The dilemma of the young Italian kingdom and the experience of her army in World War I (1914-1918) were unique among the combatant nations. Late to enter the war against the Central Powers, she faced a massively defended Austro-Hungarian front in the north, including strong mountain features, as well as distractions in the Balkans and a simultaneous rebellion in her Libyan colony. Costly and repeated battles on the Isonzo front culminated in the disaster of Caporetto in October 1917, followed by a remarkable revival and eventual victory in 1918. This concise study describes and illustrates...

When it came to non-gunpowder machine development, the medieval period was one of the most inventive in military history. During this era, the pre-existing military-technological traditions from the ancient worlds were brought together. Three civilisations were primarily responsible for this evolution: the Late-Roman or Byzantine Empire, the Islamic World, and latterly the Mongol 'World Empire'. This book examines the resulting stone-throwing machines from torsion 'energy storage' systems, to manpowered and counterbalance sling devices, rockets and others.

While Scandinavia's 'Viking Age' is one of the most studied aspects of early medieval history, much less has been published about the centuries that followed. Yet the armies of Sweden, Norway and Denmark offer fascinating differences from the rest of medieval Western Europe, both in their organisation and their war gear - due partly to their remoteness, climate and terrain, but partly to their long freedom from the feudal system of other kingdoms. This book explains the special nature of Scandinavian armies, shaped by the relative weakness of kings and aristocrats, and the contrasts between...

While Scandinavia's 'Viking Age' is one of the most studied aspects of early medieval history, much less has been published about the centuries which followed. Yet the armies of Sweden, Norway and Denmark offer fascinating differences from the rest of medieval Western Europe, both in their organisation and their war gear. This second of two books covers the period which saw both expansion in the Baltic, and long wars born of the attempt to bring Scandinavia under a single monarchy - the Union of Kalmar. In the North, as elsewhere, the perfection of plate armour could not prevent the steady...

In 1095 the Byzantine Emperor Alexios I appealed to the Christian states of western Europe for help against the Turks who had swept across the Empire after the disastrous Byzantine defeat at Manzikert in 1071. This book is about the First Crusade (1096-1099) that followed, and saw several armies of 'armed pilgrims' march across Europe to the Holy Land. They were unleashed on a divided and fragmented Islamic world and won a series of apparently miraculous victories, capturing the Holy City of Jerusalem itself. The success of the First Crusade was never to be repeated, however, and triggered...

Opsrey's examination of the Battle of Poitiers, which was fought between France and England in 1356. When Edward the Black Prince marched out of Gascony in August 1356, his plan was to carry out a large-scale destructive raid into the territory of the French King, John II. On 18 September, however, he was cornered south of Poitiers by a larger French army, and was left with little option but to fight. The ensuing battle proved an unmitigated disaster for the French. Their army was butchered and the King himself captured. In this volume, Dr David Nicolle details a campaign that enhanced the...

The army of Charlemagne and his successors enabled the western Franks to recreate what contemporaries regarded as a 'reborn' western Roman empire. Frankish society was well prepared for war, with outstanding communications drawing together the disparate regions of a large empire. The role of mounted troops, the essential striking force of the Frankish army, is explored here. Alongside it was the impact that new technology, such as stirrups, had on warfare in this period. Illuminating a much-neglected area of history, this book shows how the role of cavalry grew in prestige, as the Carolingian...

The MiG-21 provided the backbone of frontline Arab air combat strength for many years and remained the Arabs' only real hope of challenging Israeli air supremacy. This book provides a detailed history of the MiG-21 in Egyptian, Syrian and Iraqi service. It includes numerous photographs, most of which have not been seen outside the Arab world and a large proportion of which have never previously been published anywhere. The material is drawn from official sources and from the private collections and recollections of men who flew, or met, these aircraft in combat.

The Crusaders that landed in the Middle East in the late-11th century brought with them their own traditions of military architecture, but it was not long before their defensive construction began to reflect a broad array of local influences. Most early Crusader structures were relatively small, and tended to increase the existing natural and defensive features of a site. The basic forms comprised freestanding towers, castra, and hilltop and spur-castles, but urban centres, religious sites and rural dwellings were also fortified. From the 1160s, bigger, stronger and more expensive castles...

The debacle of the Second Crusade in 1148 caused the Crusader States to realise the necessity of developing a more cautious strategy. The original expansionist spirit largely disappeared, and the Crusader States made priorities of strengthening their existing fortifications and towns and building new castles. These structures encompassed core aspects of Western European military architecture with the integration of rapidly developing Arab and Islamic traditions. Following Fortress 21: 'Crusader Castles in the Holy Land 1097-1192', this book examines the design, development and defensive...