LIST: Military books on the operational scale

[Wasteland]

Thanks guys.

[Xmaster]

Ill try to get my hands on some of them. Thanks.

[The_motivator]

Originally Posted by causticbeat

ONE BULLET AWAY - NATHANIAL FLICK

is EXACTLY what you are looking for and I HIGHLY reccomend it

seconded...

[Teek]

Into the Storm - On the Ground in Iraq (with Fred Franks)
Gen. Franks account of his experience commanding 13th Corp during desert Storm. Including the famous Battle Of 73 Easting. Overview of the force, the units, interview with unit leaders, ect.

[HABO3]

I've read 26 books so far about infantry and mechanized war, it would take me hours to list all of them but I recommend these...

All American All the Way (Paul Nordyke)
The complete combat history of the 82nd Airborne Division from Sicily to the end of WWII. Only the first 2 chapters cover the creation and early training of the unit, the rest is 700+ pages of combat. Insane.

The Final Crucible: Us Marines in Korea, 1953 (Lee Ballenger)
Describes outpost fighting between Marines and Chinese forces. The CCF used Soviet style mass infantry charges that resulted in very close, very bloody fighting in the outpost trenches. This book is volume 2 actually but I haven't been able to get the first volume, The Outpost War, yet.

Ripcord: Screaming Eagles Under Siege, Vietnam 1970 (Keith W. Nolan)
The last large battle of the Vietnam War that took place at Fire Support Base Ripcord, involving a division of NVA regulars against 3d Brigade, 101st Airborne Division. Very thoroughly researched, the author has written a whole lot more books on Vietnam also, I will read all of them before I die.

Ambush Alley (Tim Pritchard)
Marines from Task Force Tarawa maneuver to secure two key bridges in the town of Nasiriyah, degenerated into a nightmarish twenty-four-hour urban clash. It was the single heaviest loss suffered by the U.S. military during the initial combat phase of the Iraq war. Very good descriptions on how armored columns move to attack through urban areas, how difficult communications can be when everything is going haywire and how air combat controllers direct aircraft to engage the enemy.

We Were One: Shoulder to Shoulder With the Marines Who Took Fallujah (Patrick K. O'Donnell)
Really crazy, the author volunteered to go to Iraq to become one of the first historians to accompany American troops into combat. He got himself placed with 1st Platoon, Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment. The book is house-to-house, urban warfare against insurgents holding the city of Fallujah during Operation Phantom Fury. When you read this book you will understand how shitty CQB is, it ain't all stack up, frag out, room entry, double tap headshots, "clear!" like the video games.

Thunder Run: The Armored Strike to Capture Baghdad (David Zucchino)
Chronicles the armored assaults on Baghdad by the 2nd Brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division. Another good one to read on how armor is employed on the modern battlefield.

Brotherhood of Heroes: The Marines at Peleliu, 1944 (Bill Sloan)
Excellent account of the Battle of Peleliu.

and uhhh i dont mean to sound like a dick but Generation Kill and One Bullet Away ain't really on the operation scale are they? those are more like personal accounts.

[Wasteland]

Of course they're on the operational scale. They're about the person's account of military operations the authors experienced. As opposed to being about principles of warfare, such as "use apparent weakness to lure your enemies into acting under your will" and whatnot, which is what a lot of the classic war texts focus on.

Thanks a lot for your contributions though.