In the year 1495, Charles VIII was the youthful King of France, the most powerful state in medieval Europe. A dreamer who saw himself as the saviour of Christian Europe, he believed he could roll back the ever-spreading tide of Ottoman Turkish conquest. As a base for his crusade he was determined to seize southern Italy. In a lightning campaign he used France's modern army to sweep through Italy, his mobile field artillery train smashing into dust the tall towers of Italy's medieval castles. The Italian states rallied and at Fornovo their alliance, the League of Venice, fought Charles' army...

Osprey's Campaign title for The battle of Lake Peipus, which took place in 1242 between the Teutonic Knights and the Russian city-state of Novgorod, led by its inspirational leader Alexandre Nevskii. The Teutonic Knights were a powerful military order, backed with the crusading zeal of Europe, the blessing of the Pope and the support of the Holy Roman Emperor. This battle, although little-known in the west, was important in the history of the medieval eastern crusades, the Teutonic defeat having a serious effect on future events. David Nicolle's excellent text examines the Crusade against...

After Saladin's great victory at the Battle of Hattin in 1137, Outremer, as medieval westerners called the remaining Latin or Catholic enclaves in the eastern Mediterranean, was no longer a threat to Islam. Its military elites preferred to live in peace, focusing on trade as much as on the defence of Christendom's holy places. In this, the first book in the English language to objectively study the knights of the Latin East, David Nicolle presents a well-balanced and informed account of the Western warriors who defended the Crusader territories for so long.

The Second Italo Abyssinian War began in October 1935, when Mussolini ordered the invasion of Ethiopia from Italian-held Eritrea and Somaliland, thinking that he would easily crush an ill-prepared and badly equipped enemy. The Italians, in the face of widespread condemnation from the League of Nations, spread terror and destruction through their indiscriminate use of air power and poison gas against an enemy more used to Medieval methods of warfare. David Nicolle examines in detail the units, equipment and uniforms of the forces on both sides of this conflict that unrealistically bolstered Il...

At the close of the 18th century the Ottoman Empire still had huge military potential. It was a complex structure of military provinces, autonomous regions and virtually independent 'regencies'. The Ottoman Empire had a larger population than its land could actually support which resulted in bloated cities, migration to under-populated mountainous areas, widespread banditry and piracy. It also meant that Ottoman armies had a ready pool of military manpower. With numerous illustrations, including eight full page colour artworkss by Angus Mcbride, this fascinating text by David Nicolle explores...

The 8th century heralded the start of a golden age in the history of the Islamic world. At this time, the Sunni Muslim 'Abbasid Caliphate, with its capital at Baghdad, ruled virtually the entire Islamic world. Islamic military power peaked in the 9th century, but by the end of this golden age in the 11th century, the 'Abbasid Caliphs had little political and virtually no military power. Featuring numerous photographs of artefacts and eight full colour plates by Graham Turner, David Nicolle's book examines the recruitment, organization, weaponry and uniforms of the armies of the Caliphates...

Medieval Italy was characterized by regular warfare among its numerous city-states, as well as internal strife within comunes as aristocratic factions fought each other for domination of the cities' governments. In this context, Italian warfare developed quickly, with the crossbow playing a key role in improving the armour technology of the Italian city militias that used them. This book traces the evolution of the Italian militiaman, providing a comprehensive view of all aspects of the late medieval Italian city militias, from the weaponry, attitudes and social backgrounds of their members,...

Born amid immense suffering and bloodshed, the Kingdom of Jerusalem remained a battlefield for almost 200 years. Investigating such characters as Richard Lionheart and Saladin, this is a complete yet concise study of the Crusades.

This volume deals principally with Western Europe and Byzantium, which for many centuries learnt from the Muslims in matters of arms, armour and military technology. Several articles also focus on military interactions in the Crusader states.