Several thousand Native Americans fought on both sides during the American Civil War (1861-1865). They came from various tribes in the Indian Territory of present-day eastern Oklahoma. They were orga
During the reigns of Philip II and Alexander the Great, the Macedonian Army (the phalangites) were reformed and drilled into an invincible fighting force with unique tactics and weaponry. The Macedoni
Drawn from a wide range of warlike peoples throughout the provinces, especially on the fringes of the empire, auxiliaries were generally not citizens of the Roman empire. The cavalry of the auxilia pr
The Kampfflieger are relatively unknown within aviation circles, although many of them had careers as distinguished as those of their fighter-pilot counterparts. The men of the bomber crews did not en
Drawing on many contemporary sources and eyewitness accounts, this book examines the lives of the ordinary sailors of the Royal Navy during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars (1793-1815), de
This book examines in detail the Japanese Infantryman who was, despite comparisons with the notorious German Waffen SS of World War II (1939-1945), an enigma to Westerners. Brutal in its treatment of
Dedicated to the life of the average US soldier during World War I, this book follows the doughboy during the course of the war: from conscription, arrival at a training facility, transportation to Eu
By 1960, following Korea, tanks and their crews had proved themselves to be a fundamental part of the Marine Corps' combined arms team. When the Marines were ordered to Vietnam in 1965, they took thei
Few branches of the German armed forces were represented on so many fronts as the mountain infantrymen, or Gebirgstruppen. From the Blitzkrieg campaigns of 1940, through the invasions of the Balkans a
From the 10th to the mid-17th century, religious organisations played an important part in the social, political and military life in Japan. Known as sohei ('monk warriors') or yamabushi ('mountain wa
Vietnam was the US Special Forces' most complex and controversial mission, one that began in 1957 and ended in 1973. Camp strike forces, mobile strike forces, mobile guerrilla forces, special reconnai
The Landsknecht (meaning 'servant of the country') flourished during a key period for military organisation and practice. In the late 15th century, the Holy Roman Emperor, Maximilian I, recruited thou
First mentioned by name in AD 297, the Picts inhabited Northern Britain from the end of the 3rd century AD to the 9th. They rose to power in the devastation following Emperor Septimus Severus's repres
The ashigaru were the foot soldiers of old Japan. Although recruited first to swell an army's numbers and paid only by loot, the samurai began to realise their worth, particularly with arquebuses and
In Sicily, Normandy, and in the frozen hills of the Ardennes, America's airborne warriors proved themselves some of the toughest and most determined soldiers of World War II (1939-1945). What made the
Napoleon's Imperial Guard was one of the most famous military formations in history. The Imperial Guard could perform ceremonial duties as well as any, but it was primarily as an elite combat formatio
In 1783 the British army struggled home from North America in a shattered condition. It had acquitted itself well, but its regiments were now woefully understrength, and it was not until 1789 that the
This volume provides an in-depth look at the experience of the ordinary US marine 'grunt' in Vietnam. Organisation of the corps, weaponry, equipment, uniforms, training and medical arrangements are al
The bombardment by Confederate artillery of Fort Sumter on 12 April 1861 was the spark that finally ignited the American Civil War (1861-1865), quickly bringing thousands of eager volunteers for the U
Zulu military organisation was extremely sophisticated. Warriors were organised into regiments with some form of basic uniform and shields were state-manufactured and owned. Yet, in spite of this soph
The English military ascendancy which lasted from the mid-14th to the early 16th century was founded upon defensive tactics based on the use of the longbow. This weapon, distinctive in that it was use
Between the 3rd and 6th centuries AD the traditional legions of heavy infantry were whittled away and eventually replaced by a force of various arms and nationalities dominated by cavalry and supporte
This title details the culture, weapons, armour and training of the elite samurai warrior class in the fascinating Age of Battles period (1550-1600). This was a period of vital importance not only bec
The collapse of Roman rule in Britain was not so much a sudden catastrophe as a long and drawn-out decline. The 'Celtic' Britons retreated gradually to the highland areas of Wales, Cornwall and the so
When Norwegian Vikings first raided the European coast in the 8th century AD, their leaders were from the middle ranks of warriors known as hersirs. At this time the hersir was typically an independen
The period 1865-90 was one of unparalleled change in American frontier history. This span of 25 years witnessed the end of the traditional nomadic lifestyle of the plains Indians, the colonisation of
Throughout the 11th and 12th centuries the Norman knight was possibly the most feared warrior in Western Europe. He was descended originally from the Vikings who had settled in Northern France under t
