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Slim (Pan/Ballantine Illustrated History of World War War Leader Book No 5)
- GenresHistory
160 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1973
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November 12, 2025
My father always felt that Slim was the greatest of all the Allied Generals, save perhaps the genius Eisenhower had for coalition warfare. As my father was a polymath university professor and I am just a guy who reads books, I'll agree with him for now. The author of this book see him not a brilliant, but as a warrior with a steadiness and clarity of thought and an ability to get his ideas across to an army of disparate parts. The author is "Mad" Mike Calvert- special operations soldier, Chindit and disciple of Orde Wingate, a memorable character to come out of the CBI Theatre. Calvert presents the Field Marshal's story of state school boy turned Indian Army officer by WWI then higher command in WWII with all the tricks of the Ballantine's Illustrated history of the Violent Century books- plenty of b/w photos, maps, diagrams and line drawings of key gear. After fighting the Italians and Vichy French in East Africa and Syria/Lebanon, Slim was sent to the Far East.
Slim would try to stem the Japanese tide in 1942 in Burma- but ended up leading a sad retreat back to India. Slim would embody the efforts to rebuild the British forces in India- eventually leading an front with Indian, Gurkha, British, Chinese and African units . Once trained at jungle warfare and confident in abilities with airborne logistics, this would be the mighty 14th Army that would utterly destroy the Japanese Burmese command with armoured advances and air mobile divisions. Even Calvert, ever protective of the legend of Wingate, grudgingly concedes that Slim's "Knee to the nethers" move to take Meiktila, the Japanese logistical hub first- and then fight off attempts to take it back- was a smooth bit of grand tactics. Any sort of reader is going to appreciate the writing of a legendary soldier about another legendary commander and I think this book will interest many
There are some adult themes, especially politics both foreign and domestic, but no graphic injury passages, so this is good book for the Junior Reader over 11/12. For the Gamer/Modeler/Military Enthusiast, this ia a good book- but not a steady resource. For the Gamer, this may get you going with interest in Arakan/Kohima/Imphal or later battles- but you will want more detailed sources for scenario/campaign development. For the Modeler, this is also a good book to get your creative juices flowing, but most will want some colour references for actual build/diorama development. For the Military Enthusiast, a short but well written biography of a great General by another well respected military man is never a bad thing. I think any reader can get value from this book.
Slim would try to stem the Japanese tide in 1942 in Burma- but ended up leading a sad retreat back to India. Slim would embody the efforts to rebuild the British forces in India- eventually leading an front with Indian, Gurkha, British, Chinese and African units . Once trained at jungle warfare and confident in abilities with airborne logistics, this would be the mighty 14th Army that would utterly destroy the Japanese Burmese command with armoured advances and air mobile divisions. Even Calvert, ever protective of the legend of Wingate, grudgingly concedes that Slim's "Knee to the nethers" move to take Meiktila, the Japanese logistical hub first- and then fight off attempts to take it back- was a smooth bit of grand tactics. Any sort of reader is going to appreciate the writing of a legendary soldier about another legendary commander and I think this book will interest many
There are some adult themes, especially politics both foreign and domestic, but no graphic injury passages, so this is good book for the Junior Reader over 11/12. For the Gamer/Modeler/Military Enthusiast, this ia a good book- but not a steady resource. For the Gamer, this may get you going with interest in Arakan/Kohima/Imphal or later battles- but you will want more detailed sources for scenario/campaign development. For the Modeler, this is also a good book to get your creative juices flowing, but most will want some colour references for actual build/diorama development. For the Military Enthusiast, a short but well written biography of a great General by another well respected military man is never a bad thing. I think any reader can get value from this book.
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