Books in the Campaign series

This book provides a fascinating exploration of the Japanese conquest of Burma, as the Allied forces were forced back in disarray to India and China.The Japanese invasion of Burma in January 1942 marked the beginning of the single longest campaign of World War II. In the Burmese jungles, the battle-hardened, highly trained and lightly equipped Imperial Japanese Army quickly proved itself a vastly superior fighting force in clashes against the British, Indian and Gurkha troops that formed Burma Army and Chinese nationalist forces deployed in eastern Burma. This superbly illustrated book narrates Burma Corps' epic fighting retreat northwards, carried out mostly in contact with the enemy and across hundreds of miles of highly malarial and extremely difficult terrain, to safety in India. Among the battles covered are the disaster at the Sittang Bridge on 22 February 1942 (where 17th Indian Division was all but destroyed), the fall of Rangoon in March 1942 and the clashes at Yenangyaung, Monywa and Shwegyin. The performance of the opposing commanders and forces is also examined in detail, highlighting the success of Japanese aggressive light infantry tactics, which ruthlessly exploited the cover and concealment provided by the jungle to outflank, bypass and encircle their bewildered enemy.

Osprey''s examination of one of the most important battles of the Crimean War (1853-1856). The port of Balaclava was crucial in maintaining the supply lines for the Allied siege of Sevastapol. The Russian attack in October 1854 therefore posed a major threat to the survival of the Allied cause. This book examines in detail the crucial battle of Balaclava, including: the attack on the redoubts; the action of ΓÇ£the thin red line" in which an assortment of about 700 British troops, some invalids, were abandoned by their Turkish allies; the subsequent charge of the Heavy Brigade; and the most famous part of the battle: the infamous charge of the Light Brigade.

In March 1941, with Wavell's British troops having routed the Italians from Cyrenaica, Rommel's Afrikakorps arrived. What followed was the epic siege of Tobruk; a famous episode in desert war, where Wavell instructed General Morshead and his garrison to hold at all costs.

An account of the origins, events and outcome of the Battle of Wagram in 1809, one of the hardest fought of all Napoleon's victories. It took place against an Austrian army, eager for revenge, that left the battlefield without a rout despite having to admit defeat.

Osprey''s Campaign title for Sekigahara  (1600), which was the most decisive battle in Japanese history. Fought against the ritualised and colourful backdrop of Samurai life, it was the culmination of a long-standing power struggle between Tokugawa Ieyasu and Hashiba Hideyoshi, two of the most powerful men in Japan. Armies of the two sides met on the plain of Sekigahara on 21 October 1600, in thick fog and deep mud. By the end of the day 40,000 heads had been taken and Ieyasu was master of Japan. Within three years the Emperor would grant him the title he sought – Shogun. This title describes the campaign leading up to this great battle and examines Sekigahara, including the forces and personalities of the two major sides and that of the turncoat Kobayakawa Hideaki.

An account of the origins, events and outcome of the Battle of Yarmouk in 636 AD, one of the most decisive battles of Middle East history which resulted in the disastrous defeat of the Byzantine army. The book is illustrated with maps and diagrams, and with contemporary drawings and prints.

Osprey''s study of one of the battles of the Boer Wars, the Battle of Majuba. In 1881 the tension between Britain and the Boer farmers of southern Africa that had existed for 75 years boiled over into open conflict. The British entered the war full of confidence, yet in a few short weeks they had suffered three separate reverses before suffering their final humiliating defeat on the isolated summit of Majuba. George Colley''s force were swept off their ''unassailable'' position and into headlong retreat. It was a defeat that sent shock waves reverberating around the Empire. Ian Castle examines not only the battle at Majuba, but also the previous engagements at Laing''s Nek, Schuinshoogte and Bronkhorstspruit.

This title explores how, in just a few hectic minutes, one of the British Army's most consumate professionals, Major General James Wolfe, decided the fate of a continent by winning North America for the British at the Battle of Quebec.

Osprey''s Campaign title for France''s defeat in the early period of World War II (1939-1945). The German victory of 1940 stunned the world. France, major European power and owner of the world''s largest armies had fallen in less than seven weeks to the might of the German Wehrmacht. The secret of the Wehrmacht''s success lay in its carefully thought out organization and the tactics of blitzkrieg. Fast moving tank divisions supported by armoured, mobile infantry swept over opposition, helped by both conventional bombers and deadly Stuka dive-bombers. Alan Shepperd''s highly detailed text examines the tactics, organization and equipment of the Allied and German forces, and provides a daily account of the most crucial period of the battle.

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 advance from Wurzburg into Saxony. On 14 October the double battle was fought: Napoleon with 96,000 men and 120 guns engaged and heavily defeated Prince Hohenlohe and General Ruchel. The decisive engagement was fought further north where Marshal Davout with 27,000 men and 40 guns routed the main Prussian army under Frederick William IV and the Duke of Brunswick. This title examines these two battles, Jena and Auerstadt in detail, showing clearly the swiftness with which Napoleon dealt Prussia''s military machine a severe blow.

Gravelotte-St-Privat was probably the hardest fought of all the battles of the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871). Attacked by superior Prussian forces from both the First and Second armies, Marshal Bazaine''s French Army of the Rhine inflicted heavy casualties on the advancing Prussian''s before finally being forced to retreat into the fortress city of Metz. Unable to break out and with no hope of relief Bazaine''s army grimly held on to the end of the war. French failure at Gravelotte-St-Privat led directly to their final defeat at Sedan, the collapse of Napoleon III''s regime and the proclamation of the German Empire.

A concise account of the origins, events and outcome of the Battle of the Little Big Horn in 1876 - the most famous campaign of the Indian wars involving characters such as Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse, which resulted in the death of General Custer and over half of his 7th Cavalry.

In 1899 Great Britain was at the height of its Imperial power. The Queen Empress had been on the throne for more than 50 glittering years, and her domain touched upon every continent. Yet, even at this pinnacle of Imperial pomp and majesty, the British army, guardian of the Empire in countless wars across the globe, was destined to be humiliated by poorly-organised citizen militia consisting of men whom the British professionals despised as back-wood farmers. In one week in December 1899 the farmers of the South African Boer Republics of the Orange Free State and the Transvaal inflicted three serious reverses on British troops.

An account of the epic siege of the island fortress of the Knights Hospitaller by the Turkish Army of the Emperor Suleiman. The six battle scenes in the book depict the brutal fighting and acts of bravery by the 500 Knights who held out against 30,000 Turkish soldiers for four months.

This volume tells the story of the conquest of the Dervish Empire, culminating at Omdurman in 1898: one of the great desert battles in the imperial drama of the Victorian era. This dramatic conflict witnessed hordes of native warriors set against British discipline and firepower, gunboats on the Nile, a dramatic cavalry charge and Kitchener, the Sirdar, as conqueror. This book explores the events, weaponry and leaders of both sides, and accompanying illustrations and colourful graphics bring the whole campaign vividly to life.

Details the key battle in one of the most destructive wars in history - the 30 years war between Catholic and Protestant armies. By 1632 the Protestant powers were in trouble, until King Adolphus II of Sweden came to their rescue and with his troops defeated the Imperial army.

A description of the battle of Inkerman, one of the great campaigns of the British Empire. Fought on the 5th November 1854, Inkerman was the third major engagement of the Crimean War after the battles of the Alma and Balaclava. Photographs of the battlefield as it is today are included.

The Battle of Bosworth, the last great battle of the War of the Roses, established the House of Tudor on the throne. This work aims to cut through the myth and propaganda to detail the course of this pivotal campaign.