty of quotations from memoirs as well as excerpts from training manuals.
The photos are interesting, and the
colour plates show typical encounters in birds’-eye-view form as
well as the expected plates of soldiers in their jungle gear.
Highly recommended to anyone planning a jungle war figure or
diorama.
Thanks to Osprey Publishing for the review sample