Osprey's study of German, British and American company and battalion tactics during World War II (1939-1945). The second World War is often seen as a confrontation of technology tanks and aircraft, artillery and engineering. But at the heart of the battlefield was the struggle between infantrymen, and the technology was there to enable them to capture ground or hold it. This second of two books on the organization and tactics of the German, US and British infantry in Europe focuses on national differences in the development of company and battalion tactics including those of motorized units...

From the 10th century onwards the great Japanese monastic foundations of Nara and Mount Hiei maintained large armies of warlike monks. The tempestuous political rivalries that developed between the different orders of monks and religiously inspired laymen ensured that their temples and monasteries had to be securely sited and robustly defended. This books recreates these enormous fortified monasteries and temples, tracing their development from the 10th century through to the Sengoku Jidai period and the rise of the power of the shogunate under Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Vauban was the foremost military engineer of France during the period of its centralisation and wars of expansion in the 17th and 18th centuries. His influence persisted long after Waterloo, and his name has become synonymous with the science of the construction, defence and attack of bastioned fortresses. Dunkirk, Toulon, Perpignan, Verdun and Brest stand out among the many historically significant sites created by this incredible engineer. This book examines the many achievements of this pivotal figure in fortification history, exploring the sites and their subsequent significance.

The American Civil War saw a massive development in the use of field fortifications, the result of the practical application of antebellum West-Point teaching, and the deadly impact of rifled infantry weapons and artillery. Both the Federal and Confederate armies began to develop far more sophisticated systems of field fortification, and the larger field works and fortifications surrounding Washington, DC and Richmond, VA were redesigned and rebuilt several times. This volume explores the role of land and field fortifications in the eastern and overland campaigns of the Civil War between 1861...

In January 1944, the Allies decided to land at Anzio in order to overcome the stalemate at Cassino.This amphibious landing has become one of the most controversial campaigns of World War II (1939-1945). Questionable decisions by the Allied leadership led to three months of World War I-style trench warfare, and the entire beachhead suffered from continuous German observation and bombardment. Vividly describing each thrust and counter-thrust, this book takes us through the agonizing struggle as each side sought to retain or regain mastery. It shows how Anzio proved to be a stepping stone not...

In 1462 the throne of the Principality of Moscow passed to the Ivan III (1462-1505), who succeeded in throwing off the Tatar yoke. For the next 200 years this new state struggled to maintain her borders against a series of attacks from the Lithuanians, Swedes and Poles to the west, as well as the Tatars to the south. They achieved this through the development of a network of fortified sites and a series of linear defensive systems. This book examine how these fortifications were developed to respond to ever changing situations under the command of such charismatic rulers as Ivan the Terrible,...

Osprey's study of air battle tactics of World War II (1939-1945). The delivery of entire divisions to battlefields behind enemy lines by parachute and glider played a significant part in the European campaigns of World War II. Despite notable successes, the costs and difficulties of this wholly new form of warfare have prevented airborne operations on a comparable scale since 1945. This book - by an airborne veteran of a later generation - explains in detail their advantages and drawbacks, developing techniques and equipment, with reference to specific German, US, British, Soviet and Japanese...

Osprey's examination of the United States' amphibious tactics during World War II (1939-1945). The US armed forces were responsible for many tactical innovations during the years 1941-5, but in no field was US mastery more complete than amphibious warfare. The US armed forces pioneered amphibious warfare in the Pacific and later in the Mediterranean but it was against Fortress Europe that the most famous and the most successful amphibious assault took place. On D-Day the Allies invaded German-held Normandy in a pre-dawn amphibious assault by American, British and Canadian forces. The US had...

Osprey's study of Inch'on, which was probably the most significant campaign in the Korean War (1950-1953), as well as the last major amphibious assault of division-size conducted in the history of warfare. The odds were stacked against the US troops, with virtually no time for training and many of the divisions unprepared for the conflict. The success of the Inch'on campaign is a testament to the sheer initiative of the officers and NCOs conducted it. This book details the strategy and tactics that led to the operation's success, as well as narrating the experience of the battle in...