Osprey's examination of Prussia's feats during the Seven Years' War (1756-1763). By the autumn of 1757 Frederick the Great was beset by enemies on all sides. The French had invaded the territory of his Anglo-Hanoverian allies, a Franco-Imperial army was threatening Saxony, an Austrian army 110,000-strong had marched into Silesia and even the ponderous Russians had moved against him. Then within a month Frederick transformed his fortunes. At Rossbach on 5 November he smashed the Franco-Imperial army in barely 11/2 hours. Force-marching to Silesia he won perhaps his greatest victory exactly a...

Osprey's study of one of the bloodiest conflicts of the Seven Years' War (1756-1763). In January 1758 Count Wilhelm Fermor marched into East Prussia at the head of 45,000 Russians. Frederick the Great was dismissive of the Russian army and failed to take the threat seriously. With the Russians laying siege to the fortress of Custrin, Frederick crossed the River Oder and cut their supply lines. On 25 August the two armies met at Zorndorf. This book details the bitter day-long battle in which the Russian infantry refused to buckle. Casualties were horrific, the Russians losing almost half their...

Wellington said that of all his battles Assaye, fought during the Second Mahratta War (1803-05) in central India, was 'the bloodiest for the numbers that I ever saw'. A small British force, under Major-General the Honourable Arthur Wellesley (as Wellington was then known), crossed into Mahratta territory in March 1803 to restore the Peshwa to his throne - by force if necessary. On September 23, 1803, Wellesley encountered what turned out to be the entire Mahratta army in a strong position on the banks of the Kailna River. The battle, which lasted four hours, witnessed costly infantry and...