Casemate 77

The Military Library Research Service is a newcomer to military publishing, and one which I recommend to members. The MLRS produces facsimile reprints of material originally printed as training manuals, research matter for Staff College students, or as 'After Action' reports on specific campaigns or battles in WW I & II. Some unit histories and 'Know Your Enemy' handbooks complete an impressive range (146 in the catalogue, and more published since). The books are paperback with dust cover. The two I review below are A5 size; others may be larger. MLRS, who deserve support for reprinting much material which has been unavailable outside specialist libraries for many years have their full catalogue on www.mlrsbooks.co.uk; email: sales@mlrsbooks.co.uk,

German Defence Systems, 1944:

no author. PB, 141pp. B/W photographs, maps diagrams, US spelling. ISBN 1.904951. £14.00. Published by US War department, 1944; reprinted by MLRS Books, 2005.

This manual was published prior to 6 June 1944 and aims to describe German static defensive systems (both field and concrete), and the thinking behind their operational employment. There is a short summary of the strategic use of defence works and a longer one on their tactical use. Following this is a selection of excerpts from the German Field Manual No 89, The Stabilised Front (Die Standige Front), covering signal communications, and an outline of combat orders for an individual fortified work.

The remainder of the manual is in two parts, firstly a short account of coastal defences, and a more detailed on of interior defences, especially the eastern land systems and those originally built by the French and Czechs, plus a very detailed description of all aspects of the West Wall. There was a separate US publication, Special Series No 15, German Coastal Defences, which covered the Atlantic Wall.

Emplacement of AT gun with ramp.

The original b/w photographs were probably not sharp in the first place, and in the reprint they have come out as might be expected but are perfectly understandable. The line drawings and diagrams are sharply defined.

The British 3" Mortar:

no author. PB, 250pp. B/W photographs, line drawings, diagrams, tables. ISBN 1.904951.91.0. £25.00. Published by the War office, 1939 and 1944, reprinted by MLRS Books, 2005.

I chose this manual as an example because I commanded the Mortar Platoon in my regiment, so I had trained on it. There are two manuals printed because mortar training and tactics changed after contact with the Wehrmacht in France and North Africa.

The standard blue cover is omitted, but apart from that the manual is exactly as I remember it and all the procedures from first principles to tactical employment, maintenance and tables of equipment (though unaccountably absent are the brew cans which we considered indispensable). Also covered is the field engineering aspect of the siting and concealment of mortars.

The remarks concerning the clarity of photographs in the US manual apply equally here. This is one example of many available for most of the infantry, artillery and AFV equipment issued to the British Army in WW2. No doubt there will be more to come. A series highly recommended to weapons enthusiasts.

Gil Dowdall-Brown.