Yep, he’s a good one

The only (very minor) shortcomings in this excellent book include uneven coverage of campaigns (even Tunisia and Italy are barely mentioned, let alone smaller campaigns), and the occasional clumsy translation from the original Swedish that reads like a lesson from Instructor in Gunnery Yoda 2/2

Harsh, but fair.

(Mainly harsh, though)

I’m thinking Robert DeNiro, but I need to know first if I have to watch EVERYTHING in his filmography, or can I skip some bits?

Both Yamato and Musashi had dedicated 18-inch AA shells called 3 Shiki tsûjôdan that were used (not very successfully) in the final engagements of both ships.

I’m sure @hush-ndb.bsky.social could provide more detail than my quick perusal of the Yamato’s Wikipedia article to refresh my memory.

New recruits to ICE, to get their fill of cruelty and violence against people they think can’t hit back.

Oh, you and me both…

Incidentally, was Blood, Metal and Dust a bit ‘insipid politicians let our terrific generals down, and those uncouth Americans should have listened to us because we won in Malaya and they lost Vietnam?’

I’ve never read it, but I’ve got a feeling that was the overall thrust?

It seems to be taking its time to get down under, so you might be waiting a while for that review!

Even if you don’t agree with the overall argument or some of the specifics, it’s worth engaging with and taking seriously. I’ve got “The Rise and Fall of the British Army 1975-2025” on order, which I think will be an interesting contrast.

I would like to se someone do something similar for the Australian army over approximately the same time period. 2/2

I thought it was excellent, if a bit confronting (having had a close association with the British Army), and I understand many British Army veterans disliked it.

I thought it was very effective in portraying an institution with real strengths, but a blindness to many institutional weaknesses. 1/2

In a period where the British deliberately minimised the size of the Indian Artillery (as a reaction to the Indian Mutiny on 1857-8), Indian soldiers were recruited to serve in Hong Kong and Singapore, with most being lost in the Japanese offensives of 1941-42. 2/2

This was great as well

Rick Atkinson’s “The Long Gray Line” is great as well. But I also thought of these:

bsky.app/profile/pete...

With lots of UFC fighters all fighting at once until only one is left, in the spirit of Achewood’s “Great Outdoor Fight”

achewood.com/2006/01/25/t...

The droid who would be king, perhaps?

Oh, very good. Very good indeed.

Fair point