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Up Close and Personal: The Reality of Close-quarter Fighting in World War II

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Up Close and Personal: The Reality of Close-quarter Fighting in World War II (Hardcover)

by David Lee (Author)

4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)

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Product details

Hardcover: 272 pages
Publisher: Greenhill Books (15 April 2006)
Language English
ISBN-10: 1853676683
ISBN-13: 978-1853676680
Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 16 x 3.2 cm

Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)

Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 441,543 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

This gripping book is about what it was really like to fight at the sharp end in World War II. In 1947, US General S. L. A Marshall controversially wrote that out of every one hundred combat soldiers only fifteen to twenty-five actually fired their weapons at the enemy, because of the innate human reluctance to take another's life. Others maintained the opposite view that soldiers enjoyed killing. David Lee demonstrates that the situation was far more complex than either of these positions, arguing that the crucial factor for a unit s success in battle was the type of training it received. To illustrate this Lee covers actions from each theatre of the war, in depth and with comprehensive coverage of weapons and tactics. First there is the story of what happened when a battalion of British soldiers trained in the traditional manner came up against the Waffen SS, whose training was formidable and bore close resemblance to the Commandos . The success of No. 4 Commando at Dieppe is covered to show how this was put into effect. For the desert war there is a detailed look at how a rifle battalion held the snipe position against overwhelming odds, and how that same battalion was virtually wiped out when it later went to Italy. For the Far East, Lee explains how hatred of the Japanese Army gave impetus to British soldiers fighting at Kohima and American soldiers at Iwo Jima. And finally there is the story of one US infantry regiment on D-Day.

About the Author

DAVID LEE is the author of the highly acclaimed Beachhead Assult: The Story of the Royal Naval Commandos in World War II, about which the Journal of Naval Engineering said, 'If you only buy one book this year buy this one.'

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Customer Reviews

3 Reviews

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4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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Average Customer Review

4.7 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not too close but utterly personal!, 7 Jul 2006

By	Steen Lykke Laursen "Fortes Fortuna Juvat" (Oksboel, Denmark) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is not a book that will lead you into the world of Close Quarter Battle as fought by the mystical operators of the famed Special Forces. This book is ("at last" one might add) about the ordinary combat soldier; the Infantryman - the rifleman! Firing your Lee-Enfield or M-1 Garand rifle at an enemy soldier at 300 yards is personal enough for most ordinary men, and the return fire is definitely up close and bloody personal!
Through history many young men have "joined up" to see what it is like - war and battle that is. Up Close and Personal gives some pretty good answers to that question and all within the safety of your own living room.
The most prominent parts of this book are concerned with the soldier's ability to kill or at least to fire his weapon at the enemy. Whether such an ability comes naturally or needs to be "conditioned"; trained and honed like other "basic" skills.
There are a lot of interesting references in this book and I must warn you that you may well find that your list of books to read is lengthened (yet again).
As a fan of Men Against Fire by S.L.A. Marshall it is always with some anxiety I read a book like this one. To my relief Marshall - his findings and/or suggestions if you like - is treated with the proper dignity and objectivety to my liking.
The five stars are mainly given for being well researched, documented and presented, relevant for soldiers even today and especially for being honest to man/soldier.
Remember - reading is the most inexpensive training around! If you are an ordinary combat soldier, Up Close and Personal has just been added to your syllabus. The lessons learned have been paid in blood but they are here for you, almost for free ...

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating stuff, 19 Nov 2007

By	Sirwalter (Surrey, UK) - See all my reviews

I gave this book 5 stars, because i'm interested in the first person accounts of combat and the book certainly is full of them, interspersed is a bit of the Psychology of battle and what makes a good killer, but it doesn't get too bogged down in this - shame really, that interested me too.

The book flowed nicely, i found i couldn't put it down, it was a very balanced book, with gripping accounts of various battles from WW2 with some lovely descriptive prose - made you realise how grim, war is, hmmm actually after writing this i'm thinking i may read it again.

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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting but repetitive, 7 May 2008

By	Rafal Gruszczynski (Warsaw Poland) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

There is this thesis of a % of soldiers really fighting in the war, that the author challenges. The idea for the book is interesting.

Sometimes shocking, sometimes a bit repetitive. The issue with this book is that it gets boring after you read something like 2/3 of it.

I know I shouldn't say that, as there were human lives lost, the fights were very tough, etc. But I am afraid that sometimes you read it more like the last page of a magazine than a book related to very tough decisions and situations some of these guys found themselves.

There are some maps in the text but it is next to impossible to relate the text to the maps. The most interesting is the training of commandos part.

I liked it - but didn't make it to the very end of the book unfortunately.

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