D-Day, 6 June 1944, saw the largest amphibious landing operation in history. Stephen Badsey provides a concise account of 'Operation Overlord', from the fiercely contested landings, to the struggle to capture Caen, the 'Cobra' offensive and the dramatic pursuit of the Germans to the River Seine.

The German victory of 1940 stunned the world. Concentrating on the decisive panzer blitzkrieg, Alan Shepperd charts the sequence of events from the forward movement of the Allies into Belgium and the devastating advance of the Germans through the Ardennes to the British evacuation from Dunkirk.

Osprey's examination of the 'Battle of the Bulge, ' which was the last major German offensive in the West during World War II (1939-1945). Three armies attacked through the Ardennes, the weakest point in the American lines, and almost broke through. This title describes the planning of the attack and the course of events, including the defence of Bastogne and the heroic delaying actions fought by GIs supposed to be in a 'quiet' sector of the front. In spite of serious American disadvantages, Hitler's offensive was stopped. James Arnold explains exactly how this was achieved, and how Germany's...

Osprey's study of the 1968 Tet Offensive, which was the decisive battle for Vietnam (1955-1975). Masterminded by the brilliant North Vietnamese General, Vo Nguyen Giap, it was intended to trigger a general uprising in South Vietnam. However, the bloody fighting for Saigon, Hue and other cities actually resulted in a catastrophic defeat for the North. In this excellent assessment of the key battle of the Vietnam conflict, James Arnold details the plans and forces involved and explains how, despite the outcome of the battle, the American people and their leaders came to perceive the war for...

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 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...

Osprey's study of the first Persian invasion of Greece in 490 BC. The story of the Marathon campaign is an epic of the Ancient World. When the Ionian Greeks revolted against their Persian overlords in 499 BC, the cities of Athens and Eretria came to their aid. The Persian King Darius swore vengeance and in 490BC a fleet of 600 ships packed with troops was sent to take revenge on the Athenians. At Marathon the Greeks met the Persians in battle and drove them in rout back to their ships. The moral effect of this victory was enormous for the first time a Greek army had defeated the Persians and...

Osprey's examination of the confrontation between the US Army and German forces in Lorraine during World War II (1939-1945). In the wake of the defeat in Normandy in the summer of 1944, Hitler planned to stymie the Allied advance by cutting off Patton's Third Army in the Lorraine with a great Panzer offensive. But Patton's aggressive tactics continued to thwart German plans and led to a series of violent armored battles. The battle-hardened Wehrmacht confronted the better-equipped and better-trained US Army. The Germans managed to re-establish a fragile defensive line but could not stop the...

Osprey's examination of the Battle of Alamo (1836), which was the decisive battle of the Texas Revolution (1835-1836). On the morning of 6 March 1836 around 1,100 Mexican soldiers under Generalissimo Santa Anna stormed a small mission outside San Antonio, Texas, and slaughtered the garrison of around 200 Texans. It was not a large battle but its significance vastly outweighed its size for the name of the mission was the Alamo. Less than two months later Santa Anna's force was smashed at San Jacinto by a volunteer army whose battle cry was "Remember the Alamo." Stephen L Hardin details the...

This Osprey title details the epic four-month siege of the city of Constantinople in 1453, last vestige of the once mighty Roman and Byzantine Empires. Mehmet 'The Conqueror' led an army of 80,000 men with a massive siege train against the city. Defending were a mere 10,000 men under the Emperor Constantine XI. The Turkish artillery battered the ancient city walls mercilessly, levelling a large section. A gallant defence held off the massive Turkish assault for several hours. Refusing appeals to flee, Constantine returned to the breaches and fought until overwhelmed and killed. Thus died the...

Osprey's examination of one of the epic battles of the desert war of World War II (1939-1945). In March 1941, with Wavell's British troops having routed the Italians from Cyrenaica, General Erwin Rommel arrived in Tripoli to command the Deutsches Afrikakorps. Over the next two years the Afrikakorps and its commander would become legendary. In his first offensive, Rommel swept across the desert, driving the British back to the Egyptian frontier and capturing much of the 2nd Armoured Division in the process. One thorn remained in his side - the vital port of Tobruk continued to resist. If it...