Men-at-Arms
1 primary work • 11 total works
Book 529
The Great Northern War was a long series of campaigns in which Russia, linked with several other countries in temporary alliances, confronted and eventually replaced Sweden as the predominant power in Northern Europe. While contemporary with the Duke of Marlborough's pivotal campaigns against France, the Great Northern War was in fact more decisive, since it reshaped the Northern European power balance up to the eve of the Napoleonic Wars.
It began with a series of astonishing Swedish victories lead by King Charles XII, from Denmark to Poland and deep into Germany. But Peter the Great of Russia showed steadfast determination, and Charles overreached himself when he invaded Russia in 1708; the Russians adopted classic 'scorched earth' tactics until they could destroy the Swedish army at Poltava in 1709, one of the most overwhelming victories in history. Nevertheless, Sweden continued to fight, and frequently win, in Germany, Denmark and Norway, until Charles's death in battle in 1718, though the war itself did not conclude until 1721.
This study explores, in detail, the numerous armies and complex alliances engaged in the war for Northern European dominance. Containing accurate full-colour artwork and unrivalled detail, Armies of the Great Northern War offers a vivid insight into the troops which battled for control of the North.
It began with a series of astonishing Swedish victories lead by King Charles XII, from Denmark to Poland and deep into Germany. But Peter the Great of Russia showed steadfast determination, and Charles overreached himself when he invaded Russia in 1708; the Russians adopted classic 'scorched earth' tactics until they could destroy the Swedish army at Poltava in 1709, one of the most overwhelming victories in history. Nevertheless, Sweden continued to fight, and frequently win, in Germany, Denmark and Norway, until Charles's death in battle in 1718, though the war itself did not conclude until 1721.
This study explores, in detail, the numerous armies and complex alliances engaged in the war for Northern European dominance. Containing accurate full-colour artwork and unrivalled detail, Armies of the Great Northern War offers a vivid insight into the troops which battled for control of the North.
The Pacific War was the greatest and bloodiest war ever fought in the Andean region, and is one of the most important conflicts in South American history. It is also known as the 'Saltpeter War' or the 'Guano War' because the possession of these two highly profitable nitrates was the main cause of the conflict.
By the 1870s Chilean military superiority and expansionist policies exploded into full scale conflict. This book examines the troops, uniforms and equipment used by the Chilean, Peruvian and Bolivian forces and traces the events of the war from the early naval blockades, through major pitched battles, to the final guerilla campaign in occupied Peru. The war ended in total victory for Chile, and that country's military emergence thereafter as 'the Prussia of South America', while it cost Peru some lucrative provinces, and Bolivia its outlet to the Pacific coast.
By the 1870s Chilean military superiority and expansionist policies exploded into full scale conflict. This book examines the troops, uniforms and equipment used by the Chilean, Peruvian and Bolivian forces and traces the events of the war from the early naval blockades, through major pitched battles, to the final guerilla campaign in occupied Peru. The war ended in total victory for Chile, and that country's military emergence thereafter as 'the Prussia of South America', while it cost Peru some lucrative provinces, and Bolivia its outlet to the Pacific coast.
The Italian Renaissance marked a period of political and military turmoil. Many regional wars were fought between the states ruled by Milan, Venice, Genoa, Florence, the Papacy, Siena and Naples. For more than 50 years starting in 1494, major foreign powers also exploited these divisions to invade Italy; both France and Spain made temporary alliances with city states to further their ambitions, and early in the 16th century the Emperor Charles V sent armies from his German realms to support the Spanish.
These wars coincided with the growth of disciplined infantry – carrying not only polearms and crossbows but also handguns – which proved capable of challenging the previously dominant armoured knights. The widespread use of mercenaries ushered in the early development of the 'pike and shot' era that succeeded the 'High Middle Ages'. During this period costumes, armour and weapons varied greatly due to their national origins and to the evolution of tactics and technology.
This masterfully illustrated study offers a fascinating insight into the many armies which fought in Italy during this turbulent period, explaining not only their arms and equipment, but also their structure and successes and failures on the battlefield.
These wars coincided with the growth of disciplined infantry – carrying not only polearms and crossbows but also handguns – which proved capable of challenging the previously dominant armoured knights. The widespread use of mercenaries ushered in the early development of the 'pike and shot' era that succeeded the 'High Middle Ages'. During this period costumes, armour and weapons varied greatly due to their national origins and to the evolution of tactics and technology.
This masterfully illustrated study offers a fascinating insight into the many armies which fought in Italy during this turbulent period, explaining not only their arms and equipment, but also their structure and successes and failures on the battlefield.
In the early 1900s, the decaying Ottoman Turkish Empire had lost some of its Balkan territories, but still nominally ruled all of North Africa between British Egypt in the east and French Algeria in the west. Libya had fertile coastal territory, and was the last North African (almost, the last African) region not yet conquered by a European colonialist power. Italy was a young country, ambitious for colonies, but had been defeated in Ethiopia in the 1890s. The Italian government of Giovanni Giolitti was keen to overwrite the memory of that failure, and to gain a strategic grip over the central Mediterranean by seizing Libya, just across the narrows from Sicily.
The Italian expeditionary force that landed in October 1911 easily defeated the Ottoman division based in the coastal cities, incurring few losses. However, the Libyan inland tribes reacted furiously to the Italian conquest, and their insurgency cost the Italians thousands of casualties, locking them into the coastal enclaves during a winter stalemate which diminished Italian public enthusiasm for the war. To retrieve Italian prestige the government launched a naval campaign in the Dardanelles and the Dodecanese - the last Turkish held archipelago in the Aegean - in April-May 1912, and landed troops to capture Rhodes. The army finally pushed inland in Libya in July- October (using systematic air reconnaissance, for the first time), and after brutal fighting the war ended in a treaty that brought Italy all it wanted, although though the Libyan tribes would not finally be quelled until after World War I.
Containing accurate full-colour artwork and unrivalled detail, Armies of the Italian-Turkish War offers a vivid insight into the troops involved in this pivotal campaign, including the tribal insurgents and the navies of both sides.
The Italian expeditionary force that landed in October 1911 easily defeated the Ottoman division based in the coastal cities, incurring few losses. However, the Libyan inland tribes reacted furiously to the Italian conquest, and their insurgency cost the Italians thousands of casualties, locking them into the coastal enclaves during a winter stalemate which diminished Italian public enthusiasm for the war. To retrieve Italian prestige the government launched a naval campaign in the Dardanelles and the Dodecanese - the last Turkish held archipelago in the Aegean - in April-May 1912, and landed troops to capture Rhodes. The army finally pushed inland in Libya in July- October (using systematic air reconnaissance, for the first time), and after brutal fighting the war ended in a treaty that brought Italy all it wanted, although though the Libyan tribes would not finally be quelled until after World War I.
Containing accurate full-colour artwork and unrivalled detail, Armies of the Italian-Turkish War offers a vivid insight into the troops involved in this pivotal campaign, including the tribal insurgents and the navies of both sides.
The War of the Triple Alliance is the largest single conflict in the history of South America. Drawing Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay into conflict the war was characterized by extraordinarily high casualty rates, and was to shape the future of an entire continent - depopulating Paraguay and establishing Brazil as the predominant military power. Despite the importance of the war, little information is available in English about the armies that fought it. This book analyzes the combatants of the four nations caught up in the war, telling the story of the men who fought on each side, illustrated with contemporary paintings, prints, and early photographs.
In the 1840s, post-Napoleonic Italy was 'a geographical expression' - not a country, but a patchwork of states, divided between the Austrian-occupied north, and a Spanish-descended Bourbon monarchy, who ruled the south from Naples. Two decades later, it was a nation united under a single king and government, thanks largely to the efforts of the Kings of Sardinia and Piedmont, and the revolutionary Giuseppe Garibaldi. This book, the first of a two-part series on the armies that fought in the Italian Wars of Unification, examines the Piedmontese and Neapolitan armies that fought in the north and south of the peninsula. Illustrated with prints, early photos and detailed commissioned artwork, this book explores the history, organization, and appearance of the armies that fought to unite the Italian peninsula under one flag.
The great powers of medieval Europe fought continuously in the Italian peninsula between the 12th and 14th centuries as they sought to expand their territory. Invading armies from Germany – the Holy Roman Empire – saw the creation of the defensive Lombard League of northern Italian city-states. These struggles resulted in conflicts between rival confederacies, which in turn proved to be the catalysts for developments in organisation and tactics. Italian urban militias became better organised and equipped, the Imperial armies went from being mostly German to multi-national forces, and both sides became reliant on mercenary forces to prosecute their wars.
After the 1260s, France, relying mainly on armoured cavalry, and Spain, with their innovative light infantry, vied for control of southern Italy. On the seas, the great naval powers of Genoa, Pisa and Venice became fierce rivals, as they created great trading empires, bringing the treasures of the east into feudal Europe. Using detailed colour plates, this beautifully illustrated book describes the myriad of armies and navies that fought for control of Italy in the Middle Ages.
After the 1260s, France, relying mainly on armoured cavalry, and Spain, with their innovative light infantry, vied for control of southern Italy. On the seas, the great naval powers of Genoa, Pisa and Venice became fierce rivals, as they created great trading empires, bringing the treasures of the east into feudal Europe. Using detailed colour plates, this beautifully illustrated book describes the myriad of armies and navies that fought for control of Italy in the Middle Ages.
The restoration of the Meiji Imperial dynasty in 1868, after 250 years of the Tokugawa Shogunate, decisively opened Japan to the outside world and the monarchy embraced modernization, including the creation of a new Westernized army. However, this modernization process was resisted by the traditional Samurai feudal nobility, leading to a series of battles.
The first clash between the two cultures came swiftly. During the Boshin War of 1868–69, a French military adviser, Jules Brunet, changed sides to join the insurgents. They won several engagements before the final crushing of the rebel Ezo Republic. After this point, the Imperial Army continued to modernize along French lines, and social changes began to impoverish Samurai noblemen, who lost their social and political role and their associated privileges.
During 1876, the powerful Satsuma Domain, around Kagoshima in south-west Kyushu, became a focus for discontent. Its leader Saigo Takamori effectively ignored the central government, and in January 1877, increasing unrest broke out into open rebellion. The Imperial forces were now much stronger, and the Navy could land troops and bombard Kagoshima. The bitter Satsuma siege and attempted capture of Kumamoto Castle finally failed in April, and the Samurai made a last stand at Shiroyama on 24 September, choosing to go down fighting. This marked the final defeat and displacement of the Samurai class.
This fully illustrated title explores the fall of the Samurai in detail, examining the arms, tactics, key figures of both sides, and charting the increasing Westernization of the Imperial forces.
The first clash between the two cultures came swiftly. During the Boshin War of 1868–69, a French military adviser, Jules Brunet, changed sides to join the insurgents. They won several engagements before the final crushing of the rebel Ezo Republic. After this point, the Imperial Army continued to modernize along French lines, and social changes began to impoverish Samurai noblemen, who lost their social and political role and their associated privileges.
During 1876, the powerful Satsuma Domain, around Kagoshima in south-west Kyushu, became a focus for discontent. Its leader Saigo Takamori effectively ignored the central government, and in January 1877, increasing unrest broke out into open rebellion. The Imperial forces were now much stronger, and the Navy could land troops and bombard Kagoshima. The bitter Satsuma siege and attempted capture of Kumamoto Castle finally failed in April, and the Samurai made a last stand at Shiroyama on 24 September, choosing to go down fighting. This marked the final defeat and displacement of the Samurai class.
This fully illustrated title explores the fall of the Samurai in detail, examining the arms, tactics, key figures of both sides, and charting the increasing Westernization of the Imperial forces.
The First Carlist War broke out after the death of King Ferdinand VII, the king restored at the end of the Peninsular War thanks to Wellington's victory. The crown was claimed by both his daughter Isabella, backed by the Liberal party and his brother Don Carlos, at the head of northern ultra-conservatives centred in the Basque provinces and Navarre. The Liberals or 'Cristinos' were supported by a 10,000-strong British Legion of volunteers led by a former aide to Wellington as well as the British Royal Navy, a Portuguese division, and the French Foreign Legion. With both armies still using Napoleonic weapons and tactics, early victories were won by the Basque general Zumalacarregui. After his death in 1835 a see-saw series of campaigns followed, fought by conventional armies of horse, foot and guns, supported by many irregulars and guerrillas.
This little known multi-national campaign provides a fascinating postscript to the Peninsular War of 1808-14, and its uniforms present a colourful and varied spectacle.
This little known multi-national campaign provides a fascinating postscript to the Peninsular War of 1808-14, and its uniforms present a colourful and varied spectacle.
In the 1840s, Italy was a patchwork of states. The North was ruled by the Austrian Empire, the South by the Spanish-descended monarchy of the Two Sicilies. Over the next two decades, after wars led by Savoy/Piedmont and volunteers such as Garibaldi, an independent Kingdom of Italy emerged. These conflicts saw foreign interventions and shifting alliances among minor states, and attracted a variety of local and foreign volunteers.
This second volume in a two part series covers the armies of the Papal States; the duchies of Tuscany, Parma, and Modena; the republics of Rome and San Marco (Venice) and the transitional Kingdom of Sicily; and the various volunteer movements. These varied armies and militias wore a wide variety of highly colourful uniforms which are brought to life in stunning, specially commissioned, full colour artwork from Giuseppe Rava.
This second volume in a two part series covers the armies of the Papal States; the duchies of Tuscany, Parma, and Modena; the republics of Rome and San Marco (Venice) and the transitional Kingdom of Sicily; and the various volunteer movements. These varied armies and militias wore a wide variety of highly colourful uniforms which are brought to life in stunning, specially commissioned, full colour artwork from Giuseppe Rava.
