Osprey Men-at-Arms Series SC (1973-2011 OSPREY) comic books 2005

Add to cart Very Fine $6.00

Add to cart Very Fine $6.00

Volume 402 - 1st printing. "The British Army in World War I (2)!" Written by Mike Chappell. Art by Mike Chappell. In 1916, Britain was finally forced to introduce universal conscription to replace the terrible casualties suffered by the pre-war Regulars, the Territorials and the eager but unprepared volunteers of the 'New Armies'. In 1917 and 1918, the vastly expanded British Expeditionary Force became the most effective of all the combatant armies in France, its improved weapons and tactics forged in the furnaces of the Somme and the Ypres Salient. Shaken but resilient under Germany's last desperate offensive in spring 1918, it swept forward to final victory. This second of three titles charts its changing appearance in colourful detail. Softcover, PC/PB&W.

Add to cart Very Fine $6.00

Volume 405 - 1st printing. "Napoleon's Carabiniers!" Written by Ronald Pawly. Art by Patrice Courcelle. The two privileged regiments of Carabiniers survived the French Revolution with their elite status intact. They covered themselves with glory at Austerlitz, Friedland, Ratisbonne and Wagram - where their bloody losses shocked Napoleon into ordering them new helmets and cuirasses. Re-formed after near annihilation in Russia in 1812, they fought at Leipzig and in many actions of the 1814 French campaign, and made one of the final charges at Waterloo. lllustrated with rare early prints and meticulous colour reconstructions, this book details their story, and their unique uniforms, from surviving period documents. Softcover, PC/PB&W.

Volume 411 - 1st printing. "Warrior Peoples of East Africa 1840–1900!" Written by CJ Peers. Art by Raffaele Ruggeri. Less well known than the Zulu of South Africa, the warriors of East Africa had just as fearsome a reputation. This fascinating study, illustrated with rare early drawings and meticulous colour plates, covers six of most prominent tribes. The prowess of the lion-hunting Masai deterred all foreign penetration for most of the 19th century; the Ngoni, driven north by the Zulu, revolutionized warfare in the region; the HeHe put up fierce resistance to German colonisers; the Ruga-Ruga produced two formidable warlords and adorned themselves with bloody trophies; the Nandi showed reckless bravery even against machine guns; and the Turkana dominated one of the most pitiless wildernesses in all of Africa. Softcover, PC/PB&W.

Volume 413 - 1st printing. "Austrian Frontier Troops 1740–98!" Written by David Hollins. Art by Darko Pavlovic. Austria's Balkan frontier – the disputed borderland between Europe and the Ottoman Turks – was defended in the 18th century by a unique organization of hardy communities who were granted farmland in return for armed service. These Grenzers, masters of guerrilla warfare, were later incorporated into Austria's regular forces, and earned a wider reputation fighting against the army of Frederik the Great's Prussia. By the start of the wars against Revolutionary and Napoleonic France they provided a significant part of the Austrian Line. This book unravels their complex history, and illustrates the development of their colourful folk costumes into striking uniforms. Softcover, PC/PB&W.

Volume 418 - 1st printing. "American Indians of the Pacific Northwest!" Written by Elizabeth Von Aderkas. Art by Christa Hook. The Indian tribes of the Pacific Northwest, both on the Coast and the inland Plateau, were the last to encounter white traders and settlers. When contact occured in the late 18th century the explorers and traders found two distinct cultures. The fairly recent adoption of the horse had opened the Plateau tribes to influences from the peoples of the Plains; but the tribes of the Coast presented a sharply different picture, involving rigid class hierarchies, an economy based on fishing and hunting marine animals, and frequent intertribal warfare which involved slave raiding and head hunting. This fascinating text describes the ways of life, in peace and war, of the coastal and inland peoples of this region. Softcover, PC/PB&W.

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Volume 421 - 1st printing. "The Sikh Army 1799-1849!" Written by Ian Heath. Art by Michael Perry. The beginning of the 19th century saw the rise of a remarkable Sikh leader in the Punjab province of north-west India. Unifying the feudal rulers under his authority, the conquering Maharaja Ranjit Singh pursued campaigns of expansion for nearly 40 years, creating for the purpose a new regular army on the Western model. His death in 1839 found the frontiers of Sikh and British power in confrontation; in the 1840s the inevitable trial of strength brought British crown and East India Company troops into battle against the most formidable Indian army they ever faced. Its story is told here in fascinating detail, illustrated with rare early paintings and with colourful reconstructions of Punjabi regular soldiers and feudal warriors. Softcover, PC/PB&W.

Volume 422 - 1st printing. "German Armies 1870-71 (2)!" Written by Michael Solka. Art by Darko Pavlovic. Although the war of 1870-71 has gone down in history as the 'Franco-Prussian War', nearly half of the German troops sent to the frontier were from other German states - both the willing members of the North German Confederation and the southern states who were in some cases more hesitant about accepting Prussian domination. Some contingents had only one or two regiments - though these might be of high quality, like the 'Black Brunswickers'; others provided whole army corps, like Bavaria and Saxony. This book lists and illustrates the organization and varied uniforms of all these allied contingents, most of which fought well when it came to the test of battle. Softcover, PC/PB&W.

Volume 423 - 1st printing. "The Confederate Army 1861–65 (1)!" Written by Ron Field. Art by Richard Hook. The common image of the Confederate Army during the Civil War is dominated by a limited number of early photographs of soldiers wearing the gray and butternut associated with the CS regulations and quartermaster issues. This sequence of books examines a much wider field: the original uniforms of the state militia and volunteer companies which were brought together to form the Confederate armies, and the continuing efforts by individual states to clothe their troops as wear-and-tear reduced the originally wide range of uniforms. A mass of information from state papers and other contemporary documents is illustrated with rare photographs and meticulous color reconstructions. Softcover, PC/PB&W.

Volume 424 - 1st printing. "The Chinese Army 1937-49!" Written by Philip Jowett. Art by Stephen Walsh. Although the Chinese contribution to Allied victory in World War II is often ignored, China fought the Japanese Empire for far longer than any other belligerent nation. By the time that the Sino-Japanese War became absorbed into the wider conflict at the end of 1941, Chinese armies had already suffered huge casualties and half the country had been lost. By fighting on with Allied support, China tied down a million Japanese troops. After Japan's defeat in 1945, China was immediately plunged back into civil war between Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalists and Mao Tse-tung's Communists; and the latter's victory in 1949 changed the world for the rest of the 20th century and beyond. Softcover, PC/PB&W.

Volume 425 - 1st printing. "Roman Military Clothing (3)!" Written by Raffaele D'Amato. Art by Graham Sumner. This book is the concluding part of a rigorous study of theliterary, sculptural, pictorial and archaeological evidence for Roman military clothing, covering the last days of the Western Empire, and the much longer record of the Eastern, in the 5th to 7th centuries. The evidence from this enormously colourful period - when Germanic and Persian styles, first introduced by mercenaries, were widely adopted by Roman armies - is particularly rich. The text is illustrated with many photographs of rare textile finds, and mosaic artwork; with careful drawings of other figurative sources; and with Graham Sumner's meticulous and dazzling colour reconstructions. Softcover, PC/PB&W.

Volume 426 - 1st printing. "The Confederate Army 1861-65 (2)!" Written by Ron Field. Art by Richard Hook. The common image of the Confederate Army during the Civil War is dominated by a limited number of early photographs of officers and men wearing the gray and butternut associated with the CS regulations and quartermaster issues. This sequence of books examines a much wider field: the original uniforms of the state and volunteer companies which were brought together to form the Confederate field armies, and the continuing efforts to clothe troops as wear-and-tear gradually reduced the originally wide range of uniforms. A mass of information from contemporary documents is illustrated with rare photographs and meticulous color reconstructions. Softcover, PC/PB&W.