The two attempts by Khubilai Khan, the Mongol Emperor of China, to invade Japan in 1274 and 1281 represent unique events in the history of both countries. It pitted the samurai of Japan against the fierce warriors of the steppes who had conquered half the known world.
The Mongol conquest of Korea left them with a considerable quantity of maritime resources, which enabled them to thin seriously for the first time about crossing the Tsushima strait between Korea and Japan with an army of invasion. The first invasion, which began with savage raiding on the islands of Tsushima and Iki, made a landfall at Hakata Bay and forced the samurai defenders back inland. Luckily for the Japanese defenders, a storm scattered the Mongol invasion fleet, leading them to abandon this attempt.
In the intervening years the Japanese made defensive preparation, and the Mongol increased their fleet and army, so that the second invasion involved one of the largest seaborne expeditions in world history up to that time. This attempt was aimed at the same landing site, Hakata Bay, and met stiffer opposition form the new defences and the aggressive Japanese defenders. Forced buy a series of major Japanese raids to stay in their ships at anchor, the Mongol fleet was obliterated by a typhoon - the kami kaze (divine wind) - for the loss of as many as 90 per cent of the invaders. Although further preparations were made for an assault by the Mongols at the end of the 13ht and beginning of the 14th centuries, this proved to be the last realistic threat of an invasion of the home islands till 1945.

In 1805, Bavaria allied itself with France and Bavarian troops served with Napoleon during the 1809 campaign against Austria, and participated in the Russian campaign of 1812, before eventually abandoning the Emperor's cause in 1813 prior to the battle of Leipzig. They then engaged Napoleon's troops in combat at the battle of Hanua in an unsuccessful attempt to cut off their retreat to France. This book by Otto von Pivka provides an in depth examination of the organisation, equipment, weaponry and uniforms of Napoleon's Bavarian allies. The fascinating text is accompanied by numerous illustrations and eight full page colour plates.

Each great samurai warlord, or daimyo, had a 'household division' of troops, known as the Hatamoto - 'those who stand under the flag'. The Hatamoto included the personal bodyguards, both horse (uma mawari) and foot (kachi); the senior generals (bugyo), the standard bearers and color-guard, couriers, and other samurai under the warlord's personal command.
Apart from bodyguard and other duties in immediate attendance on the daimyo, both horse and foot guards often played crucial roles in battle - their intervention could turn defeat into victory, and their collapse meant final disaster. As favored fighting men under the warlord's eye, members of the bodyguards could hope for promotion, and some rose to be daimyo themselves.
All three great leaders of the 16-17th century - including Oda, Hideyoshi and Tokugawa - had their own elite corps. Such troops were naturally distinguished by dazzling apparel and heraldry, with banners both carried and attached to the back of the armor, all of which are detailed in an array of color artwork specially created for this publication.

Battlefield Gas was first employed in April 1915 at the village of Langemarck near Ypres. At 1700 hours the Germans released a five mile-wide cloud of 168 tons of chlorine gas from 520 cylinders, causing panic and death in the French and Algerian trenches. Despite initial widespread condemnation and disgust, its use rapidly spread with all the armies entering into the race to produce gases, new ways to use them, and protective measures including masks and warning systems.
For the first time in detail, this book charts the development of gas as a battlefield weapon and the steps taken to counter it. Delivery methods, including the use of artillery, the consequences of changing wind direction, and infantry advancing into an area just gassed, are all covered alongside key milestones in its introduction and usage.
With an abundant array of artwork and photographs illustrating the gas masks, insignia, and protective clothing of the protagonists, this book conveys the horror of the gas attack and reveals the practical challenges for soldiers struggling to cope with this new form of warfare.
Conveying the reality behind the iconic Sargent painting of a column of blindfolded gas casualties, it is a fascinating survey of one of the darkest facets of 20th century warfare.

Osprey's examination of Samurai commanders during the Gempei Wars (1180-1185), the Onin War (1467-1477), and the early Sengoku period. The samurai were the military elite of medieval and early modern Japan, and the men who led them were hailed as the very greatest, most heroic and most honourable of all samurai warriors. This first of two books examines the lives, equipment, battles and wider roles of the samurai commanders between 940 and 1576, the period from the emergence of the samurai to the triumph of Oda Nobunaga, who set Japan on the road to reunification. The styles of armour and weaponry of the samurai changed considerably during this time and this book visually recreates some of the most famous samurai commanders, such as Taira Masaka (c. 903-940), Minamoto Yorimasa (1106-1180), and Takeda Shingen (1521-1573).

Coats of arms were at first used only by kings and princes, then by their great nobles, but by the mid-13th century arms were being used extensively by the lesser nobility, knights and those who later came to be styled gentlemen. In some countries the use of arms spread even to merchants, townspeople and the peasantry. From the mundane to the fantastic, from simple geometric patterns to elaborate mythological beasts, this fascinating work by Terence Wise explores the origins and appearance of medieval heraldic devices in an engagingly readable style accompanied by numerous illustrations including eight full page colour plates by Richard Hook.