Europe's great powers formed two powerful coalitions against France, yet force of numbers, superior leadership and the patriotic fervor of France's citizen-soldiers not only defeated each in turn, but closed the era of small, professional armies fighting for limited political objectives. This period produced commanders such as Napoleon and...

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The Barbary War was the first war to be waged by the United States after gaining independence.

Victorious in her previous campaigns in Africa, Britain now confronted an altogether different foe. As this book explains, the Boers proved themselves formidable opponents, masterfully compensating for interior numbers through their resourcefulness, grim determination, strong religious faith and, above all, their expert use of cover, mobility and the power...Read more

The Jacobite Rebellion was the final attempt of the House of Stuart to re-establish itself on the British throne and it saw the death throes of the independent martial prowess of the Highland clans. No event in British history has been more heavily romanticized, but Gregory Fremont-Barnes succeeds in...Read more

In the mid-19th century, India was the focus of Britain's international prestige and commercial power - the most important colony in an empire which extended to every continent on the globe and protected by the seemingly dependable native armies of the East India Company. When, however, in 1857 discontent...Read more

The Soviet invasion of its neighbour Afghanistan in December 1979 sparked a bloody nine-year conflict in that country until Soviet forces withdrew in 1988-89, dooming the communist Afghanistan government to defeat at the hands of the Mujahideen, the Afghan popular resistance backed by the USA and other powers. The...Read more