Series: Campaign

A detailed, compact volume examining the 1809 campaign on the Danube, which was to break the spell of Napoleon's invincibility. Wagram – the largest battle in history at the time – was Napoleon's revenge for his first personal defeat on the battlefield, at Aspern-Essling. In gaining this revenge, the French commander was not wholly successful. Although the French won the...

A chronicle of the events that climaxed on the field of Austerlitz in one of the most famous battles of history, now presented in a refreshingly balanced volume. Not only was it the first campaign Napoleon waged as Emperor of France, but also the first great test for his Grande Armée. The Emperor himself regarded it as his greatest victory,...

A fascinating account of the last major Allied operation in the South-West Pacific, and the largest Australian military operation of World War II. A week after Pearl Harbor in December 1941, Japanese troops landed near Brunei on the South-East Asian island of Borneo. Within eight weeks, the entire island had been overrun, and its Dutch and British Indian defenders had...

A detailed and fascinating exploration of the 1945 US combined land, naval and air operation to retake Corregidor and the other Japanese-held islands in Manila Bay from a determined and well-entrenched enemy. The islands guarding the entrance to Manila Bay, Luzon, had been seized by the Japanese in May 1942. In February 1945, US forces were back, closing in on...

Illustrated by contemporary photos and specially commissioned maps, this book is a fascinating account of Rommel's greatest victory. Following a lull in the desert war which saw the Germans and British reinforce their armies, Rommel suddenly attacked British fortifications with an assault on the northern sector of the British line near Gazala. Pinning down the British in the north and...

The first part of a detailed study of one of the longest, and most brutal, tactical operations of World War II. In September 1944, the Allied High Command continued to press eastwards towards the Rhine, the thrust being spearheaded by Courtney Hodges' US First Army. Their proposed line of advance was through a wooded area south of Aachen, known locally...

The second volume in a two-part illustrated study of the October 23-26 Battle of Leyte Gulf, which resulted in a decisive defeat for the Japanese. The Battle of Leyte Gulf—the largest naval battle in history—comprised four major actions conducted over the course of two days, plus several associated minor clashes. The size and complexity of this epic battle remains unmatched,...

A highly illustrated, absorbing account of the first battle of the desert war: the British against the Italians. Operation Compass 1940 was originally envisaged as a spoiling attack, combined with a reconnaissance in force to disrupt the Italian forces that had advanced into Egypt in September 1940. Lieutenant General Richard O'Connor launched what amounted to a British 'Blitzkrieg'. In less...

A highly illustrated account of the closing battle of the Greek and Persian War. Plataea 479 BC details one of the biggest and most important land battles of pre-20th century history. Close to 100,000 hoplite and light-armed Greeks faced an even larger barbarian army that included elite Asian cavalry and infantry, with troops from as far away as India. Notably,...

A compelling narrative of the largest land battle of its time, and the decisive engagement of the Russo-Japanese War. Mukden 1905 stands out as the most significant battle of the Russo-Japanese War. By February 1905, the conflict had reached its culmination, as Port Arthur had fallen to the Japanese after an epic six-month siege. Now free to mass all his...

A compact volume about the famous battle that sums up some of the best traditions of the British self-image: steadfastness against the odds, victory in adversity, and the thin red line. The British stand deserves to go down in history as one of the most heroic actions of all time. The story of a mere 150 British and Imperial soldiers...

A detailed examination of one of the crucial campaigns of World War II in Burma, in which British and Commonwealth forces achieved their first decisive victory over Japanese arms. The hard-fought Second Arakan campaign was a second attempt by Allied forces to advance in the coastal Arakan region in western Burma, following a failed first effort in early 1943. The...

A detailed exploration of a critical month-long battle, which set the stage for German strategic-level defeats on both the Eastern and Western fronts. In February 1944, 1st Panzer Army (under Generaloberst Hube) played a major role in the relief operation that saved part of the German forces trapped in the Korsun Pocket. However, the losses suffered in that effort left...

A dramatic account of Ulysses S Grant's epic victory on the Mississippi, featuring maps and illustrations throughout. The 1863 Vicksburg campaign was to prove decisive to the outcome of the American Civil War. Known as the 'Gibraltar of the West', Vicksburg was the last Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi River. In a masterly campaign, Grant used riverboats and steamers to...

During the Cold War, Vietnam showed the limitations of a major power in peripheral conflicts. Even so, the military forces involved (North Vietnamese, South Vietnamese, American, and Allied) demonstrated battlefield consistency in conflict that gave credit to them all. When North Vietnam launched its massive Easter Offensive against the South in late March 1972 (the first invasion effort since the...

An illustrated examination of the daring last stand by a collection of marines, sailors, and other service personnel on Wake Island in World War II - one of the legendary stories of American military history. On the same day that the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, they also launched air attacks on Wake Island, an American marine and naval base in...

This work provides an authoritative illustrated examination of the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg, analysing both grand strategy and the tactical decisions of Day Two and the ensuing combat. July 2, 1863, was the bloodiest and most complicated of the three days of the Battle of Gettysburg. On this day, the clash involved five divisions of Confederate infantry...

A concise, thoroughly illustrated guide into the island battle that would end World War II By the spring of 1945, the Allies were sweeping all before them in the Pacific War against Japan. A series of victories had reclaimed many of the islands and territories seized by the Imperial Japanese forces in the early months of the war. The dark...

The fascinating story of Republican Rome's gruelling six-year campaign against the insurgent Numidian warlord, Jugurtha. The Jugurthine War 112–106 BC tells the tale of Jugurtha, the adoptive son of Micipsa, king of the Numidians, who was initially a much-respected ally of Rome. He fought gallantly alongside the Romans during the Numantine War in Iberia. However, during the course of the...

A gripping account of the most famous convoy operation of the war, which marked a high-water mark for the German naval campaign in the Arctic. The Arctic was a vital conduit for transporting supplies directly from Great Britain to Russia. The British Home Fleet was tasked with protecting these convoys, which passed within range of the German bases in Norway....

A compact, fully-illustrated guide to a strategic British victory that forced the French troops out of occupied Spain. Despite Wellington's success against Marmont's army at Salamanca in July, the year of 1812 ended in bitter disappointment for the British. However, a year later Wellington's series of brilliant manoeuvres threw the French onto the defensive on all fronts, culminating in the...

The first in a series of illustrated books exploring the longest and best-known naval campaign of World War II, focusing on the struggle between Allied naval and air forces and Hitler's U-boats. When fighting broke out in September 1939, neither the British Royal Navy nor the German Kriegsmarine were prepared for another war in the North Atlantic. Having defeated the...

A detailed look at the battle of Bouvines, which saw Philippe II of France defeat the German and English coalition forces, changing the history of Europe forever. In early 1214, a coalition of forces led by Holy Roman Emperor Otto IV and bankrolled by King John of England was assembled to challenge France's King Philippe Augustus. Its aim was to...

A fascinating dive into the overlooked fight between the British Empire's Egyptian Expeditionary Force and the Ottoman Empire for control of the Suez Canal. The Battle of Romani was fought between Britain's Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) and the Ottoman Empire's Sinai Expeditionary Force in the Sinai Desert in early August 1916. The Ottoman objective was to disrupt and cut off...

Manila Bay 1898 is an illustrated history of "the first Pacific War," which saw the United States transform itself into an outward-looking, expansionist great power. In April 1898, the United States and Spain declared war on each other. Led by Commodore George Dewey, the small US Asiatic Squadron departed China and attacked the Spanish naval squadron defending Manila Bay on...

A highly illustrated account of what is rightly regarded as one of the greatest battles of military history. Hannibal's stratagem has become a model of the perfectly fought battle and is studied in detail at military academies around the world. At Cannae, the Romans confronted Hannibal with an army of 80,000 infantry and 6,000 cavalry. Hannibal faced them with 40,000...

A detailed look at Admiral Yi's four 1592 sorties that defeated the Japanese navy and established him as a national hero. In 1592, Korean Admiral Yi Sun-sin planned a series of attacks against the Japanese navy. His first two campaigns saw him destroy several isolated Japanese squadrons engaged in coastal raiding activities. Once informed of these attacks, Toyotomi Hideyoshi ordered...

An in-depth study of the ground campaign led by the US and Coalition forces against Iraq in the Gulf War. In 1980, Iraq invaded Iran, precipitating an eight-year war. By the end of the 1980s, Iraq was bankrupt, having amassed enormous debts, and oil-rich neighbouring Kuwait, which Iraq had long claimed was rightly part of greater Iraq, seemed like the...

A highly illustrated account of one of the major battles of Italy's 13th century wars, immortalised in the Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri who was one of the combatants. Campaldino 1289 is one of the important battles between the Guelphs and Ghibellines—the major political factions in the city-states of central and northern Italy. It heralded the rise of Florence to...

An in-depth look at the battles at Kokoda, Milne Bay and Buna-Gona, which saw the Japanese battle the Australians and Americans on Papua. The Japanese invasion of, and ejection from, the Territory of Papua was a six-month long campaign. From July to September 1942, the Japanese, having landed at Buna, advanced towards Port Moresby along the Kokoda Trail (or Track)....

Russian expert Mark Galeotti provides an in-depth look at the siege that pitted Ivan the Terrible and Russia's first standing army against the Khanate of Kazan, leading to Muscovy's rise. The Khanate of Kazan, one of the greatest Turkic successor states to the Mongol Golden Horde, had for generations been a thorn in Muscovy's side, raiding its lands for slaves...

An in-depth look at the battle that saw the American Overmountain Men come together and defeat the British Loyalist army, turning the tide of the war. By 1780, the British strategy of subduing the South by mobilising Loyalist forces appeared to be working following the capture of Charleston and the destruction of General Gates' Grand Army at Camden. Major Patrick...

This detailed study explores the battle of Leuctra and the tactics that ultimately led to the complete defeat of Sparta, freeing Greece from domination by Sparta in a single afternoon. The battle of Leuctra, fought in early July 371 BC, was one of the most important battles ever in the ancient world. Not only did it see the destruction of...

A compact, illustrated account of the most decisive battle in Japanese history. Fought against the ritualised and colourful backdrop of Samurai life, Sekigahara 1600 was the culmination of a long-standing power struggle between Tokugawa Ieyasu and Hashiba Hideyoshi, two of the most powerful men in Japan. Armies of the two sides met on the plain of Sekigahara on 21 October...

The Second Battle of Sirte was a key naval clash in the Mediterranean, and a vital moment in the struggle for Malta's survival. Malta was the key to the hard-fought naval campaign being waged in the Mediterranean, a link in the vital Axis supply lines between Italy and North Africa. Struggling under a sustained Axis bombing campaign, Malta depended on...

A highly illustrated study of the battle of Nieuwpoort in 1600, one of the key engagements of the Eighty Years War. The Eighty Years' War began as a limited Dutch rebellion seeking only religious tolerance from their Spanish overlords. However, it quickly escalated into one of the longest wars in European history. Spain’s failed invasion of 1599 and the subsequent...

This first volume of three discusses the tactical decisions made on day one and the ensuing combat while also including a brief summary of the grand strategy in the Eastern Theater of the war, the conduct of the Pennsylvania Campaign from June 6 to 30, 1863, and the plight of civilians caught up in the conflict. The Battle of Gettysburg,...

A compact, illustrated guide to a key battle that originated firearm warfare in Japan. When Portuguese traders took advantage of the constant violence in Japan to sell the Japanese their first firearms, one of the quickest to take advantage of this new technology was the powerful daimyo Oda Nobunaga. In 1575, the impetuous Takeda Katsuyori laid siege to Nagashino castle,...

Kursk 1943 by Mark Healy is illustrated throughout and provides a focused examination of the German army's attempt to hem in the Soviets. In the summer of 1943, the German army stood poised for a major offensive. The attack was aimed at the Kursk salient, which the Germans intended to isolate, trapping large numbers of Russian troops and paving the...

A highly illustrated account of the battle for the Demyansk Pocket on the Eastern Front in World War II. The fighting around the town of Demyansk was one of the longest encirclement battles on the Eastern Front during World War II, stretching from February 1942 to February 1943. Originally, the German 16. Armee occupied Demyansk in the autumn of 1941...

A concise and illustrated account of the last major Republican offensive of the Spanish Civil War, featuring maps and battlescenes throughout. The Battle of the Ebro was a vitally important episode in the Spanish conflict and, although ultimately a Republican defeat, it proved a severe setback for the Nationalist forces under General Francesco Franco Bahamonde. According to many historians, it...

An in-depth look at a critical battle of the Wars of the Roses, which decisively ended the Yorkist cause and ensured the Tudor dominance that followed. The Battle of Stoke is popularly considered to be the last battle of the Wars of the Roses. Less than two years previously, King Henry VII had been crowned on the battlefield following his...

The Balkans 1940–41 (2) offers a concise yet detailed overview, providing a balanced account of this pivotal Blitzkrieg campaign in the Balkans during the opening years of World War II. The Wehrmacht's last Blitzkrieg campaign was indeed a lightning war, requiring German forces to seize both Yugoslavia and Greece before immediately redeploying to the East in preparation to attack the...

A concise, illustrated account of Operation Crusader, which proved the ability of the British Army to defeat the Germans in Africa. On 18 November 1941, the British launched Operation Crusader against the Axis positions in Africa. The plan was to bring the armour of the German Afrika Korps to battle and to beat it in open warfare with the now...

A detailed account of the first check of Japanese naval expansion in the Pacific. The Coral Sea 1942 details the Battle of the Coral Sea, a unique event in naval history as the first battle where enemy fleets never came within sight of each other. Instead, aircraft launched from carrier decks were deployed to attack the enemy with bombs and...

An illustrated account of the famous Boudiccan Revolt, which almost forced the Romans to abandon Britain. When the Romans occupied the southern half of Britain in AD 43, the Iceni tribe quickly allied themselves with the invaders. Having paid tribute to Rome, they continued to be ruled by their own kings. But 17 years later, when Prasutagus, the king of...

A description of Attila the Hun’s invasion of Gaul in AD 451, the Roman response and the eventual battle of Chalons. The battle of the Catalaunian Fields saw two massive, powerful empires square up in a conflict that was to shape the course of Eurasian history forever. For despite the Roman victory, the Roman Empire would not survive for more...

A detailed account of the epic four-month siege of the city of Constantinople, last vestige of the once mighty Roman and Byzantine Empires. Mehmet 'The Conqueror' led an army of 80,000 men with a massive siege train against the city. Defending were a mere 10,000 men under the Emperor Constantine XI. The Turkish artillery battered the ancient city walls mercilessly,...

A highly illustrated description of the battles, hardships and eventual evacuation that these men had to go through, in this comprehensive guide to the Gallipoli landings. The Gallipoli expedition of 1915, the brainchild of Winston Churchill, was designed to knock the Turkish Empire out of the First World War and open a supply route to Russia. The campaign is characterised...

The invasion and conquest of Hong Kong formed part of the staggering series of Japanese conquests across the Far East in late 1941 and early 1942. On 8th December 1941, as part of the simultaneous combined attack against Pearl Harbor, the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) invaded the Philippines, Thailand, and Malaysia, as well as the British colony of Hong Kong....

An in-depth study of the siege of Leningrad with particular emphasis on the garrison's defences. Hitler's protracted siege of Leningrad resulted in one of the most brutal campaigns on the Eastern Front during World War II. The German Army Group North was able to isolate the city and its garrison for a period of 900 days, during which an estimated...

A highly illustrated account of the greatest, and the last, victory of the Native Americans over the United States military. The death of George Armstrong Custer, and over half of his 7th Cavalry Regiment in the valley of the Little Big Horn on 25 June 1876, has become the most celebrated battle of the Indian wars. This illustrated volume outlines...

This book explores the aerial campaign against the British capital, and the birth of the Royal Air Force. On a sunny May afternoon in 1917, the peace of an English seaside town was shattered when a flight of German Gotha bombers appeared without warning. Twenty-three Gothas had set out to attack London in this first bomber raid, but heavy cloud...

A complete examination of Patton's campaign to take the fortified city of Metz. General George Patton's most controversial campaign was the series of battles in autumn 1944 along the German frontier, which centred on the fortified city of Metz. In part, the problem was logistics. As was the case with the rest of the Allied forces in the European Theatre,...

The most important and dramatic carrier battle of World War II, which completely changed the fortunes of both Japan and America. One of the most important naval battles in history, Midway was fought barely six months after the devastating Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The badly damaged USS Yorktown was repaired in just 48 hours and, with Enterprise and Hornet,...

Illustrated throughout, this compact volume explores one of the most famous battles of the War of 1812. The conflict that broke out in 1812 seemed born of an almost subconscious desire for a war to complete the separation of America from England begun by the War of Independence. The war, when it came, was bloody and hard-fought. In one last...

The naval plan behind the Normandy landings that aided the success of the Allied invasion of France. The story of Operation Neptune 1944 was, of course, more than just a tale of planning, building and logistics. It had action aplenty and the emotive tales of bravery, ingenuity and determination by the crews of the ships involved brought credit to the...

Salamanca 1812 was the most decisive battle of the entire Peninsular War. This detailed, illustrated volume recounts its progression, alongside full-colour maps and illustrations. Wellington smashed Marmont's French Army, and his pursuit of its shattered remnants led to the famous cavalry charge of the King's German Legion at Garcia Hernandez. There would be two more years of sieges and hard...

A highly illustrated account of the most important naval campaign of the ancient era, in which an outnumbered and fragile Greek alliance secured the glorious future of 5th-century Athens. In 480 BC, the Greek and Persian fleets met in a battle in the strait between Attica and the island of Salamis. Although outnumbered, the Greeks delivered a crushing victory that...

A highly illustrated account of a decisive victory for the Romans under their Caesar Julian against the Alemanni and their leader Chnodomar. Civil war in the Western Roman Empire between AD 350–53 had left the frontiers weakly defended, and the major German confederations along the Rhine – the Franks and Alemanni – took advantage of the situation to cross the...

Talavera 1809 provides a highly illustrated account of the battle of Talavera, one of the major battles of the Peninsular War. The battle of Talavera in 1809 marked Arthur Wellesley’s first victory in Spain itself. Following this triumph, he was honoured with the title Viscount Wellington of Talavera and Wellington. Despite being outnumbered and facing desertion by a sizeable contingent...

The story of the British Forces who reclaimed the Falklands territory from the Argentines. On 3 April 1982, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher announced that Argentine armed forces had landed on British sovereign territory. They had captured the men of Royal Marine detachment NP8901, hoisted the Argentine flag, and declared the islands and their population to be Argentine. An immediate...

A highly illustrated account of the fall of the Philippines in 1941–42, one of the least covered campaigns of World War II. In the immediate aftermath of Pearl Harbor, the Japanese launched an attack on the Philippines to eliminate the United States' other major Pacific naval base. Catching the US forces completely by surprise, the Japanese bombed the major airfields...

A highly illustrated account of the Pacific operation that was, at the time, the longest shore-to-shore amphibious assault in history. Following the capture of Tarawa in November 1943, American eyes turned to the Marshall Islands. These were the next vital stepping-stone across the Pacific towards Japan, and would bring the islands of Guam and Saipan within the reach of US...

An in-depth look at the struggle between the charismatic rebel commander Ahmad Shah Massoud, 'The Lion of Panjshir', and the Soviet forces who fought to control the Panjshir Valley in Afghanistan. When the Soviets rolled into Afghanistan in 1979, they believed if they took the cities, the country would follow. They were wrong. The Red Army found itself in a...

A highly illustrated account of the conflict between the German Army and security forces and the French resistance in the Alps. Fighting insurgents has always been one of the greatest challenges for regular armed forces during the 20th century. The war between the Germans and the French resistance, also called FFI (Forces Françaises d'Intérieur), during World War II has remained...

A unique visual exploration of partisan and anti-partisan warfare in Yugoslavia between 1941 and 1944. Following the Axis invasion and occupation of Yugoslavia in April 1941, a brutal insurgency—based both on ethnic and political affiliations—broke out in the German- and Italian-occupied areas. The result was a protracted multi-partite struggle. The key forces opposing the Axis occupation were Tito’s communist Partisans...

Japan’s Indian Ocean Raid 1942 is a detailed, illustrated exploration of the Japanese raid into the Indian Ocean in April 1942 – one of the largest operations conducted by the Imperial Navy during the war. In the wake of Japan’s conquest of Burma in early 1942, plans were formed by the Imperial high command to capture Ceylon (modern Sri Lanka)...

In late January 1968, some 84,000 North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops launched a country-wide general offensive in South Vietnam. The bitter fighting that raged in Hue for more than three weeks drew the attention of the world. Hue was the ancient capital of Vietnam, and as such, had been previously avoided by both sides; it had not seen any...