Osprey's study of United States Marine Corps riflemen during World War II (1939-1945). It is sometimes a basic assumption that a US Marine Corps rifleman was essentially trained, uniformed, equipped, and armed much the same as a US Army rifleman during World War II. While there were of course similarities, the Marines conducted their own unique training programs, wore mostly different uniforms and equipment, and possessed some unique weapons, although they also used many of the same weapons as the Army.

The Marine Corps was not part of the Navy, but a component of the Navy...

Osprey's study of the US Marine Raiders (an 'elite within an elite') during World War II (1939-1945). The US Marine Raiders were modeled on the British Commandos and, in the 2nd Battalion, also on Communist Chinese guerillas. They were organized to conduct long-range amphibious hit-and-run raids behind Japanese lines and trained to secure beacheads in advance of more conventional landings. Raiders were trained to land from submarines, specially converted high-speed destroyer transports, and small craft and rubber boats. They were expected to be skilled in watercraft, jungle survival, and...

Osprey's study of Germany's Home Guard during the latter part of World War II (1939-1945). The creation of the German Home Guard or Volkssturm on 18 October 1944 was a desperate measure by the Nazi regime to utilize every available manpower resource in their last-ditch attempts to delay their inevitable defeat. All able-bodied males between the ages of 16 and 60 who were not already members of the German Armed Forces were conscripted into one organization. The aim of the Volkssturm was to shore up the defense of the Reich, but also to restrict any possible revolt or dissent by exercising...

The Huns were the most feared and notorious barbarians of the ancient world. The infamous Attila, king of the Huns, and his subjects were known to their Roman enemies as the 'scourge of god'. They were Turco-Mongol nomads, originating from the steppes of central Asia who migrated westward, shifting whole nations and leaving devastation in their wake.

The Huns were superb horsemen and excellent archers, fighting with a reflex composite-bow, which could penetrate armour at 100 yards, a more potent weapon than the longbow or any bow in use at the time. In battle they would strike fear...

Originally hired by wealthy Italian city states to protect their assets during a time of ceaseless warring, the Condottiere of the Italian peninsula became famous for his wealth, venality and amorality during the 14th century.

The Condottieri's pursuit of profit meant they were prepared to change sides for the right price, even during battle, and they prospered, becoming both powerful and rich in the process. Leaders such as John Hawkwood, with his famous 'White Company', became major political figures.

Once at the peak of their power, they often worked together to protect...

Written by Trevor Bryce, one of the world's leading experts on the Hittites, this book charts the rise and fall of a warrior people famed for their ferocity, who built an empire which stretched from Mesopotamia to Syria and Palestine. Regarded as barbarians by the Egyptians, for a hundred years the Hittites fought a draining war against the Egyptians - the climax of which saw the Hittites defeated and their 400-year-old empire destroyed at the Battle of Qadesh (1274 BC).

Thought to have invented iron, used to forge their weapons, and known for pioneering a revolutionary three-man...

Osprey's study of African Americans who participated in the American Civil War (1861-1865). Approximately 200,000 African Americans fought for the Union during the Civil War. Initially, many white soldiers doubted their bravery and skill; they were soon proved wrong.

The Civil War battlefields bore witness to countless acts of courage from the United States Colored Troops, most famously the battle of Fort Wagner where the 54th Massachusetts marched forth and scaled the parapets, only to be driven back in fierce hand-to-hand combat, and the battle of Honey Springs where lines of...