Osrpey's examination of the commanders of the American Civil War (1861-1865). When the War Between the States broke out in 1861, the US Army had only four line generals and three of those were over 70 years of age and veterans of the Napoleonic period. About one in three of America's professional officers chose to serve the Confederacy, and the government's urgent need to find commanders for its vastly expanded army put stars on the shoulders of men of very varied backgrounds and talents. The trials of war would soon separate the born leaders from the over-promoted and the political...

The southerner of the mid-19th century had been bred to ride horses. In addition the period southerner had long been used to handling firearms, through hunting for pleasure, food or simply for sport. The combination of these factors promised that when the southern states began to secede in December 1860, the cavalry would be a major combat arm. This title looks at how the men of the Confederate cavalry were recruited, trained, lived and fought during the Civil War (1861-65). Both routine and campaign life are covered, as well as the weapons and equipment that served them in their combat...

When the American Civil War (1861-1865) broke out, both Confederate and Union experts decided that specialized sharpshooter units should be formed. These highly trained marksmen served in a front-line role and, due to the technological developments of the 1850s, were equipped with weapons that could guarantee greater accuracy over increased range than traditional muskets. This title examines the recruitment, training, tactics and deployment of sharpshooters from both sides of the conflict. It also takes a close look at the specialized personal weaponry of the sharpshooter, the rifle and its...

The American Indian Wars, the most famous of which were fought on the great Western plains between 1860 and 1890, were among the most tragic of all conflicts ever fought. To the victor went no less than the complete domination of the continent, to the loser total extinction. Accustomed only to small scale skirmishing and raiding, the Indians were doomed from the start. They had never fought a European-style war with its constant pressure and co-ordinated strategies. Philip Katcher details the armies of both sides, paying particular attention to their organization and uniforms.

Philip Katcher provides an overview to the conflict that engulfed Vietnam following the division of the country into two along the 17th Parallel in 1954. The uniforms and insignia of the US forces, including the army, Special Forces, air force, navy and marine corps, are dealt with in detail, together with those of the ARVN, the Allied Forces (such as the Royal Thai Army and Korean troops), and also the Communist NLF (Viet Cong) and NVA forces. Mike Chappell's colourful artwork provides plenty of detail to accompany this authoritative text.

'There never was so fine an American army, ' wrote second-lieutenant, John Sedgwick, in describing the troops under Major-General Zachary Taylor in 1846. Another then second-lieutenant, destined to see many more armies; U.S. Grant, also thought highly of them: 'The rank and file were probably inferior ... to the volunteers that participated in all the later battles of the war; but they were brave men, and then drill and discipline brought out all there was in them.' Philip Katcher writes the story of the regulars and volunteers who fought in the Mexican-American War, detailing the infantry,...