Search results for ""author gerry embleton""

For the best part of three centuries the 'corsairs' or pirates from the 'Barbary' coasts of North Africa dominated the Western and Central Mediterranean. They made forays far into the Atlantic, preying on the shipping and coastal settlements across Christian Europe, ranging from Greece to West Africa and the British Isles. In the absence of organized European navies they seldom faced serious opposition, and the scope of their raiding was remarkable. As well as piracy and slave-raiding they fought as privateers, sharing their spoils with the rulers of the port-cities that provided them with ships, men, and a ready market. This book examines their development and their style of fighting, chronicles their achievements and failures, and illustrates their appearance and that of their ships, explaining why they were so feared and effective.

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Initially the strongest of all the Allied armies, France's metropolitan and colonial units bore the greatest burden during the first two years of the Great War, and made a great contribution to the final victory. In common with most European countries, the pre-war French Army was based on a system of national military service providing conscripts who could be subject to recall as reservists for several years after. However, the advent of war, the crisis in manpower, and the development of new tactics and weapons brought radical changes. The influence of these factors on the organisation, equipment, uniforms and tactics of the French Army during World War I is examined in detail in this title.

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The first official German stormtroop unit was authorized on 2 March 1915 when the Supreme Command of the field army ordered the VIII Corps to form a detachment for the testing of experimental weapons and the development of approximate tactics that could break the deadlock on the Western Front. By the summer of 1915, stormtroop units were springing up throughout the German armies in the west, and by the end of 1916 official stormtroop battalions were established throughout the western armies, providing a deadly new threat for the Allies. This book examines the uniform, equipment and tactics of Germany's feared elites.

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To commemorate the 2015 bicentenary of the Battle of Waterloo, one of the defining campaigns in European History, Osprey is replacing its single volume Campaign title covering the whole of the battle with three highly detailed volumes. Based on new research drawn from unpublished first-hand accounts these volumes will provide a comprehensive resource for every aspect of the battle. The first of this trilogy details the battle of Quatre Bras where an initial 8,000 Allied troops faced 48,000 men of the French Armée du Nord under Marshal Ney. Realising his error, Wellington concentrated his troops at the strategic crossroads of Quatre Bras where they just managed to hold off Ney’s attacks. The battle ended in a tactical stalemate but, unable to link up with Blücher’s Prussians, Wellington retreated back along the road to Brussels to new positions at Waterloo. Featuring extensive photographs, full colour artworks, maps and bird’s-eye-views, this first instalment is not to be missed.

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Throughout the 16th Century, the Spanish had an aura of invincibility. They controlled a vast colonial empire that stretched across the Americas and the Pacific, and held considerable territories in Europe, centring on the so-called ‘Spanish Road’. The Dutch War of Independence (also known as the 80 Years' War) was a major challenge to their dominance. The Dutch army created by Maurice of Nassau used innovative new tactics and training to take the fight to Spain and in so doing created a model that would be followed by European armies for generations to come. The second in a two-part series on the Dutch armies of the 80 Years’ War, focuses on the cavalry, artillery and engineers of the evolving armies created by Maurice of Nassau. Using specially commissioned artwork and photographs of historical artefacts, it shows how the Dutch cavalry arm, artillery, and conduct of siege warfare contributed to the long struggle against the might of the Spanish Empire.

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Waterloo is one of the defining campaigns of European history. The name conjures up images of the terrible scale and grandeur of the Napoleonic Wars and the incredible combined effort that finally ended Napoleon’s aspirations of power in Europe. Drawn from unpublished first-hand accounts, and using detailed illustrations, this comprehensive volume is the ideal resource for studying the intense fighting at the battles of Waterloo and Wavre, the final, decisive engagements of the Waterloo campaign. Those two battles are at the heart of this study, which explores the action at Mont St Jean where Wellington managed to hold the French at bay until the arrival of the Prussians under Blücher saw the Allies secure a hard-fought victory at the dramatic climax of the ‘Hundred days’.

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Much myth and fantasy surrounds the events of the Wars of the Roses: a bloody and prolonged dynastic struggle between the houses of York and Lancaster. Terence Wise's fascinating text lays bare the real story, and examines the armies, liveries and badges of the conflict. The author's readable account provides a comprehensive guide as to who fought whom, where, when, why and for what, from the origins of the Wars to such famous battles as Tewkesbury and Bosworth. The accompanying photographs, illustrations and colour plates by Gerry Embleton clearly detail the arms, armour and standards of the time.

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A mixed infantry formation made up of about 3,000 men armed with pikes, swords and handguns, the innovative and influential tercio or 'Spanish square' was the basic combat unit of the armies of Spain throughout much of the 16th and 17th centuries. Arguably the first permanent tactical formation seen in Europe since the Roman cohort, the tercio was the forerunner of modern formations such as the battalion and regiment. The variety of different weapons fielded in the tercio meant the Spanish infantry could resist opposing cavalry forces while overcoming every kind of enemy infantry deployed against them. Featuring full-colour artwork and photographs of rare items held at the Spanish Army Museum, this study covers the whole period during which the tercios were active, opening with the third Italian war between the forces of France and the Holy Roman Emperor and concluding with the final transformation of the Spanish tercios into regiments in 1704.

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The Hanseatic League was a commercial and defensive federation of merchant guilds based in harbour towns along the North Sea and Baltic coasts of what are now Germany and her neighbours, which eventually dominated maritime trade in Northern Europe and spread its influence much further afield. The League was formed to protect the economic and political interests of member cities throughout a vast and complex trading network. The League continued to operate well into the 17th century, but its golden age was between c.1200 and c.1500; thereafter it failed to take full advantage of the wave of maritime exploration to the west, south and east of Europe. During its 300 years of dominance the League’s large ships – called ‘cogs’ – were at the forefront of maritime technology, were early users of cannon, and were manned by strong fighting crews to defend them from pirates in both open-sea and river warfare. The home cities raised their own armies for mutual defence, and their riches both allowed them, and required them, to invest in fortifications and gunpowder weapons, since as very attractive targets they were subjected to sieges at various times.

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