Kenneth John Macksey MC (1 July 1923 – 30 November 2005) was a British author and historian who specialized in military history and military biography, particularly of the Second World War. Macksey was commissioned in the Royal Armoured Corps[1] and served during the Second World War (earning a Military Cross under the command of Percy Hobart). Macksey later wrote the (authoritative) biography of Hobart.[2] Macksey gained a permanent commission in 1946, was transferred to the Royal Tank Regiment in 1947, reached the rank of major in 1957 and retired from the Army in 1968.[3][4][5][6]
Amongst many other books, Macksey wrote two volumes of alternate history, one, entitled Invasion, dealt with a successful invasion of England by Germany in 1940 and the other describing a NATO–Warsaw Pact clash in the late 1980s.[7][8] The latter book, First Clash, was done under contract to the Canadian Forces and focuses on the Canadian role in such a conflict. He was an editor and contributor to Greenhill's Alternate Decisions series since 1995.[9]
In Macksey's Guderian: Panzer General, he refuted the view of historian Sir Basil Liddell-Hart regarding Hart's influence on the development of German Tank Theory in the years leading up to 1939.
Publications
- The Shadow of Vimy Ridge. W. Kimber. 1965. OCLC 1601233.
- Armoured Crusader: a biography of Major-General Sir Percy Hobart. London: Hutchinson. 1967. ISBN 0-09-084950-7.
- Africa Korps. New York: Ballantine Books. 1968. ISBN 0-345-21687-3.
- Panzer Division, the mailed fist. New York: Ballantine Books. 1968. ISBN 0-345-24992-5.
- Tank: a History of the Armoured Fighting Vehicle. Macdonald & Co. 1970. ISBN 0-356-03461-5.
- Beda Fomm: Classic Victory. New York: Ballantine Books. 1971. ISBN 0-345-02434-6.
- Anatomy of a Battle. New York: Stein and Day. 1974. ISBN 0-8128-1650-1.
- Guderian: Creator of the Blitzkrieg. Stein and Day. 1975. OCLC 3100080.
- Kesselring: German master strategist of the Second World War. London: Greenhill Books. 2000 [1978]. ISBN 1-85367-422-2.
- Rommel: battles and campaigns. London: Arms and Armour Press. 1979. ISBN 0-85368-232-1.
- The Tanks: a History of the Royal Tank Regiment, 1945-1975. London: Arms and Armour Press. 1979. ISBN 0853682933.
- Invasion: the alternate history of the German invasion of England July 1940. Ashcroft: Wren's Park Publishing. 2001 [1980]. ISBN 0-905778-79-0.
- First Clash: Combat close-up in World War Three. USA: Sterling Publishing. 1985. ISBN 978-0-7737-2060-2.
- Military Errors of World War II. London: Arms and Armour Press. 1987. ISBN 0-85368-830-3.
- with William Woodhouse (1991). The Penguin encyclopedia of modern warfare: 1850 to the present day. London: Viking Books. ISBN 0-670-82698-7.
- Guderian: Panzer General. London: Greenhill Books. 1992. ISBN 1-85367-059-6.
- The Hitler Options: Alternate Decisions of World War II. Great Britain: Greenhill Books. 1995. ISBN 978-1-84832-780-1.
- Why the Germans lose at war: the myth of German military superiority. London: Greenhill Books. 1999 [1996]. ISBN 1-85367-383-8.
- Without Enigma: The Ultra and Fellgiebel Riddles. Sharpe Books. 2018 [2000]. ISBN 978-0711027664.
- The Searchers: Radio Intercept in the Two World Wars. Sharpe Books. 2018 [2003]. ISBN 978-1095358436.
Notes
- ^ Commissioning date 23 April 1944
- ^ MC awarded 21 December 1944
- ^ Dated 5 October 1946
- ^ Dated 3 January 1947
- ^ Promotion date 1 July 1957
- ^ Retirement date 3 August 1968
- ^ Invasion (1980)
- ^ First Clash (1985)
- ^ Schmunk, Robert B. Tsouras, Peter G.; Kenneth Macksey; Jonathan North (eds.). (eds.). "Greenhill's Alternate Decisions". Uchronia: The Alternate History List. Retrieved 20 December 2012.