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At the end of 1941, Imperial Japan targeted The East Indies in an attempt to secure access to precious oil resources. The Netherlands East Indies Campaign featured complex Japanese and Allied operations, and included the first use of airborne troops in the war. This highly illustrated study is one of the less well-known campaigns of the Pacific War.Imperial Japan''s campaigns of conquest in late 1941/early 1942 were launched in order to achieve self-sufficiency for the Japanese people, chiefly in the precious commodity of oil. The Netherlands (or Dutch) East Indies formed one of Japan''s primary targets, on account of its abundant rubber plantations and oilfields--the latter, in particular, was highly prized, given that the colony was the fourth-largest exporter of oil in the world. Japan itself lacked any form of domestic production. The Japanese dispatched an enormous naval task force to support the amphibious landings over the vast terrain of the Netherlands East Indies. The combined-arms offensive was divided into three groups: western, center and eastern. Borneo was struck first in mid-December 1941, and assaults on Celebes, Amboin, Timor, Java, Sumatra, Ambon, and Dutch New Guinea followed. Allied forces in the NEI comprised British, Australian, Dutch, and American personnel. A combined theater headquarters (ABDACOM) was established on January 15 1942 in an effort to counter the Japanese offensives. The isolated airfields and oilfields were, however, picked off one by one by the Japanese, in the rush to secure the major islands before major Allied reinforcements arrived. This superbly illustrated title describes the operational plans and conduct of the fighting by the major parties involved, and assesses the performance of the opposing forces on the battlefield, bringing to life an often-overlooked campaign of the Pacific War.

The forgotten story of the major naval operations conducted in the Philippines by the US and Japanese navies after Leyte Gulf up to the US invasion of Luzon in January 1945. The events that took place in the aftermath of the Battle of Leyte Gulf in October 1944 are often overlooked by military historians. An impressive array of naval operations continued in the Philippines up to January 1945, which included (on the Japanese side) the largest convoys to a contested island during the war, the first kamikaze campaign, and the second largest Imperial Japanese Navy surface operation during the last nine months of the conflict. On the American side, US forces were involved in efforts to cut off Leyte from enemy reinforcement, a massive amphibious invasion off Luzon, and large-scale operations by the Fast Carrier Task Force (TF 38).Expert naval historian Mark Stille throws new light on this often forgotten phase of the Pacific naval war. Among the actions covered are the battles for Ormoc Bay, the invasion of Mindoro, Japanese kamikaze attacks, and US Third Fleet's rampage through the South China Sea between January 10 and 20, 1945. Superb battlescene artworks bring the war at sea and in the air vividly to life, and maps and diagrams guide readers through a range of actions in clear, step-by-step detail.

The battle of the Catalaunian Fields saw two massive, powerful empires square up in a conflict that was to shape the course of Eurasian history forever. This book describes the fighting at the Catalaunian Fields and reveals the broader campaign of Hunnic incursion that led up to it.

Presents an account of a short, sharp conflict which marked a crucial turning point in the American Revolution. This book includes illustrations and detailed maps illuminate the dynamism of this clash between two of the most famous commanders of the War of Independence.

In 52 BC Caesar's continued strategy of annihilation had engendered a spirit of desperation, which detonated into a revolt of Gallic tribes under the leadership of the charismatic young Arvernian noble Vercingetorix. This book deals with this topic.

This study tells the epic story of how a routed group of Chinese Communists marched tens of thousands of miles with Mao on a journey that would lead to their eventual triumph and rule of the whole of China. Every nation has its founding myth, and for modern China it is the Long March. In the autumn of 1934, the Chinese Nationalists under Chiang Kai-shek routed the Chinese Communists and some 80,000 men, women, and children left their homes to walk with Mao Zedong into the unknown. Mao''s force had to endure starvation, harsh climates, and challenging terrain whilst under constant aerial bombardment and threatened by daily skirmishes. The Long March survivors had to cross 24 rivers and 18 mountain ranges, through freezing snow and disease-ridden wilderness to reach their safe-haven of Yan''an. In military terms, the Long March was the longest continuous march in the history of warfare and it came as a terrible cost--after one year, 6,000 miles, and countless battles, fewer than 4,000 of the original marchers were left. Illustrated with stunning full-color artwork, this enthralling book tells the full story this epic display of resilience, and shows how, from the desert plateau of Yan''an, these survivors would grow the army that conquered China 14 years on, changing history forever.

A highly illustrated study of the medieval Italian battle of Castagnaro, the famous English condottiere captain Sir John Hawkwood''s greatest victory.The battle of Castagnaro, fought on 11 March 1387 between the Veronese and the Paduans, was one of the few Italian medieval conflicts known in the English-speaking world thanks to the exploits of the renowned English mercenary (or condottiero) captain, Sir John Hawkwood. Commanding the Paduan army, he led them to a stunning victory.This new study challenges the conventional story of the battle, relocating it to the other side of the Adige River, and showing that Hawkwood was no mere disciple of his previous commander, the Black Prince--he was a highly talented and intelligent general in his own right. Using specially commissioned full-color artwork, this fascinating book shows how Hawkwood used his own acumen, and the training, skills and discipline of his very experienced condottieri, to defeat his opponents at Castagnaro.

A highly illustrated account of the battle of Strasbourg in AD 357, a decisive victory for the Romans under their Caesar Julian against the Alemanni and their leader Chnodomar.Civil war in the Western Roman Empire between AD 350--53 had left the frontiers weakly defended, and the major German confederations along the Rhine--the Franks and Alemanni--took advantage of the situation to cross the river, destroy the Roman fortifications along it and occupy parts of Roman Gaul. In 355, the Emperor Constantius appointed his 23-year-old cousin Julian as his Caesar in the provinces of Gaul with command of all troops in the region. Having recaptured the city of Cologne, Julian planned to trap the Alemanni in a pincer movement, but when the larger half of his army was forced into retreat, he was left facing a much larger German force outside the walls of the city of Strasbourg. This new study relates the events of this epic battle as the experience and training of the Roman forces prevailed in the face of overwhelming German numbers.

A disputed succession to the Austrian throne led to general war between the leading powers of Europe in 1740, with France, Spain and Prussia on one side, and Britain, Habsburg Austria and the Dutch Republic on the other. While fighting occurred across the globe, the bloodiest battles were fought on the European continent, with none more costly than the battle of Fontenoy in 1745.Fearing an encirclement of France by a resurgent Habsburg-controlled Austria, the French commander Marshall Saxe planned to overrun the Austrian Netherlands, thereby dealing a decisive blow against their enemy''s ability to wage war. Saxe''s army, the cream of the French military, invaded and set up a defensive position at Fontenoy, near Tournai - daring his enemies to knock him off his perch. This title, beautifully illustrated with full colour plates, is an in-depth study of the British Duke of Cumberland''s attempt to assault Saxe''s position. It focuses on the inability of allied leaders to coordinate their attacks and how Cumberland came within a whisker of achieving a major victory.

The battle of Zama, fought across North Africa around 202 BC, was the final large-scale clash of arms between the world's two greatest western powers of the time - Carthage and Rome. The engagement ended the Second Punic War, waged from 218 until 201 BC. The armies were led by two of the most famous commanders of all time - the legendary Carthaginian general Hannibal, renowned for crossing the Alps with his army into Italy, and the Roman general Publius Cornelius Scipio, who along with his father was among the defeated at the battle of Cannae in 216 BC.Drawing upon years of research, author Mir Bahmanyar gives a detailed account of this closing battle, analysing the tactics employed by each general and the forces they had at their disposal. Stunning, specially commissioned artwork brings to life the epic clash that saw Hannibal defeated and Rome claim its spot as the principal Mediterranean power.

In 1839, forces of the British East India Company crossed the Indus to invade Afghanistan on the pretext of reinstating a former king, Shah Soojah, to his rightful throne. The reality was that this was another step in Britain's Great Game--Afghanistan would create a buffer to any potential Russian expansion toward India. This history traces the initial, highly successful campaign as the British easily occupied Kabul and the rebellion that two years later humbled the British army. Forced to negotiate a surrender, the British fled Kabul en masse in the harsh Afghan winter. Decimated by Afghan guerilla attacks and by the extreme cold paired with a lack of food and supplies, just one European--Dr. Brydon--would make it to the safety of Jalalabad five days later. This highly illustrated history then goes on to trace the retribution attack on Kabul the following year, which destroyed the symbolic Mogul Bazaar before troops rapidly withdrew and left Afghanistan in peace for nearly a generation.

Not only did the Sicily operation represent a watershed in tactical development of combined arms tactics, it was also an important test for future Allied joint operations. Senior British commanders left the North African theater with a jaundiced and dismissive view of the combat capabilities of the inexperienced US Army after the debacle at Kasserine Pass in Tunisia in February 1943. Sicily was a demonstration that the US Army had rapidly learned its lessons and was now capable of fighting as a co-equal of the British Army. The Sicily campaign contained a measure of high drama as Patton took the reins of the Seventh US Army and bent the rules of the theater commander in a bold race to take Palermo on the northern Sicilian coast. When stiff German resistance halted Montgomery's main assault to Messina through the mountains, Patton was posed to be the first to reach the key Sicilian port and end the campaign. The Sicily campaign contains a fair amount of controversy as well including the disastrous problems with early airborne assaults and the Allied failure to seal the straits of Messina, allowing the Germans to withdraw many of their best forces.

In AD 66 a local disturbance in Caesarea caused by Greeks sacrificing birds in front of a local synagogue exploded into a pan-Jewish revolt against their Roman overlords. Gaining momentum, the rebels successfully occupied Jerusalem and drove off an attack by the Roman legate of Syria, Cestus Gallius, who was defeated at the battle of Beth Horon.

Quintilius Varus, give me back my legions!' supposedly yelled Augustus Caesar when he received the news of the disaster in the Teutoburg Forest. One of the greatest military disasters of the Roman Empire, Teutoburg Forest witnessed the near-total annihilation of three Roman legions at the hands of the German barbarians led by their Roman-educated chief Arminius. Michael McNally tells the complete story of the disaster, supported by the incredible artwork of Peter Dennis.

A highly illustrated new study of Patton''s daring attempt to bounce the river Rhine in March 1945. In January 1945, the collapse of the German front along the Siegfried Line led to a large-scale dissolution of German combat forces and capability. Pressed hard by Allied forces advancing eastward, German units often found themselves trapped west of the Rhine River. With his eye on history, US Lt. Gen. George S. Patton, Jr. was determined to be the first leader since Napoleon to make an assault crossing of the Rhine. The most logical crossing-place was at Mainz, as it served as a major railroad logistical link from west to east. However, Patton was aware that this would be obvious to the Germans, and therefore he and his staff made rapid plans for another site at Nierstein and Oppenheim, about 12 miles south of Mainz. The crossing began at 2230 hours on March 23, when the first boats carrying 11th Infantry Regiment troops left the western bank of the Rhine. They met with little opposition; despite a few sharp counterattacks, overall resistance was light and American forces suffered few casualties. By March 24, the US 4th Armored Division under Brig. Gen. William Hoge crossed the Rhine and began the exploitation phase. By March 26, the exploitation to the Main River was clearly a rout, exacerbated by additional crossings of the Rhine by other Allied units over the next few days. Illustrated throughout with stunning full-color artwork, maps, and bird''s-eye-views, this title details the complete history of this dramatic campaign.

A dramatic illustrated exploration of the infamous massacre of 1622, and the events of a pivotal conflict in colonial American history. The English settlers of Jamestown maintained a shaky relationship with the Powhatan confederacy, and as Virginians expanded their profitable tobacco fields and imported hundreds of new settlers each year, the Powhatan tribe grew wary of English power. In 1622, Chief Opechancanough shattered the English and Powhatan peace with a surprise attack on the Jamestown settlements. Opechancanough hoped to eliminate the English presence with a decisive blow, but instead began a decade-long war with Virginia. In this engaging and expertly researched work, Cameron Colby narrates the infamous massacre in which 347 Virginian settlers were killed: one-third of the Virginia Colony died in a single day. The events of the ensuing ten years, which saw constant warfare between the Englishmen and the Powhatan tribes, are brought vividly to life using battlescene artworks and period images. Detailed maps and 3D diagrams illustrate Indian and Colonial tactics in the 1620s, and chart the progress of the war the Virginians honed to steadily destroy the Powhatan tribes of the Chesapeake.

Waterloo is one of the defining campaigns of European history. Drawn from unpublished first-hand accounts, and using detailed illustrations, this volume is suitable for studying the intense fighting at the battles of Waterloo and Wavre, the final, decisive engagements of the Waterloo campaign.

After failing to defeat the Soviet Union with Operation Barbarossa in 1941, Adolf Hitler planned a new campaign for the summer of 1942 that was intended to achieve a decisive victory: Operation Blue (Case Blau). In this new campaign, Hitler directed that one army group (Heeresgruppe A) would advance to seize the Soviet oilfields in the Caucasus, while the other (Heeresgruppe B) pushed on to the Volga River. The expectation was for a rapid victory - instead, German forces had to fight hard just to reach the outskirts of Stalingrad, and then found themselves embroiled in a protracted urban battle amid the ruins of a devastated city on the Volga. The Soviet Red Army was hit hard by the initial German offensive but held onto the city and then launched Operation Uranus, a winter counteroffensive that encircled the German 6. Armee at Stalingrad. Despite a desperate German relief operation, the Red Army eventually crushed the German forces and hurled the remnants of the German southern front back in disorder. This first volume in the Stalingrad trilogy covers the period from 28 June to 11 September 1942, including operations around Voronezh. The fighting in the Don Bend, which lasted weeks, comprised some of the largest tank battles of World War II - involving more armour than the tanks employed at Prokhorovka in 1943.

The first of two volumes on the Axis campaigns in the Balkans, exploring Mussolini's fateful decision to move against Greece in October 1940. The Greek President Metaxas rejected the Italian ultimatum with a famous 'Oxi' ('No'), and what followed was Italy's first debacle in World War II.In the wake of Italy's rapid annexation of Albania in April 1940, Mussolini's decision to attack Greece in October that year is widely acknowledged as a fatal mistake, leading to a domestic crisis and to the collapse of Italy's reputation as a military power (re-emphasized by the Italian defeat in North Africa in December 1940). The Italian assault on Greece came to a stalemate in less than a fortnight, and was followed a week later by a Greek counter-offensive that broke through the Italian defences before advancing into Albania, forcing the Italian forces to withdraw north before grinding to a half in January 1941 due to logistical issues. Eventually, the Italians took advantage of this brief hiatus to reorganize and prepare a counteroffensive, the failure of which marked the end of the first stage of the Axis Balkan campaign.The first of two volumes examining the Axis campaigns in the Balkans, this book offers a detailed overview of the Italian and Greek armies, their fighting power, and the terrain in which they fought. Complimented by rarely seen images and full colour illustrations, it shows how expectations of an easy Italian victory quickly turned into one of Mussolini's greatest blunders.

The siege of Constantinople in AD 717-18 was the supreme crisis of Western civilization. The Byzantine Empire had been reeling under the onslaught of Arabic imperialism since the death of the Prophet, whilst Jihadist armies had detached Syria, Palestine, Egypt, and Carthage from imperial control and were in the process of imposing their ascendancy at sea. The Empire had been reduced to its Anatolian and Balkan heartland, and Arab incursions threatened even this - Arab naval forces had appeared under the walls of Constantinople every year from AD 674 to 678. But all this was only a prelude to the massive combined-arms invasion force that advanced on the capital in 717. This title offers a comprehensive study of the ensuing clash between the ascendant Caliphate and the Empire at bay. It details the forces available to each side, with their respective advantages and vulnerabilities, evaluating the leadership qualities of the rival commanders and assessing their strategic and tactical initiatives. It also accounts for the trajectory and outcome of the campaign and emphasises the fundamental significance of the struggle. By holding the line, the Byzantines gave Europe enough time to develop at its own pace and emerge strong enough to face down its Islamic counterpart on equal terms. If Constantinople had fallen in 717, could Europe have endured as an independent entity? Could Christianity have survived as major religion? What would the future course of world history have been?

Following the devastating raids on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, lightning advances by Japanese forces throughout the Pacific and the Far East, and a desperate battle by the Allied command in the Dutch East Indies, it became evident that an attack on Australia was more a matter of 'when' and not 'if'.On 19 February, just eleven weeks after the attacks on Pearl Harbor and two weeks after the fall of Singapore, the same Japanese battle group that had attacked Hawaii was ordered to attack the ill-prepared and under-defended Australian port of Darwin.Publishing 75 years after this little-known yet devastating attack, this fully illustrated study details what happened on that dramatic day in 1942 with the help of contemporary photographs, maps, and profiles of the commanders and machines involved in the assault.

For the British Empire it was a military disaster, but for Imperial Japan the conquest of Malaya was one of the pivotal campaigns of World War II. Giving birth to the myth of the Imperial Japanese Army's invincibility, the victory left both Burma and India open to invasion. Although heavily outnumbered, the Japanese Army fought fiercely to overcome the inept and shambolic defence offered by the British and Commonwealth forces.Detailed analysis of the conflict, combined with a heavy focus on the significance of the aerial campaign, help tell the fascinating story of the Japanese victory, from the initial landings in Thailand and Malaya through to the destruction of the Royal Navy's Force Z and the final fall of Singapore itself.

Tracing the final operations of the war, this title analyses how the Allied strategies in the final days of the war were a hint of the future suspicion that would drive the Cold War.

The Battle of Warsaw in August 1920 has been described as one of the decisive battles of European history. At the start of the battle, the Red Army appeared to be on the verge of advancing through Poland into Germany to expand the Soviet revolution. Had the war spread into Germany, another great European war would have ensued, dragging in France and Britain. However, the Red Army was defeated by 'the miracle on the Vistula'. This campaign title explores the origins and outcomes of this momentous battle. In May 1920, the Polish Army intervened in war-torn Ukraine, pushing all the way to Kiev, but the Red Army, by now triumphant in most of the theatres of the Russian Civil War, turned its attention to this new threat. By the late summer of 1920, two Soviet armies had advanced into Poland and the overconfident Soviet leadership dreamed of advancing over a prostrate Polish Army into neighbouring Germany to ignite a Communist revolution in the heart of Europe.Thanks to the low density of forces on both sides and the huge distances involved, the conflict was a war of manoeuvre, with a curious mixture of traditional and advanced tactics. Horse cavalry played a dominant role in the fighting, but aeroplanes, tanks, and armoured trains lent the war an air of modernity. This illustrated study explores the war through the lens of the Battle of Warsaw, the turning point when, after a summer of disastrous retreat, the Polish army rallied and repulsed the Red Army at Warsaw and Lwow.

The battle of the Java Sea, fought in February 1942, was the first major surface engagement of the Pacific War and one of the few naval battles of the entire war fought to a decisive victory. It was the culminating point of the Japanese drive to occupy the Netherlands East Indies (NEI) and, to defend the territory, the Allies assembled a striking force comprised of Dutch, American, British and even an Australian ship, all under the command of a resolute Dutch admiral. On 27 February 1942, the Allied striking force set course to intercept the Japanese invasion force in the Java Sea. In one of the few such times during the whole of World War II a protracted surface engagement was fought unmolested by airpower. For over seven hours, the Allied force attempted to attack the Japanese invasion force, finally breaking off in the early evening. Some three hours later, the Allied force, now reduced to just four remaining cruisers and two destroyers, attempted another attack on the invasion convoy during which Japanese torpedoes scored heavily, sinking two Dutch cruisers and bringing the battle to a conclusion. Over the next two days, as the Allies attempted to flee, five more ships were sunk. From that point on, Allied naval power was eliminated from Southeast Asia. In this illustrated title, Mark Stille tells the full story of the battle of the Java Sea, explaining how and why the Japanese achieved such a resounding victory, and delving into the tremendous impact of the battle on the course of the Pacific War.

Following the D-Day landings on June 6, 1944, the First US Army engaged in a six-week struggle to break out of the Normandy beach-head. The hedgerow country of lower Normandy, called the Bocage, presented unanticipated tactical problems since it proved to be ideal for German infantry defense. This book examines the brutal attritional struggle in June-July 1944 to overcome the determined German defense and secure St L├┤. The city was the site of a crucial cross-roads and was thus a vital target for the invading Allied forces; the initial bombing attacks were so severe that the writer Samuel Beckett would later report that it had been ''bombed out of existence in one night''. The attack by ground forces turned into a brutal attritional struggle to overcome the determined German defense. Using full-color artwork, photographs and maps, this is the engaging story of one of the key engagements in the Battle of Normandy.

The battle for Guadalcanal that lasted from August 1942 to February 1943 was the first major American counter offensive against the Japanese in the Pacific. This title details the fortunes experienced over the intense course of naval battles around the island throughout the second half of 1942 that did so much to turn the tide in the Pacific.

The final months of Allied naval bombardments on the Home Islands during World War II have, for whatever reason, frequently been overlooked by historians. Yet the Allies' final naval campaign against Japan involved the largest and arguably most successful wartime naval fleet ever assembled, and was the climax to the greatest naval war in history. Though suffering grievous losses during its early attacks, by July 1945 the United States Third Fleet wielded 1,400 aircraft just off the coast of Japan, while Task Force 37, the British Pacific Fleet's carrier and battleship striking force, was the most powerful single formation ever assembled by the Royal Navy. In the final months of the war the Third Fleet's 20 American and British aircraft carriers would hurl over 10,000 aerial sorties against the Home Islands, whilst another ten Allied battleships would inflict numerous morale-destroying shellings on Japanese coastal cities. In this illustrated study, historian Brian Lane Herder draws on primary sources and expert analysis to chronicle the full story of the Allies' Navy Siege of Japan from February 1945 to the very last days of World War II.

An illustrated account of the disastrous British-led effort to occupy the Dodecanese in autumn 1943. This title is an illustrated account of the autumn 1943 battle for the Dodecanese, as Winston Churchill attempted to secure the Aegean islands in the wake of the Italian armistice. The occupation was a gamble intended to increase pressure against Germany and at the same time possibly provide encouragement for Turkey to join the Allies. Spearheaded by the Special Boat Squadron and the Long Range Desert Group, garrison troops were deployed to the Italian-occupied Dodecanese, but they were too late to prevent the Germans from taking control of the key island of Rhodes and its all-important airfields. An all-out German offensive followed. Air force and naval units supported a series of assaults by infantry and paratroopers, including specialist forces of the Division Brandenburg. Within three months, only Castelorizzo was still in British hands. Rhodes, Kos and Leros remained under German occupation until May 1945 and the end of the war in Europe. The Dodecanese would be Adolf Hitler''s last enduring victory ΓÇô and the last enduring British-led defeat.

After suffering devastating losses in the huge naval battles at Midway and the Soloman Islands, the Imperial Japanese navy attempted to counter-attack against the US forces threatening the Home Islands. Involving the US Fifth Fleet and the Japanese Mobile Fleet, the battle of the Philippine Sea took place during the United States'' amphibious invasion of the Mariana Islands during the Pacific War.The two fleets clashed on June 19-20, 1944 and the Japanese carrier fighters were shot down in devastating numbers by US aircraft in what became known as the ΓÇ£Great Marianas Turkey Shoot,ΓÇ¥ before US counterattacks and submarine strikes forced the withdrawal of the Japanese fleet. Fully illustrated with stunning specially commissioned artwork, Mark Stille tells the enthralling story of the last, and largest, carrier battle of the Pacific War, the one that saw the end of the Imperial Japanese Navy as a formed fighting force.