Böcker i From Retinue to Regiment-serien

This volume completes the study of Tudor warfare. It provides a detailed description and analysis of the campaigns and battles of Elizabeth's reign together with their political and diplomatic background. It also explains how her armies were raised, equipped, supported and commanded.

This book explores in detail the clothes, weapons and accoutrements of the Scots at war between 1460 and 1600.

A completely new and original take on 16th century samurai history and Japan's military revolution.During the sixteenth century Japan's medieval period was left behind as the samurai experienced a military revolution that involved the introduction of rearms and the mobilization of large armies who fought from stone castles. The history of this violent time is perfectly encapsulated in the campaigns waged by five generations of one outstanding warlord family: the Hojo of Odawara Castle. In 1487 the dynasty's founder attacked a wooden stockade using bows and arrows; in 1590 his great-great grandson defended a huge castle using cannons. Successive Hojo warlords were contemporaries of famous samurai such as Takeda Shingen, Uesugi Kenshin and Oda Nobunaga, whose armies they fought and defeated, but their end came at the hands of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the "Napoleon of Japan", who defeated the Hojo in a massive siege of their mighty castle of Odawara. This book tells the story of a century of warfare using Japanese sources not previously translated into English. It is spectacularly illustrated with photographs of armor and weapons plus newly-commissioned artwork. Detailed and authoritative accounts of the campaigns show the Hojo samurai using 'every trick in the book' from sea raiding to ninja attacks. There are also many surprises, such as the use of dogs as messengers and the revelation that the final siege of Odawara in 1590 was no easy matter. When the Hojo dynasty came to its glorious end and their last patriarch committed hara-kiri, Japan and samurai warfare were changed forever.

Provides unprecedented detail on the Irish armies, military procedures, arms and equipment with particular attention on the Highland mercenary forces that operated in Ireland during this time.Ireland at the outset of the Tudor era was a highly militarized society, with more than sixty Gaelic lordships maintaining independent armed forces. By the 1540s, the centralizing Tudor state had ended the self-rule enjoyed by the Anglo-Irish Pale and was embarked on an increasingly severe program of reconquest. A key element of regaining central control over the island was the demilitarizing of the Irish lordships, both Gaelic and semi-Gaelicised Anglo-Irish. Native resistance resulted in an increasingly costly series of large-scale wars, fueled by the emergence of the Reformation. e book traces the development of Irish armies during the period, including the latest studies on the question of modernization: i.e., the 'Military Revolution'. Recent scholarship has called into question many long standing assumptions about Ireland in this period, including the degree of contact and commerce with mainland Europe, and the ability of Irish society to adapt to, and absorb, outside influences. A new appreciation of these questions helps place Tudor Irish military culture in a European context, calling for a reassessment of the degree to which Irish armies were outdated. While an expression of a profoundly traditional culture, they are found to be suited to purpose and eager to adopt rearms at nearly the rate seen in England.The early part of this period saw Irish lordships enjoying a degree of local autonomy, exploiting newly found sources of wealth--principally fish--and expressing great confidence in a building boom of castles and associated churches and monasteries with continental affiliations. e book covers the phenomenon of large-scale castle building in this era, which has le Ireland the most heavily encastellated landscape in Europe.Also included are comprehensive army lists and unprecedented detail on Irish arms and armor of the period, tracing developments over time. New period sources and iconography are made use of. Besides the 'rising out' of the Pale and the traditional Irish troop types (horseman, galloglass and kern), a thorough examination is made of Scots Highland mercenary activity in Ireland, including weapons and organization. Also featured are the naval forces of the West Highland Scots and maritime clans of Ireland, including strength and changes in ship types over time.

A detailed account of the reconquest of Normandy and Gascony, including the battle which marked the first decisive use of artillery on the battlefield.The defeat of John Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, and the Anglo-Gascon army on 17 July 1453 at Castillon on the River Dordogne, 25 miles east of Bordeaux, was the last of the great battles of the Hundred Years' War. The battle resulted in a catastrophic defeat for Talbot and heralded the rapid collapse of the last vestiges of English power in south-west France. Three months later the last English troops le Bordeaux.The end of English rule in Gascony brought to an end a period during which, in a little over four years, the French had driven the English from their lands in Normandy and Gascony, leaving the Calais Pale as the only surviving possession in France, a possession that the English Crown would hold for another century. The battle also marked an important step in the evolution of warfare. King Charles VII had brought about major reforms in the French Army, establishing a standing army, and, thanks to the technical and tactical innovations of the Bureau brothers, artillery played a decisive role on the battle field for the first time. To put the Battle of Castillon in perspective the book summarizes the origins of the Hundred Years' War and the ebb and flow of fortunes during the war up to the Treaty of Tours in 1444. It then describes the military reforms of King Charles VII and the innovations of the Bureau brothers in the development of artillery. Shrewsbury, who died in the battle, had a long and successful military career, and was one of the few English commanders to emerge from the final years of the 100 Years War with his reputation intact. He fought during the reconquest of Normandy and, as the commander of the English Army attempting to stem the French tide in Gascony, was a key figure in the later years of the war. His military career is described and the book then recounts in detail the campaigns in Normandy during 1449-50 and in Gascony in 1451 and 1452-3. The battle of Castillon, the decisive action in the French conquest of Gascony, is described in detail. The book concludes with an account of the aftermath of the battle and the final expulsion of the English after the surrender of Bordeaux, three months to the day after the defeat of Shrewsbury at Castillon.

"...the numerical explanations and discussions are exceptionally helpful. Well done. Enjoyed it." - Historical Miniatures Gaming SocietyIn November 1500, Ferdinand of Spain and Louis XII of France signed the secret Treaty of Granada. This agreement enabled Spain and France to easily conquer and divide the Kingdom of Naples in the years 1501 and 1502. The treaty divided Naples between the two nations, however disputes arose over the division and the boundaries of the newly conquered territories soon led to war.Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, the Spanish Commander in Naples, was aware of the inferior quality of his troops and retreated to Barletta (Apulia). His plan was to await reinforcements from Spain. The French commander, Louis d'Armagnac, Duke of Nemours, split the French army into several garrisons all around Barletta, and sent a contingent led by Beraud d'Aubigny to occupy Calabria. Over the following eight months, skirmishes, ambushes, and sudden attacks, which were to become Córdoba's trademark tactic, became the norm.In April 1503, Córdoba, following the arrival of Spanish and Landsknecht reinforcements, left Barletta and moved over to the offensive. The Spanish defeated d'Aubigny's army on 21 April and then just over a week later on the 28th, they defeated the Duke of Nemours at Cerignola. The Duke was to fall in the fighting. Gonzalo de Córdoba and his troops entered Naples in triumph on 16 May 1503.Louis XII, eager to reclaim his lost territories, gathered an army and invaded Naples. However, the French were defeated again in December 1503, near the river Garigliano. Gaeta, the last French stronghold in Naples, fell on 1 January 1504. On 31 January 1504, the Treaty of Lyon was signed ratifying Spanish possession of the Kingdom of Naples.