Uncategorized

Michael Roper’s The Secret Battle: Emotional Survival in the Great War (2008) explored how young British civilian soldiers endured the unprecedented strain of trench warfare not simply […]

My review of the above in Stand To! No.199 (September 2025

As of the end of July 2025, the Mentioned in Dispatches podcast has reached 751,410 downloads since its launch in February 2017. I’ve now hosted […]

I recently came across a fascinating and little-known wartime publication titled Fear in Battle (1944) by psychologist John Dollard. Issued by the Infantry Journal Press […]

Erich Kern’s Dance of Death is his memoir of service on the Eastern Front in the Waffen SS during the Second World War. It was […]

David Grossman’s book explores the psychology of the act of killing, and the military and law enforcement establishments’ attempt to understand and deal with the […]

Elmar Dinter’s Hero or Coward addresses the complex question of why some men fight well in war and others do not. Dinter’s premise is that […]

Jesse Glenn Gray’s book The Warriors, Reflections on Men in Battle is his personal attempt to consider what war means, how war changes those who […]

Ep363 – Podcasting the Great War – Terry WhenhamBroadcast date: 1 July 2025Terry Whenham discusses his podcast, Tales From the Battlefields, which focuses on the […]

Edmund Walendowski’s study is an assessment of the state of combat motivation in the 800k strong regular and reserve elements of the Polish armed forces […]

We, Charles Fair, Rich Hendry and myself, are thrilled to announce that Volume One of London Pride: The London Territorial Force in Peace and War, 1908–1921 has now […]

Over the next few weeks, the episodes for the the WFA’s MiD podcast that I host and produced. Available via the WFA website or your […]

William Trotter’s The Winter War remains an authoritative and engaging account of one of the lesser-known yet strategically significant conflicts of the 20th century: the Soviet Union’s […]

  Peter Leonard’s Till All Our Fight Be Fought: The Olavian ‘Fallen’ and the Great War, 1914-1918 is an ambitious biographical account of the 192 former students […]

This book, edited by Nigel Apperley, is an authentic and deeply personal account of life on the Western Front during World War I. Through the […]

Douglas Pinkerton’s Ladies from Hell (New York: The Century Co., 1918) is a visceral and deeply personal account of World War I, written by a […]

  Tim G. Elliot’s Tim’s War, edited by Robin Gregory, offers a unique and deeply personal perspective on the First World War, presenting the daily […]

Tom Hartley’s Written in Stoneis an engaging and meticulously researched account of one of Belfast’s most historically significant burial grounds. As a former Lord Mayor […]

Tom Hartley’s Balmoral Cemetery: The History of Belfast, Written in Stone is an exceptional study of one of Belfast’s lesser-known burial grounds. As the third […]

Over the Top by Arthur Guy Empey provides a first-hand account of World War I from the perspective of an American serving in a British […]

  Stefanie Linden’s The Legacy of Shell Shock in Britain and Germany 1918-1924 (Helion, 2024) is an exceptional exploration of the psychological and societal aftermath […]

John Benson’s Respectability, Bankruptcy and Bigamy provides an engrossing exploration of the precarious nature of middle-class respectability in late Victorian and Edwardian Britain. By focusing […]

Join me on 7 February 2025, as the South Wales branch of the Western Front Association hosts an intriguing discussion on the contrasting perspectives of […]

Ian Isherwood’s The Battalion: Citizen Soldiers at War on the Western Front offers an insightful and evocative account of the 8th Battalion, The Queen’s (Royal […]

Be Featured on the Popular WWI Podcast: Mentioned in Dispatches! Are you passionate about the Great War? Whether you’re an academic, author, student or simply […]

Mintauts Blosfeld’s Stormtrooper on the Eastern Front is his account of fighting in the German Waffen SS on the Eastern Front during the Second World […]

Wiking is the memoir of Dutchman Henk Kistemaker’s service in the infantry and armour elements of the Waffen SS’s  5th Division fighting on the Eastern […]

The Gods of War is Hans Werner Woltersdorf memoir of service with the SS during the Second World War. It starts in 1961, when Woltersdorf […]

Richard Holmes Firing Line is his attempt to convey the individual’s experience of battle and the nature of war. He seeks to do this by […]

Luis Raffeiner’s Eyewitness to Wehrmacht Atrocities on the Eastern Front is his memoir of service in the Wehrmacht fighting on the Eastern Front. Raffeiner was […]

In the Fire of the Eastern Front is Hendrick Verton’s account as a Dutch volunteer in the SS during the Second World War. He saw […]

Brian Barton’s Belfast in the War Years first appeared over 30 years. It is a conventional history that follows a chronological unfolding of events. It […]

Stephen Doud’s book aims to give ‘the perspective of those who lived through the experience’ but citing the perspectives of those who lived and worked […]

This Autumn, delve into the rich and intriguing social history of Belfast with Queen’s University Belfast’s Open Learning Programme. Over ten weeks, starting from 25th […]

James Doherty’s account is his experience as an air raid warden in north Belfast during the Belfast Blitz in Second World War. The Belfast Blitz […]

This memoir remained hidden until it was unearthed from a trunk of manuscripts in 2009, nearly 50 years after the author’s death. Before the war, […]

This book covers the wartime service of Bryant Lillywhite, who served in the 1/16th Battalion, London Regiment (Queen Westminster Rifles) before transferring to the Royal […]

My review of Antonio Garcia and Ian Van Der Waag’s excellent book on Botha, Smuts and the Great War in this month’s Stand To!

by Douglas H “In Miserable Slavery: Thomas Thistlewood in Jamaica” by Douglas Hall is a thorough and harrowing examination of the life and practices of a […]

Anzac Labour by Nathan Wise is a fascinating exploration of the role of Australian and New Zealand soldiers during World War I not only as […]

My interest in Stefanie Linden’s book had two primary motivations. Firstly, I’m conducting research on the connection between morale and combat fatigue/breakdown within the 56th (London) […]

I had the privilege of interviewing Tony Garcia and Ian Van Der Waag for the Western Front Association’s Mentioned in Dispatches (MiD) podcast on Louis […]

In January 2024, a YouGov survey revealed significant divisions within British public opinion concerning conscription in a hypothetical global conflict scenario. The survey, targeting individuals […]

This publication is a useful addition to the literature on World War II, the Third Reich and the Wehrmacht. Originally written in 2012, the English […]

I’m rocketing through March to do 341,000 steps in support of Prostate Cancer UK.Every step counts. Behind the statistics lie the lives of fathers, brothers, […]

As part of London Pride (LP), I’m delighted to reveal the cover of the forthcoming book. LP is an academic research project into the military, […]

My latest article in the WFA’s Stand To! journal. Tom Thorpe, ‘No more than three months trench service’: a study in the length of frontline […]

If anyone fancies it, I’m tutoring a course on the social history of Belfast, 1798-1914, as part of the Queen’s University Belfast Open Learning programme […]

Article that I wrote in the Western Front Association’s Bulletin 122 (July 2022), pp.44-45.

The Combat Morale Podcast is recording its second season and is looking for contributors.   This is a new podcast that aims to provoke debate […]

The Diary of a German Soldier is the journal of Wilhelm Pruller kept during his service in the Wehrmacht during the Second World War. He […]

The Mentioned in Dispatches podcast that I host and produce for the Western Front Association has finally reached over 500k downloads! The shaky journey to […]

The premise of James Robert’s book is fascinating and intriguing. His study has two objectives. Firstly, to examine what British infantrymen did during battle in […]

Marching from Defeat: Surviving the Collapse of the German Army in the Soviet Union, 1944 is the personal narrative of German Army artillery Lieutenant Claus […]

Dr Linsey Robb, Associate Professor in Modern British History at the University of Northumbria, talks about the motivation of the British civilian worker in WW2.You […]

Recent doctoral graduate Dr Drew Ryder talks about the motivation and morale of the British Army combatant fighting in in Korea, 1950-53. You can listen […]

Historian, lawyer and author Andrea Hetherington talks about her recent book on British Army deserters on the British home front during WW1. You can listen […]

On my other website the above is out! Historian and author Dr George Lepre talks about the ‘fragging’ phenomenon that occurred in US forces during […]

This post is an update on the hits for the Western Front Association’s weekly podcast Mentioned in Dispatches.   The podcast is available on a […]

This book is the diary turned memoir of Gunter Koschorrek who served on the Eastern Front during the Second World War. From October 1942 until […]

This book is the recollection of Han Kahr during his service as a machine gunner in the 138th Mountain Regiment, 3rd Mountain Division, between late […]

Henry Metelmann’s memoir of his service in the Wehrmacht during the Second World War is one of the best accounts I have read. Metelmann served […]

War Diary is Ernst Kern’s memoir of his service in the Wehrmacht on the Eastern Front from 1941 to 1944. He served as an infantryman […]

This book is an edited collection of around 350 letters sent by German NCO Konrad Jarausch during his active service. They cover the time from […]

Five Years, Four Fronts is Georg Grossjohann’s memoir that covers his service in the Wehrmacht during the Second World War.   Grossjohann served with the […]

Reading the marketing blurb on the flap copy for this book, it appeared to promise little more than a Sven Hassle action novel. The first […]

Sniper Ace is Bruno Sutkus’ account of his time as a German sniper in the 68th Infantry Division in the on the Eastern Front. During […]

Distant Thunder Issue 6 is now out. This is the journal of the Irish branches of The Western Front Association.

Feldpost is a collection of letters from Friedrich Reiner Niemann who served with the 58th Infantry Regiment that was part of the German 6th Infantry […]

Historian Rob Thompson talks about how the British army supplied logistics and material for the Messines/Third Ypres Campaign of 1917.

 Helmut Altner’s memoir covers his period as a 17-year-old conscript soldier fighting in the defence of Berlin from his enlistment on 29 March 1945 to […]

  Martin Poppel’s Heaven and Hell is his account of his service in the German Fallschirmjaeger (Parachute hunters) during the Second World War. He enlisted […]

Herman Schmidt’s Diary of a German Soldier 1939-1945 is more a memoir rather than a diary; the title is misleading. Schmidt was drafted into the […]

John Stieber’s account covers his time as a private in the Herman Goring Division, fighting on the Eastern Front July in late 1944 and 1945. […]

This is the chronological memoir of William Lubbeck who served throughout the Second World War as a ranker and officer in the German 58th Infantry […]

Since February 2017 to end of December 2020, 189 episodes of the podcast have been broadcast. Between the launch of the podcast on 13 February, […]

Armim Scheiderbauer was born in 1924 in Styria, south-east Austria, his father being a Protestant minister. In August 1941, Scheiderbauer was drafted into the German […]

I have established a new podcast titled the Combat Morale Podcast. It aims to explore what makes combatants fight (or not) in armed conflict. The […]

My latest article in War in History examines the length of time officers actually served in infantry units during the Great War Veteran testimony after […]

Uwe Timm’s book explores the life of his brother Franz-Heinz, a member of the Waffen SS and the impact Franz-Heinz’s death had on his parents […]

Issue 5 of Distant Thunder Issue 5 is now out. This is the journal of the Irish branches of The Western Front Association.

This book is the memoir of Austrian Alfred Novotny that covers his service in the Wehrmacht from 1942 to 1945 and subsequent time as a […]

Hans Heinz Rehfeldt served on the eastern front during World War II. He joined the Reinforced Infantry Battalion Grossdeutschland in November 1941 and remained with […]

This is the copy I prepared for an article in The Courier, based in Dundee.  On Thursday 14 October 1915, a 15-year-old teenager witnessed the […]

Hans Schäufler was a signals officer and second lieutenant in 35th Panzer Regiment, 4th Panzer Division, on the Eastern Front. His account covers his experience […]

Since February 2017 to end of September 2020, 178 episodes of the podcast have been broadcast. The podcast is available on a range of Apple […]

Hans Roth was a private and corporal in the anti-tank battalion of the 299th Division and served with them from the start of Operation Barbarossa […]

  A Stranger to Myself is the manuscript that German soldier Willy Peter Reese compiled on his service on the Eastern Front. It is a […]

The letters of Karl Fuchs present a different view of the German soldier in the Second World War than is frequently portrayed in the crude […]

A Berliner’s Luck is the memoir of Fred Simon’s service in the Wehrmacht during the Great War. Simon was born in Berlin in 1922, into […]

Oskar Scheja’s account covers his time as a German soldier and Soviet POW during the Second World war. He rode with German forces into Russia […]

Armin Bottger was a radio operator in the German Army during the Second World fighting in Panzer IV tanks. He served as a private in […]

Bruno Friesen’s memoir covers his time as a gunner in Wehrmacht during the Second World War. He saw action with the 8th Company of the […]

David Garden and Kenneth Andrew have done a sterling effort to present, translate and present the diaries that German soldier Erich Hager kept for most […]

Since February 2017 to the end of June 2020, 168 episodes of the podcast have been broadcast. The podcast is available on a range of […]

Since February 2017 to end of March 2020, 154 episodes of the podcast have been broadcast. The podcast is available on a range of Apple […]

I wrote a short article in the latest edition of Distant Thunder Issue 3. 

Since February 2017 to end of September 2019, 131 episodes of the podcast have been broadcast.   The podcast is available on a range of […]

The diary of Gerald Achilles Burgoyne is a fascinating perspective of a pre-war regular officer serving in the early months of the Great War. He […]

Kenneth Noe’s book examines those Confederate volunteers who were so-called ‘late enlisters’, those who joined the southern army after the rage militare of 1861 had […]

Gregory Hamilton’s revealing book examines the Project 100,000 personnel selection policy introduced by Secretary of State of Defense Robert McNamara during the Vietnam War. The […]

George Lepre’s excellent book is the first academic study into the Vietnam War phenomenon known as ‘fragging’, where US servicemen sought to murder other American […]

An article I wrote published in the WFA’s Bulletin 112 on the Wolverhampton Conference at which I gave a paper. Article in WFA’s Bulletin 112.

My latest article in the above magazine on ‘To volunteer or not: explaining Leicestershire’s recruitment crisis, 1914-1915’  which can be read here.

Tony Ashworth’s book was published over 30 years ago and is still relevant today.

Omer Bartov’s book on the Wehrmacht on the Eastern Front during the Second World War remains a classic on the role of ideology in combat […]

Vanda Wilcox’s book is an important contribution to the understanding of the Italian army in the Great War and also to explaining how morale functions in […]