Post by legionnaire on Jul 11, 2011 10:01:05 GMT -5
amzn.to/2xr8mL8
APRIL 1st 2011
A stunning collision of militaray eras—The heroic and tragic final campaign of the U.S. horseback cavalry against the mechanized Japanese Army of World War II This the first book to chronicle the full drama of the 26th Cavalry's magnificent but doomed mounted campaign against the finest troops, air power, and tanks of the Japanese Army—a long-neglected episode of World War II that marked the end of the grand tradition of the U.S. horseback cavalry. It was shortly after Pearl Harbor, and the Japanese invasion of the Philippines was underway. Among the Philippines' defenses was a group of Filipino noncommissioned officers and enlisted men, led by white American officers. They were from a different era—trained to fight on horseback as had the Cavalry in the Civil War. They battled fiercely against their Japanese foes but were, in the end, forced to slaughter their mounts and to give up the fight. Through extensive research based in part on in-depth interviews with 26th Cavalry veterans, author Peter F. Stevens brings this band of brothers and their beloved horses to life as they rode, fought, and bled together in the desperate, doomed struggle to stem the Imperial Japanese Army.
Peter F. Stevens is the news and features editor of "The Boston Irish Reporter" and the award-winning author of several books, including "The Voyage of the Catalpa." He lives in Boston, Massachusetts.
This is the story of the 26th Cavalry Regiment in the Philippines from December 8, 1941 until January 22, 1942. Although the Regiment fought on until the fall of Bataan and beyond, the author wisely chose that date to end his story because that is when the Regiment surrendered their horses to the Quartermaster Corps and fought on as infantry and mechanized troops. So what you have is the last battle of American horseborne troops.
And what a story it is! It is the story of an American anabasis as the Regiment moves to the northern edge of Luzon to meet the Japanese invasion and then, when other units collapse, moves back to Bataan, fighting holding actions, blocking Japanses flanking movements and serving as a fire brigade to block holes in the line.
The author has done a magnificent job of interviewing survivors and culling soldiers' memoirs to make the story come alive. Most impressive of all is his correspondence with Sergeant Felipe Fernandez, a young soldier who went on to become a guerilla and then a career U.S. Army officer. The author makes the wise decision to quote Sergeant Fernandez' bluff honest warrior's prose as he discusses the campaign and his beloved horse, Mike.
More than any other book about cavalry I've ever read, The Twilight Riders illuminated for me the bond between man and horse in the midst of battle. I understood for the first time just how special the relationship was. That makes the ending of the book truly heartbreaking.
The publisher has included a fine set of rarely seen photos of the Philippine campaign, but has failed to include any maps; it is therefore advisable to read the book with reference to the maps in Louis Morton's official history of the campaign, so that one may follow the action. The absence of maps is somewhat odd, since the maps in Morton's now hard to find volume are in the public domain and the cost would not have been great. The publisher should have gone all out for a book this special.
In the 1820's William Wordsworth happened upon a farm in which a number of retired British Army cavalry mounts, veterans of the Waterloo campaign, had been put out to pasture. The horses spent their days,with no human compulsion at all, lining up in order of battle on one side of the pasture and charging across the field, reliving their days of glory. I always wondered whether Wordsworth employed poetic license in this story, but after reading The Twilight Riders and the story of the men and horses of the 26th Cavalry Regiment, I know that it was true.
It's also available on ebay. I orderd mine from Book Depository FREE SHIPPING!!!
APRIL 1st 2011
A stunning collision of militaray eras—The heroic and tragic final campaign of the U.S. horseback cavalry against the mechanized Japanese Army of World War II This the first book to chronicle the full drama of the 26th Cavalry's magnificent but doomed mounted campaign against the finest troops, air power, and tanks of the Japanese Army—a long-neglected episode of World War II that marked the end of the grand tradition of the U.S. horseback cavalry. It was shortly after Pearl Harbor, and the Japanese invasion of the Philippines was underway. Among the Philippines' defenses was a group of Filipino noncommissioned officers and enlisted men, led by white American officers. They were from a different era—trained to fight on horseback as had the Cavalry in the Civil War. They battled fiercely against their Japanese foes but were, in the end, forced to slaughter their mounts and to give up the fight. Through extensive research based in part on in-depth interviews with 26th Cavalry veterans, author Peter F. Stevens brings this band of brothers and their beloved horses to life as they rode, fought, and bled together in the desperate, doomed struggle to stem the Imperial Japanese Army.
Peter F. Stevens is the news and features editor of "The Boston Irish Reporter" and the award-winning author of several books, including "The Voyage of the Catalpa." He lives in Boston, Massachusetts.
This is the story of the 26th Cavalry Regiment in the Philippines from December 8, 1941 until January 22, 1942. Although the Regiment fought on until the fall of Bataan and beyond, the author wisely chose that date to end his story because that is when the Regiment surrendered their horses to the Quartermaster Corps and fought on as infantry and mechanized troops. So what you have is the last battle of American horseborne troops.
And what a story it is! It is the story of an American anabasis as the Regiment moves to the northern edge of Luzon to meet the Japanese invasion and then, when other units collapse, moves back to Bataan, fighting holding actions, blocking Japanses flanking movements and serving as a fire brigade to block holes in the line.
The author has done a magnificent job of interviewing survivors and culling soldiers' memoirs to make the story come alive. Most impressive of all is his correspondence with Sergeant Felipe Fernandez, a young soldier who went on to become a guerilla and then a career U.S. Army officer. The author makes the wise decision to quote Sergeant Fernandez' bluff honest warrior's prose as he discusses the campaign and his beloved horse, Mike.
More than any other book about cavalry I've ever read, The Twilight Riders illuminated for me the bond between man and horse in the midst of battle. I understood for the first time just how special the relationship was. That makes the ending of the book truly heartbreaking.
The publisher has included a fine set of rarely seen photos of the Philippine campaign, but has failed to include any maps; it is therefore advisable to read the book with reference to the maps in Louis Morton's official history of the campaign, so that one may follow the action. The absence of maps is somewhat odd, since the maps in Morton's now hard to find volume are in the public domain and the cost would not have been great. The publisher should have gone all out for a book this special.
In the 1820's William Wordsworth happened upon a farm in which a number of retired British Army cavalry mounts, veterans of the Waterloo campaign, had been put out to pasture. The horses spent their days,with no human compulsion at all, lining up in order of battle on one side of the pasture and charging across the field, reliving their days of glory. I always wondered whether Wordsworth employed poetic license in this story, but after reading The Twilight Riders and the story of the men and horses of the 26th Cavalry Regiment, I know that it was true.
It's also available on ebay. I orderd mine from Book Depository FREE SHIPPING!!!
