Osprey Campaign Series SC (1990-2011 OSPREY) comic books 1998-2000

Revised Edition - Volume 13B - 1st printing. "Hastings 1066 (Revised Edition)!" By Christopher Gravett. Fought on 14th October 1066 between Duke William of Normandy and Harold Godwinson, king of England, the Battle of Hastings irrevocably changed the course of English history. William's victory ensured his accession to the English throne. Hastings was also decisive in another way: the horrendous casualties suffered by the English nobility both there and at the two earlier battles of Fulford and Stamford Bridge resulted in there being very few men influential enough to lead an English resistance once William had been crowned. William would survive long enough to successfully found a Norman dynasty of English kings. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W. Cover price $19.95.

Volume 29 - 2nd and later printings. " Omdurman 1898!" By Donald Featherstone. This volume tells the story of the conquest of the Dervish Empire, culminating at Omdurman: one of the great desert battles in the imperial drama of the Victorian era. This dramatic conflict witnessed hordes of native warriors set against British discipline and firepower, gunboats on the Nile, a dramatic cavalry charge and Kitchener, the Sirdar, as conqueror. This books explores the events, weaponry and leaders of both sides, and accompanying illustrations and colourful graphics bring the whole campaign vividly to life. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W. Cover price $18.95.

Volume 37 - 2nd and later printings. " Boston 1775!" By Brendan Morrissey. The British assault on Breed's Hill and the burning of Charlestown were the first major battles of the American Revolution; after the events at Boston there was no turning back. This detailed text by Brendan Morrissey explores the opposing commanders and forces involved, whilst describing how the sparks at Lexington and Concord ignited the smouldering resentment of the Colonists into the flame of a rebellion. Colonist militia were pitted against British Redcoats in a series of struggles which led the British to evacuate Boston and to George Washington taking command of the fledgling American army. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W. Cover price $19.95.

Volume 47 - 2nd and later printings. " Yorktown 1781!" Written by Brendan Morrissey. Art by Adam Hook. By 1781 Britain's struggle to contain the rebels in her American colonies had reached an inglorious stalemate. Six years on from the British defeat by the New England militia at Boston, George Washington's rebuilt Continental Army - with support from the French - now systematically began to seek out and destroy British forces even if protected by seemingly impregnable defences. Yorktown would be a salutary lesson to the British Crown about the odds she now faced in holding on to her colonies. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W. Cover price $19.95.

Volume 49 - 2nd and later printings. " Mons 1914!" Written by David Lomas. Art by Ed Dovey. When the First World War broke out in August 1914 the Imperial German Army mistakenly assumed that the BEF - 'that contemptible little army' - would be easily defeated. They were stopped in their tracks by the numerically inferior British force, whose excellent marksmanship cost the closed packed German ranks dear. Eventually forced to fall back by overwhelming German numbers, the British carried out a masterful fighting retreat across Belgium and northern France. At Mons, nine and a half British battalions held four German divisions at bay for an entire day. This book examines not just the battle of Mons itself but also the ensuing British retreat including the actions at Le Cateau and Villers-Cotterêts. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W. Cover price $19.95.

Volume 50 - 1st printing. " Malta 1565!" Written by Tim Pickles. Art by Christa Hook. The epic siege of the island fortress of the Knights Hospitaller by the huge Turkish Army of the Emperor Suliman is one of the most compelling stories in the history of the western world. The Turks amassed an army of 30,000 men, which doubled as the siege dragged on. The knights facing them totalled 500, along with 4,000 Maltese levies and 4,500 other troops. Tim Pickles describes how despite constant pounding by the massive Turkish guns and heavy casualties, the Knights managed to hold out. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W. Cover price $19.95.

Volume 51 - 1st printing. " Inkerman 1854!" Written by Patrick Mercer. Art by Graham Turner. On 5 November 1854 the Russians marched out of the besieged city of Sevastopol to throw off the allied British and French forces by mounting a joint attack with their troops from outside the city. Despite outnumbering their enemies five to one the Russians failed to achieve victory in what looked to be almost a foregone conclusion. The third major action of the Crimean War (following Alma and Balaclava), the battle fought in heavy fog at Inkerman proved to be a testament to the skill and initiative of the individual men and officers of the British Army of the day. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W. Cover price $19.95.

Volume 52 - 1st printing. "Gettysburg 1863!" Written by Carl Smith. Art by Adam Hook. The Confederate invasion of the Northern states was General Lee's last great gamble. By taking the war to the Union he hoped to force Lincoln into peace negotiations, or win support from the European powers who were watching events closely from across the Atlantic. Equally, Meade's Army of the Potomac needed to regain it's fighting credibility after the setbacks of Fredericksburg and saw this as an opportunity to redeem its honour. The clash of 150,000 soldiers from both sides would ultimately decide the fate of a nation. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W. Cover price $19.95.

Volume 53 - 1st printing. "Granada 1492!" Written by David Nicolle. Art by Angus McBride. By 1481 Granada was the last Islamic enclave in Catholic Spain. Granada's last ruler, Muhammad XII 'Boadbil', faced the might of the Spanish royal army revitalised and lavishly equipped with modern artillery. Despite this mismatch of strength it took 11 years of hard campaigning before the Spanish troops could bring their guns to bear on the walls of Granada. After this the outcome could not be long delayed. Andalusia, the physical embodiment of the flowering Islamic culture in Spain, was snuffed out. The commanders, forces, plans and campaign itself are all examined closely in this superbly illustrated account of 'Los Reyes Catolicos' greatest victory. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W. Cover price $19.95.

Volume 54 - 1st printing. "Shiloh 1862!" Written by James Arnold. Art by Alan Perry. The first major battle in the Western theatre of the American Civil War, Shiloh came as a horrifying shock to both the American public and those in arms. For the first time they had some idea of the terrible price that would be paid for the preservation of the Union. On 6 April 1862 General Albert Sidney Johnston caught Grant and Sherman by surprise and very nearly drove them into the River Tennessee, but was mortally wounded in the process. Somehow Grant and Sherman hung on and the next day managed to drive back the hordes of grey-clad rebels. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W. Cover price $19.95.

Volume 55 - 1st printing. " Chancellorsville 1863!" Written by Carl Smith. Art by Adam Hook. Following the debacle of the battle of Fredricksburg in December 1862, Burnside was replaced as commander of the Army of the Potomac by General Joseph Hooker. Having reorganised the army and improved morale, he planned an attack that would take his army to Richmond and end the war. Although faced by an army twice his size, the Confederate commander Robert E. Lee split his forces: Jubal Early was left to hold off Sedgwick's Fredericksburg attack, and 'Stonewall' Jackson was sent with 26,000 men in a wide envelopment around Hooker's right flank. This title details how at dusk on May 2, Jackson's men crashed into the Federal right flank, and how stiffening Federal resistance slowed the Confederate advance the next day. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W. Cover price $19.95.

Volume 56 - 1st printing. " Eggmühl 1809!" Written by Ian Castle. Art by Christa Hook. In the Spring of 1809, the Austrian army, buoyant and full of new-found patriotic fervour, rolled across the frontier with Bavaria. The time had come to exact revenge for the humiliating defeat suffered at Austerlitz. But ten days later, harassed by ceaseless rain, they were streaming back from the Abens river with Napoleon in hot pursuit. Napoleon had not been in the front line when Austria had launched its campaign - and the French and their German allies had blundered backwards and forwards across the Bavarian countryside. But, with the appearance of Napoleon, Archduke Charles lost the initiative. Based for the first time upon the Austrian primary sources, this title takes the reader through the various clashes of this significant campaign. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W. Cover price $19.95.

Volume 57 - 1st printing. " San Juan Hill 1898!" Written by Angus Konstam. Art by David Rickman. Labelled a 'splendid little war' by Senator John Hay, the Spanish American War was a peculiar event in America's history, provoked as much by the press as by political pressures. Here, aided by superbly detailed maps and artwork, the author deals with the clashes at Las Guasimas and El Caney, the capture of San Juan Hill, and the naval battle and siege of Santiago. The war was to mark the end of Spanish sovereignty in her 'New World', and the establishment of the United States of America as a world power. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W. Cover price $19.95.

Volume 58 - 1st printing. " First Ypres 1914!" Written by David Lomas. Art by Ed Dovey. In the autumn of 1914 the original British Expeditionary Force faced a heavily reinforced German drive. Field Marshal Sir John French, the British Commander-in-Chief, had sent his men north in an attempt to take the fight into Flanders, so they could fight across open ground. History tells us that this was not to be the case. David Lomas chronicles the first of the trench-warfare battles, where lines that would remain almost static for the rest of the war were established. Although the Germans failed to reach the channel ports, the death knell had rung for the BEF, which was virtually wiped out in this brave defence. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W. Cover price $19.95.

Volume 59 - 1st printing. " Vittoria 1813!" Written by Ian Fletcher. Art by Bill Younghusband. Despite Wellington's success against Marmont's army at Salamanca in July, the year of 1812 ended in bitter disappointment for the British. However, a year later Wellington's series of brilliant manoeuvres threw the French onto the defensive on all fronts, culminating in the final victory at Vittoria: 90,000 men and 90 guns attacking in four mutually supporting columns. The French centre gave way and both flanks were turned, their army finally breaking in flight towards Pamplona. Any French hopes of maintaining their position in the Peninsular were crushed forever. On 7 October the British set foot on the 'sacred soil' of' Napoleon's France. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W. Cover price $19.95.

Volume 60 - 1st printing. " The Ebro 1938!" Written by Chris Henry. Art by Adam Hook. The last major Republican offensive of the Spanish Civil war, the Battle of the Ebro was a vitally important episode in the Spanish conflict and, although ultimately a Republican defeat it proved a severe setback for the Nationalist forces under General Francesco Franco Bahamonde. According to many historians it extended the war for an extra year. Ultimately however it was probably the death knell of the Republic; their armies lost vast amounts of men and materials and they were left incapable of defending their remaining territory effectively. The consequences for Europe were immense. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W. Cover price $19.95.

Volume 61 - 1st printing. " Megiddo 1918!" Written by Bryan Perrett. Art by Ed Dovey. After securing the capture of Jerusalem General Allenby planned a campaign that would knock Turkey out of World War 1. In a spectacular campaign General Allenby's Egyptian Expeditionary Force achieved the breakthrough in Palestine that commanders on the Western Front had only dreamed of. Supported by Lawrence and his Arab irregulars, the Desert Mounted Corps swept across the Turkish rear, destroying three armies in the process. Turkey's war was over and the days of the tottering Ottoman Empire were numbered. This was a British 'Blitzkrieg' with a speed of advance that stunned the world twenty years before Germany's Panzers rolled across Europe. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W. Cover price $19.95.

1st Edition - Volume 62 - 1st printing. " Pearl Harbor 1941!" Written by Carl Smith. Art by Jim Laurier. Sunday 7 December 1941 saw the dawn of modern warfare. Air superiority and surprise led to the shattering of the superior US Pacific Fleet by a well planned and excellently co-ordinated attack of Japanese naval aircraft and submarine forces. The full might of Japanese naval aviation power was hurled against the United States as six aircraft carriers disgorged their full complements in two waves. Depending on opposing viewpoints, the attack on Pearl Harbor was either a brilliant manoeuvre by an audacious strategist or a piece of unparalleled villainy and deception by a supposedly friendly power. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W. Cover price $19.95.

Volume 63 - 1st printing. " Fredericksburg 1862!" Written by Carl Smith. Art by Adam Hook. In December 1862, things were still confused for the Union. Antietam had been a failure for both sides, and although the battle showed that the Union army could bring the Confederates to bay, it couldn't pin them in one place long enough to destroy them. In December 1862, General Burnside, newly appointed to command the Army of the Potomac, planned to seize and secure the town of Fredericksburg, and then take the Confederate capital of Richmond. Carl Smith's book details the epic struggle that engulfed the Union side as it crossed the Rappahannock on December 11, encountering stiff opposition from Lee's men. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W. Cover price $19.95.

Volume 64 - 1st printing. " Nicopolis 1396!" Written by David Nicolle. Art by Christa Hook. By the second half of the 14th century, the once mighty Byzantine Empire had been reduced to little more than the city of Constantinople. In 1391, the Ottoman ruler Sultan Bayazid I 'The Lightning' besieged the city. Pope Boniface IX preached a crusade and a French-led army of 10,000 marched east. At Nicopolis they met the Ottoman army in battle. Ignoring the advice of their Hungarian and Transylvanian allies, the Crusaders charged the Turks and were in turn smashed by the Ottoman heavy cavalry. The last Crusade ended on the banks of the Danube as the Crusaders desperately sought to escape from the pursuing Turks. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W. Cover price $19.95.

Volume 65 - 1st printing. " Badajoz 1812!" Written by Ian Fletcher. Art by Bill Younghusband. The storming of Badajoz was an epic action which involved Wellington's infantry in some of the most savage hand-to hand fighting of the whole Peninsular War. At appalling cost in a nightmare assault during the night of the 6 April 1812, Wellington's soldiers hacked their way over the bodies of their dead and wounded and through the huge medieval walls of the town. These were held with great tenacity, skill and courage by a resolute French and German garrison. Having stormed the town the battle-crazed army went berserk and the horrors of the sacking which followed, as much as the sublime courage of the attackers, have passed into legend. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W. Cover price $19.95.

Volume 66 - 1st printing. " Bosworth 1485!" Written by Christopher Gravett. Art by Graham Turner. The battle of Bosworth effectively put an end to the dynastic struggle known as the Wars of the Roses. Guiding the reader from the campaign's origins to its aftermath, and covering the commanders and forces of King Richard III and Henry Tudor, this is a complete treatment of one of the most important events in English history. Shakespeare was to immortalize the battle and Richard's death in Richard III, and the life and reign of the last Plantagenet have sparked centuries of debate. Christopher Gravett cuts through myth and propaganda as he clearly details the course of this pivotal campaign. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W. Cover price $19.95.

Volume 67 - 1st printing. " Saratoga 1777!" Written by Brendan Morrissey. Art by Adam Hook. The Saratoga campaign was a watershed, and is widely believed to have been the turning point of the American War of Independence. For the first time British regulars were beaten in open battle by equal numbers of Americans. The Continentals bore the brunt of the fighting, supported by 'hordes' of militia who proved adept at attacking detachments or lines of communication.The after-shock in America (on both sides) and Europe transformed a civil war into a global struggle against the two colonial superpowers of the day, France and Spain, and eventually lost George III his American colonies. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W. Cover price $19.95.

Volume 69 - 1st printing. " Nagashino 1575!" Written by Stephen Turnbull. Art by Howard Gerrard. When Portuguese traders took advantage of the constant violence in Japan to sell the Japanese their first firearms, one of the quickest to take advantage of this new technology was the powerful daimyo Oda Nobunaga. In 1575 the impetuous Takeda Katsuyori laid siege to Nagashino castle, a possession of Nobunaga's ally, Tokugawa Ieyasu. An army was despatched to relieve the siege, and the two sides faced each other across the Shidarahara. The Takeda samurai were brave, loyal and renowned for their cavalry charges, but Nobunaga, counting on Katsuyori's impetuosity, had 3,000 musketeers waiting behind prepared defences for their assault. The outcome of this clash of tactics and technologies was to change the face of Japanese warfare forever. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W. Cover price $19.95.

Volume 70 - 1st printing. " Marengo 1800!" Written by David Hollins. Art by Christa Hook. Having returned from Egypt and seized power as First Consul, Napoleon led the Army of the Reserve against the Austrian Army besieging Genoa. After a period of skirmishing and manoeuvring, Melas, the Austrian commander, launched a surprise attack on the morning of 14 June. The attack initially drove the French back to Marengo village and, despite committing the Consular Guard, by 3pm the French were retreating. Believing he had won, the wounded Melas left the field to his Chief-of-Staff, Zach. The timely arrival of Desaix's Division led by Kellerman's cavalry and the 9e Légère threw the Austrians into confusion, turned the battle in Napoleon's favour, thus securing his position as First Consul. It could have been very different. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W. Cover price $19.95.

Volume 71 - 1st printing. "Crécy 1346!" Written by David Nicolle. Art by Graham Turner. The Battle of Crecy was the first major land battle of the Hundred Years War. It pitted the French army, then considered the best in Europe, and their miscellaneous allies against the English under King Edward III and the 'Black Prince', who as yet had no great military reputation; this was the battle where he 'won his spurs'. The Genoese crossbowmen were outshot by the English longbows and the pattern was set for the rest of the day: the French cavalry were committed piecemeal in fruitless charges against strong English positions, losing perhaps 10,000 men in the course of the fighting. After almost a millennium in which cavalry had dominated the field of battle, the infantryman, and particularly the longbowman, now ruled supreme. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W. Cover price $19.95.

Volume 72 - 1st printing. "Jutland 1916!" Written by Charles London. Art by Howard Gerrard. The only major fleet engagement of World War I, the Battle of Jutland has been surrounded by controversy ever since. The British public felt Admiral Jellicoe had failed - a reaction rooted in a hundred years of the 'Nelson cult', a conviction that anything short of a Trafalgar-style annihilation was letting the side down. True, the German Fleet had sunk more ships and suffered fewer casualties, but the British had forced them to disengage and run for port and were still cruising off Denmark spoiling for a fight. This title recounts in detail how on an early summer's evening in 1916, the two fleets clashed head to head: the events that followed would spark a polemic that still rages today. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W. Cover price $19.95.

Volume 73 - 1st printing. "Operation Compass 1940!" Written by Jon Latimer. Art by Jim Laurier. The first battle of the desert war, Operation Compass was originally envisaged as a spoiling attack, combined with a reconnaissance in force to disrupt the Italian forces that had advanced into Egypt in September 1940. Lt Gen. Richard O'Connor launched what amounted to a British 'Blitzkrieg'. In less than two months the British forces swept 500 miles along the coast of North Africa. 7th Armoured Division raced across the desert to cut off the retreating Italians, and O'Connor's men destroyed 9 Italian divisions, and took 130,000 prisoners. In March 1941 General Rommel and the Afrikakorps landed at Tripoli. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W. Cover price $19.95.

Volume 74 - 1st printing. "The Rhineland 1945!" Written by Ken Ford. Art by Tony Bryan. Known as the last great 'stand-up fight' of the Second World War the battle for the Rhineland was brutal in the extreme. Eisenhower's 'broad front' policy called for the whole of the Rhineland to be taken before pushing his troops across the Rhine and into Germany itself. The Germans opened the Roer dams in a vain bid to temper this massive Allied offensive and this called for a drastic change in tactics. The ensuing battle was characterised by amphibious assaults on the fortified villages of the flooded Rhine lowlands, frontal assaults on the much vaunted Siegfried Line and the grim fighting for the Reichswald Forest. It was to be 'the last great killing ground in the west'. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W. Cover price $19.95.

Volume 75 - 1st printing. "Lorraine 1944!" Written by Steven J Zaloga. Art by Tony Bryan. In the wake of the defeat in Normandy in the summer of 1944, Hitler planned to stymie the Allied advance by cutting off Patton's Third Army in the Lorraine with a great Panzer offensive. But Patton's aggressive tactics continued to thwart German plans and led to a series of violent armored battles. The battle-hardened Wehrmacht confronted the better-equipped and better-trained US Army. The Germans managed to re-establish a fragile defensive line but could not stop the US Army from establishing bridgeheads over the Moselle along Germany's western frontier. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W. Cover price $19.95.

Volume 76 - 1st printing. "Ticonderoga 1758!" Written by René Chartrand. Art by Patrice Courcelle. On 5 July 1758 General Abercromby's expedition against Fort Carillon set off from its camp. Within hours, tragedy struck. Some rangers ran into a French scouting party and in the fierce skirmish that followed Lord Howe, the darling of the army, was shot through the heart. The army was shattered at the loss, but Abercromby went to pieces. He decided to attack Montcalm's completed breastworks head-on. Battalion after battalion was sacrificed, the most famous of these hopeless assaults being that of the Black Watch. With the failure of his plan and the exhaustion of his army Abercromby retreated to the foot of Lake George - Montcalm had saved Canada, with Abercromby's help. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W. Cover price $19.95.

Volume 77 - 1st printing. "Tarawa 1943!" Written by Derrick Wright. Art by Howard Gerrard. The island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll was defended by the elite troops of the Special Naval Landing Force, whose commander, Admiral Shibasaki, boasted that the Americans could not take Tarawa with a million men in a hundred years. In a pioneering amphibious invasion, the Marines of the 2nd Division set out to prove him wrong, overcoming serious planning errors to fight a 76-hour battle of unprecedented savagery. The cost would be more than 3000 Marine casualties at the hands of a garrison of some 3700. The lessons learned would dispel forever any illusions that Americans had about the fighting quality of the Japanese. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W. Cover price $19.95.

Volume 78 - 1st printing. "Constantinople 1453!" Written by David Nicolle. Art by Christa Hook. This title details the epic four-month siege of the city of Constantinople, last vestige of the once mighty Roman and Byzantine Empires. Mehmet 'The Conqueror' led an army of 80,000 men with a massive siege train against the city. Defending were a mere 10,000 men under the Emperor Constantine XI. The Turkish artillery battered the ancient city walls mercilessly, levelling a large section. A gallant defence held off the massive Turkish assault for several hours. Refusing appeals to flee, Constantine returned to the breaches and fought until overwhelmed and killed. Thus died the last Emperor of the Byzantines, and with him his once glorious empire. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W. Cover price $19.95.

Volume 79 - 1st printing. "Louisbourg 1758!" Written by René Chartrand. Art by Patrice Courcelle. Louisbourg represented a major threat to Anglo-American plans to invade Canada. Bypassing it would leave an immensely powerful enemy base astride the Anglo-American lines of communication - Louisbourg had to be taken. Faced with strong beach defences and rough weather, it took six days to land the troops, and it was only due to a stroke of daring on the part of a young brigadier named James Wolfe, who managed to turn the French beach position, that this was achieved. The story is largely based on firsthand accounts from the journals of several participants, including French Governor Drucour's, whose excellent account has never been published. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W. Cover price $19.95.