In this worthy addition to the Men-at-Arms series, Martin Windrow examines the history and uniforms of the French Foreign Legion from the start of the First World War to the end of the Second World Wa
By 16 June 1940, De Gaulle, with the decisive support of Churchill, had come to the conclusion that, whatever happened, France could not stand to one side in the struggle against Nazi Germany. And so,
This book details the English army that Henry V led back into France in 1417 to conquer Normandy and again take the war to the French. In 1422 Henry died, and was succeeded by the nine-month-old Henry
This is the second in the new Modelling Manual series which sets out to help the more experienced modeller to improve techniques and expand their modelling horizons. Working with models like the MIG2
Osprey's study of the role played by F-8 Crusader Units in the Vietnam War (1955-1975). Known to its pilots as the 'last of the gunfighters' due to its quartet of Colt-Browning Mk 12 20 mm cannon, the
Built in large numbers in the years leading up to World War II (1939-1945), Bristol's Blenheim saw use as both a fighter and bomber thanks to its high speed in relation to the biplane types it was the
The P-38 made its combat debut in Europe in mid-1942, the first American fighters being flown to the UK before heading further east to Twelfth Air Force units in North Africa. Its service in this thea
The successor to the Chieftain from the 1960's, work began in 1976 on development of a new MBT specifically for the Iranian army, who needed a more capable tank than the Chieftain to suit their climat
It is hard to convey the public impact of France's war to maintain her colonial grip on Algeria; yet in the late 1950s this ugly conflict dominated Europe's media to almost the same extent as would Vi
The Third Reich's last ditch efforts to sweep the massed Allied bomber formations from the skies of Germany centred around the new crop of jet 'wonder weapons' that were issued to the Jagdwaffe from m
The Panther Medium Tank was produced as a direct result of early experiences with the revolutionary Soviet T-34/76. Designers and military experts combined to produce a number of variations to provide
In medieval Germany violence was accepted far more than in other kingdoms. Kings were recognised as guardians of order, but this had its limitations. Lords expected to use force to secure their rights
In the early 1860s the craze for collecting carte-de-visite photographs (often referred to as cartomania) was at its peak. Between three hundred and four hundred million cartes were estimated to have
The oldest keys known to exist date from around 4,000 BC in Ancient Egypt. These were simple wooden cylinders that were part of a mechanism to secure doors. By the time of the Roman Empire, metal keys
Soon after the February 1917?revolution, and the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II, the White Cause began to emerge and oppose the Bolsheviks. There was, however, no single, united White Army to fight th
The British victory at Quebec in 1759 was a landmark in the history of North America. In this "year of miracles," according to Horace Walpole, one could "never afford to miss a single copy of a newspa
Grumman's successor to the pugnacious Wildcat, the Hellcat embodied many of the lessons learnt by F4F pilots in the opening months of the Pacific war. Introduced to the fleet in January 1943, and bloo
Osprey's study of the U-Boat and its crews during World War I (1914-1918) and World War II (1939-1945). If one single weapon in Germany's arsenal can be said to have come closest to winning the war fo
The speed with which the Corsair was rushed into service as a land-based fighter obliged the pilots to learn on the job. The aircraft soon proved to be superior to the Japanese Zero and played a major
Until at least the latter years of Maria Theresa's reign, the Austrian artillery was acknowledged to be second to none in Europe; and it must have been no coincidence that Jean Baptiste de Gribeauval,
The Praetorian Guard of Imperial Rome was the power behind the throne, with the ability to make or break an emperor. As the main body of troops in Rome, they were the emperor's instrument to discourag
The 1863 Vicksburg campaign was to prove decisive to the outcome of the American Civil War (1861-1865). Known as the 'Gibraltar of the West', Vicksburg was the last Confederate stronghold on the Missi
The Reformation in England further distanced the Irish, as the majority of Irishmen adhered stubbornly to their Catholicism. Eventually, in Elizabeth's reign, both sides resorted to the use of force o
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 a
Though the 'Wehrmachtsgefolge' (Armed Forces Auxiliaries) were generally inferior to their armed forces equivalents, their contribution to the German war-effort was far from negligible. Auxiliaries in
The imaginative strategic plan of Revolutionary France to cut Britain's lifeline to India by seizing Egypt and the Levant was an epic adventure, set amongst some of the most ancient places of history,
In the early crusades men of all ranks from all over Europe took the cross and went to fight Islam as volunteers. Some went out of religious fervour, others to escape the plagues and famine which were
Osprey's Campaign title for the Zulu War (1879). In the late 1870s the British Imperial administration in the Cape colony in southern Africa began to view the Zulu kingdom as a challenge to their auth
On March 8th, 1965, some 3,500 US Marines, the first US combat troops to arrive in Vietnam, landed in Da Nang to defend the US air base there. On June 8th, following further reinforcements, General We
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 characteri
Spanish Americans of the early 19th century were eager to institute self-government and open their ports to foreign commerce. During the years 1810-14 two men of outstanding ability appeared in the fr
The field equipment of the German Army in World War II was closely related to that used throughout World War I and earlier, yet it was of relatively light weight, ruggedly constructed, well designed,
On October 14th, 1808, Napoleon persuaded Herzog Peter Friedrich Ludwig of Oldenburg to join the Confederation of the Rhine by the Treaty of Erfurt – the military contingent to be maintained by the du
Typically the United States is said to have declared war on Great Britain in 1812 because of the Royal Navy's impressment of American seamen and the British desire to create an Indian buffer state. An
The specialist troops of the Austrian forces helped to secure Austria's reputation as the most formidable of Napoleon's continental enemies. Due largely to the efforts of Prince Liechtenstein, by the
As World War II drew to a close, the Imperial Japanese military seized control of Laos, a French protectorate, and encouraged nationalist movements to forestall the revival of French power in the regi
By the time Queen Victoria came to the throne, India – some 1,600,000 square miles, ranging from soaring mountains to deserts and jungle swamps, populated by 400,000,000 people with a kaleidoscope of
The very name El Cid sums up much of the special character of medieval Spanish warfare. It comes from the Arabic al sayyid, master or chieftain, and seems to have been given to Rodrigo de Vivar by his
The German invasion in 1941 led to a series of staggering defeats for the Russians. In the first five months of fighting, the Soviets lost about four million men, amounting to 80 per cent of the total
In 1870, after completing a 1000-mile trek across Canada, Lt. W.F. Butler, an officer of the British Army, recommended the establishment of a 'well-equipped force from 100 to 150 men, one-third to be
