Osprey's study of the most famous battle of the Napoleonic Wars (1799-1815). Waterloo holds a special place among the great battles of history. The climax of more than twenty years of war, it was indeed a close-run affair, matching two of the world's greatest generals - Napoleon and Wellington. This volume covers the entire campaign including the battles of Quatre Bras, Ligny and Wavre, with five full-colour maps and three highly detailed bird's eye views showing decisive moments in the action. An excellent sense of the closeness of the battle is communicated - Wellington himself claimed it was "the nearest thing you ever saw in your life" - and this gripping account shows the full justice of that statement.

'. . . an extraordinarily accurate and insightful account of the Cuban missile crisis. I remember well the fear of which he writes so persuasively.'--Robert S. McNamara, Secretary of Defense to Presidents Kennedy and Johnson

This is the first in-depth comparison of German and British infantry tactics, training, and leadership techniques during World War I. Samuels' study undercuts some traditional views about the reasons for German successes and British failures during the Great War and points to how different value systems in the two countries affected their military prowess. This historical study of the doctrines underlying the British and German strategies and their implementation is intended for students of military history and contemporary military strategy. This history first analyzes the development of German infantry tactics and the role of the Storm Battalions and then examines the British attempt to adopt the German defensive systems and points to reasons for flaws in the British doing so. In comparing and contrasting the British and German armies, Samuels outlines the key concepts on which the German defensive system was based and analyzes how forces were trained and leadership was decentralized to produce a dynamic and flexible system. British efforts to adopt the key concepts failed because leadership was centralized and poor training contributed also to combat ineffectiveness.

General George B. McClellan, the self-styled American Napoleon, is one of the most controversial figures of the American Civil War. General-in-chief of the entire Union army at one point, he led the Army of the Potomac through the disaster at Antietam Creek, was subsequently dismissed by Lincoln, and then ran against him in the 1864 presidential campaign. This collection of McClellan's candid letters about himself, his motivations, and his intentions reveals much fresh information on the military operations and political machinations he was involved with, and sheds new light on his complex personality. Stephen Sears, a Civil War expert, Prize-winning author, and biographer of McClellan, here lets this once-removed and now notorious commander speak of himself, providing us with an important first-hand view of what went on behind the scenes of America's greatest and most awful war.

In this volume, historian Milan Hauner brilliantly links the lessons of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan with the East/West political struggles of today. Masterfully, he demonstrates the geographical and historical predicates of Russian imperialism in Asia. His analysis focuses on the failed military campaign in Afghanistan and Soviet diplomacy in Southwest Asia as a whole. The results are impressive. The reader is given the advantage of a fuller historical spectrum, and can better grasp the true shape of the present. More importantly, the reader can look into the future. From this vantage point, the constraints, possibilities, and obligations of U.S. diplomacy become more clear. Co-published with the Foreign Policy Research Institute.

Osprey's examination of one of the most important battles of the Crimean War (1853-1856). The port of Balaclava was crucial in maintaining the supply lines for the Allied siege of Sevastapol. The Russian attack in October 1854 therefore posed a major threat to the survival of the Allied cause. This book examines in detail the crucial battle of Balaclava, including: the attack on the redoubts; the action of "the thin red line in which an assortment of about 700 British troops, some invalids, were abandoned by their Turkish allies; the subsequent charge of the Heavy Brigade; and the most famous part of the battle: the infamous charge of the Light Brigade.

This collection of exciting, absorbing personal accounts from survivors of the Battle of the Little Bighorn, includes interviews with John Martin, trumpeter and orderly to Lt. Col. George Armstong Custer; Medal of Honor winner Stanislas Roy; Second Lt. Winfield Edgerly; Second Lt. Charles DeRudio; Private Roman Rutten; Sergeant Daniel Knipe; and other Seventh Cavalry men and officers. It also includes accounts from Custer's Indian scouts: Goes Ahead, Hairy Moccasin, Little Sioux, Strike Two, and notably, Curley, the Crow scout who witnessed the attack on the Custer Column. Most importantly, here for the first time are memorable accounts from American Indians who actually fought against Custer: Turtle Rib, Black Bear, He Dog, White Bull, Sturdy Bear, and Foolish Elk, who fought with Crazy Horse on the day of the battle. These American Indian interviews are an important source for scholars of Native American cultures, as well as students of the Indian Wars and Custer's ""Last Stand.

Though the 'Scythian period' in the history of Eastern Europe lasted little more than 400 years, the impression these horsemen made upon the history of their times was such that a thousand years after they had ceased to exist as a sovereign people, their heartland and the territories which they dominated far beyond it continued to be known as 'greater Scythia'. From the very beginnings of their emergence on the world scene the Scythians took part in the greatest campaigns of their times, defeating such mighty contemporaries as Assyria, Urartu, Babylonia, Media and Persia. This highly illustrated book details their costume, weapons and the way they waged war.

Apacheria ran from the Colorado to the Rio Grande and beyond, from the great canyons of the North for a thousand miles into Mexico. Here, where the elusive, phantomlike Apache bands roamed, life was as harsh, cruel, and pitiless as the country itself. The conquest of Apacheria is an epic of heroism, mixed with chicanery, misunderstanding, and tragedy, on both sides.

The author's account of this important segment of Western American history includes the Walapais War, an eyewitness report on the death of the gallant lieutenant Howard B. Cushing, the famous Camp Grant Massacre, General Crook's offensive in Apacheria and his difficulties with General Miles, and the formidable Apache leaders, including Cochise, Delshay, Big Rump, Chunz, Chan-deisi, Victorio, and Geronimo.

In 1543 three Portuguese merchants entered a turbulent Japan, bringing with them the first firearms the Japanese had ever seen: simple matchlock muskets called arquebuses. They proved a decisive addition to the Japanese armoury, as for centuries the samurai had fought only with bow, sword and spear. In 1575, during the Battle of Nagashino, one of the greatest original thinkers in the history of samurai, Oda Nobunaga, arranged his arquebusiers in ranks three deep behind a palisade and proceeded, quite literally, to blow his opponent's cavalry to pieces, marking the beginning of a new era in Japanese military history.

Few analysts of U.S. involvement in Vietnam would agree with the provocative conclusion of this book. The thesis of most postmortems is that the United States lost the war because of the failure of its foreign policy decisionmaking system. According to Gelb and Betts, however, the foreign policy failed, but the decisionmaking system worked. They attribute this paradox to the efficiency of the system in sustaining an increasingly heavy commitment based on the shared conviction of six administrations that the United States must prevent the loss of Vietnam to communism. However questionable the conviction, and thus the commitment, may have been, the authors stress that the latter "was made and kept for twenty-five years. That is what the system -the shared values, the political and bureaucratic pressures -was designed to do, and it did it." The comprehensive analysis that supports this contention reflects the widest use thus fare of available sources, including recently declassified portions of negotiations documents and files in presidential libraries. The frequently quoted statement of the principals themselves contradict the commonly held view that U.S. leaders were unaware of the consequences of their decisions and deluded by false expectations of easy victory. With few exceptions, the record reveals that these leaders were both realistic and pessimistic about the chances for success in Vietnam. Whey they persisted nonetheless is explained in this thorough account of their decisionmaking from 1946 to 1968, and how their mistakes might be avoided by policymakers in the future is considered in the final chapter.

For General George B. McClellan, the dejected Union troops who poured into Washington fresh from defeat at Bull Run on Monday, July 22, 1861, were to provide the raw material which he would train, equip, organize and ultimately transform from a mere mob into an effective fighting force. In October 1861, the Army of the Potomac officially came into being. This entertaining volume from the same team of author Philip Katcher and artist Michael Youens who produced Men-at-Arms 37, The Army of Northern Virginia, explores how this transition came about, with a particular emphasis on weapons, uniforms and equipment.

Campaigns fought by Louis XIV, the Sun King, shaped the borders of European states, the destinies of royal dynasties, and even the patterns of absolutist government. This book presents the most authoritative yet accessible and succinct account of these all-important struggles available today, covering every aspect of the wars from decisions made by the king at his palace at Versailles to the life of the troops encamped in the field. Focusing on the French army, the greatest military force of the age, this tale of violence, victory, and victims balances siege and battle in a way that tells us much that is new about the Sun King and his adversaries.

Over 2600 years ago the Parian poet Archilochus wrote "we chased seven and killed them.. the thousand of us." In all parts of the world, and in all civilizations, the history of warfare, as well as the ironic humour of those who fight and die, can be traced back to the earliest records. But the vocabulary of modern warfare - army, military, strategy, tactics - derives from Greek and Latin, while metaphors of conflict similarly evoke ancient times. Such expressions and phrases as "Live by the sword and die by the sword", "Pyrrhic victory", and "arms and the man" are commonplace, and all come from the classical age. Wilfred Owen, famous soldier of the Great War, could write the bitter line "the old lie: Dulce et decorum est/pro patria mori" while expecting his readers to understand both Latin and allusion. Combining astute analysis of the logistics of conflict with the ethics of war, and drawing on a diverse range of cultural texts (from the Iliad to Hugo Grotius and von Clausewitz), Alfred S Bradford draws fascinating parallels between warfare and battle in ancient and modern societies. He shows that despite huge differences in weaponry and firepower, the basic principles of warfare have remained unchanged over thousands of years. War in the modern age is persistently illuminated by antiquity.

The arrival of the aerostatic balloon at the end of the nineteenth century ushered in a new perspective on the battlefield, taking over from the mount - the hill at the edge of the field of combat - and the fortified tower positioned within it. Since then there has been no perspective more culpable in war, violence and security than the aerial one. From Above explores the aerial view in new depth and clarity. It draws in vivid detail on studies of the aerial perspective today and on rich empirical investigations of the aerial view from the past. Chapters examine a range of case studies and examples, from Vietnam and the balloon prospect, camouflage, colonial policing, to today's drone wars. The contributors draw on perspectives from history, international relations, political geography and cultural studies in order to provide a truly interdisciplinary perspective on the view from above. They also consider the view from above in relation to its technologies, legalities, practices, doctrines, and visual culture. Among the contributors are renowned international experts such as Derek Gregory, Trevor Paglen, Caren Kaplan, Klaus Dodds and Priya Satia. The aerial view is a perspective that can no longer be ignored, one that is of growing significance for those interested in geopolitics, militarism and conflict.

In 1779 Sir Henry Clinton and more than eight thousand British troops left the waters of New York, seeking to capture the colonies' most important southern port, Charleston, South Carolina. Clinton and his officers believed that victory in Charleston would change both the seat of the war and its character. In this comprehensive study of the 1780 siege and surrender of Charleston, Carl P. Borick offers a full examination of the strategic and tactical elements of Clinton's operations. Suggesting that the importance of the siege has been underestimated, Borick contends that the British effort against Charleston was one of the most critical campaigns of the war. Borick examines the reasons for the shift in British strategy, the efforts of their army and navy, and the difficulties the patriots faced as they defended the city. He explores the roles of key figures in the campaign, including Benjamin Lincoln, William Moultrie, and Lord Charles Cornwallis. Borick relies on an impressive array of primary and secondary sources relating to the siege and includes maps that depict the British approach to the city and the complicated military operations that led to the patriots' greatest defeat of the American Revolution.

An analysis and summary of the events of the Cold War. It discusses the different interpretations and provides a selection of essays on the origins of the Cold War by well-known politicians and scholars, including Averell Harriman, John Gaddis, Thomas McCormick, Radomir Luza, Geir Lundestad, Alan S. Milward, Antony Carew, Michael Hogan, Lutz Niethammer, Marc Trachtenberg and Mark Kramer. The roles of the giants of history, such as Churchill, Stalin and Truman, as well as those of local leaders, are illuminated. Special emphasis is placed on the political economy of the Cold War, the Marshall Plan, and welfare capitalism. This third edition draws upon documentation from Soviet archives that was not previously available, and opens up the role of nuclear strategy in the Soviet-American conflict. The editor's introduction likewise reconsiders the historiography of the Cold War in the light of the archival disclosures.

Now in paperback From the author of the Navy SEALs Oral History series-an intimate look at the world's most efficient and deadly warriors.
Snipers have a rich history. This fascinating book follows their tasks and techniques from the Revolutionary and Civil Wars through both World Wars, to the Korean War and Vietnam-the genesis of modern sniping-to the current conflicts in the Middle East. Also, readers will see how sniping has evolved on the civilian side in law enforcement. Readers will learn about the tools of the trade, but most importantly, they will hear from the experts themselves: military snipers, as well as civilian police and SWAT snipers. Capturing the suspense and action of the hunt, the words of these men draw readers into the close-knit, little-known world of men who need only one bullet to get the job done.

In The Costs of War: International Law, the UN, and World Order After Iraq, Richard Falk, brings together some of his recent essays, published and unpublished, examining the impact that the Iraq War has had and will have on international law, human rights, and democracy.

A new introduction provides an overview as well as a sense of the current context and reflects on the internal prospects for Iraq and on the logic of an early U.S. military and political withdrawal.

Having been revised and updated to take account of the march of events, the essays are organized into the following sections:

• Part 1 addresses the effects of the American invasion and occupation of Iraq on the current dimensions of world order
• Part 2 provides a normative inquiry into the larger intentions and consequences of the Iraq War
• Part 3 considers the more fundamental implications of the Iraq War, especially on our understanding of war as an instrument for the solution of conflict.

Falk demonstrates the dysfunctionality of war in relation to either anti-terrorism or the pursuit of a global security system based on military dominance; the historical potential of a realistic Gandhiism as a positive alternative in the setting of global policy in the twenty-first century.

The Costs of War will be of interest to students and scholars of political science, media studies, and politics and international relations in general.

A Cuban woman who moved to New Orleans in the 1850s, Loreta Janeta Velazquez fought in the Civil War as the cross-dressing Harry T. Buford. As Buford, she single-handedly organized an Arkansas regiment; participated in the historic battles of Bull Run, Fort Donelson, and Shiloh; romanced men and women; and eventually decided that spying as a woman better suited her cause. In the North, she was posed as a double agent and worked to traffic information, drugs, and counterfeit bills to support the Confederate cause. Originally published in 1876, Velazquez's seemingly impossible account has divided scholars, some believing this book to be a generally honest autobiography and others believing it to be mostly fiction.

Throughout history, from Kublai Khan's attempted invasions of Japan to Rommel's desert warfare, military operations have succeeded or failed on the ability of commanders to incorporate environmental conditions into their tactics. In "Battling the Elements," geographer Harold A. Winters and former U.S. Army officers Gerald E. Galloway Jr., William J. Reynolds, and David W. Rhyne, examine the connections between major battles in world history and their geographic components, revealing what role factors such as weather, climate, terrain, soil, and vegetation have played in combat. Each chapter offers a detailed and engaging explanation of a specific environmental factor and then looks at several battles that highlight its effects on military operations. As this cogent analysis of geography and war makes clear, those who know more about the shape, nature, and variability of battleground conditions will always have a better understanding of the nature of combat and at least one significant advantage over a less knowledgeable enemy.

In the year 216 B.C., Hannibal of Carthage, faced with an opposing Roman army twice the size of his own, outwitted the enemy at Cannae by means of a strategy which has become a classic of its kind. As a result of his famous "double pincer" maneuver, 70,000 Roman soldiers died within the space of a few hours on a field the size of New York's Central Park. Yet, as devastating and startling as Cannae was, it was only one of a long list of incredible achievements. Hannibal's fantastic 1,000-mile march across the Alps from Spain to Italy was one of the wonders of ancient times. He began his hazardous journey with 90,000 infantry, 12,000 cavalry, and 37 elephants. By the time he reached the Valley of the Po, more than 30,000 troops and many of his elephants had perished, but he still managed to stay in Italy for sixteen years.Blending biography and military adventure, "Hannibal" is a portrait of a military genius who was also a highly civilized man. The son of Hamilcar Barca, a famous general in his own right, Hannibal was a student of the Greek classics. But his father's lifelong grudge against Rome fostered in the son a deep hatred for that Republic and a fierce determination to subdue it forever. This resulted in the bloody battles of Lake Trasimene, Campania, Nole, Capua, and Zama, all of which Leonard Cottrell describes with vigor and authority. In gathering material for "Hannibal," Cottrell traveled the entire route that Hannibal took across the Alps, thus bringing to his account a valuable firsthand knowledge of his subject. With the drama and authenticity for which he is famous, Leonard Cottrell describes Hannibal's amazing campaign--a saga of victory after victory which fell justshort of its ultimate goal: the annihilation of Rome.

By the 15th century BC the valley of Hwang Ho was dominated by a palace-based military caste which owed its supremacy to a monopoly of bronze-working techniques among a still mainly Stone Age population. To the Shang Dynasty, war was a means of legitimising the power of their new aristocracy. This fascinating volume by C. J. Peers covers the period of China's history from the first documented civilisation to the establishment of an enduring unified empire, examining the history, organisation, uniform and weapons of ancient Chinese armies.

This compelling book provides the first global history of the evolution of combined operations since Antiquity. Beginning with amphibious warfare in the ancient world of the Romans, Vikings, and Mongols, Jeremy Black advances through the Gunpowder Revolution, the rise of maritime empires and the formation of nation-states, the early Industrial Revolution and the adaptation of modern technology to warfare, the twentieth-century world wars, the Cold War, and concluding with the modern age of irregular and asymmetric conflict. Black's informed and analytical narrative emphasizes conflicts around the world, focusing not only on leading powers but also regional combatants. His case studies include amphibious operations in the Mongol invasions of Japan, the War for American Independence, and the Gallipoli campaign of World War I. He also explores the development and effectiveness of airborne operations as a way to project military power inland. Offering a balanced assessment of strategic, operational, and technical developments over time, Black considers both the potential and limitations of amphibious and airborne warfare-past, present, and future.

Although prominent some would argue pre-eminent within the modern political lexicon, the concept of security is complex and contested. While the meaning and reference point of security was once largely taken for granted within International Relations, the past thirty years or so have witnessed the growth of a range of approaches that refuse to take this concept and its application as self-evident. Instead, serious scholarship, often grouped under the rubric of Critical Security Studies, has sought to question and critique dominant conceptions of security, to introduce new theoretical approaches to the assessment of security discourses and practices, and to expand the range of issues considered within security analysis. This new four-volume collection from Routledge provides a timely anthology of the subdiscipline s best and most influential scholarship to help users make sense of a now dizzyingly large body of literature and a continuing explosion in research output.

Bringing together these major works in one easy-to-use reference resource, the collection illuminates the sometimes complex debates within and between different critical approaches to security, where even the meaning, form, and function of critique is itself contested. And, rather than attempting to impose a unitary or monolithic understanding of Critical Security Studies, the collection editors have instead captured the diversity and vibrancy of critical research on security by grouping the gathered materials into four interrelated themes: defining, deepening, broadening, and extending security.

Volume I ( Defining Security ), collects a variety of critical perspectives on the meaning of the concept of security. Volume II ( Broadening Security ), meanwhile, presents arguments for and against the broadening of security to include issues such as environmental degradation, migration, and health. The third volume ( Deepening Security ) in the collection gathers assessments of the appropriate point of reference for security that range from the individual to the global level, while Volume IV ( Extending Security ) brings together materials that have sought to extend existing critical approaches, and to expand further the disciplinary boundaries of Security Studies.

The collection is fully indexed and includes a comprehensive introduction that places the collected material in its historical and intellectual context. It is destined to be valued by students, teachers, and researchers of Security Studies as well as those working in contiguous fields as a vital and unique resource.