Osprey Campaign Series SC (1990-2011 OSPREY) comic books 2003-2005

Volume 100 - 1st printing. " D-Day 1944 Part 1!" Written by Steven J Zaloga. Art by Howard Gerrard. The D-Day landings of 6 June 1944 were the largest amphibious military operation ever mounted. The greatest armada the world had ever seen was assembled to transport the Allied invasion force across the Channel and open the long-awaited second front against Hitler's Third Reich. Of the landings on the five assault beaches, Omaha Beach was the only one ever in doubt. Within moments of the first wave landing a third of the assault troops were casualties. Yet by the end of D-Day the Atlantic Wall had been breached and the US Army's V Corps was firmly entrenched on French soil. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W. Cover price $19.95.

Volume 104 - 1st printing. " D-Day 1944 Part 2!" Written by Steven J Zaloga. Art by Howard Gerrard. On their western flank, the Allied landings on D-Day combined a parachute drop by the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions with an amphibious assault on "Utah" Beach by the US 4th Infantry Division. The landings came ashore in the wrong place but met weaker German resistance as a result. The heaviest fighting took place inland where the badly scattered paratroopers gradually gathered in small groups and made for their objectives. This book traces the story of D-Day on Utah beach, revealing how the infantry pushed inland and linked up with the Airborne troops in a beachhead five miles deep. Now the battle to break out and seize the key port of Cherbourg could begin. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Volume 114 - 1st printing. " Lepanto 1571!" Written by Angus Konstam. Art by Tony Bryan. For much of the 16th century the Mediterranean was a battleground between Christians and Muslims. A decisive battle between two large galley fleets was expected to decide the fate of the entire Mediterranean basin. In August 1571, an Ottoman fleet of some 235 galleys encountered the slightly smaller Christian fleet of the Holy League. In a five hour melee the Christians inflicted a decisive defeat on the Turks. Lepanto was the last great galley fight of all time and one of the most decisive naval battles in history. This book details the course of one of the most crucial military campaigns of the Renaissance. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Volume 115 - 1st printing. " Battle of the Bulge 1944 Part 1!" Written by Steven J Zaloga. Art by Howard Gerrard. The Battle of the Bulge was the largest and most costly battle fought by the US Army in World War II. The Ardennes fighting was Hitler's last gamble on the Western Front, crippling the Wehrmacht for the remainder of the war. In the first of two volumes on the Ardennes campaign Steven Zaloga details the fighting in the northern sector around St Vith and the Elsenborn Ridge. Sixth Panzer Army, containing the bulk of German Panzer strength, was expected to achieve the breakthrough here. It was the failure around St Vith that forced the Germans to look south towards Bastogne. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Volume 116 - 1st printing. " First Newbury 1643!" Written by Keith Roberts. Art by Graham Turner. The battle of Newbury was the turning point of the English Civil War. By August 1643 the King's cause was very much in the ascendant. Parliament armies had been crushed at Adwalton Moor and Roundway Down and the Royalists had taken Bristol. When they summoned Gloucester to surrender on 10 August the city's only hope was a Parliament relief army. The London Trained Bands joined the Earl of Essex's expedition and when battle was joined at Newbury the Londoners more than held their own against the best of the King's cavalry. With the citizens of London so firmly committed to Parliament's cause and the King's cavalry no longer invincible the balance of power had shifted irretrievably. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Volume 117 - 1st printing. " Stirling Bridge and Falkirk 1297-98!" Written by Peter Armstrong. Art by Angus McBride. The death of the last of the Scottish royal house of Canmore in 1290 triggered a succession crisis. Attempts to undermine Scottish independence by King Edward I of England sparked open rebellion culminating in an English defeat at the hands of William Wallace at Stirling Bridge in 1297. Edward gathered an army, marched north and at Falkirk on 22 July 1298 he brought Wallace's army to battle. Amid accusations of treachery, Wallace's spearmen were slaughtered by Edward's longbowmen, then charged by the English cavalry and almost annihilated. In 1305 Wallace was captured and executed, but the flame of rebellion he had ignited could not be extinguished. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Volume 118 - 1st printing. "The Yom Kippur War 1973 Part1!" Written by Simon Dunstan. Art by Howard Gerrard. At 1345hrs on 6 October 1973, Israeli spotters in the observation post atop Mount Hermon saw Syrian gunners below them removing the camouflage nets from their guns. Ten minutes later shells began to rain down on Israeli positions all along the Golan Heights - The Yom Kippur War had begun. The shock Syrian attack caught the Israelis by surprise and by the afternoon of 7 October a Syrian brigade was less than 10km from the Sea of Galilee. Simon Dunstan describes in detail how amid desperate and bitter fighting the Israeli forces managed to turn the tide on the Golan Heights. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Volume 119 - 1st printing. "Marston Moor 1644!" Written by John Tincey. Art by Graham Turner. The entry of the Scots into the English Civil War on 19 January 1644 on the side of Parliament radically changed the balance of power in the North of England. The Royalists in the North were forced onto the defensive and besieged in York. In a bold march Prince Rupert outmanoeuvred his enemies and relieved York without a shot being fired. However, when Rupert met the allied army in battle on Marston Moor on 2 July his cavalry was defeated by Cromwell's Ironsides who then turned on the Royalist infantry. The result was a hard-fought but catastrophic defeat; the Royalist army was crushed and their forces driven from the north of England. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Volume 120 - 1st printing. "Towton 1461!" Written by Christopher Gravett. Art by Graham Turner. On a bitterly cold Palm Sunday, 29 March 1461, the army of King Edward IV met that of his Lancastrian enemies on a snow-covered battlefield south of the village of Towton in Yorkshire. The struggle lasted all day in the longest and bloodiest battle of the Wars of the Roses. With the arrival of Yorkist reinforcements under the Duke of Norfolk, the Lancastrian line eventually broke and their troops fled, many being caught and slaughtered in the death trap known as 'Bloody Meadow'. Christopher Gravett examines the campaign that marked the resurgence of the Yorkist cause and established Edward IV as king Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Volume 121 - 1st printing. "Quebec 1759!" Written by Stuart Reid. Art by Gerry Embleton. 'What a scene!' wrote Horace Walpole. 'An army in the night dragging itself up a precipice by stumps of trees to assault a town and attack an enemy strongly entrenched and double in numbers!' In one short sharp exchange of fire Major-General James Wolfe's men tumbled the Marquis de Montcalm's French army into bloody ruin. Sir John Fortescue famously described it as the 'most perfect volley ever fired on a battlefield'. In this book Stuart Reid details how one of the British Army's consummate professionals literally beat the King's enemies before breakfast and in so doing decided the fate of a continent. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Volume 122 - 1st printing. "Tannenberg 1410!" Written by Stephen Turnbull. Art by Richard Hook. By 1400 the long running conflict between the Order of Teutonic Knights and Poland and Lithuania was coming to a head, partly as a result of the Order's meddling in the internal politics of its neighbours. In June 1410 King Wladislaw Jagiello of Poland invaded the Order's territory with a powerful allied army including all the enemies of the Teutonic Knights - Poles, Lithuanians, Russians, Bohemians, Hungarians, Tartars and Cossacks. This book recounts how, when the armies clashed on the wooded, rolling hills near the small village of Tannenberg, the Teutonic Knights suffered a disastrous defeat from which their Order never recovered. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Volume 123 - 1st printing. "Auldearn 1645!" Written by Stuart Reid. Art by Gerry Embleton. In August 1644, at the height of the First English Civil War, John Graham, the Marquis of Montrose, raised the standard of Royalist rebellion in Scotland. In a single year he won a string of remarkable victories with his army of Irish mercenaries and Highland clansmen. His victory at Auldearn, the centrepiece of his campaign, was won only after a day-long struggle and heavy casualties on both sides. This book details the remarkable sequence of victories at Tippermuir, Aberdeen, Inverlochy, Auldearn and Kilsyth that left Montrose briefly in the ascendant in Scotland. However, his decisive defeat and surrender at Philiphaugh finally crushed the Royalist cause in Scotland. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Volume 124 - 1st printing. "Fair Oaks 1862!" Written by Angus Konstam. Art by Steve Noon. Following its humiliating defeat at the First Battle of Bull Run, General George B. McClellan took command of the Union Army of the Potomac. In the spring of 1862, having rebuilt his forces, the Little Napoleon devised a plan to end the war in a single campaign. Transporting his army by sea to the Virginia Peninsula, he would outflank Confederate forces and march unopposed on Richmond, the Southern capital. Excessive caution squandered the opportunity, however, and on 31 May the Confederates struck at McClellan's divided forces at Fair Oaks. This book details McClellan's controversial Peninsula campaign and the southern attempt to halt the Union juggernaut. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Volume 125 - 1st printing. "Zorndorf 1758!" Written by Simon Millar. Art by Adam Hook. In January 1758 Count Wilhelm Fermor marched into East Prussia at the head of 45,000 Russians. Frederick the Great was dismissive of the Russian army and failed to take the threat seriously. With the Russians laying siege to the fortress of Cüstrin, Frederick crossed the River Oder and cut their supply lines. On 25 August the two armies met at Zorndorf. This book details the bitter day-long battle in which the Russian infantry refused to buckle. Casualties were horrific, the Russians losing almost half their army. Frederick had managed to stave off the Russian threat but his opinion of their army had changed dramatically. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Volume 126 - 1st printing. "The Yom Kippur War 1973 Part 2!" Written by Simon Dunstan. Art by Kevin Lyles. Israel's victory in the 1967 'Six Day War' sowed the seeds of the 1973 Yom Kippur War. At 1400hrs on 6 October 1973 the Egyptian army launched an assault crossing of the Suez Canal. The carefully co-ordinated attack achieved complete tactical surprise. The sand embankments of the Israeli Bar-Lev Line were breached and an Israeli counterattack thrown back with heavy losses. In the second of his two-volume analysis of the Yom Kippur War, Simon Dunstan details the fighting in the Sinai, culminating in Operation Gazelle, the Israeli counterattack across the Suez Canal. Although defeated militarily Egypt did ultimately succeed in forcing the Israelis back to the negotiating table. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Volume 127 - 1st printing. "Dieppe 1942!" Written by Ken Ford. Art by Howard Gerrard. The Dieppe raid of August 1942 is one of the most controversial actions of World War II. Operation 'Jubilee' was a frontal assault on a fortified port landing the latest equipment and armour directly on to the beach. The main force would destroy the port facilities while other smaller landings dealt with anti-aircraft and coastal batteries. The raid itself turned into a fiasco. The assault force was pinned down on the beach and three quarters of the 5,000 troops landed were lost. This book analyses the disastrous raid and examines contrasting conclusions drawn by the Allies and the Germans. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W W Cover price $19.95.

Volume 128 - 1st printing. "Quebec 1775!" Written by Brendan Morrissey. Art by Adam Hook. The American attack on Quebec in 1775 was a key episode in the War of Independence. Capture of the city would give the Americans control of Canada - a disaster for the British. The subsequent campaign involved a 350-mile trek across uninhabited wilderness, a desperate American attack on the city of Quebec that left one American general dead and another wounded, and a British counterattack that culminated in a brutal naval battle off Valcour Island on Lake Champlain. In this book Brendan Morrissey details the events of this ferocious struggle whose results would have such momentous consequences at Saratoga in 1777. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Volume 129 - 1st printing. "Operation Barbarossa 1941 Part 1!" Written by Robert Kirchubel. Art by Howard Gerrard. Operation Barbarossa, Germany's surprise assault on the Soviet Union in June 1941, aimed at nothing less than the complete destruction of Communist Russia. This book focuses on Field Marshal von Rundstedt and Army Group South, tasked with the capture of the Ukraine and Crimea. Von Rundstedt's 46 divisions and single Panzer Group faced fierce resistance from the best equipped, trained and commanded units in the Red Army, but ultimately succeeded in destroying the Soviet 6th and 12th Armies at Uman before inflicting a further 600,000 casualties at Kiev. Here, von Rundstedt's five-month advance to Rostov is examined in detail. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Volume 130 - 1st printing. "Kawanakajima 1553-64!" Written by Stephen Turnbull. Art by Wayne Reynolds. Kawanakajima is unique in history. In the space of 12 years, between 1553 and 1564, this valley deep in the mountains of central Japan witnessed no fewer than five battles between two of Japan's greatest warlords. Takeda Shingen and Uesugi Kenshin were both descended from great families and were highly skilled tacticians. Both had taken the tonsure and risen to high rank in their respective Buddhist sects. When Shingen attempted to seize control of Shinano province they were set on a collision course. Stephen Turnbull chronicles the see-saw struggle between two men who epitomize the warrior daimyo from Japan's 'Warring States' period. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Volume 131 - 1st printing. "Tewkesbury 1471!" Written by Christopher Gravett. Art by Graham Turner. In this book Christopher Gravett details the climactic events of 1471 and the battle that virtually extinguished the Lancastrian cause. After the crushing Yorkist victory at Towton in 1461, King Edward IV appeared to have triumphed in England's bloody Wars of the Roses. The Lancastrian King Henry VI was even a prisoner in the Tower of London. By 1470, however, Edward's erstwhile ally the Earl of Warwick - The 'Kingmaker' - had joined the Lancastrians and a final reckoning was inevitable. Warwick perished at Barnet in April 1471, and on 4 May Edward confronted his enemies, including Edward, Prince and last hope of the House of Lancaster, at Tewkesbury. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Volume 132 - 1st printing. "The First Crusade 1096-99!" Written by David Nicolle. Art by Christa Hook. In 1095 the Byzantine Emperor Alexios I appealed to the Christian states of western Europe for help against the Turks who had swept across the Empire after the disastrous Byzantine defeat at Manzikert in 1071. This book is about the First Crusade that followed, and saw several armies of 'armed pilgrims' march across Europe to the Holy Land. They were unleashed on a divided and fragmented Islamic world and won a series of apparently miraculous victories, capturing the Holy City of Jerusalem itself. The success of the First Crusade was never to be repeated, however, and triggered two centuries of bitter warfare, the repercussions of which are still felt today. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Volume 133 - 1st printing. "Seven Days Battles 1862!" Written by Angus Konstam. Art by Stephen Walsh. When General Robert E. Lee took command of the Army of Northern Virginia, the Confederacy was in crisis. Lee changed all that in a brilliant, week-long campaign. On 26 June the Confederates struck, fighting two hard-fought battles in two days at Mechanicsville and Gaine's Mill. The ferocity of the Confederate assaults convinced McClellan that he was outnumbered. Unable to keep the Confederates at bay, the Union army was recalled to Washington. Despite losing a quarter of his men, Lee had saved Richmond, and inflicted a humiliating defeat on the Army of the Potomac. This book traces the course of this short yet crucial campaign. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Volume 134 - 1st printing. "Cassino 1944!" Written by Ken Ford. Art by Howard Gerrard. The battle for Cassino was probably the most bitter struggle of the entire Italian campaign. The dominating peak of Montecassino crowned by its magnificent but doomed medieval monastery was the key to the entire Gustav Line, a formidable system of defences that stretched right across the Italian peninsula. This position completely dominated the Liri valley and Route 6, the strategically vital road to Rome. Between January and May 1944 the Allies struggled amid inhospitable terrain and dreadful weather to dislodge the German paratroops that tenaciously defended the vital mountaintop. Ken Ford's book details the dramatic events of the battle to break the Gustav Line. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Volume 135 - 1st printing. "Monmouth Courthouse 1778!" Written by Brendan Morrissey. Art by Adam Hook. The battle of Monmouth Courthouse was not only the last major action in the Northern theater, it was also the longest and hardest-fought engagement of the entire Revolutionary War. When the British abandoned Philadelphia to return to New York City, American troops harassed their retreat. On the morning of 28 June 1778, General Lee, George Washington's lieutenant, attacked the British rearguard but his attack went badly wrong. The British rearguard, now reinforced, threw Lee's troops into a headlong retreat. Lee was relieved of his command and Washington's Continentals then stood toe-to-toe with the British, bloodily repulsing a series of powerful attacks by crack troops. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Volume 136 - 1st printing. "Meiktila 1945!" Written by Edward Young. Art by Howard Gerrard. In the spring of 1944, Japanese 15th Army was shattered at Imphal and Kohima, allowing General William Slim, commander of 14th Army, to liberate Burma overland from India - a task considered impossible by the British chiefs of staff. Overcoming immense logistical problems, Slim coordinated a precisely timed attack along a 200-mile front, the longest opposed river crossing of the entire war, and an armored dash behind enemy lines that seized Meiktila, cutting Japanese supply lines. Mandalay fell and at the end of March 1945, with the battle lost, the Japanese withdrew south. Slim gave them no chance; Allied troops raced south and captured Rangoon. The Japanese army in Burma was finished. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Volume 137 - 1st printing. "Saipan & Tinian 1944!" Written by Gordon L Rottman. Art by Howard Gerrard. The 1944 invasion of Saipan was the first two-division amphibious assault conducted by US forces in World War II. Saipan and Tinian had been under Japanese control since 1914 and, heavily colonized, they were considered virtually part of the Empire. The struggle for Saipan and Tinian was characterized by the same bitter fighting that typified the entire Central Pacific campaign. Fighting side-by-side, Army and Marine units witnessed the largest tank battle of the Pacific War, massed Japanese banzai charges, and the horror of hundreds of Japanese civilians committing suicide to avoid capture. In this book Gordon Rottman details the capture of these vital islands that led to the collapse of Prime Minister Tojo's government. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Volume 138 - 1st printing. "Poitiers 1356!" Written by David Nicolle. Art by Graham Turner. When Edward the Black Prince marched out of Gascony in August 1356, his plan was to carry out a large-scale destructive raid into the territory of the French King, John II. On 18 September, however, he was cornered south of Poitiers by a larger French army, and was left with little option but to fight. The ensuing battle proved an unmitigated disaster for the French. Their army was butchered and the King himself captured. In this volume, Dr David Nicolle details a campaign that enhanced the reputation of the Black Prince and led King John to catastrophe. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Volume 139 - 1st printing. "Guam 1941 & 1944!" Written by Gordon L Rottman. Art by Howard Gerrard. The island of Guam was the first Allied territory lost to the Japanese onslaught in 1941. On 10 December 5,000 Japanese troops landed on Guam, defended by less than 500 US and Guamanian troops, the outcome was beyond doubt. On 21 July 1944 America returned. In a risky operation, the two US landing forces came ashore seven miles apart and it was a week before the beachheads linked up. Only the battles for Iwo Jima and Okinawa would cost the Americans more men than the landings on Guam and Saipan, which immediately preceded the Guam operation. In this book Gordon Rottman details the bitter 26-day struggle for this key Pacific island. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Volume 140 - 1st printing. "Monongahela 1754-55!" Written by René Chartrand. Art by Stephen Walsh. On 9 July 1755 amid the wilderness of North America, Britain suffered one of the most humiliating defeats in her history. General Braddock's army, a mixture of British regulars and American militia, was shattered, losing over 900 men from a force of 1,300. Braddock was killed and the remnants of his army rescued by his aide, Colonel George Washington. The origins of this defeat can be traced back to the death of a junior French officer little more than a year before in a relatively minor skirmish with a party of Virginian militia commanded by the same George Washington. René Chartrand examines the subsequent chain of events that ultimately sparked a world war. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Volume 141 - 1st printing. "Blenheim 1704!" Written by John Tincey. Art by Graham Turner. Combining one of history's most audacious strategic manoeuvres with perhaps the greatest military victory ever won by a British commander, the Blenheim campaign is rightly considered the pinnacle of the career of John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough. On 13 August 1704, Marlborough and Prince Eugene of Savoy faced a Franco-Bavarian army threatening to knock Austria out of the War of the Spanish Succession. In a hard-fought battle Marlborough won a resounding victory, capturing Marshal Tallard and over 14,000 men. In this book John Tincey describes how Marlborough's victory crushed his enemies, shattered the myth of French invincibility and laid the foundations for two centuries of British world dominance. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Volume 142 - 1st printing. "Dunbar 1650!" Written by Stuart Reid. Art by Graham Turner. Having already allied with his father, the Scots' acceptance of Charles II as king in 1649 caused deep suspicion in England. In July 1650, Oliver Cromwell led a powerful force across the Scottish border to remove the problem. For six weeks Cromwell waged a frustrating campaign against a Scots enemy that refused to meet him in battle. By the beginning of September Cromwell's army, poorly supplied, exhausted and ravaged by sickness, was apparently trapped at Dunbar by a powerful Scots army. On 3 September he won his greatest military victory just outside the town, but in this book Stuart Reid suggests that his triumph may in fact have begun as a breakout attempt. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Add to cart Near Mint $10.00

Volume 143 - 1st printing. " Caen 1944!" Written by Ken Ford. Art by Peter Dennis. One of the key objectives of British forces on D-Day was the capture of the strategically vital city of Caen. General Montgomery saw Caen as the key to Normandy and the springboard for the Allied breakout, but so did the Germans and the city did not fall. It took three major offensives and more than 30 bloody days of struggle to finally take Caen. In the process the city was controversially devastated and its civilian population decimated. The Allies paid a high price for Caen but the horrific German casualties bled their forces in Normandy white and helped open the way for the American breakout in Operation Cobra. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Volume 145 - 1st printing. "Battle of the Bulge 1944 Part 2!" Written by Steven J Zaloga. Art by Howard Gerrard and Peter Dennis. The Ardennes offensive in December 1944, known to history as the "Battle of the Bulge", was the decisive campaign of the war in North-West Europe. When the attack in the north by 6th Panzer Army failed, Hitler switched the focus of the offensive to General Manteuffel's 5th Panzer Army farther south. Overwhelming the green US 106th Division, German Panzers flooded towards the River Meuse. Barring their way was the crossroads town of Bastogne, reinforced at the last minute by the paratroopers of the 101st Airborne, the 'Screaming Eagles". The stage was set for one of the epic struggles of the war - the battle for Bastogne. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Volume 146 - 1st printing. "The Marshall Islands 1944!" Written by Gordon L Rottman. Art by Howard Gerrard. Following the capture of Tarawa in November 1943, American eyes turned to the Marshall Islands. These were the next vital stepping-stone across the Pacific towards Japan, and would bring the islands of Guam and Saipan within the reach of US forces. In their first amphibious attack, the new 4th Marine Division landed on Roi and Namur islands on 1 February 1944, while US 7th Division landed on Kwajalein. At the time this was the longest shore-to-shore amphibious assault in history. The lessons of the bloody fighting on Tarawa had been well learned and the successful attack on the Marshalls set the pattern for future amphibious operations in the Pacific War. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Add to cart Near Mint $10.00

Add to cart Near Mint $10.00

Volume 147 - 1st printing. "Crete 1941!" Written by Peter Antill. Art by Howard Gerrard. Operation Mercury, the German airborne assault on the island of Crete in May 1941, was the first strategic use of airborne forces in history. The assault began on 20 May, with landings near the island's key airports, and reinforcements the next day allowed the German forces to capture one end of the runway at Maleme. By 24 May, the Germans were being reinforced by air on a huge scale and on 1 June Crete surrendered. This book describes how desperately close the battle had been and explains how German losses so shocked the Führer that he never again authorised a major airborne operation. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Volume 148 - 1st printing. "Operation Barbarossa 1941 Part 2!" Written by Robert Kirchubel. Art by Howard Gerrard and Peter Dennis. Of the German Army Groups that attacked Soviet Russia, Von Leeb's Army Group North, tasked with seizing the Baltic States and Leningrad, was the smallest and weakest. General Kuznetzov's Northwestern Front, however, was in an even weaker state. Despite brave counterattacks and defense by the Soviet forces, the Germans smashed through the Dvina Line, then the Stalin Line, flooded into Latvia and pressed on to encircle Leningrad. This book examines the German offensive and also the courageous Soviet attempts to halt the German spearhead, defending every possible line against overwhelming odds. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Volume 149 - 1st printing. "Falaise 1944!" Written by Ken Ford. Art by Howard Gerrard. The battle around Falaise in Normandy during August 1944 saw the destruction of the German Seventh army. This book details the chain of events which led to the German retreat and the ensuing liberation of France. The British and American breakout battles had released motorised units to wage a more mobile war against the German static defensive tactics. At Falaise, the armoured units of US Third Army encircled the German Seventh Army, squeezed them into an ever-smaller cauldron of chaos and crushed them against the advancing British Second Army. The results were devastating: those troops able to escape the disaster fled, those who remained were killed or captured and vast quantities of armour and equipment were lost. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Volume 150 - 1st printing. "Khe Sanh 1967-68!" Written by Gordon L Rottman. Art by Peter Dennis. Khe Sanh was a small village in northwest South Vietnam that sat astride key North Vietnamese infiltration routes. In September 1966 a Marine battalion deployed into the area. Action gradually increased as the NVA attempted to destroy Free World Forces bases, and the siege of Khe Sanh proper began in October 1967. The bitter fight lasted into July 1968 when, with the changing strategic and tactical situation, the base was finally closed. This book details the siege and explains how, although the NVA successfully overran a Special Forces camp nearby, it was unable to drive US forces from Khe Sanh. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Volume 151 - 1st printing. "Vimy Ridge 1917!" Written by Alexander Turner. Art by Peter Dennis. Vimy Ridge was one of the most important geographic features on the entire Western Front in World War I. In early 1917 it was considered practically impregnable, but on 9 April the Canadian Army Corps, under the command of the British Lieutenant General Sir Julian Byng, assaulted it as part of the Arras offensive. In one of the most spectacular operational attacks of the war, they seized almost the entire ridge in a single day. This book describes how the innovative efforts that went into every aspect of the preparation for this attack ensured that the Canadian and British troops achieved unprecedented success. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Volume 152 - 1st printing. "Kasserine Pass 1943!" Written by Steven J Zaloga. Art by Michael Welply. The North African campaign of November 1942-May 1943 was a baptism of fire for the US Army. After relatively straightforward landings, the US II Corps advanced into Tunisia to support operations by the British 8th Army. Rommel, worried by the prospect of an attack, decided to exploit the inexperience of the US Army and strike a blow against their overextended positions around the Kasserine Pass. However, the Germans were unable to exploit their initial success, and later attacks were bloodily repulsed. The fighting in Tunisia taught the green US Army vital combat lessons, and brought to the fore senior commanders such as Eisenhower, Patton, and Bradley. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Volume 153 - 1st printing. "Toulon 1793!" Written by Robert Forczyk. Art by Adam Hook. In August 1793 Republican France teetered on the brink of collapse. On every front her enemies' armies swept forwards across her borders - the very survival of the Revolution itself was at stake. In Toulon, the strategically vital home port of France's Mediterranean fleet, a coup had overthrown the Republican government and handed over the city to the blockading British navy. In this, perhaps her darkest hour, France's saviour was at hand in the shape of a Captain of Artillery whose name all Europe would soon know - Napoleon Bonaparte. This title describes the Republican victory at Toulon that not only saved the Revolution but also saw the young Napoleon Bonaparte begin his meteoric rise to power. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Volume 154 - 1st printing. "Acre 1291!" Written by David Nicolle. Art by Graham Turner. In April 1291, a Mamluk army laid siege to Acre, the last great Crusader fortress in the Holy Land. For six weeks, the siege dragged on until the Mamluks took the outer wall, which had been breached in several places. The Military Orders drove back the Mamluks temporarily, but three days later the inner wall was breached. King Henry escaped, but the bulk of the defenders and most of the citizens perished in the fighting or were sold into slavery. The surviving knights fell back to their fortress, resisting for ten days, until the Mamluks broke through. This book depicts the dramatic collapse of this great fortress, whose demise marked the end of the Crusades in the Holy Land. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Volume 155 - 1st printing. "Anzio 1944!" Written by Steven J Zaloga. Art by Peter Dennis. 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. 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 only to Rome but also to the liberation of Italy. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Volume 157 - 1st printing. "Trafalgar 1805!" Written by Gregory Fremont-Barnes. Art by Christa Hook. Vice-Admiral Lord Nelson's decisive victory over the combined fleets of France and Spain on 21 October 1805 remains one of the greatest naval triumphs in history. Off Cape Trafalgar, 27 British and 33 Franco-Spanish ships pounded each other in an epic four-hour struggle on whose outcome rested nothing less than Britain's security against Napoleonic invasion. Nelson's brilliant tactics, inspiring leadership and the superior training and morale of his crews left his opponents shattered in a savage encounter that not only marked the last great battle fought in the age of sail, but ushered in a century of British naval mastery. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Volume 158 - 1st printing. "El Alamein 1942!" Written by Ken Ford. Art by Howard Gerrard. The battle of El Alamein marked the turning point in Britain's fortunes in the Second World War. There were three separate battles between July and November 1942, all of which were fought to halt the advance of Rommel's army towards the Suez Canal. This final battle at El Alamein, fought in October and November, saw the continuous bombardment of the German line that Rommel was instructed to hold at all costs by Hitler himself. The Allies shattered the German defences, and Rommel led a westward retreat in order to salvage what was left of the Afrika Korps. This book provides an in-depth analysis of the battle that turned the tide in favour of the Allies in Africa. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Volume 159 - 1st printing. "Berlin 1945!" Written by Peter Antill. Art by Peter Dennis. Hitler's Third Reich was on the brink of total ruin in mid-April 1945, and the Red Army was poised less than 60 miles to the east and ready to seize the German capital. Peter Antill describes the events in this engaging history, examining the Soviets' march towards Berlin and the Germans' final resistance. This book, supplemented with a host of maps and illustrations, provides a vivid portrayal of the death throes of the Third Reich and the end of the war in Europe, exploring the strategy of both sides and the tactics of impromptu urban warfare. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Volume 160 - 1st printing. "Battle of the Boyne 1690!" Written by Michael McNally. Art by Graham Turner. In April 1685, James II ascended the English throne. An overt Catholic, James proved unpopular with his Protestant subjects, and a group of nobles invited the Dutch prince William of Orange to take the throne in the Glorious Revolution of 1688; James II fled to France. James returned in 1689, a French fleet landing him at Kinsale in Ireland. On 14 June 1690, William led an army to Ireland and came face-to-face with the Jacobites along the banks of the Boyne near Drogheda. This book describes the events that led to the momentous battle on 1 July that would decide the fate of the crown of England. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Volume 161 - 1st printing. "The Third Crusade 1191!" Written by David Nicolle. Art by Christa Hook. The clash between King Richard I 'The Lionheart' of England and Saladin has become legendary. Throughout the ages, military enthusiasts have been fascinated by the strategy of the resolute, heavily armed Anglo-Saxon army versus their more lightly armed opponents. Richard's inability to recapture Jerusalem was disappointing, but it proved to the crusaders that Saladin was not invincible. This book describes the struggle that has evolved into a mythic campaign for the Holy City of Jerusalem, providing an in-depth look at the battle, the personalities involved and the tactics employed by each army. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.