Osprey Essential Histories SC (2001) comic books 2002

Volume 13 - 1st printing. "The First World War Part 1!" By Geoffrey Jukes. This book unravels the complicated and tragic events of the Eastern Front in the First World War. The author details Russia's sudden attack on German forces, despite her inadequate resources. A crushing defeat at Tannenberg was followed by Germany inflicting humiliation after humiliation on desperate Russian troops. For a while, those forces led by General Brusilov and facing Austria-Hungary fared better, but in the end this front too collapsed. Morale plummeted, the army began to disintegrate, and the Tsar was forced to abdicate - paving the way for the Bolshevik seizure of power in 1917. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $14.95.

Volume 14 - 1st printing. "The First World War Part 2!" By Peter Simkins. More than 80 years on, the Great War - and particularly the great battles such as the Somme and Verdun - continues to fascinate us and to cast long shadows over the world in which we live. For Britain, the effort and sacrifice involved in creating and sustaining its first-ever and biggest-ever mass citizen army, and in helping to defeat the main enemy in the decisive theatre of operations, left deep emotional and psychological scars that have influenced much of the nation's subsequent history and that are still felt today. In this volume Peter Simkins re-examines the struggle and sheds an interesting new light on the nature, course and effects of the fighting in France and Belgium from 1914 to 1916. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $14.95.

Volume 15 - 1st printing. "The Falklands War 1982!" By Duncan Anderson. The Argentine invasion of the Falklands in 1982 sparked national outrage and Britain felt she had to avenge the humiliation and protect her own. This volume explores both the military and political dimensions of this important conflict, including detailed accounts of the air / sea battle, the Battle for San Carlos Water, Goose Green, Mt Harriet, Tumbledown and many others. It explains how success in the Falklands set the stage for the years of Thatcher's dominance, and restored British prestige. Including first hand accounts from both soldiers and civilians, this is an interesting and thoroughly up to date appraisal. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $17.95.

Volume 16 - 1st printing. "The Punic Wars 264-146 BC!" By Nigel Bagnall. The three Punic Wars lasted over 100 years, between 264 BC and 146 BC. They represented a struggle for supremacy in the Mediterranean between the bludgeoning land power of Rome, bent on imperial conquest, and the great maritime power of Carthage with its colonies and trading posts spread around the Mediterranean. This book reveals how the dramas and tragedies of the Punic Wars exemplify many political and military lessons which are as relevant today as when Hannibal and Scipio Africanus fought to determine the course of history in the Mediterranean. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $17.95.

Volume 17 - 1st printing. "The Napoleonic Wars Part 3!" By Gregory Fremont-Barnes. Napoleon's occupation of the Iberian peninsula embroiled him in a protracted and costly war against British, Spanish and Portuguese forces ultimately led by one of history's greatest commanders -- the Duke of Wellington. Yet it also introduced a new dimension to warfare, for Napoleon's 'Spanish ulcer' became a bitter seven-year struggle against peoples inflamed by nationalism. Thus, while Wellington achieved successive victories in open battle, a parallel guerrilla war exacted a heavy toll of its own on the invaders. No mere sideshow to the other campaigns of the period, the Peninsular War made a significant contribution to Napoleon's eventual downfall. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $14.95.

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Volume 18 - 1st printing. " The Second World War Part 1!" By David Horner. The war in the Pacific began with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 and ended with the atomic bombs on Hirsoshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, which led to the surrender in Tokyo Bay on 2 September 1945. It was a war of great naval battles, such as those in the Coral Sea, at Medway, and at Leyte and of grim jungle battles, at Guadalcanal, New Guinea and Burma. This book explores the many facets of this complicated conflict, which reshaped the face of Asia and splintered forever European invincibility as a colonial power. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $14.95.

Volume 19 - 1st printing. "The Hundred Years' War!" By Anne Curry. There can be no doubt that military conflict between France and England dominated European history in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. This war is of considerable interest both because of its duration and the number of theatres in which it was fought. In this book, Hundred Years' War expert Dr Anne Curry reveals how the war can reveal much about the changing nature of warfare: the rise of infantry and the demise of the knight; the impact of increased use of gunpowder and the effect of the wars on generations of people around it. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $17.95.

Volume 20 - 1st printing. "The Iran-Iraq War 1980-1988!" By Efraim Karsh. The Iran-Iraq War, which ended in August 1988, one month short of its eighth anniversary, was one of the longest, bloodiest and costliest Third World armed conflicts in the twentieth century. Professor Karsh addresses the causes of the Iran-Iraq War, unpacking the objectives of the two belligerents and examining how far objectives were matched by strategy. He assesses the war's military lessons regarding such key areas as strategy, tactics and escalation and in particular the use of non-conventional weapons, Finally, he examines the utility of armed force as an instrument of foreign policy. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Volume 21 - 1st printing. "Rome at War AD 293-696!" By Michael Whitby. In the early third century AD the Roman Empire was a force to be reckoned with, controlling vast territories and wielding enormous political power from Scotland to the Sahara. 400 years later this mighty Empire was falling apart in the face of successive problems that the rulers failed to deal with. In this challenging new volume Michael Whitby tackles the fundamental issues (such as the rise of Christianity) that led to the 'decline and fall' of the Roman Empire, and offers a startling reassessment of the performance of the late Roman army. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $17.95.

Volume 22 - 1st printing. "The First World War Part 3!" By Peter Simkins. In this, the second volume covering the war on the Western Front, Peter Simkins describes the last great battles of attrition at Arras, on the Aisne and at Passchendaele in 1917. Then he moves on to relate the successive offensives launched by Germany in the spring and summer of 1918 in an effort to achieve victory or a favourable peace before American manpower proved decisive. Again, questioning and correcting several myths and long-held assumptions about the nature and conduct of war on the Western Front, the author also looks at the aftermath and legacy of the 'war to end wars'. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $14.95.

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Add to cart Near Mint $4.00

Volume 23 - 1st printing. "The First World War Part 4!" By Michael Hickey. The First World War in the Mediterranean represented more than just a peripheral theatre to the war on the western front. This engaging volume includes details of allied attempts to capture Constantinople; bloody campaigning in Northern Italy; the defence of the Suez Canal and the defeat of the Turkish army in Palestine. The Arab revolt, skirmishes in North Africa and the entrapment of a huge allied garrison in Greece - the 'worlds biggest prison camp' as the Germans described it - are also covered. The result was the fall of the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian empires and the birth of nations unknown in 1914. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $14.95.

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Volume 24 - 1st printing. "The Second World War Part 5!" By Geoffrey Jukes. In 1940, fresh from the success in France, Hitler turned his attention to the East. In this volume Geoffrey Jukes explains what led to Hitler's decision to instigate the invasion of the Soviet Union (Operation Barbarossa) and offers a concise account of the campaign that followed. The Germans expected to conquer Russia in only four months, but at Stalingrad and then Kursk the Russians fought back. At a human cost of 27 million Soviet lives Hitler was forced into a humiliating retreat and Russia emerged from the war as a super power ready to take on the capitalist world. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $14.95.

Volume 25 - 1st printing. "The Mexican War 1846-1848!" By Douglas V. Meed. The war with Mexico was the one of the most decisive conflicts in American history. After smashing Mexico's armies the young republic bestrode the North American continent like a colossus with one leg anchored on the Atlantic seaboard and the other on the Pacific. It was a bitter, hard fought war that raged across Mexico through the northern deserts, the fever-ridden Gulf cities and the balmy haciendas of California. This book covers the full course of the war, ending with General Winfield Scott's march from the captured port of Vera Cruz to Mexico City, fighting all the way. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $17.95.

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Volume 26 - 1st printing. "The Wars of Alexander the Great!" By Waldemar Heckel. The age of Alexander and his conquest of the Persian or 'Achaemenid' Empire, which had existed for over two centuries, represents a watershed in the history of the world. This book offers a fascinating insight into the achievements of one of the greatest generals ever known. Alexander's conquests are of profound significance. By perfecting the new weapons and tactics developed by his father, Philip II, and combining them with the use of specialist units and advancements in siege warfare, Alexander enabled the Macedonian kingdom to move beyond the restrictions of city-state armies and on to the stage of world conquest. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $17.95.

Add to cart Near Mint $4.00

Add to cart Near Mint $4.00

Volume 27 - 1st printing. "The Peloponnesian War 431-404 BC!" By Philip de Souza. It is a testament to the fascination of the subject that even today the events of the Peloponnesian War are studied for what they can teach about diplomacy, strategy and tactics. This book reveals the darker side of Classical Greek civilization. From the horrific effects of overcrowding and the plague on the population of Athens, to the vicious civil strife that often erupted in cities allied with Athens or Sparta, this volume offers vivid and at times disturbing insights into the impact of warfare on the people who are celebrated as the founders of Western civilization. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Volume 28 - 1st printing. "The Arab-Israeli Conflict!" By Efraim Karsh. The Palestine War has been by far the most important military encounter in the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict. This book examines the origins of the war and its progression through two distinct stages: the guerrilla warfare between the Arab and Jewish communities of Mandatory Palestine, and the conventional inter-state war between the State of Israel and the invading Arab armies. In doing so it assesses the participants, their war aims, strategies and combat performance. Finally, it examines the reasons for Israel's success in the face of seemingly impossible odds and for the failure of the Arab nations to turn their military and numerical superiority into victory on the ground. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $17.95.

Volume 29 - 1st printing. "The Thirty Years' War 1618-1648!" By Richard Bonney. More than three and a half centuries have passed since the Peace of Westphalia ended the Thirty Years' War (1618-48); but this most devastating of wars in the early modern period continues to capture the imagination of readers: this book reveals why. It was one of the first wars where contemporaries stressed the importance of atrocities, the horrors of the fighting and also the sufferings of the civilian population. The Thirty Years' War remains a conflict of key importance in the history of the development of warfare and the 'military revolution'. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Add to cart Near Mint $4.00

Add to cart Near Mint $4.00

Volume 30 - 1st printing. "The Second World War Part 3!" By Alastair Finlan, Mark J Grove, and Philip D Grove. This volume provides a comprehensive guide to three major theatres of combat; the battles for the Atlantic, the war in the Mediterranean and the contest in the Indian Ocean. The war at sea was a vital contest, which if lost would have irreversibly altered the balance of the military forces on land. The sea lanes were the logistical arteries of British and subsequent Allied armies fighting on the three continents of Africa, Asia and Europe. The Second World War was ultimately won by land forces but it could always have been lost at sea. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $14.95.

Volume 31 - 1st printing. "The Russo-Japanese War 1904-1905!" By Geoffrey Jukes. The Russo-Japanese war saw the first defeat of a major European imperialist power by an Asian country. When Japanese and Russian expansionist interests collided over Manchuria and Korea, the Tsar assumed Japan would never dare to fight. However, after years of planning, Japan launched a surprise attack on the Russian Port Arthur, on the Liaoyang Peninsula in 1904 and the war that followed saw Japan win major battles against Russia. This book explains the background and outbreak of the war, then follows the course of the fighting at Yalu River, Sha-ho, and finally Mukden, the largest battle anywhere in the world before the First World War. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $17.95.

Add to cart Near Mint $4.00

Add to cart Near Mint $4.00

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Volume 32 - 1st printing. "The Second World War Part 6!" By Russell Hart, and Stephen A Hart. This book examines the seminal Northwest Europe campaign of the Second World War. This hard-fought campaign conducted by the Western Allies against the Germans during 1944-45 represented, for the former, the decisive theatre of the entire Second World War. From the desperate and risk-laden D-Day landings on 6 June 1944 to the rapid charge through western and central Germany in the last weeks of the war, American, British, Canadian and French military forces took on and defeated the German military. This victory ensured that the scourge of Nazism was finally expunged from the face of Europe. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $14.95.

Volume 33 - 1st printing. "Byzantium at War!" By John Haldon. Byzantium survived for 800 years, yet its dominions and power fluctuated dramatically during that time. John Haldon tells the story from the days when the Empire was barely clinging on to survival, to the age when its fabulous wealth attracted Viking mercenaries and Asian nomad warriors to its armies, their very appearance on the field enough to bring enemies to terms. In 1453 the last emperor of Byzantium, Constantine XII, died fighting on the ramparts, bringing to a romantic end the glorious history of this legendary empire. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $17.95.

Volume 34 - 1st printing. "The French Wars 1667-1714!" By John A Lynn. Campaigns fought by Louis XIV, the Sun King, shaped the borders of European states, the destinies of royal dynasties, and even the patterns of absolutist government. This book presents the most authoritative yet accessible and succinct account of these all-important struggles available today, covering every aspect of the wars from decisions made by the king at his palace at Versailles to the life of the troops encamped in the field. Focusing on the French army, the greatest military force of the age, this tale of violence, victory, and victims balances siege and battle in a way that tells us much that is new about the Sun King and his adversaries. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $17.94.

Volume 35 - 1st printing. "The Second World War Part 2!" By Robin Havers. While many of the participants were the same as the First World War, this conflict was far more than a re-match of 1914-1918. The Second World War was even more destructive than the first and the added ideological element meant that this war was far crueller.This book details the first four years of the war in Europe. It discusses how and why Hitler's resurgent Germany plunged into war, and examines the German successes against Poland, France and the Low Countries. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $17.94.

Volume 37 - 1st printing. "The Spanish Civil War!" By Frances Lannon. The Spanish Civil War of 1936-39 was of enormous international as well as national significance. In this gripping volume, Frances Lannon explains how this internal conflict between democracy and its enemies escalated to involve Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and the Soviet Union. We go behind the scenes to find out the true story of the bitter fighting within the sides, not just between them. The experiences of the men and women caught up in the fighting are highlighted. For them, and for a world on the brink of the Second World War, the stakes were agonisingly high. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $17.95.

Add to cart Near Mint $4.00

Add to cart Near Mint $4.00

Volume 38 - 1st printing. "The Vietnam War 1956-1975!" By Andrew Wiest. The Vietnam War was arguably the most important event, or series of events, of the American Century. America entered the brutal conflict certain of its Cold War doctrines and certain of its moral mission to save the world from the advance of communism. As this book explains, however, the war was not at all what the United States expected. Outnumbered and outgunned the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces resorted to a guerrilla war based on the theories of Mao Zedong of China. This was war reduced to its most basic level - find the enemy and kill him. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Add to cart Near Mint $4.00

Add to cart Near Mint $4.00

Volume 39 - 1st printing. "The Napoleanic Wars Part 4!" By Gregory Fremont-Barnes. This volume covers Napoleon's gradual fall from power, beginning in the spring of 1813, when France prepared to face the vengeance of Russia and Prussia. quickly raising new armies composed of inexperienced conscripts and invalided veterans, and with a critical shortage of cavalry, Napoleon resolved to preserve his empire in Germany, where he initially managed to achieve some hard-fought victories. When at last Austria threw in her lot with the Allies and the epic Battle of Leipzig followed, Napoleon was forced to retreat across the Rhine, there to resist the onslaught on home soil. The pressure against him proved too great, and with Paris lost and his marshals refusing to fight on, no option remained but abdication. Yet his last battle, and one of the most decisive in military history, was still to come: Waterloo. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $14.95.

Volume 41 - 1st printing. "The War of 1812!" By Carl Benn. The War of 1812-1815 was a bloody confrontation that tore through the American frontier, the British colonies of Upper and Lower Canada, and parts of the Atlantic coast and the Gulf of Mexico. The conflict saw British, American, and First Nations' forces clash, and in the process, shape the future of North American history. This exciting new volume explains what led to America's decision to take up arms against Great Britain and assesses the three terrible years of fighting that followed on land and sea, where battles such as Lake Erie and Lake Champlain launched American naval traditions. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $17.95.

Volume 42 - 1st printing. "Caesar's Civil War!" By Adrian Goldsworthy. Julius Caesar and Pompey the Great were two of the greatest generals Rome had ever produced. Together they had brought vast stretches of territory under Roman dominion. In 49 BC they turned against each other and plunged Rome into civil war. Legion was pitched against legion in a vicious battle for political domination of the vast Roman world. Based on original sources, Adrian Goldsworthy provides a gripping account of this desperate power struggle. The armies were evenly matched but in the end Caesar's genius as a commander and his great good luck brought him victory in 45 BC. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $17.95.

Volume 43 - 1st printing. "Caesar's Gallic Wars!" By Kate Gilliver. Julius Caesar was one of the most ambitious and successful politicians of the late Roman Republic and his short but bloody conquest of the Celtic tribes led to the establishment of the Roman province of Gaul (modern France). Caesar's commentaries on his Gallic Wars provide us with the most detailed surviving eye-witness account of a campaign from antiquity. Kate Gilliver makes use of this account and other surviving evidence to consider the importance of the Gallic Wars in the context of the collapse of the Roman Republic and its slide toward civil war. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $17.95.

Volume 44 - 1st printing. "The French-Indian War 1754-1760!" By Daniel Marston. The French-Indian War was fought in the forests, open plains, and forts of the North American frontier. The French army, supported by North American tribes, was initially more successful than the British Army, who suffered from lack of experience at woodland fighting. This title explains the background to the wars and charts the military development of the British Army and the reforms that led to its eventual superiority. In both skirmishes in the forests of the frontier and great battles such as Louisbourg and Quebec, the British proved they had learnt well from their Native American allies. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $17.95.

Volume 45 - 1st printing. "The American Revolution 1774-1783!" By Daniel Marston. The American Revolution has been characterized politically as a united political uprising of the American colonies and militarily as a guerrilla campaign of colonists against the inflexible British military establishment. Daniel Marston argues that this belief, though widespread, is a misconception. He contends that the American Revolution, in reality, created deep political divisions in the population of the Thirteen Colonies, while militarily pitting veterans of the Seven Years' War against one another, in a conflict that combined guerrilla tactics and classic eighteenth century campaign techniques on both sides. The peace treaty of 1783 that brought an end to the war marked the formal beginning of the United States of America as an independent political entity. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $17.95.

Volume 46 - 1st printing. "War in Japan 1467-1615!" By Stephen Turnbull. In 1467 the Onin War ushered in a period of unrivalled conflict and rivalry in Japan that came to be called the Age of Warring States or Sengoku Jidai. In this book Stephen Turnbull offers a masterly exposition of the Sengoku Jidai, detailing the factors that led to Japan's disintegration into warring states after more than a century of peace; the years of fighting that followed; and the period of gradual fusion when the daimyo (great names) strove to reunite Japan under a new Shogun. Peace returned to Japan with the end of the Osaka War in 1615, but only at the end of the most violent, turbulent and cruel period in Japanese history. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $17.95.

Volume 47 - 1st printing. "The French Religious Wars 1562-1598!" ByRobert Jean Knecht. The eight French Wars of Religion began in 1562 and lasted for 36 years. Although the wars were fought between Catholics and Protestants, this books draws out in full the equally important struggle for power between the king and the leading nobles, and the rivalry between the nobles themselves as they vied for control of the king. In a time when human life counted for little, the destruction reached its height in the St Bartholomew's Day Massacre when up to 10,000 Protestants lost their lives.. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $17.95.