Osprey Campaign Series SC (1990-2011 OSPREY) comic books 2008

Add to cart Near Mint $10.00

Add to cart Near Mint $10.00

Volume 189 - 1st printing. "Sevastopol 1942!" Written by Robert Forczyk. Art by Howard Gerrard. In late July 1941, Hitler ordered Army Group South to seize the Crimea as part of its operations to secure the Ukraine and the Donets Basin, in order to protect the vital Romanian oil refineries at Ploesti from Soviet air attack. After weeks of heavy fighting, the Germans breached the Soviet defences and overran most of the Crimea. By November 1941 the only remaining Soviet foothold in the area was the heavily fortified naval base at Sevastopol. Operation Sturgeon Haul, the final assault on Sevastopol, was one of the very few joint service German operations of World War II, with two German corps and a Romanian corps supported by a huge artillery siege train, the Luftwaffe's crack VIII Flieger Korps and a flotilla of S-Boats provided by the Kriegsmarine. This volume closely examines the impact of logistics, weather and joint operational planning upon the last major German victory of World War II. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Volume 190 - 1st printing. "Poitiers AD 732!" Written by David Nicolle. Art by Graham Turner. In the early decades of the 8th century AD, Islamic forces were flooding into Europe through the Iberian peninsula, threatening Frankish and Burgundian territory and raiding it with ever-increasing ferocity. At the battle of Poitiers, also known as Tours, Christian forces under the Frankish leader Charles Martel 'The Hammer' (grandfather of Charlemagne) confronted a massive invading Islamic army. The Franks were victorious, effectively halting the northward advance of Islam and preserving Christianity as the dominant faith in Europe. Expert medievalist David Nicolle draws on contemporary sources to reconstruct this turning-point battle, placing it in its historical context and reviewing its background and the subsequent historical consequences. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Volume 191 - 1st printing. "Vienna 1683!" Written by Simon Millar. Art by Peter Dennis. The capture of the Hapsburg city of Vienna was a major strategic aspiration for the Islamic Ottoman Empire, desperate for the control that the city exercized over the Danube and the overland trade routes between southern and northern Europe. In July 1683 Sultan Mehmet IV proclaimed a jihad and the Turkish grand vizier, Kara Mustafa Pasha, laid siege to the city with an army of 150,000 men. In September a relieving force arrived under Polish command and joined up with the defenders to drive the Turks away. The main focus of this book is the final 15-hour battle for Vienna, which peaked with a massive charge by three divisions of Polish winged hussars. This hard-won victory marked the beginning of the decline of the Islamic Ottoman Empire, which was never to threaten central Europe again. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Volume 192 - 1st printing. "New York 1776!" Written by David Smith. Art by Graham Turner. General Sir William Howe's New York campaign gave the British their best chance of destroying the Continental Army and George Washington's resistance to colonial power. Howe succeeded in dividing the Continentals, defeated them on Long Island and forced Washington to retreat to Brooklyn Heights. Under siege there, Washington successfully crossed the East River to Manhattan but soon had to fall back on Harlem Heights. After a few weeks Howe forced the Continentals north to White Plains and defeated them again. However, he allowed Washington to withdraw and preserve his army when a more aggressive pursuit could have ended the war. Instead, with the British army rapidly weakening and facing huge manpower shortages, Washington emerged from a succession of defeats to produce what was ultimately a war-winning strategy. The author provides fascinating insights into a unique campaign in which a string of British victories ultimately led to failure and defeat. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Volume 193 - 1st printing. "London 1914-17!" Written by Ian Castle. Art by Christa Hook. The first Zeppelin attack on London came in May 1915 - and with it came the birth of a new arena of warfare, the 'home front'. German airships attempted to raid London on 26 separate occasions between May 1915 and October 1917. This book tells the story of Germany's strategic Zeppelin offensive against Britain, and how it came to be neutralized. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

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Volume 194 - 1st printing. "Liberation of Paris 1944!" Written by Steven J Zaloga. Art by Howard Gerrard. In July 1944, Operation Cobra broke the stalemate in Normandy and sent the Allies racing across France. The Allied commanders had ignored Paris in their planning for this campaign, considering that the risk of intense street fighting and heavy casualties outweighed the city's strategic importance. However, Charles de Gaulle persuaded the Allied commanders to take direct action to liberate his nation's capital. Steven J Zaloga first describes the operations of Patton's Third Army as it advanced towards Paris before focussing on the actions of the Resistance forces inside the city and of the Free French armoured division that fought its way in and joined up with them to liberate it on the 24th August. On the back of this morale-boosting victory, De Gaulle could finally proclaim Paris to be liberated, as one of the world's loveliest cities survived Hitler's strident command that it should be held at all costs or razed to the ground. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Volume 195 - 1st printing. "Syracuse 415-413 BC!" Written by Nic Fields. Art by Peter Dennis. In the midsummer of 415 BC Athens launched a pre-emptive attack on Syracuse, urged on by the brilliant but reckless Athenian general Alcibiades, who claimed the Syracusans were providing the hostile Peloponnesian League with supplies. Moreover, if Athens could establish itself in Sicily then it would be in a commanding position for future aggression against Carthage. Possession of Syracuse would also allow the Athenians to dominate the Mediterranean. Nic Fields examines the foolhardy campaign in which Athens ignored the strategic implications of attacking a nation that was over 1,100 km away as two enormous armadas and 60,000 Athenians and their allies fought for two years against the only other democracy in the Greek world. Rare illustrations and breath-taking full-colour artwork complete the account of a disastrous campaign from which very few Athenians returned. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Volume 196 - 1st printing. "Gazala 1942!" Written by Ken Ford. Art by John White. Following a lull in the desert war which saw the Germans and British reinforce their armies, Rommel suddenly attacked British fortifications with an assault on the northern sector of the British line near Gazala. Pinning down the British in the north and outflanking the 1st Free French Brigade, Rommel succeeded in encircling the main British positions, trapping them in what became known as 'The Cauldron'. With thousands of British soldiers killed or taken prisoner, this was a devastating defeat for the Allies. Accompanied by contemporary photographs and maps depicting the movement of both armies, Ken Ford provides a masterful study of Rommel, the 'Desert Fox', at the height of his powers as he swept the British army back to the site of their final stand at El Alamein. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Volume 197 - 1st printing. "Amiens 1918!" Written by Alistair McCluskey. Art by Peter Dennis. The battle of Amiens was the turning point of World War I, confirming to all that the strategic initiative had decisively returned to the Allies. The battle heralded the arrival of new strategic, tactical and operational methods of attack for the Allies. Most importantly, by the time the battle ended on 11 August the desire of the German leadership to continue the war had been shattered. In this book Alistair McCluskey describes the course of the battle and the commanders involved. He details troop movements that illustrate the rapid advance of Allied forces, all of which are analysed using both traditional and bird's-eye-view maps. Released to coincide with the 90th anniversary of the battle, this book is illustrated with some amazingly poignant rare photographs and full-colour artwork, providing a detailed analysis of the battle that heralded the beginning of the end of World War I. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Volume 198 - 1st printing. "The Samurai Invasion of Korea 1592-98!" Written by Stephen Turnbull. Art by Peter Dennis. Stephen Turnbull, a renowned expert on the history of Japan, examines the samurai invasion of Korea, the first step in an ambitious Japanese plan to conquer China. Examining the various stages of the war, from the pitched battles of the early war years, to the great naval encounters, the dramatic sieges and the bitter trench warfare that characterized the end of the war, Turnbull provides a concise analysis of the conflict. Highly illustrated with contemporary photographs, full colour battlescene artwork, detailed maps and bird's-eye views, this is a concise history of a unique and exciting campaign, which not only involved huge numbers of men, differing terrain and tactics but was also the only time that the legendary samurai were pitched against a foreign nation. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Volume 199 - 1st printing. "Philippi 42 BC!" Written by Si Sheppard. Art by Steve Noon. Immortalised by Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar, the battle of Philippi was the final meeting between the forces of Mark Antony and Octavian against the armies of Caesar's assassins Brutus and Longinus. In this book Si Sheppard takes a detailed look at the campaign that was waged around the Macedonian city of Philippi. In the bloody and close combat, legionary fought legionary amid great slaughter, until Brutus' forces were defeated. Brutus fled and committed suicide the following day. The Republican cause crushed, Rome now rested in the hands of the Second Triumvirate. Packed with photographs, breathtaking battlescene artwork and detailed maps illustrating the course of the battles on land and on sea, this is the history of the campaign which sounded the final death knell for the Republican movement. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Volume 200 - 1st printing. "Japan 1945!" Written by Clayton Chun. Art by John White. In this 200th Campaign series title Clayton Chun examines the final stages of World War II as the Allies debated how to bring about the surrender of Japan. He details Operation Downfall (the planned invasion of the Japanese home islands).Chun explains why these plans were never implemented, before examining the horrific alternative to military invasion - the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki with nuclear weapons. With a series of illustrations, including detailed diagrams of the atomic bombs, a depiction of the different stages of the explosions and maps of the original invasion plans, this book provides a unique perspective of a key event in world history. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Volume 201 - 1st printing. "Brandy Station 1863!" Written by Dan Beattie. Art by Adam Hook. The road to Gettysburg began at Brandy Station on 9 June 1863. Early on that morning, General Pleasanton launched his men across the Rappahannock at Beverley's Ford to the north of Brandy Station and Kelly's Ford to the south. General JEB Stuart was caught unaware by these maneuvers and his lines and headquarters were nearly overrun until reinforcements helped to stabilize the situation. Following 12 hours of bitter fighting the Union forces withdrew back across the river in what was the largest and most hotly contested clash of sabres in the war. This book describes the battle with a step-by-step analysis, illustrated with detailed maps, birds-eye-views and full colour battlescene artwork. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Volume 202 - 1st printing. "The Arab Revolt 1916-18 !" Written by David Murphy. Art by Peter Dennis. The Arab Revolt of 1916-18 was one of the most dramatic events of World War I. It resulted in the birth of the modern Middle East and also created one of the most enduring myths of the war: the story of Lawrence of Arabia. This book examines the revolt, describing and analyzing the background and events of the uprising. Breaking the process into several broad phases, the author examines the initial capture of coastal towns like Jeddah, followed by the raids on the Hijaz Railway, the seizure of Aqaba and the northward push of the Arab Army at Gaza, Jerusalem, Megiddo and Damascas. Finally, this book describes how a local Arab rebellion grew to form a major part of Allied operations in the Middle East, as Arab tribesman who were merely troublesome raiders developed into a force which could oppose brigade-sized Turkish columns by 1918. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.