This remarkable three-part study will transform the research material available to the English-speaking student of the Peninsular War (1808-1814). Most know that Wellington's Portuguese troops were praised as the 'fighting cocks' of his army; fewer appreciate that they represented between half and one-third of his entire forces. Similarly, most uniform historians have been limited to a few half-understood paintings by Dighton, and brief notes from secondary sources. Rene Chartrand's recent primary research in Portuguese and British archives now offers a wealth of new material. This third...

In the heady days of the rush to arms in 1861, comparatively few Southern men volunteered for service in the artillery: most preferred the easily accessible glory of the infantry or cavalry. Yet those that did, quickly earned the respect of their fellow soldiers, and a reputation for being able to "pull through deeper mud, ford deeper springs, shoot faster, swear louder ... than any other class of men in the service" during the American Civil War (1861-1865). Given that field artillery was invariably deployed in front of the troops that it was supporting, the artillerymen were exposed to a...

This long awaited title provides a fantastic reference resource on the uniforms, dress, flight gear and personal weaponry of the Imperial Japanese Navy airmen of World War II (1939-1945). It includes detailed descriptions of flight gear, including manufacture information, and interviews with IJN pilots such as Sakai, Komachi, Tanimizu, Kawato and Saito regarding the use of a variety of equipment are integrated into the text. Packed with great contemporary illustrations, photographs of original items, and colour pictures, this title provides a meticulously detailed examination of the dress and...

Osprey's examination of the Mexican Army of Santa Anna, from 1821 to 1848. Detailed information on the Mexican Army which fought the Texans in theBattle of the Alamo (1836)and the US Army in its first important foreign war ten years later, is notoriously elusive. In this ground-breaking book an internationally respected military historian presents a mass of new information from Mexican archives and a variety of other contemporary sources. For the first time the armies of the notorious General Santa Anna are explained coherently for the English-speaking reader, and their frequently changing...

Born in the Civil War of 1922-23, the army of the Republic of Ireland occupied a sensitive place in the national culture for many years. In World War II (1939-1945), it faced the challenge of maintaining Ireland's integrity as neutral. Post-war, it found a new role in 1960, providing troops for the United Nations intervention in the war-torn Congo; and since then has supported UN missions in the Middle East and elsewhere. More recently the border with troubled Ulster has obliged the Republic to invest in reform and modernisation. Ireland's freedom to seek examples and equipment worldwide has...