Matrix Games Forums

Posted: **Thu Apr 28, 2016 3:14 am**

Skagerrak is arriving today! Its going to be a tall order to get The Rules of the Game and Skagerrak finished by the 9th (the date of The Jutland Debate) but I'll give it a go!

Posted: **Thu Apr 28, 2016 3:50 am**

I have to wait until July 27 for Skagerrak[:@]

Posted: **Thu Apr 28, 2016 4:35 am**

Just started The German War: A Nation Under Arms, 1939-1945; Citizens and Soldiers by Nicholas Stargardt

Posted: **Thu Apr 28, 2016 8:54 am**

Have that in my wish list. It looks a real corker!

ORIGINAL: parusski

Just started The German War: A Nation Under Arms, 1939-1945; Citizens and Soldiers by Nicholas Stargardt

Posted: **Thu Apr 28, 2016 1:38 pm**

Reading Caesar's Commentaries by the main man himself, Gaius Julius Caesar. Been wanting to read it for a few years. Decided to read it now because I'm getting Falling Sky which is the newest game in the COIN series from GMT. Figure it will be a lot more interesting if I know the history in greater depth.

Posted: **Thu Apr 28, 2016 2:45 pm**

ORIGINAL: warspite1

Skagerrak is arriving today! Its going to be a tall order to get The Rules of the Game and Skagerrak finished by the 9th (the date of The Jutland Debate) but I'll give it a go!

warspite1

Arrived!

Right its going to have to be The Rules of the Game to and from work and Skagerrak for as long as I can keep my eyes open before going to sleep (and the book smacks me in the face as usual).....

I hope to review all three together when finished.

Posted: **Sat Apr 30, 2016 1:30 pm**

Panzer Commander, by Von Luck. Excellent read and covers almost every major theater France, Eastern Front, North Afrika along with a look at his time as a Soviet POW...

Posted: **Sat Apr 30, 2016 2:32 pm**

Panzer Commander, by Von Luck. Excellent read and covers almost every major theater France, Eastern Front, North Afrika along with a look at his time as a Soviet POW...

In that vein (other than the POW part, which would be very interesting) is a book I find myself re-reading over and over...it never gets old:

Panzer Battles by Mellenthin. I'll have to look into Panzer Commander...thanks for the recommend!

Posted: **Sun May 01, 2016 9:22 am**

'Bismarck and Hood: The Battle of the Denmark Strait - A Technical Analysis for a New Perspective'

A VERY technical analysis of what happened between 0556 and 0609 on 24 May 1941.

Posted: **Sun May 01, 2016 12:06 pm**

ORIGINAL: Zorch

'Bismarck and Hood: The Battle of the Denmark Strait - A Technical Analysis for a New Perspective'

A VERY technical analysis of what happened between 0556 and 0609 on 24 May 1941.

warspite1

Sounds interesting....

Posted: **Sun May 01, 2016 12:56 pm**

ORIGINAL: warspite1

ORIGINAL: Zorch

'Bismarck and Hood: The Battle of the Denmark Strait - A Technical Analysis for a New Perspective'

A VERY technical analysis of what happened between 0556 and 0609 on 24 May 1941.
warspite1

Sounds interesting....

Full of chi-square tests and null hypotheses, etc. I didn't check his math but it appears credible.

Posted: **Sun May 01, 2016 3:47 pm**

ORIGINAL: Zorch

ORIGINAL: warspite1

ORIGINAL: Zorch

'Bismarck and Hood: The Battle of the Denmark Strait - A Technical Analysis for a New Perspective'

A VERY technical analysis of what happened between 0556 and 0609 on 24 May 1941.
warspite1

Sounds interesting....

Full of chi-square tests and null hypotheses, etc. I didn't check his math but it appears credible.

warspite1

What conclusions does he draw?

Posted: **Sun May 01, 2016 7:05 pm**

ORIGINAL: warspite1

ORIGINAL: Zorch

ORIGINAL: warspite1

warspite1

Sounds interesting....

Full of chi-square tests and null hypotheses, etc. I didn't check his math but it appears credible.
warspite1

What conclusions does he draw?

After all the analysis...he concludes it was basically a 'lucky' hit that set off the 4" magazine (after exhaustive discussion of Bismarck's gunnery), and triggered first the aft 15", and then the fore 15" magazines. He says the fatal shot likely penetrated the side (not deck) armor and detonated on Hood's port quarter. The German practice of firing 'ladder' ranging salvos enabled Bismarck to get the range quickly.

He notes how many variables broke badly for the British, including Hood shooting at Prince Eugen, the aft turrets not being able to bear on account of Hood's turn to the north hours before when contact with Bismarck was briefly lost, and Tovey's decision to send PoW with Hood. Tovey could have transferred his flag to PoW and sent the well trained KGV with Hood.

Extensive footnotes, diagrams and tables.

Posted: **Mon May 02, 2016 7:18 am**

ORIGINAL: Zorch

ORIGINAL: warspite1

ORIGINAL: Zorch

Full of chi-square tests and null hypotheses, etc. I didn't check his math but it appears credible.
warspite1

What conclusions does he draw?

After all the analysis...he concludes it was basically a 'lucky' hit that set off the 4" magazine (after exhaustive discussion of Bismarck's gunnery), and triggered first the aft 15", and then the fore 15" magazines. He says the fatal shot likely penetrated the side (not deck) armor and detonated on Hood's port quarter. The German practice of firing 'ladder' ranging salvos enabled Bismarck to get the range quickly.

He notes how many variables broke badly for the British, including Hood shooting at Prince Eugen, the aft turrets not being able to bear on account of Hood's turn to the north hours before when contact with Bismarck was briefly lost, and Tovey's decision to send PoW with Hood. Tovey could have transferred his flag to PoW and sent the well trained KGV with Hood.

Extensive footnotes, diagrams and tables.

warspite1

Did he give any insight into why a) Hood's gunnery was so awful and b) why did Prince of Wales not take the lead?

Interesting point about KGV not being used in favour of PoW. Given Hood's armour deficiencies was there ever a suggestion that both PoW and KGV be used?

Sorry for so many questions but after my recent Jutland splurge, I don't think Mrs W would take too kindly to another delivery from Amazon....[:D]
[:(]

Posted: **Mon May 02, 2016 2:35 pm**

ORIGINAL: warspite1

ORIGINAL: Zorch

ORIGINAL: warspite1

warspite1

What conclusions does he draw?

After all the analysis...he concludes it was basically a 'lucky' hit that set off the 4" magazine (after exhaustive discussion of Bismarck's gunnery), and triggered first the aft 15", and then the fore 15" magazines. He says the fatal shot likely penetrated the side (not deck) armor and detonated on Hood's port quarter. The German practice of firing 'ladder' ranging salvos enabled Bismarck to get the range quickly.

He notes how many variables broke badly for the British, including Hood shooting at Prince Eugen, the aft turrets not being able to bear on account of Hood's turn to the north hours before when contact with Bismarck was briefly lost, and Tovey's decision to send PoW with Hood. Tovey could have transferred his flag to PoW and sent the well trained KGV with Hood.

Extensive footnotes, diagrams and tables.
warspite1

Did he give any insight into why a) Hood's gunnery was so awful and b) why did Prince of Wales not take the lead?

Interesting point about KGV not being used in favour of PoW. Given Hood's armour deficiencies was there ever a suggestion that both PoW and KGV be used?

Sorry for so many questions but after my recent Jutland splurge, I don't think Mrs W would take too kindly to another delivery from Amazon....[:D]
[:(]

He (an admiral in the Italian navy) says that PoW's First Gunnery Officer until recently held that position on Hood. Was his replacement less skilled? He notes the superiority of German stereoscopic range finders over British coincidence ones, and the inadequacies of Hood's Dreyer table vs the German C38K and PoW's APCT. He praises PoW's gunnery accuracy on a shot per hit basis, although it took her a while to find the range. He spends a lot a time on the question of whether there was a systematic error in Bismarck's targeting system, which I didn't understand.

I think Bismarck would have fired at Hood regardless of which shipled.
I don't think he mentions pairing the 2 modern battleships, although it would make sense.

A short book, but important, maybe definitive.

Posted: **Mon May 02, 2016 3:27 pm**

Thanks - I will have to win a few brownie points and then who knows. Father's day must be soon mustn't it? [:)]

Posted: **Tue May 03, 2016 2:49 am**

jungle book........

Posted: **Tue May 03, 2016 10:02 pm**

Again reading "Shattered Sword", for the nth time.

Posted: **Tue May 03, 2016 10:10 pm**

Are any of you willing to do a top twenty reads for my blog? I'd like to run a series of peoples top ten military history non fiction and then top ten military fiction. All you'd have to do is write a small a paragraph about yourself and your interests then do your lists. I'll then publish linking the books to amazon.

If you fancy it PM me:)

Posted: **Tue May 10, 2016 11:40 pm**

ORIGINAL: reg113

Again reading "Shattered Sword", for the nth time.

warspite1

I hope I get the chance to read this again. Such a brilliant book - I wish all histories were written in this style.

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