Customer Reviews

Cassell Military Classics: Seize And Hold: Master Strokes On The Battlefield

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This book (and two others like it - Glorious Defiance and At All Costs) is a good book for indroductions to several somewhat obscure battles with a similar theme. Sieze and Hold covers battles where a small, elite force has to secure a specific objective (hill, bridge, etc.) and defend it against counter attack. This book covers the following battles:

The Romanian Campaign of 1916 Rommel's the battle of Caporetto, Italy 1917 Polish capture of Zytomierz, Russia, 1919 German assault on Belgium and Holland, 1940 Beda Fomm, North Africa 1941 Jitra and Slim River, Malaya 1941-1942 Hill 309 and the bridge at 637437, Normandy 1944 Meiktila, Burma 1944 Ludendorff bridge at Remagan, Germany 1945 Inchon, Korea 1950 Ia Drang, Vietnam 1965

Each battle is covered in what amounts to an essay on the topic and therefore does not cover them in too much detail, hence only three stars. I use them when I want to read about a battle in one sitting because they average about 20 pages each. But they usually spark an interest to find more books on the battles covered so as to absorb more details about that particular battle.

Overall, this is a nice little book for those interested in learning about dramatic battles but don't want to get bogged down in minute details.