Böcker i Campaign-serien

Operation Barbarossa was one of the key campaigns of World War II, using the classic "Blitzkrieg" tactics. This is a detailed analysis of the campaign by the German Army Group South from the battles on the frontier to the German high-water mark at Rostov.

The first dedicated examination of Alexander the Great's final battle and acknowledged tactical masterpiece. In the years that followed Alexander the Great's victory at Gaugamela on 1 October 331 BC, his Macedonian and Greek army fought a truly 'Herculean' series of campaigns in what is today Iran, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. But it was in the Indus Valley, on the banks of the Hydaspes River (known today as the Jhelum) in 326 BC that Alexander would fight his last major battle against King Poros. Using detailed maps and 3D diagrams, this beautifully illustrated work shows how Alexander used feints and deception to transport a select force from his army across the swollen River Hydaspes without attracting the enemy's attention, allowing his troops the crucial element of surprise. Battlescene artworks and photographs reveal the fascinating array of forces that clashed in the battle, including Indian war elephants and chariots, and horse archers and phalanx formations. Also examined are the differences in weaponry and armour between the opposing sides, which would prove crucial to the outcome. Although a tactical masterpiece, the Hydaspes was the closest that Alexander the Great came to defeat, and was one of the costliest battles fought by his near-exhausted army.

A fascinating account of an often overlooked naval action of World War II, and one of the bloodiest chapters in the history of the Royal Navy. In April 1941, following the Axis invasion of Greece, the British Mediterranean Fleet was ordered to evacuate Allied survivors, many of which were taken to Crete. The Luftwaffe established itself in airfields on the Greek mainland, and formed plans to invade Crete by air and sea, under the cover of 500 fighters and bombers of the Luftwaffe's Fliegerkorps VIII. Facing them were a small and scattered garrison on the island, a handful of under-strength RAF squadrons and the hard-pressed warships of the Mediterranean Fleet. What happened next was a costly, but ultimately inspiring, naval battle, in which Royal Navy crews were placed under intense strain.Using period photographs, stunning battlescene artworks, detailed maps and an authoritative narrative, world-leading maritime historian Angus Konstam tells the fascinating story of how Allied ships failed to repulse the Axis invasion convoys bound for Crete, before successfully evacuating troops from the island, all the while under relentless Luftwaffe attack. Offering a fresh insight into this strategically important battle, this work shows how it marked a turning point in the naval war for the Mediterranean, and also witnessed the first use of new elements in naval warfare: the mass use of aircraft to contest control of the sea, and the use of Ultra intelligence to forestall the Axis invasion of Crete. Despite a heavy butcher's bill of dozens of Royal Navy ships lost and damaged, and hundreds Luftwaffe aircraft destroyed, the Royal Navy Mediterranean Fleet would live to fight another day.

Enjoy a detailed examination of Operation Olive as US, British, Commonwealth and Allied forces seek to smash through the last German defensive line in Italy.The Italian theatre of operations post-summer 1944 was often (and incorrectly) surmised at the time as a quiet sector of World War II, populated with troops who were relieved not to find themselves fighting in North-West Europe. Yet the true nature of the hard fighting that took place here was soon revealed when the Allies began their assault on the Axis Gothic Line defences, known as Operation Olive. In this book, Italian military historian Pier Paolo Battistelli documents the dual Allied offensive spearheaded by American and British units to smash through what was supposed to be the final Axis defensive line in Italy before the Alps. The overall strategic aims of both the Axis and Allied leaders are explored, together with the organization of the forces committed.The expertly researched maps and 3D diagrams guide the reader through the progress of the phased battles in challenging terrain. Photographs and specially commissioned artworks show the soldiers that fought on both sides, including American, Canadian, Indian, Brazilian, Polish, New Zealander, British, German and Italian troops, as well as the materiel they employed. The result is an essential illustrated guide to a fascinating and complex late-war campaign.

The final part in a three-book series on the Battle of Stalingrad, examining the Soviet encirclement, German relief efforts, and the final surrender of Paulus' 6.Armee.Having fought hard just to reach the outskirts of Stalingrad, the Axis forces found themselves embroiled in a protracted urban battle amid the ruins of a devastated city on the Volga. The Soviet Red Army was able to hold onto the city then mount a surprise winter counter-offensive known as Operation Uranus, which succeeded in encircling the German 6.Armee at Stalingrad. Despite a desperate German relief operation, the Red Army eventually crushed the 6.Armee and hurled the remnants of the German southern front back in disorder. This third and final volume in the Stalingrad trilogy begins just after the German 6.Armee has been isolated at Stalingrad, and covers the period from 24 November 1942 to 2 February 1943. The specially commissioned maps and 3D diagrams guide the reader in step-by-step, easily to follow detail through the German relief operation (Wintergewitter), the fighting on the Chir River, and the Soviet operations Koltso and Little Saturn, and are complimented by the battlescene artworks that vividly depict the harsh conditions experienced by the common soldiers fighting on both sides.

This book provides a fascinating exploration of the Japanese conquest of Burma, as the Allied forces were forced back in disarray to India and China.The Japanese invasion of Burma in January 1942 marked the beginning of the single longest campaign of World War II. In the Burmese jungles, the battle-hardened, highly trained and lightly equipped Imperial Japanese Army quickly proved itself a vastly superior fighting force in clashes against the British, Indian and Gurkha troops that formed Burma Army and Chinese nationalist forces deployed in eastern Burma. This superbly illustrated book narrates Burma Corps' epic fighting retreat northwards, carried out mostly in contact with the enemy and across hundreds of miles of highly malarial and extremely difficult terrain, to safety in India. Among the battles covered are the disaster at the Sittang Bridge on 22 February 1942 (where 17th Indian Division was all but destroyed), the fall of Rangoon in March 1942 and the clashes at Yenangyaung, Monywa and Shwegyin. The performance of the opposing commanders and forces is also examined in detail, highlighting the success of Japanese aggressive light infantry tactics, which ruthlessly exploited the cover and concealment provided by the jungle to outflank, bypass and encircle their bewildered enemy.

A fascinating exploration of the dramatic battles and Allied operations to wrest back control of Burma (Myanmar) from the Japanese.The Allied reconquest of Burma was not part of Allied Grand Strategy in 1944 and 1945. It happened despite it - in particular, because of the dramatic failure of the Japanese invasion of India (Operation U-Go), which ended ignominiously for the Japanese Empire in August 1944. The reconquest was one of the longest campaigns of World War II. It comprised 11 distinct battles and offensives that were part of the overall continuum of operations that resulted in the Allied victory.Written by a foremost expert on the British Army in World War II, this superbly illustrated work details the Allied operations to retake Burma from Japanese control. Accounts of Operation Capital, the capture of Meiktila and Mandalay, the Allied advance in the Arakan, the race for Rangoon, Operation Dracula, the Battle of the Sittang Bend and Japanese breakout operations across the Pegu Yomas are supported by easy to follow 2D maps and 3D diagrams. Among the events brought to life in vivid battlescene artworks are an SOE-led ambush in Operation Character, and the famous Defence of Hill 170 in the Arakan.

This work provides an authoritative illustrated examination of the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg, analyzing 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 and their accompanying artillery battalions, as well as a cavalry skirmish at nearby Hunterstown. The bulk of the Union army engaged on the second day of fighting, including men from the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th, 11th and 12th Corps.Assisted by superb maps and 3D diagrams, this fascinating work describes the tactical play-by-play, the customary "who did what" of the battle. Among the famous actions covered are Hunterstown and Benner's Hill, Little Round Top, Devil's Den, the Rose Wheatfield, the Peach Orchard, and Culp's and Cemetery hills. The critical decisions taken on the second day are examined in detail, and why the commanders committed to them. Gettysburg was-first and foremost-a soldier's battle, full of raw emotion and high drama, and this work also examines the experience of combat as witnessed by the rank and file, bringing this to life in stunning battlescene artworks and primary accounts from common soldiers.

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, and closed in on Manila from the north and south against heavy Japanese resistance. A joint US parachute and amphibious assault was planned to capture the largest island Corregidor, using the much-reinforced 503rd PRCT and elements of the 24th Infantry Division and 2nd Engineer Special Brigade. Facing them were over 6,000 Japanese troops recently evacuated from Bataan, where they had been cut off by advancing US forces. General MacArthur desired the island, once a symbol of American defiance, to be liberated with a flourish.This superbly illustrated work examines the ambitious US assault on Corregidor, which witnessed the most dangerous and risky parachute drop in airborne history, and vicious, desperate fighting by the defenders as they sought to prevent American troops from taking the island. It also covers the recapture of other islands defending Manila Bay: El Fraile/Fort Drum, Caballo, and Carabao.

A fascinating exploration of how between February 1 and March 10, 1942, three small US task forces launched several unexpected raids across the Japanese defensive perimeter in the Central and South Pacific. After the devastating Japanese blows of December 1941, the Allies found themselves reeling with defeat everywhere in the Pacific. Although stripped of his battleships and outnumbered 10:3 in carriers, the US Navy commander-in-chief Admiral Ernest J. King decided to hit back at Japan's rapidly expanding Pacific empire immediately, in an effort to keep the Japanese off-balance. On February 1, 1942, Vice Admiral Bill Halsey led the US Pacific Fleet carriers on their first raid, using high-speed hit-and-run tactics to strike at the Japanese, at a time when most of the Japanese carrier fleet was in the Indian Ocean. Halsey's aggressive commitment inspired its American participants to invent the mythical "Haul Ass With Halsey" club. The last of the 1942 US carrier raids in March 1942 would form a defining moment in the Pacific War, prior to a new phase of high-seas battles between the opposing fleets.This superbly illustrated book documents for the first time in a single volume this little-known but important World War II naval campaign. The fabulous illustrations, including maps and colour artworks, bring to life the US air and naval raids on the Japanese bases in the Marshall and Gilbert Islands, Rabaul, Wake Island, Marcus Island, and Lae and Salamaua in northern New Guinea.

A gripping illustrated narrative of the Cimbrian (or Cimbric) War, in which the armies of the Roman Republic finally defeated the Germanic tribes of the Cimbri, Teutons, Ambrons and Tigurini.Rome's victory in the Cimbrian War was born of a number of huge and devastating defeats at the hands of the Germanic tribes (chiefly the Cimbri and Teutones), who had migrated en masse southwards in the late 2nd century BC. These included the defeat in 113 BC of the consul Cnaeus Papirius Carbo at Noreia; the smashing of Marcus Iunius Silanus' army near Burdigala (Bourdeaux) in 109 BC, and the humiliating destruction of two consular armies at Arausio (Orange) four years later. This work explores how, in the autumn of 105 BC, Caius Marius managed to contain the Germanic threat in the north, before crushing it in two successful battles, at Aquae Sextiae (Aix-en-Provence) in Gallia Transalpina in 102 BC and at Vercellae (Vercelli) in Gallia Cisalpina in 101 BC.Packed with stunning illustrations covering the major clashes of this epic and drawn-out war of the late Republic, this work brings to life for the first time Rome's vital quashing of the Germanic threat to its very existence. It also documents the rise of Marius, one of Rome's most important martial figures, who was highly significant in the transformation of its armed forces.

Osprey''s examination of one of the most important battles of the Crimean War (1853-1856). The port of Balaclava was crucial in maintaining the supply lines for the Allied siege of Sevastapol. The Russian attack in October 1854 therefore posed a major threat to the survival of the Allied cause. This book examines in detail the crucial battle of Balaclava, including: the attack on the redoubts; the action of ΓÇ£the thin red line" in which an assortment of about 700 British troops, some invalids, were abandoned by their Turkish allies; the subsequent charge of the Heavy Brigade; and the most famous part of the battle: the infamous charge of the Light Brigade.

Osprey''s Campaign title for France''s defeat in the early period of World War II (1939-1945). The German victory of 1940 stunned the world. France, major European power and owner of the world''s largest armies had fallen in less than seven weeks to the might of the German Wehrmacht. The secret of the Wehrmacht''s success lay in its carefully thought out organization and the tactics of blitzkrieg. Fast moving tank divisions supported by armoured, mobile infantry swept over opposition, helped by both conventional bombers and deadly Stuka dive-bombers. Alan Shepperd''s highly detailed text examines the tactics, organization and equipment of the Allied and German forces, and provides a daily account of the most crucial period of the battle.

Osprey''s examination of the battles of Jena and Auerstadt of the Napoleonic Wars (1799-1815). Forewarned of Prussia''s intention to declare war on France, Napoleon decided to strike first with a bold advance from Wurzburg into Saxony. On 14 October the double battle was fought: Napoleon with 96,000 men and 120 guns engaged and heavily defeated Prince Hohenlohe and General Ruchel. The decisive engagement was fought further north where Marshal Davout with 27,000 men and 40 guns routed the main Prussian army under Frederick William IV and the Duke of Brunswick. This title examines these two battles, Jena and Auerstadt in detail, showing clearly the swiftness with which Napoleon dealt Prussia''s military machine a severe blow.

A concise account of the origins, events and outcome of the Battle of the Little Big Horn in 1876 - the most famous campaign of the Indian wars involving characters such as Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse, which resulted in the death of General Custer and over half of his 7th Cavalry.

An account of the epic siege of the island fortress of the Knights Hospitaller by the Turkish Army of the Emperor Suleiman. The six battle scenes in the book depict the brutal fighting and acts of bravery by the 500 Knights who held out against 30,000 Turkish soldiers for four months.

The Battle of Bosworth, the last great battle of the War of the Roses, established the House of Tudor on the throne. This work aims to cut through the myth and propaganda to detail the course of this pivotal campaign.

An 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) to consolidate Japan's defensive perimeter and disrupt British shipping lanes to India, Australia, and the Middle East. The Imperial Japanese Army, however, could not release sufficient troops for an invasion, and so in response the Japanese Navy developed Operation C, an aggressive raid by the Combined Fleet into the Indian Ocean. The key objective was to destroy the British Eastern Fleet in port.Expert naval historian Mark Stille documents the high point of Japanese naval air power as its carriers struck Ceylon - the heart of British naval power in the East - sinking several Allied ships. He describes the Allied air attempts to destroy Admiral Chuichi Nagumo's force, and the Japanese attacks against British shipping and the cities along the Indian coast.Specially commissioned battlescenes bring to life the sinking of British carrier Hermes, the Bristol Blenheim attacks on the Japanese carrier force, and a Zero vs Hurricane dogfight over Colombo on 5 April. Easy to follow maps and diagrams reveal the strategic situation at the start and end of the campaign, and track the movements of the Japanese carrier task force and the British Eastern Fleet throughout. Details of weaponry, equipment, personnel and the events of the fascinating battles that took place are revealed in over 60 photographs, many of which are from Japanese sources.

A fascinating story of a key turning point in the War in the Mediterranean, as the island of Malta was thrown a vital lifeline. Since 1940, the island of Malta had been a thorn in the Axis' side. It sat astride the direct sea route between Italy and its North African colonies, and from 1941 the Royal Navy had used the island as a base for its attacks on Axis convoys. The island, though, relied on convoys to survive, and from early 1941 these came under increasingly heavy air and submarine attack. As the situation became critical in 1942, the decision was made to send through a heavily protected convoy, carrying fuel and supplies, in an effort to save the island. This mission was codenamed Operation Pedestal. This fascinating work describes how, after leaving Britain on 2 August 1942, the convoy was repeatedly pummeled by Axis air and submarine attacks as it ground its way towards Malta, with most of the merchant ships sunk during the passage, along with an aircraft carrier and two cruisers. It also explores how despite this grim toll, the sacrifice was worth it.The specially commissioned illustrations in this work cover the progress of the convoy step by step, the submarine and surface naval actions during Pedestal's voyage, the Stuka attack on the carrier Indomitable and the air attacks against the convoy, and the broader strategic situation in the Western Mediterranean. The result is a unique visual exploration of one of the most famous episodes of the war in this theatre.

A gripping tale of three crucial battles fought at the end of 1943 as Allied forces approached the Gustav Line in Italy.After repulsing the German counter-attack at Salerno in September 1943, the US Fifth Army and British Eighth Army advanced up the Italian Peninsula. By October, the Allied armies had reached the Volturno Line, forcing a critical decision in German strategy: a prolonged defence would be conducted in southern Italy, contesting the Allied advance using the complex terrain features. By mid-November, the two Allied armies were approaching the German defensive lines along the Garigliano and the Sangro rivers. Here, US 5th Army would attack through the Mignano gap towards San Pietro Infine, while British Eighth Army would seize Ortona on the Adriatic coast and Orsogna. A brutal struggle ensued, with the German defenders attempting to hold their positions. The fighting at Ortona in particular (labelled a 'mini Stalingrad') would be particularly grueling for the Canadian forces involved. This fascinating work focuses on several little-known battles fought in Italy following the German withdrawal from the Salerno bridgehead and from Taranto. Maps and diagrams present an easy to follow overview of the multiple operations of this complex campaign. The forces of the opposing sides (including American, German, Canadian, New Zealand and British troops), and the three decisive battles fought in late 1943, are brought vividly to life in period photos and superb battlescene artworks.

The first ever illustrated study of the largest and most significant clash between the Royal Navy and the Italian Regia Marina.The Battle of Matapan witnessed the first use of decisive new technologies to bring about a stunning British victory over the Italian Navy. The Allies had tapped into the Ultra coded messages sent by the Axis powers, and the battle witnessed the use of radar and carrier-based air strikes to bring about a critical night action. The result was the most decisive engagement of the Mediterranean naval war.Written by renowned naval historian Angus Konstam, this book offers for the first time a unique and fully illustrated exploration of the battle. It also examines why, despite the emphatic and decisive Royal Navy victory, the Allies failed to capitalize on the strategic advantage earned in the months that followed. Battlescene artworks bring to life the cruiser clashes early on 28 March off Gavdos, the Fleet Air Arm attacks on the Italian fleet, and the 28/29 March night action that resulted in the destruction of Admiral Carlo Cattaneo's ships - Italy's worst naval defeat. The progress of the action from the initial Operation Gaudo sweep by Italy's powerful battle fleet towards Crete (aimed at disrupting Allied convoys) to the events of the climactic battle itself is revealed in detailed maps.

A gripping, illustrated narrative of the longest and most brutal land battle of the 1904-05 Russo-Japanese War.Growing rivalry between Imperial Russia and Imperial Japan over territorial control in China and Korea led to the outbreak of war in February 1904. Japan struck the first blow with a surprise naval attack against the anchored Russian Pacific Fleet at its base in Port Arthur. Once the fleet had been neutralized, the Japanese landed their Second Army on the Liaotung Peninsula in May 1904, in order to besiege Port Arthur. The fighting that followed has become legend in military history. Respected military historian Robert Forczyk describes the Russian relief operation towards Port Arthur (the Battle of Telissu), and the lengthy siege of the Russian-held town and harbour. The initial Japanese attempts to capture the port by assault are documented in detail, together with the Japanese progress through the heavily fortified lines protecting Port Arthur. Specially commissioned artworks bring to life in vivid detail the Battle of Nanshan Hill, the Japanese assault on the Wantai Heights, and the bombardments of the Russian forts. Maps and diagrams explore the strategic situation and tactical progress of the fighting in step-by-step detail, and over 60 period photographs reveal the appearance and weaponry of the opposing forces and the terrain around Port Arthur.

The first dedicated, illustrated study of the events of the Second Punic War in Iberia, which served as a launch pad for the Carthaginian invasion of Rome.Iberia was one of three crucial theatres of the Second Punic War between Carthage and Rome. Hannibal of Carthage's siege of Saguntum in 219 BC triggered a conflict that led to immense human and material losses on both sides, pitting his brother Hasdrubal against the Republican Roman armies seeking to regain control of the peninsula. Then, in 210 BC, the famous Roman general Scipio Africanus defeated Hasdrubal at Baecula, forcing Hasdrubal's army out of Iberia and on to its eventual annihilation at the Metaurus. In this work, military historian Mir Bahmanyar brings to life the key personalities and events of this important theatre of the war, and explains why the Roman victory at Baecula led directly to a strategic shift and Carthage's eventual defeat. It covers Scipio Africanus's brilliant victory at Ilipa in 206 BC, where he crushed the army of Mago Barca and Hasdrubal Gisco. Illustrated with maps, tactical diagrams, battlescene artworks, and photographs, this work provides a gripping narrative of the large-scale battles fought in Iberia.

A myth-shattering study of the first clash between the Zulu kingdom and European interlopers and its dramatic effects on Boer and Zulu alike.

An authoritative and superbly illustrated exploration of the events of July 3, 1863, incorporating new interpretations that have arisen in the past two decades.

A dramatic illustrated exploration of the infamous massacre of 1622, and the events of a pivotal conflict in colonial American history. The English settlers of Jamestown maintained a shaky relationship with the Powhatan confederacy, and as Virginians expanded their profitable tobacco fields and imported hundreds of new settlers each year, the Powhatan tribe grew wary of English power. In 1622, Chief Opechancanough shattered the English and Powhatan peace with a surprise attack on the Jamestown settlements. Opechancanough hoped to eliminate the English presence with a decisive blow, but instead began a decade-long war with Virginia. In this engaging and expertly researched work, Cameron Colby narrates the infamous massacre in which 347 Virginian settlers were killed: one-third of the Virginia Colony died in a single day. The events of the ensuing ten years, which saw constant warfare between the Englishmen and the Powhatan tribes, are brought vividly to life using battlescene artworks and period images. Detailed maps and 3D diagrams illustrate Indian and Colonial tactics in the 1620s, and chart the progress of the war the Virginians honed to steadily destroy the Powhatan tribes of the Chesapeake.