Osprey Publishing, 2004. — 64 p. — ISBN: 978-1-84176-759-8. The walls of Constantinople are the greatest surviving example of European medieval military architecture in the world. They withstood numerous sieges until being finally overcome by the artillery of Mehmet the Conqueror in 1453, and exist today as a time capsule of Byzantine and Medieval history. This book examines...
Osprey Publishing, 2007. — 64 p. According to Russian legend, in the year AD 862 the Slav tribes of what is now European Russia invited a number of Scandinavian princes to rule over them. However, on the death of these princes, Prince Oleg seized Kiev and united the Northern and Southern Russian territories, building extensive fortifications to protect its borders. The rise of...
Osprey Publishing, 2012. — 66 p. — ISBN: 978-1849083966. Buddhism has been influential in the mountain kingdoms of the Himalayas since the 7th century AD, most notably in the kingdom of Tibet where it permeated all aspects and levels of society until the 20th century. From the 9th-century AD onwards, the secular rulers of Tibet sought to extend their influence, and that of...
Osprey Publishing, 2007. — 65 p. — ISBN: 1841768952. From the reign of Augustus (27 s -AD 14) onwards, the Roman Army became a standing force with permanent fortresses distributed throughout the empire. These fortresses developed from the temporary fortifications of the legions on campaign, to finally become elaborate stone fortifications designed to tand the test of time. This...
Osprey Publishing, 2006. — 64 p. Half a millennium before the Romans first arrived in Britain an even more ferocious people arrived in what is now south-eastern England after migrating from the mainland of Europe. This civilisation, known as the Celts first arrived in Britain in the 6th century BC, and within 300 years had made the island their own. The Celts remained in...
Osprey Publishing, 2009. — 64 p. — ISBN: 978-1-84603-286-8. Devastated by the civil wars of the 17th century or by the neglect of their owners, the majority of Scottish baronial castles built between 1250 and 1450 survive as little more than skeletal ruins. These reminders of Scotland's past have captured the imaginations of romantics, artists, writers and tourists since the...
Osprey Publishing, 2003. — 64 p.
The landscape of 16th- and 17th-century Japan was dominated by the graceful and imposing castles constructed by the powerful 'daimyo' of the period. In this the most turbulent era in Japanese history, these militarily sophisticated structures provided strongholds for the consolidation and control of territory, and inevitably they became the...
Osprey Publishing, 2004. — 65 p. — ISBN: 978-1-8417-6712-3. The original forced conversion of pagan Livonia, what is now the Baltic states of Latvia and Estonia, was carried out by a military order known as the Brethren of the Sword. In 1236 this order was incorporated into the Teutonic Knights following a catastrophic military defeat. The knights had always consolidated their...
Osprey Publishing, 2008. — 64 p.
In the second half of the 3rd millennium BCE the Indo-European tribes known to us as the Hittites started to migrate to and settle in Central Anatolia. At that time it was a land of small city-states some of whose names have survived to this day, such as Kanes (Nesa), Kussara, Hattusha, Zalpa and Puruskhanda; however, the exact location ofthese...
Osprey Publishing, 2008 — 64 p. — Print ISBN: 978-1-84603-115-1 / PDF e-book ISBN: 978-1-84603-856-3 / EPUB e-book ISBN: 978-1-78200-711-1 The Islamic world drew upon a myriad of pre-existing styles of fortification, taking Romano-Byzantine, Indian and Chinese ideas to create a highly effective and sophisticated hybrid fortification that was both new and distinctive. This book...
Osprey Publishing, 2009. — 68 p. — (Fortress 88).
In the wake of the bloody civil war that followed Finland's independence from Russia in 1917, the border between the two countries was established across the Karelian Isthmus, an area long fought over by Russia, Finland and Sweden in their attempts to dominate the northern tip of Europe. Neither the Soviets nor the Finnish were...
Osprey Publishing, 2003. — 65 p. — ISBN: 978-1-8417-6557-0. Throughout their stormy history the Teutonic Knights of Germany have always been the most controversial brotherhood ever to call themselves 'Knights of Christ'.They were the most warlike of the religious orders, and this is reflected in the architecture they left behind. In contrast to the Templars who are remembered...
Osprey Publishing, 2004. — 64 p. The Crusaders that landed in the Middle East in the late 11th century brought with them their own traditions of military architecture, but it was not long before their defensive construction began to reflect a broad array of local influences. Most early Crusader structures were relatively small, and tended to increase the existing natural and...
Osprey Publishing Ltd, 2004. — 66 p. While the German Army (deutschen Heer) is perhaps best known for elaborate, massive concrete and steel fortifications, such as the Westwall (or ‘Siegfried Line’) and Atlantikwall, the fortifications that a German soldier was most familiar with were the ones he dug himself. Whether built on the sprawling steppes of Russia, in the deserts of...
Osprey Publishing, 2012. — 66 р. — (Osprey Fortress 107). — ISBN: 1849085935.
Starting in 1940, Germany was subjected to a growing threat of Allied bomber attack. The RAF night bombing offensive built up in a slow but unrelenting crescendo through the Ruhr campaign in the summer of 1944 and culminating in the attacks on Berlin in the autumn and early winter of 1943-
44. They...
Osprey Publishing, 2006. — 65 p. — ISBN: 978-1-8417-6916-5. In 1462 the throne of the Principality of Moscow passed to Ivan III (1462-1505), who succeeded in throwing off the Tatar yoke. For the next 200 years this new state struggled to maintain her borders against a series of attacks from the Lithuanians, Swedes and Poles to the west, as well as the Tatars to the south. They...
Oxford: Osprey Publishing Limited, 2007. — 64 p. — (Fortress 62). The German blitzkrieg assault of 1941 forced the Soviets to undertake large-scale defensive operations. Lessons were learned across many types of terrain, including the open steppes, forests, swamps and cities. Containing a wealth of detail about trenches, bunkers, observation posts and weapon positions, this...
Osprey Publishing, 2008. — 68 p. — ISBN: 1846032555. "New France" consisted of the area colonized and ruled by France in North America from the 16th to the 18th century. At its peak in the early 18th century its territory was huge, stretching from Newfoundland to the Gulf of Mexico. This title reviews the lengthy chain of forts built to guard the French frontier in the American...
Osprey Publishing, 2009. — 69 p. — ISBN10: 1846033756; ISBN13: 978-1846033759 By the time of the Crusades, the Islamic world had developed its own sophisticated styles of fortification. Distinctive and highly effective, the region's unique military architecture continued to evolve in response to the Crusader and Mongol threats, and also drew upon the traditions of their foes...
Osprey Publishing, 2010 — 64 p. — ISBN: 9781846035036 The Ottoman Empire was heir to the architectural traditions not only of the Byzantine Empire but also to those of the medieval Islamic Middle East. Having learned from these, the Ottomans created a fusion of military architectural styles to which they added what they learned from their later medieval and early modern...
Osprey Publishing, 2010. — 65 p. — ISBN: 1846039304. First besieged in 305 BC, the island of Rhodes became part of the Roman Empire and was later fortified in the Byzantine style. Due to its strategic position in the Mediterranean, Rhodes was also attacked and besieged for over a century by Islamic forces. This title details the development of these fascinating fortifications,...
Osprey Publishing, 2016 — 64 p. — ISBN: 9781472814456 Though primarily fought in the field, the American Revolution saw fortifications play an important part in some of the key campaigns of the war. Field fortifications were developed around major towns including Boston, New York and Savannah, while the frontier forts at Stanwix, Niagara and Cumberland were to all be touched by...
Illustrator: Spedaliere Donato — Osprey Publishing, 2022 — 64 p. A fortified complex covering 70 acres at the heart of Moscow, behind walls up to 18m high and watched over by 20 towers, the Kremlin houses everything from Russia's seat of political power to glittering churches. This is a fortress that has evolved over time, from the original wooden guard tower built in the 11th...
Osprey Publishing, 2007. — 64 p. — ISBN: 1841764302. Roman fortifications Fortresses Forts Fortlets Watchtowers Marching-camps Practice-camps The origins of Hadrian 's Wall Chronology The anatomy of Hadrian's Wall The Wall Ditch Military Way Valium Milecastles Turrets Forts Bridges Northern outposts West coast defences Phases of construction The construction of Hadrian's Wall...
Osprey Publishing, 2003. — 64 p.
The Philippines were declared an American Territory on January 4, 1899, and fortification construction soon began on the islands in the mouth of Manila Bay. Among the sites built were Fort Mills (Corregidor), Fort Frank, and the formidable "concrete battleship" of Fort Drum. The defenses suffered constant Japanese bombardment during World War...
Osprey Publishing, 2003. — 64 p.
The 50 years before the American Civil War saw a boom in the construction of coastal forts in the United States of America. These stone and brick forts stretched from New England to the Florida Keys, and as far as the Mississippi River. At the start of the war some were located in the secessionist states, and many fell into Confederate hands....
Osprey Publishing, 2003. — 64 p. — ISBN: 9781841766461 The Maginot Line, the massive series of fortifications built by France in the 1930s to defend its borders with Germany and Italy, is perhaps the most maligned collection of fortifications ever built. Despite being a technological marvel, and the most sophisticated and complex set of fortifications built up to that time, it...
Osprey Publishing, 2004. — 64 p. — ISBN: 9781841767031. Hisarlik is a small place, a sandy stone strewn hillock cut up into gullies and hummocks. Yet its historical significance is immense, for this is the site of Troy - the legendary city whose story sprawls across cultures, time and geography. The tale of the siege of Troy is the greatest secular story ever told, and has...
Osprey Publishing, 2004 — 64 p. — ISBN: 9781841766034 Following the creation of the Duchy of Normandy, the Normans were soon introduced to the castle and they built them in large numbers. In the mid-11th century, other Norman adventurers began carving out dominions for themselves in Southern Italy: some crossed to Sicily in 1061 and by 1091 had conquered the whole island. As in...
Osprey Publishing, 2004. — 64 p. — ISBN: 9781841767628. Mycenaean society was constantly geared for battle and invasion. Their ‘cities' were heavy fortresses with unimaginably thick perimeter walls. Legendary sites such as Mycenae, Tiryns, Argos, Krisa, the Athenian Acropolis and Gla are all representative of their fortified citadels that dominated the Greek countryside for...
Osprey Publishing, 2005 — 64 p. — ISBN: 9781841768380 For 40 years following the end of World War II, the Western democratic governments and the Eastern Bloc Communist powers were locked in the ideological, political, and economic struggle of the Cold War. The United States and the Soviet Union developed missile systems capable of delivering conventional and nuclear explosives...
Osprey Publishing, 2007 — 64 p. — ISBN: 9781841769769 The castles built by the Crusaders, Hospitallers, Venetians and Genoese in Cyprus, Greece, the Aegean, and on the Black Sea served to defend against a complex array of constantly changing threats: Mamluks, Catalan mercenaries, Ottoman Turks, Byzantines, independent Islamic states, Timur-i-Lenk, and widespread piracy, to name...
Osprey Publishing, 2003. — 64 p.
The prolonged and bloody fighting for control of the Japanese occupied Pacific islands in World War II is a key point in 20th-century warfare. No two islands were alike in the systems and nature of their defensive emplacements, and local improvization and command preferences affected both materials used and defensive models. This title details...
Osprey Publishing, 2003. — 65 p. — ISBN: 978-1-8417-6602-7. Descended from the Viking raiders who settled in Northern France under the leadership of Rollo in around 911, the Normans were amongst the most feared warriors of their time. Their territorial ambitions culminated in Duke William 1's conquest of England in 1066, but although victory at Hastings left the English crown...
Osprey Publishing, 2004. — 65 p. — ISBN: 978-1-8417-6776-5. Following the Soviet invasion in 1979, the Mujahideen defenders of Afghanistan developed and reinforced many natural cave systems to use as supply bases and defensive positions. The Taliban and Al Qaeda further strengthened these positions in the 1990s. Following the events of September 11, 2001, these cave systems...
Osprey Publishing, 2006. — 65 p. — ISBN: 978-1-8417-6962-2. With the exception of the key royal sites, such as Stirling and Edinburgh, few Scottish castles were located at strategic points, or were intended to house garrisons required to defend or subjugate towns. Instead they were primarily fortified dwelling houses, erected in an environment of weak Royal authority and...
Osprey Publishing, 2006. — 65 p. — ISBN: 978-1-8460-3003-1. During the Vietnam War, the Viet Cong (VC) main forces and North Vietnamese Army (NVA) were forced to hide weapons and supplies underground and to dig protective shelters to counter massive US firepower. Their field works defended villages, hidden base camps, and fortified complexes, and took the form of trench...
Osprey Publishing Limited, 2006. — 64 p.
The 'Spanish Main' – the Spanish possessions in the West Indies and the Central American and Mexican coast – was the envy of Englishmen, Frenchmen and Dutchmen from the 16th to the 19th centuries. To counter their assaults as well as those of pirates, the Spanish built an outstanding system of fortifications – much of which still stands...
Osprey Publishing, 2007 — 64 p. — ISBN: 9781846030048 The most famous example of fortification in the world, the Great Wall of China stretches for more than 6,000km across inhospitable terrain. Charting its development from its earliest origins in the 7th century BC through to the present day, this account reveals the true history of the wall, and explores the myths that...
Osprey Publishing, 2007. — 65 p. — ISBN: 978-1-8460-3104-5. The Japanese invasion and occupation of Korea, which lasted from 1592 to 1598, was the only occasion in Japanese history when samurai aggression was turned against a foreign country. During the occupation of Korea the Japanese built 25 wajo or castles. Unlike the castles built in Japan, these fortifications were never...
Osprey Publishing, 2008. — 65 p. — ISBN: 978-1-8460-3193-9. The border between East and West Germany was closed on 26 May 1953. On 13 August 1961 crude fences and walls were erected around West Berlin: the Berlin Wall had been created. The Wall encircled West Berlin for a distance of 155km, and its barriers and surveillance systems evolved over the years into an advanced...
Osprey Publishing, 2009 — 64 p. — ISBN: 9781846033704 The Maori people of New Zealand were experienced field engineers and it was common practice to protect villages with surrounding entrenchments and wooden palisades, known as pas. However, it was not until 1845, with the first fighting between the Maori and the British, that it became clear just how strong and sophisticated...
Osprey Publishing, 2009. — 65 p. — ISBN: 978-1-8460-3380-3. With the vast expansion of the Roman Empire came a need for more and more fortifications to defend it. The borders of the Empire stretched through wildly different terrains which demanded a huge variety of different fortifications, depending on the local conditions and the threats faced by the different areas. The...
Osprey Publishing, 2010. — 65 p. — ISBN: 978-1-8460-3956-0. During the Old and Middle Kingdoms, Ancient Egypt led the world in the construction of fortifications. The oldest was discovered on Elephantine Island and dates to c.2900 BC. This book investigates over 2,000 years of Egyptian fortification, including both fortified cities and military installations. It covers the most...
Osprey Publishing, 2015. — 64 p. — ISBN: 978-1472811462. This book completes the story of one of the most formidable defensive lines in Europe in World War II, looking at the lesser known Mediterranean extension and describing how it was conceived of, built and used. After the alarming collapse of Italy in 1943, the Germans launched a crash building program and the ‘Sudwall'...
Osprey Publishing, 2018 — 64 p. — ISBN: 9781472825964 Due to its location in the western North Atlantic some 600 miles off the Carolinas and halfway between Halifax in Canada and Jamaica in the West Indies, the island of Bermuda was a key naval haven for the Royal Navy over the centuries. It was vital for the Navy first in the development of its American colonies, then during...
Osprey Publishing, 2005 — 64 p. — ISBN: 9781841768267 From the 10th century onwards the great Japanese monastic foundations of Nara and Mount Hiei maintained large armies of warlike monks. The tempestuous political rivalries that developed between the different orders of monks and religiously inspired laymen ensured that their temples and monasteries had to be securely sited...
Osprey Publishing, 2008 — 64 p. — ISBN: 9781846031984 This book provides a detailed examination of the design, development and construction of the defences of ancient Rome, with a particular focus on the Aurelian Wall - arguably the best preserved of all city walls in the Roman empire.
Osprey Publishing, 2009 — 64 p. — ISBN: 9781846033810 It has been said in China that a city without a wall would be as inconceivable as a house without a roof. Even the smallest village invariably had some form of defensive wall, while the Great Wall of China was an attempt to build a barrier along the most vulnerable border of the entire country. Yet the finest examples of...
Osprey Publishing, 2010 — 64 p. — ISBN: 9781846036866 When the Romans withdrew from Britain, the north of the country was ruled by the most mysterious of the ancient British races, the Picts. Much of what is known about these "painted” warriors, comes from the remains of the fortifications that they left scattered around Scotland. Although the Picts are famous as sea raiders,...
Osprey Publishing, 2003. — 67 p. — ISBN: 1841765562. Few of the massive military structures built by Germany during World War II are as impressive as the U-Boat bases and bunkers in Germany, Norway and France. This title takes a close look at the formidable edifices on the French coast (Brest, Lorient, St Nazaire, La Pallice, Bordeaux) in Norway (Bergen, Trondheim) and Germany...
Osprey Publishing, 2003. — 64 p. — ISBN: 9781841765761 / ISBN: 9781782001294 / ISBN: 9781849080064. Following the battle of Bussaco on 27 September 1810 Wellington's heavily outnumbered troops began to withdraw towards Lisbon. By the evening of 9 October the British and Portuguese began to withdraw behind a line of defensive works that had been built to the north of Lisbon....
Osprey Publishing, 2004. — 65 p. — ISBN: 978-1-8417-6678-2. The West Wall (or the Siegfried Line as the Allies called it) played a crucial role in the bitter fighting of 1944 and 1945 in North-West Europe. Constructed in the period immediately after the remilitarisation of the Rhineland in 1936, the Wall stretched for 300 miles from Cleve in the north to the Swiss Border and...
Osprey Publishing, 2004 — 64 p. — ISBN: 9781841766935 The Island of Malta occupies a pivotal position in the Mediterranean, forming an outpost between North Africa and the soft underbelly of Europe. Such has been its strategic importance throughout the years that it has become one of the most fortified places in the world. Following the successful defence of the island during...
Osprey Publishing, 2004 — 64 p. — ISBN: 9781841767673 In the summer of 1940, Britain asked itself not 'will Hitler invade?' but 'when?' SEALION, the German invasion plan, provoked the construction of pillboxes, coastal defences, heavy-gun emplacements and anti-aircraft batteries, as well as the formation of the Home Guard and covert groups. Later, new dangers replaced SEALION:...
Osprey Publishing, 2005. — 64 p. — ISBN: 1841768324. When the Romans first fought against Caledonii during the reign of Agricola (AD 77-84), Agricola established a frontier along the Gask Ridge. He also consolidated the Forth-Clyde isthmus, the location at which the Romans would later build the Antonine Wall from AD 138 to 143. The following 100 years saw a cycle of advance...
Osprey Publishing, 2005 — 64 p. — ISBN: 9781841768274 The debacle of the Second Crusade in 1148 caused the Crusader States to realise the necessity of developing a more cautious strategy. The original expansionist spirit largely disappeared, and the Crusader States made priorities of strengthening their existing fortifications and towns and building new castles. These...
Osprey Publishing, 2006. — 65 p. — ISBN: 9781841768847. The development of the city-state in the Classical period of Greek history ensured a shift in the nature of fortifications in the region. No longer were fortresses designed to defend a ruler and his entourage, rather the whole of the citizen body had to be protected against any outside threats. The enceintes of these Greek...
Osprey Publishing, 2006 — 64 p. — ISBN: 9781841768755 Vauban was the foremost military engineer of France, not only during his lifetime, but also throughout the 18th century when his legacy and methods remained in place almost unchanged. Indeed, his expertise and experience in the construction, defence, and attack of fortresses is unrivalled by any of his contemporaries, of any...
Osprey Publishing, 2006. — 65 p. — ISBN: 978-1-8460-3065-9. From the beginning of the 2nd millennium AD northern India began to fall under the sway of a number of Muslim-Turkic rulers who, at the start of the 13th century, founded the series of dynasties known to history as the Delhi Sultanate. For three centuries these sultans expanded their territory, which led to a dramatic...
Osprey Publishing, 2006. — 65 p. — ISBN: 978-1-8460-3016-1. Gibraltar, located at the meeting points of Europe and Africa, preserves within its fortifications a rich testament to human conflict spanning 600 years. In 1068 the ruling Spanish Muslims built a large fort there. Between 1309 and 1374 Gibraltar underwent a period of intensive building and fortification, and following...
Osprey Publishing, 2007. — 65 p. — ISBN: 978-1-8460-3129-8. Germany's Atlantic Wall was the most ambitious military fortification program of World War II. With Germany's gradual loss of the strategic initiative to the Allies, in 1942 Hitler was forced to construct an impenetrable wall of fortifications along the Atlantic and Mediterranean coast. This book deals solely with the...
Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2008. — 64 p. — ISBN10: 1846031923; ISBN13: 978-1846031922. In the years following the Civil War, plans were drawn up to build a major set of fortifications along the Russian western border. Work began in 1926, leading to a front that stretched over 2,000km from the Baltic to the Black Sea. By the time of the outbreak of World War II, the defences of...
Osprey Publishing, 2009 — 64 p. — ISBN: 9781846034152 Sandwiched between the heart of ancient Greece and the lands of Persia, the Greek cities of Western Anatolia were the spark that ignited some of the most iconic conflicts of the ancient world. Fought over repeatedly in the 5th century BC, their conquest by the Persians provided a casus belli for Alexander the Great to cross...
Osprey Publishing, 2010. — 64 p. — ISBN: 978-1846035074. To maintain its imperial power in America, Spain built fortifications across the width of the continent. These outposts were established along Spanish borders from the late sixteenth century onwards to defend its interests against rival European powers and to suppress uprisings of the Native Americans and local...
Osprey Publishing, 2011. — 65 p.
This title explores the contribution made by settlers, explorers, traders and goldseekers of various nations to the nascent architecture of the West Coast of the United States. In doing so, it charts the progress westwards of those who claimed new land as their own, and defended it with forts and blockhouses, and the resulting conflicts with...
Osprey Publishing, 2007. — 65 p. — ISBN: 978-1-8460-3027-7. In 1277 Edward I gathered a huge army and marched into Wales to subdue the rebel Welsh princes. A key part of his strategy was to erect a castle wherever his army rested. This title takes a detailed look at the design, development and principles of defence of these Welsh castles, documenting daily life within their...
Osprey Publishing, 2008. — 65 p. — ISBN: 978-1-8460-3302-5. Following the defeat of France in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71, the German Army began to construct a fortress line from Strasbourg to Luxembourg to protect their new territory, the centrepiece of which was the great Moselstellung (Moselle Position) of Metz / Thionville. Illustrated with rare photographs and...
Osprey Publishing, 2010 — 64 p. — ISBN: 9781846035081 This book provides a detailed study of the fortifications of the founders of ancient Israel from the time of their first settlement in the Middle East, through the periods of the united and divided kingdoms, until the sack of Jerusalem in 586 BC. It begins in the period of Israelite settlement in the First Iron Age period...
Osprey Publishing, 2010 — 64 p. — ISBN: 9781846035821 The 100th title in the Fortress series, this book describes and examines the Führerhauptquartiere - the 14 or so headquarters built for Hitler. Revealing their locations and how they were used to direct the Nazi war apparatus, this is a fascinating insight into a range of historical sites from Berghof to the Wolf's Lair....
Osprey Publishing, 2011 — 64 p. — ISBN: 9781849083874 The Rhine River represented the last natural defensive barrier for the Third Reich in the autumn of 1944. Although Hitler had been reluctant to allow the construction of tactical defence lines in France, the final defense of the Reich was another matter. As a result, construction of a Rhine defence line began in September...
Osprey Publishing, 2011 — 64 p. — ISBN: 9781849084123 The ring of fortifications protecting the city of Verdun on the Meuse River would become critical in the infamous battle of World War I. This book examines these fortifications, including the famous forts of Douaumont and Vaux that saw some of the fiercest fighting during the battle.
Osprey Publishing, 2015 — 64 p. — ISBN: 9781472805867 The East Wall was where the final battles for the stricken Third Reich were fought, amid scenes of utter carnage. Beginning life at the end of World War I, the wall became a pet project of Adolf Hitler's, whose ascent to power saw building work accelerated, with plans for a grand, 'Maginot-style' defence put in place. But...
Osprey Publishing, 2016 — 64 p. — ISBN: 9781472814791 Jagging across north-western Europe like an ugly scar, the Hindenburg Line was Germany's most formidable line of defence in World War I. Its fearsome reputation was matched only by its cunning design, with deep zigzagging trenches, concrete fieldworks, barbed wire and devilish booby traps forming an intimidating barrier for...
Osprey Publishing, 2003. — 64 p. — ISBN: 9781841765723 / ISBN: 9781472800626 / ISBN: 9781849080071. At the beginning of the 20th century, the military importance of the Hawaiian Islands became clear. Oahu in particular was a key bastion in projecting America's military power in the Pacific. The island was turned into a military fortress - and yet it also became the site of one...
Osprey Publishing, 2003 — 64 p. — ISBN: 9781841766393 The defence of the 9th-century kingdom of Wessex under King Alfred against the 'Great Viking Army' is one of the major military achievements of Early Medieval history. While the guerrilla warfare in the Somerset marshes and the battle of Edington are characteristic of Alfred's military abilities, his definitive physical...
First Edition. — Osprey Publishing, 2004. — 64 p. — (Fortress 024).
Following the early battles of 1914 along the Marne and in the Ypres salient, World War I rapidly changed from a war of movement into one of attrition, with the opposing sides entrenching themselves in a line of fortified positions from the Flanders coastline to the Swiss border. This volume details the...
Osprey Publishing, 2005 — 64 p. — ISBN: 9781841768397 In 1961 US Special Forces units began entering remote areas of Vietnam dominated by the Viet Cong. Their task was to organize local defense and strike forces aimed at stopping the enemy from gaining further control of such areas. The Green Berets set up fortified camps from which indigenous troops defended local villages and...
Osprey Publishing, 2006 — 64 p. — ISBN 9781846030666, 1 84603 066 8. During the early 13th century the north of what is now France went to war with the south in a bloody crusade aimed at destroying the heretical sect known as the Cathars. The conflict was characterized by vicious guerrilla actions and the besieging of the innumerable fortified sites that dotted the landscape of...
Osprey Publishing, 2007 — 64 p. — ISBN: 9781846031038 Artillery fire support bases of the Freeworld forces played a critical role in the conduct of operations during the Vietnam War. They served to lay down high-volume fire on enemy firing sites, supported friendly infantry operations, and executed harassing fire missions where exact targets were not known. But the firebases...
Osprey Publishing, 2008. — 64 p. — ISBN: 9781846031717 This book analyzes the fortifications of Hasmonaean and Herodian Judaea from the middle of the second century BC, when the Maccabees rebelled against their Seleucids overlords and established an independent state, until the end of the Jewish-Roman War in AD 73.
Osprey Publishing, 2007. — 65 p. — ISBN: 978-1-8460-3130-4. In the last years of his reign Henry VIII needed a radically modern system of defence to protect England and its new Church. Anticipating a foreign onslaught from Catholic Europe after his split from Rome, Henry energetically began construction of more than 20 stone forts to protect England's major ports and estuaries....
Osprey Publishing, 2008. — 65 p. — ISBN: 978-1-8460-3197-7. In the year 1296, Edward I of England launched a series of vicious raids across the Anglo-Scottish Border in his attempt to annexe Scotland. The Scots retaliated and the two countries were plunged into 300 years of war in which the Borderland became the frontline and raiding, or 'reiving,' encouraged by both sides,...
Osprey Publishing, 2008 — 64 p. — ISBN: 9781846033612 The Bar Lev Line along the Suez Canal was born out of the overwhelming victory of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) in the Six Day War of 1967. Devastated by their defeat, the Egyptian army bombarded Israeli positions, causing many casualties. Accordingly, the IDF Chief of Staff, General Haim Bar-Lev, ordered the construction...
Osprey Publishing, 2008. — 64 p. — ISBN: 9781846033629. When the Romans left Britain around AD 410, the unconquered native peoples of modern Scotland, Ireland and Wales were presented with the opportunity to pillage what remained of Roman Britain. The Post-Roman Britons did their best to defend themselves by using fortifications. While some Roman forts were maintained, the...
Osprey Publishing, 2009 — 64 p. — ISBN: 9781846033742 The simple castles raised after the Norman conquest had been developed throughout 11th and 12th centuries, whilst the introduction of Islamic and Byzantine fortification techniques from the late 12th century led to further developments in castle architecture. These fortifications were to be well tested throughout the course...
Osprey Publishing, 2009 — 64 p. — ISBN: 9781846033933 Germany's Atlantic Wall was the most ambitious military fortification program of World War II. Following its conquest of Western Europe, Germany had to defend some 5,000km of Atlantic coastline from the Spanish border to the Arctic Circle. The United States' entry into the war and the inevitability of an Anglo-American...
Osprey Publishing, 2010 — 64 p. — ISBN: 9781846036873 In 1945, with her fleet destroyed and her armies beaten, the only thing that stood between Japan and an Allied invasion was the numerous coastal defence positions that surrounded the islands. This is the first book to take a detailed look at the Japanese home island fortifications that were constructed during 1941-45....
Osprey Publishing, 2011 — 64 p. — ISBN: 9781849081979 This book takes a detailed look at the fortifications of various types that were built from the times of the earliest British settlements in North America in the late 16th century until the end of the Seven Years' War, when France ceded New France to Britain. It begins with a study of the forts built by colonists on Roanoke...
Osprey Publishing, 2012 — 66 p. — ISBN: 9781849085762 When war broke out between the United States and Great Britain in 1812, neither side was prepared for the conflict, as evidenced by their respective fortifications. The most sophisticated and modern fortifications were those built by the US Corps of Engineers to protect some of the main port cities. These included Fort...
Osprey Publishing, 2003. — 64 p. — ISBN: 978-1-84176-604-1 The techniques of European warfare were transformed during the 15th and 16th centuries by the use of gunpowder and by substantial progress in the effectiveness and destructive power of artillery. The series of conflicts in the 1640s, known collectively as the English Civil War, was the first in the British Isles that...
Osprey Publishing, 2005. — 65 p. — ISBN: 978-1-8417-6714-7. Following the discovery of America by Columbus in 1492, European colonists brought their system of fortification to the New World in an attempt to ensure their safety and consolidate their conquests. French and British explorers came later to North America, and thus the establishment of their sizeable settlements only...
Osprey Publishing, 2005 — 64 p. — ISBN: 9781841768120 The US Army and Marine Corps in World War II considered themselves highly mobile, offensive forces. Their mobile-warfare doctrine envisioned field fortifications and obstacles as temporary in nature. As a result, their design was simple and made use of local materials, and they could be constructed comparatively quickly,...
Osprey Publishing, 2005. — 65 p. — ISBN: 978-1-8417-6829-8. On 11 January 1879 the British Empire went to war with the independent kingdom of Zululand. The British anticipated a swift and decisive victory, placing great faith in modern firepower; no plans were made for suppressing the Zulu over a protracted period, or for providing defensive positions from which to occupy Zulu...
Osprey Publishing, 2005. — 65 p. — ISBN: 978-1-8417-6876-2. German defenses along the Normandy beaches were part of the larger Atlantic Wall fortifications designed to defend Fortress Europe. When Field Marshal Erwin Rommel took command of the invasion front in late 1943, he began a program to enhance fortifications along the Normandy coast as he believed that any Allied...
Osprey Publishing, 2005 — 64 p. — ISBN: 9781841768830 The American Civil War saw a massive development in the use of field fortifications, the result of the practical application of antebellum West-Point teaching, and the deadly impact of rifled infantry weapons and artillery. Both the Federal and Confederate armies began to develop far more sophisticated systems of field...
Osprey Publishing, 2006 — 64 p. — ISBN: 9781841769219 Following the fall of France and the surrender of Paris on 14 June 1940, the British Government announced that the Channel Islands had no strategic importance and would not be defended. The Germans occupied the islands from the end of June onwards and remained in control until the end of the war. On 10 October 1941 Hitler...
Osprey Publishing, 2006 — 64 p. — ISBN: 9781841769226 In the late-19th century, with the advances in technology and the increase in America's economic stature, a new round of fortification building began in the United States and its overseas territories. Locations such as Portland, Boston, New York, Baltimore, Charlestown, Savannah, Key West, Los Angeles and San Francisco were...
Osprey Publishing, 2006 — 64 p. — ISBN: 9781841769387 In 1943, Hitler ordered his forces to occupy the Italian mainland to protect the Third Reich's 'soft underbelly'. After the successful Allied landings in Salerno, the Germans fought a series of hard, rearguard actions as the Allies slowly pushed north up the peninsula towards the Alps. These actions were based around the...
Osprey Publishing, 2006. — 65 p. — ISBN: 978-1-8417-6939-4. The greatest period of Inca expansion occured during the reigns of Pachacuti (1438-71), Tupa Inca (1471-93), and Huayna Capac (1493-1527). From the mountain stronghold of Cuzco, they subjugated the surrounding kingdoms and territories, absorbing their civilizations and their peoples. By 1525, they dominated much of the...
Osprey Publishing, 2006 — 64 p. — ISBN: 9781846030390 The United States has been developing space for many years, and satellites provide the US Military with an unparaleled advantage over its adversaries. Constellations of both military and civilian satellites provide protection and support for military operations; deliver ballistic missile early warning; supply reliable,...
Osprey Publishing, 2006 — 64 p. — ISBN: 9781846030406 During the 1840s, the rarely visited "Great American Desert” of the Southern Plains and Southwest became part of the inexorable westward expansion, as European traders and settlers headed overland from the eastern seaboard. The traditional lands of the Creek, Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw and Seminole Indians were quickly...
Osprey Publishing, 2007 — 64 p. — ISBN: 9781846031946 The Mississippi River played a decisive role in the American Civil War. The Confederate fortifications that controlled the lower Mississippi valley were put to the test in the lengthy Federal campaign of 1862-63. Vicksburg was a fortress city, known as the 'Gibraltar of the Confederacy', whose capture was seen as the key to...
Osprey Publishing, 2008 — 64 p. — ISBN: 9781846032479 Designed to change the course of the war, the V weapons required ambitious plans to defend their expensive and complicated launch sites. Steven J Zaloga describes the configuration and planned deployment of heavy missile sites, as well as the unique Allied tactics developed to counter this threat, including a remote-control...
Osprey Publishing, 2009 — 64 p. — ISBN: 9781846033667 A strategically important natural harbor in the Orkney Islands, Scapa Flow served as Britain's main fleet anchorage during World Wars I and II. In 1914 and again in 1939, the British began building a comprehensive defensive network by fortifying the entrances to Scapa Flow, and then extended these defenses to cover most of...
Osprey Publishing, 2010 — 64 p. — ISBN: 9781846035043 "New France” consisted of the area colonized and ruled by France in North America from the 16th to the 18th centuries. This title, which follows on from Fortress 27: French Fortresses in North America 1534-1763: Québec, Montréal, Louisbourg and New Orleans and Fortress 75: The Forts of New France in Northeast America...
Osprey Publishing, 2010 — 64 p. — ISBN: 9781846035838 Immortalized in film and literature, the 15th century castle of Colditz is remembered not for tales of medieval chivalry or withstanding withering sieges but for its darker past, when it was converted by the Nazis into a prisoner-of-war camp called Oflag IV-C. A natural choice for a prison, Colditz had been used successfully...
Osprey Publishing, 2003 — 64 p. — ISBN: 9781841765778 In the course of the Peninsular War, Wellington's army fought several hard battles and smaller actions, but it was the bloody sieges that troubled him more than anything else. Indeed, the performance of his army during the sieges was probably the most disappointing aspect of what was otherwise an extremely successful...
Osprey Publishing, 2005 — 64 p. — ISBN: 9781841767758 A major period of westward expansion took place in the United States during the first half of the 19th century. Fur trading, the coast-to-coast railroad, the California gold rush and the removal of Native American tribes both facilitated and encouraged America's "manifest destiny" to become a transcontinental nation. The...
Osprey Publishing, 2005 — 64 p. — ISBN: 9781841768212 At the outbreak of World War II, Fort Eben Emael in Belgium was the strongest fortress in the world, and it lay exactly across the German invasion route of Belgium and France. The fort's elimination was essential for the success of Hitler's invasion of the West. Deemed impregnable to conventional attack, Hitler himself...
Osprey Publishing, 2008 — 65 p. — ISBN: 9781846032530 Dr Stephen Turnbull is internationally recognised for his research into and writing on Japanese military history. Here he applies his scholarship to an account of the evolution of Japanese defensive architecture and engineering, from early earthworks through to wooden and earth castles and, finally, the emergence of the...
Osprey Publishing, 2006. — 65 p. — ISBN: 978-1-8460-3094-9. Constructed to protect the coastline of southern and eastern Britain, the forts of the 'Saxon Shore' are among the most impressive surviving monuments of the Roman occupation of the British Isles, although much about them remains a mystery. In an impressive outlay of money, manpower and materials the frontier system...
Osprey Publishing, 2010. — 64 p. First besieged in 305 BC, the island of Rhodes became part of the Roman Empire and was later fortified in the Byzantine style. Due to its strategic position in the Mediterranean, Rhodes was also attacked and besieged for over a century by Islamic forces. This title details the development of these fascinating fortifications, as well as the...
Illustrator: Spedaliere Donato — Osprey Publishing, 2022 — 64 p. A fortified complex covering 70 acres at the heart of Moscow, behind walls up to 18m high and watched over by 20 towers, the Kremlin houses everything from Russia's seat of political power to glittering churches. This is a fortress that has evolved over time, from the original wooden guard tower built in the 11th...
Osprey Publishing, 2011. — 65 p. Throughout their stormy history the Teutonic Knights of Germany have always been the most controversial brotherhood ever to call themselves 'Knights of Christ'.They were the most warlike of the religious orders, and this is reflected in the architecture they left behind. In contrast to the Templars who are remembered for their churches, the...
Osprey Publishing, 2012. — 64 p. During the Vietnam War, the Viet Cong (VC) main forces and North Vietnamese Army (NVA) were forced to hide weapons and supplies underground and to dig protective shelters to counter massive US firepower. Their field works defended villages, hidden base camps, and fortified complexes, and took the form of trench systems, individual fighting...
Osprey Publishing, 2007. — 64 p. — ISBN 9781846031144. On 29 October 1891, the new forts built around the cities of Liège and Namur, known as the 'forts of the Meuse', were turned over to the Belgian Army. This huge project produced 21 modern forts to defend the strategic rail, river and road arteries in the Oise and Condroz gaps. In August 1914, the German Army attempted a...
Osprey Publishing, 2012. — 64 p. Devastated by the civil wars of the 17th century or by the neglect of their owners, the majority of Scottish baronial castles built between 1250 and 1450 survive as little more than skeletal ruins. These reminders of Scotland's past have captured the imaginations of romantics, artists, writers and tourists since the late 18th century. Often set...
Osprey Publishing, 2013. — 64 p. At the beginning of the 20th century, the military importance of the Hawaiian Islands became clear. Oahu in particular was a key bastion in projecting America's military power in the Pacific. The island was turned into a military fortress - and yet it also became the site of one of America's greatest defensive failures, the Japanese attack of...
Osprey Publishing, 2012. — 64 p. The most famous example of fortification in the world, the Great Wall of China stretches for more than 6,000 km across inhospitable terrain. Charting its development from its earliest origins in the 7th century BC through to the present day, this account reveals the true history of the wall, and explores the myths that surround it. Included are...
Osprey Publishing, 2012. — 64 p. This book provides a detailed study of the fortifications of the founders of ancient Israel from the time of their first settlement in the Middle East, through the periods of the united and divided kingdoms, until the sack of Jerusalem in 586 BC. It begins in the period of Israelite settlement in the First Iron Age period (1200-1000 BC). The...
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