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Middle Ages Battles and Campaigns
Author: David Nicholle
Illustrator: Graham Turner
Osprey (Campaign)

Osprey's study of the battle at Acre, one of the last campaigns of the Crusages (1095-1291). In April 1291, a Mamluk army laid siege to Acre, the last great Crusader fortress in the Holy Land. For six weeks, the siege dragged on until the Mamluks took the outer wall, which had been breached in several places. The Military Orders drove back the Mamluks temporarily, but three days later the inner wall was breached. King Henry escaped, but the bulk of the defenders and most of the citizens perished in the fighting or were sold into slavery. The surviving knights fell back to their fortress, resisting for ten days, until the Mamluks broke through. This book depicts the dramatic collapse of this great fortress, whose demise marked the end of the Crusades in the Holy Land.

Author: David Nicolle
Illustrator: Christa Hook
Osprey (Campaign)

In 1095 the Byzantine Emperor Alexios I appealed to the Christian states of western Europe for help against the Turks who had swept across the Empire after the disastrous Byzantine defeat at Manzikert in 1071. This book is about the First Crusade (1096-1099) that followed, and saw several armies of ‘armed pilgrims’ march across Europe to the Holy Land. They were unleashed on a divided and fragmented Islamic world and won a series of apparently miraculous victories, capturing the Holy City of Jerusalem itself. The success of the First Crusade was never to be repeated, however, and triggered two centuries of bitter warfare, the repercussions of which are still felt today.

Author: David Nicolle
Illustrator: Christa Hook
Osprey (Campaign)

After the fall of the crusader kingdom of Edessa, the Pope called for a new crusade in 1145. This new campaign by the Christian west against the forces of eastern Islam would culminate in the 1148 siege of Damascus, then the capital city of an Islamic state that had been friendly towards the crusaders. Despite the earlier successes for the crusaders at Antioch and Jerusalem, and the weak fortifications around Damascus, the siege proved a dismal and embarrassing failure for the western armies. The siege was abandoned soon after it had started and the crusaders retreated. This defeat shocked the Christian world and dealt a severe blow to the confidence of the crusading armies, while bolstering the morale of their enemies.

Utilizing numerous illustrations and full-color artwork, medieval warfare expert David Nicolle analyzes the often-debated battles around Damascus, explaining how the domination of the surrounding countryside by the Islamic forces became the decisive factor, and how the besieging crusading forces found themselves under siege. He also looks at the crusade in the larger context of the battle between East and West and explains how the Second Crusade proved a turning point in this ongoing struggle.

Author: David Nicolle
Illustrator: Christa Hook
Osprey (Campaign)

The clash between King Richard I ‘The Lionheart’ of England and Saladin has become legendary. Throughout the ages, military enthusiasts have been fascinated by the strategy of the resolute, heavily armed Anglo-Saxon army versus their more lightly armed opponents. Richard’s inability to recapture Jerusalem was disappointing, but it proved to the crusaders that Saladin was not invincible. This book describes the struggle of the Crusades (1095-1291) that has evolved into a mythic campaign for the Holy City of Jerusalem, providing an in-depth look at the battle, the personalities involved and the tactics employed by each army.

Author: David Nicolle
Illustrator: Graham Turner
Osprey (Campaign)

The Battle of Crecy was the first major land battle of the Hundred Years War (1337-1453). It pitted the French army, then considered the best in Europe, and their miscellaneous allies against the English under King Edward III and the ‘Black Prince’, who as yet had no great military reputation; this was the battle where he ‘won his spurs’. The Genoese crossbowmen were outshot by the English longbows and the pattern was set for the rest of the day: the French cavalry were committed piecemeal in fruitless charges against strong English positions, losing perhaps 10,000 men in the course of the fighting. After almost a millennium in which cavalry had dominated the field of battle, the infantryman, and particularly the longbowman, now ruled supreme.

Author: Matthew Bennett
Osprey (Campaign)

Osprey's Campaign title for one of the most important campaigns of the Hundred Years' War (1337-1453). Agincourt is one of the most evocative names in English military history. Henry V's forces were tired, hungry, and faced a French army three to six times more numerous. However, they possessed several advantages, and English success resulted from the combination of heavily armoured men-at-arms with troops armed with the infamous longbow - the havoc this weapon wreaked was crucial. Using original fifteenth century evidence, including the surviving French battle plan and the accounts of men present in both armies, this title discusses the lead-up to the battle, the tactical dispositions of the two forces and the reasons for the ultimate English success.

Author: Stephen Turnbull
Illustrator: Richard Hook
Osprey (Campaign)

By 1400 the long running conflict between the Order of Teutonic Knights and Poland and Lithuania was coming to a head, partly as a result of the Order’s meddling in the internal politics of its neighbours. In June 1410 King Wladislaw Jagiello of Poland invaded the Order’s territory with a powerful allied army including all the enemies of the Teutonic Knights – Poles, Lithuanians, Russians, Bohemians, Hungarians, Tartars and Cossacks. This book recounts how, when the armies clashed on the wooded, rolling hills near the small village of Tannenberg, the Teutonic Knights suffered a disastrous defeat from which their Order never recovered.

Author: Stephen Turnbull
Illustrator: Wayne Reynolds
Osprey (Warrior)

The Mongol warriors are one of the great success stories of world military history. Under the leadership of Genghis Khan and his successors the Mongols conquered much of the known world, fighting in territory ranging from the frozen steppes, the wilderness of Palestine, the jungles of Java and the great rivers of China. Through all this they showed a remarkable ability to adopt, adapt and improve a vast range of military techniques and technology, from siege weapons to naval warfare. This book tells the story of this remarkable military organisation, including details of weaponry, tactics, training and beliefs.

Author: Anne Curry
Osprey (Essential Histories)

There can be no doubt that military conflict between France and England dominated European history in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. This war is of considerable interest both because of its duration and the number of theatres in which it was fought. In this book, Hundred Years’ War expert Dr Anne Curry reveals how the war can reveal much about the changing nature of warfare: the rise of infantry and the demise of the knight; the impact of increased use of gunpowder and the effect of the wars on generations of people around it.

Author: David Nicholle
Illustrator: Angus McBride
Osprey (Men-at-Arms)

After disastrous defeats at the hands of the Mongols in the 13th century, the Russian principalities became vassals of the Khans of the Golden Horde for more than 200 years; and at the same time the western princes faced the German crusaders of the Teutonic Order. Remarkably, Russia responded with a new surge of military vigour. Eventually, freedom from the 'Mongol yoke' coincided with a degree of unity around a powerful new state - Muscovy. This exciting chapter of history is illustrated with rare early paintings, photos, diagrams, and eight plates reconstructing the mixed influences of East and West in the appearance of Russian warriors.

Author: Antony Karasulas
Illustrator: Angus McBride
Osprey (Elite)

For more than 2,000 years hordes of mounted nomadic archers from the vastness of the steppe and from Central Asia spewed out into China, the Middle East, and Europe. Feared and reviled, they were a formidable threat to the lands they invaded. Their influence on military history is incalculable: the whole foundation of late Classical and Medieval Western and Middle Eastern military thought was based on the reality of a highly mobile, tough and unconventional foe, one which could strike almost anywhere at will and with highly effective long-range weapons. This book details the history, weapons, equipment and tactics of these fascinating warriors.

Author: Stephen Turnbull
Illustrator: Angus McBride
Osprey (Men-at-Arms)

The history of the Mongol armies is a catalogue of superlatives. No armies in history have ever won so many battles or conquered so much territory. No army has ever provoked such justifiable terror and loathing in its victims, or slaughtered so many of its vanquished. What other army in history has marched on Russia in the winter and survived, let alone won victories? The stories of these and many other amazing feats of this 'barbarian' people are here brought vividly to life by Stephen Turnbull, from the birth of Genghis Khan in the wind-swept steppes of Mongolia, through the conquest of China and beyond.

Author: John Richards
Illustrator: Gerry Embleton
Osprey (Warrior)

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 thousands of mercenaries from Central and Northern Europe, with the aim of creating a reliable source of men for his armies – and the Landsknecht were born. This book reveals the true-life experiences of the Landsknecht soldier during conflicts such as those of the Italian Wars (1494-1559), using numerous first-hand accounts. It takes a close look at the recruitment, training, daily life and and careers of these formidable soldiers, and examines in detail their clothing, equipment and weaponry. Many fine, contemporary illustrations, some drawn by Landsknecht themselves, accompany the text.

Author: Helen Nicholson
Illustrator: Wayne Reynolds
Osprey (Warrior)

The order of the Temple was a military-religious organisation that was set up to protect pilgrims and settlers in the Holy Land. The Templars believed they were God's warriors fighting on God's behalf and developed a fearsome reputation among the neighbouring Muslim rulers. This book examines the men who joined the order and why they joined it, focusing on those who fought in the Holy Land. Based on contemporary sources it provides an effective insight into the daily lives of the warriors, from their admission ceremony to their training, organisation in the field, and how they fought in battle.

Author: David Nicholle
Illustrator: David Nicholle
Osprey (Men-at-Arms)

In the centuries following the first expeditions down the great rivers of northern Russia by Viking traders and adventurers, the foundations for a new state were laid. Many influences combined in this colourful culture which grew up first around the great cities of Kiev and Novgorod – Scandinavian, Finnish, Slav, steppe Turkish, Byzantine. By the time of the Mongol invasions of the 12th century the small enclaves of the old pagan Rus’, tolerated by the Khazar Khans for their commercial usefulness, had evolved into a Christian nation. Its story is told here in fascinating detail, and illustrated with striking colour reconstructions of the warriors themselves.

Author: David Lindholm and David Nicholle
Illustrator: Angus McBride
Osprey (Men-at-Arms)

Wielding their swords in the name of their faith, the crusaders originally set out to reclaim Jerusalem and its surrounding territory in the Middle East. Increasingly, however, Eastern Europe and the last remaining bastions of pagan Europe became the targets of their religious zeal.

The era officially began in 1147, when the Saxons, Danes, and Poles, responding to Pope Eugene III's call, initiated a crusade against the Wends of the Southern Baltic. This was followed by crusades against the Livonians, Estonians, Finns, Prussians, and Lithuanians. By the 13th century much of the responsibility for sustaining these crusades fell to the Teutonic Knights, a military order formed in the Holy Land in 1190. They were aided by the constant support of the Roman pontiff and by a steady flow of mercenaries from throughout Christendom.

The subsequent Scandinavian campaigns laid the foundations of modern Baltic society by destroying pagan rural farming settlements, and establishing fortified Christian towns and major castles. As with the majority of crusades, the prospective acquisition of land and power was the one of the key driving forces behind these bloody military expeditions.

This book reveals the colorful history of these Crusades when the soldiers of the Pope fought their way across Eastern Europe and inexorably changed the future of the continent.

Author: Christopher Gravett
Illustrator: Richard Hook and Christa Hook
Osprey (Elite)

During the Middle Ages siege warfare played a vital role in military strategy. Sieges were far more numerous than pitched battles, ranging from small-scale affairs against palisaded earthworks to full-scale assaults on vast strongholds. Needless to say, the art of siege warfare assumed a unique importance to both invader and defender alike. In this title Christopher Gravett explores the different aspects of medieval siege warfare, from chivalrous formalities to 'surprise and treachery', in a text backed by numerous illustrations including 12 full page colour plates by Richard and Christa Hook.


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