Osprey Campaign Series SC (1990-2011 OSPREY) comic books 1997-1999

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 47 - 1st printing. " 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 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 48 - 1st printing. " Salamanca 1812!" Written by Ian Fletcher. Art by Bill Younghusband. Salamanca was the most decisive battle of the entire Peninsular War. Wellington smashed Marmont's French Army and his pursuit of its shattered remnants led to the famous cavalry charge of the King's German Legion at Garcia Hernandez. There would be two more years of sieges and hard fighting before the Iron Duke crossed the Pyrenees into France but from Salamanca the British and their Portuguese and Spanish allies always had the upper hand. Ian Fletcher examines this important battle in detail and also discusses the campaign which led up to it. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W. Cover price $19.95.

Volume 49 - 1st printing. " 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.