Osprey Campaign Series SC (1990-2011 OSPREY) comic books 2001-2003

Volume 55 - 2nd and later printings. " Chancellorsville 1863!" Written by Carl Smith. Art by Adam Hook. Following the debacle of the battle of Fredricksburg in December 1862, Burnside was replaced as commander of the Army of the Potomac by General Joseph Hooker. Having reorganised the army and improved morale, he planned an attack that would take his army to Richmond and end the war. Although faced by an army twice his size, the Confederate commander Robert E. Lee split his forces: Jubal Early was left to hold off Sedgwick's Fredericksburg attack, and 'Stonewall' Jackson was sent with 26,000 men in a wide envelopment around Hooker's right flank. This title details how at dusk on May 2, Jackson's men crashed into the Federal right flank, and how stiffening Federal resistance slowed the Confederate advance the next day. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W. Cover price $19.95.

Revised Edtion - Volume 62 - 1st printing. " Pearl Harbor 1941!" Written by Carl Smith. Art by Jim Laurier. December 7, 1941 was one of the single most decisive days of World War II - the day that brought the USA into the fight. Six Japanese aircraft carriers disgorged their full complements in two waves on the superior US Pacific Fleet as it lay slumbering in Pearl Harbor. Depending on opposing viewpoints, the attack was either a brilliant maneuver of audacious strategy, or a piece of unparalleled villainy and deception by a supposedly friendly power. This revised edition, containing the latest research on the events of December 7, 1941, reveals several previously unknown aspects of the attack and dispels key myths that have been built up around the fateful day - a day, Franklin Delano Roosevelt declared, that would live in infamy. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W. Cover price $19.95.

Volume 68 - 1st printing. " Lützen 1632!" Written by Richard Brzezinski. Art by Graham Turner. The Thirty Years War, a religious conflict between Catholics and Protestants, raged across Europe between 1618 and 1648, devastating huge areas of Germany. By 1632 the Protestant powers were in a desperate situation until King Gustavus Adolphus II of Sweden, 'the Lion of the North', came to their rescue. This book describes how, having smashed one of the two main Catholic armies, he faced the other at Lützen near Leipzig in November 1632. In a nightmare battle fought in thick fog, his Swedish troops locked horns with the Imperial army. It was a bloody clash, in which Gustavus himself demonstrated true courage at the head of his cavalry - and one for which he would pay the ultimate price. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W. Cover price $19.95.

Volume 80 - 1st printing. "Tobruk 1941!" Written by Jon Latimer. Art by Jim Laurier. In March 1941, with Wavell's British troops having routed the Italians from Cyrenaica, General Erwin Rommel arrived in Tripoli to command the Deutsches Afrikakorps. Over the next two years the Afrikakorps and its commander would become legendary. In his first offensive, Rommel swept across the desert, driving the British back to the Egyptian frontier and capturing much of the 2nd Armoured Division in the process. One thorn remained in his side - the vital port of Tobruk continued to resist. If it could hold out Rommel's offensive might be halted. Wavell instructed General Morshead and his garrison of 30,000 determined Australians to hold at all cost. The scene was set for one of the epic struggles of the desert war. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W. Cover price $19.95.

Volume 81 - 1st printing. "Iwo Jima 1945!" Written by Derrick Wright. Art by Jim Laurier. One of the decisive battles of the Second World War in the Pacific, Iwo Jima was described by Lieutenant-General Holland Smith, Commander Fleet Marine Forces Pacific, as The most savage and most costly battle in the history of the Marine Corps - a titanic struggle that eclipsed all that had gone before. Situated halfway along the B-29 Superfortress route to the Japanese mainland, the island was of major strategic importance to the US Air Force, but also to the Japanese, 20,000 of whom were deeply entrenched in the island. This book provides a definitive account of the battle, from its origins to its hard-fought conclusion. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W. Cover price $19.95.

Volume 82 - 1st printing. "Edgehill 1642!" Written by John Tincey. Art by Graham Turner. This, the first ever Osprey campaign title to deal with the English Civil War, looks at the battle of Edgehill, the first major clash of the Wars. In 1642 both Royalists and Parliamentarians expected that one great contest of arms would see the crushing of their enemies. When their field armies blundered into contact on the evening of 22 October 1642, Prince Rupert urged King Charles to array his army on the great ridge of Edgehill and give battle. The next day, amidst abject cowardice and absolute courage, the tide of battle swept Rupert's cavalry to triumph, but saw victory snatched away as the Royalist infantry was hurled back by the defiant Parliamentarians. The chance for decisive victory was lost and the bloody civil war raged on. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W. Cover price $19.95.

Volume 83 - 1st printing. "Corunna 1809!" Written by Philip Haythornthwaite. Art by Christa Hook. The retreat to Corunna is one of the epic campaigns of the Napoleonic Wars. Late in 1808 Sir John Moore found himself virtually alone with his small British army deep inside Spain. The armies of his Spanish allies had been overwhelmed and he faced a victorious French force under the Emperor Napoleon. He had little option but to order a retreat to the port of Corunna. This became the most arduous of trials with armies traversing mountainous terrain over appalling roads in the depths of winter. Somehow Moore held his outnumbered, exhausted men together as they struggled to reach safety. Finally at Corunna Moore's army turned to face its tormentors. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W. Cover price $19.95.

Volume 84 - 1st printing. "Adrianople AD 378!" Written by Simon MacDowall. Art by Howard Gerrard. 'Never, except in the battle of Cannae, had there been so destructive a slaughter recorded in our annals.' Thus the Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus recorded the battle of Adrianople, which spelled the beginning of the end of the Roman Empire. Such a crushing Roman defeat by Gothic cavalry proved to the Empire, as well as to the Goths themselves, that the migratory barbarians were a force to be reckoned with. This book tells the story of the misguided Roman plans and the surprise attack of Gothic cavalry, and puts forward the most recent theories as to the true location of the battlefield. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W. Cover price $19.95.

Volume 85 - 1st printing. "Peking 1900!" Written by Peter Harrington. Art by Michael Perry. In 1900 a violent rebellion swept northern China - the Boxer Rebellion. The Boxers were a secret society who sought to rid their country of the pernicious influence of the foreign powers who had gradually acquired a stranglehold on China. With the connivance of the Imperial Court they laid siege to the legation quarter of Peking. Trapped inside were an assortment of diplomats, civilians and a small number of troops. They were all Sir Claude Macdonald, the British Minister in Peking, had to defend against thousands of hostile Boxers and Imperial troops. It would now be a race against time. Could the rag-tag defenders hold out long enough for the gathering relief force to reach them? This book describes the desperate series of events as the multinational force rushed to their rescue. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W. Cover price $19.95.

Volume 86 - 1st printing. "The Armada Campaign 1588!" Written by Angus Konstam. Art by Howard Gerrard. The thwarted invasion of England by the Spanish Armada is studied here in fascinating detail. How, in a few short days, Philip II's fleet was stopped from invading England and forced into full retreat is looked at in a new and unique way. With the help of battle plans and bird's eye views of the action, leading historian Angus Konstam considers many of the intriguing questions surrounding the campaign, concluding with details of how the Armada's disastrous return voyage around Scotland and Ireland became one of the most tragic episodes in maritime history. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W. Cover price $19.95.

Volume 87 - 1st printing. "Lützen & Bautzen 1813!" Written by Peter Hofschröer. Art by Christa Hook. Following the disastrous Russian campaign of 1812, Napoleon found himself facing a new coalition of his old enemies. With incredible speed he raised an army of 200,000 men and marched to join the remnants of the old Grande Armee in Germany. However, he no longer faced the brittle enemies of 1805 and 1806 and at Lützen on 2 May the inexperience of his new army began to show. Faulty reconnaissance by raw cavalry allowed Ney's Corps to be surprised by Wittgenstein's Russians. This book describes the last realistic chance Napoleon had to regain his empire by defeating the allies in Germany before Austria stirred and the tide turned even more against him. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W. Cover price $19.95.

Volume 88 - 1st printing. "Operation Cobra 1944!" Written by Steven J Zaloga. Art by Tony Bryan. One of the most decisive months of World War II was the 30 days between 25 July and 25 August 1944. After the success of the D-Day landings, the Allied forces found themselves bogged down in a bloody stalemate in Normandy. On 25 July General Bradley launched Operation Cobra to break the deadlock. US forces punched a hole in the German frontline and began a spectacular advance. As Patton's Third Army poured into Brittany and raced south to the Loire, the German army was threatened with encirclement. By the end of August German forces in Normandy were utterly destroyed, and the remaining German units in central and southern France were in headlong retreat to the German frontier. In this title Steve Zaloga explains how the breakout from Normandy came about. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W. Cover price $19.95.

Volume 89 - 1st printing. "The Alamo 1836!" Written by Stephen L Hardin. Art by Angus McBride. On the morning of 6 March 1836 around 1,100 Mexican soldiers under Generalissimo Santa Anna stormed a small mission outside San Antonio, Texas, and slaughtered the garrison of around 200 Texans. It was not a large battle but its significance vastly outweighed its size for the name of the mission was the Alamo. Less than two months later Santa Anna's force was smashed at San Jacinto by a volunteer army whose battle cry was Remember the Alamo. Stephen L Hardin details the climactic 1836 campaign which won Texas her independence. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W. Cover price $18.95.

Volume 89 - 2nd and later printings. "The Alamo 1836!" Written by Stephen L Hardin. Art by Angus McBride. On the morning of 6 March 1836 around 1,100 Mexican soldiers under Generalissimo Santa Anna stormed a small mission outside San Antonio, Texas, and slaughtered the garrison of around 200 Texans. It was not a large battle but its significance vastly outweighed its size for the name of the mission was the Alamo. Less than two months later Santa Anna's force was smashed at San Jacinto by a volunteer army whose battle cry was Remember the Alamo. Stephen L Hardin details the climactic 1836 campaign which won Texas her independence. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W. Cover price $18.95.

Volume 90 1st printing. "Vimeiro 1808!" Written by René Chartrand. Art by Patrice Courcelle. On 2 August 1808 a British army of 14,000 men began landing north of Lisbon under the command of Sir Arthur Wellesley, the future Duke of Wellington. They were coming to assist the Portuguese, Britain's oldest ally, to liberate their country from its French occupiers. Within a month Wellesley was to win two victories over the French at the battles of Roliça and Vimeiro. General Andoche Junot, the French commander, was forced to surrender and evacuate Portugal. René Chartrand examines the first of Wellesley's string of victories in the Peninsular War. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W. Cover price $19.95.

Volume 91 - 1st printing. "Kolin 1757!" Written by Simon Millar. Art by Adam Hook. In May of 1757 Frederick the Great invaded Bohemia, smashed an Austrian army outside Prague and bottled it up in the city. The Empress Maria Theresa despatched Marshal Daun with 60,000 men to save the Empire's second city. Frederick had won a string of victories over the Austrians and was convinced his men would always triumph. Although outnumbered he attacked, but the Austrians were waiting. His army was defeated and forced to withdraw. As his veterans commented, 'they were not the same old Austrians at all'. Simon Millar shows how Frederick's overconfidence proved his undoing at Kolin. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W. Cover price $19.95.

Volume 92 - 1st printing. "St Nazaire 1942!" Written by Ken Ford. Art by Howard Gerrard. The raid on the port of St Nazaire in March 1942 by a sea-borne task force from British Combined Operations remains one of the most daring actions of World War II. The port lies at the mouth of the River Loire and in 1942, as well as a U-Boat base, contained the massive 'Normandie' dock, the only facility on the Atlantic coast large enough to accommodate the German pocket battleship Tirpitz. This book tells the story of the raid on St Nazaire that denied the use of the dock to the Tirpitz, the sister ship of the Bismarck, and constituted a crucial victory in the Battle of the Atlantic. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W. Cover price $19.95.

Volume 93 - 1st printing. "Verdun 1916!" Written by Ian Drury and William Martin. Art by Howard Gerrard. On 21 February 1916 German General Erich von Falkenhayn unleashed his hammer-blow offensive against the French fortress city of Verdun. His aim was nothing short of the destruction of the French army. Falkenhayn was sure that the symbolic value of Verdun was such that the French would be 'compelled to throw in every man they have.' He was equally sure that 'if they do so the forces of France will bleed to death'. The massed batteries of German guns would smash the French troops in their trenches and bunkers. But the French hung on with immense courage and determination and the battle became a bloody war of attrition. This title describes the destructive events of this pivotal First World War battle. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W. Cover price $19.95.

Volume 94 - 1st printing. "Orléans 1429!" Written by David Nicolle. Art by Graham Turner. In 1415 King Henry V of England invaded France and won an overwhelming victory at the Battle of Agincourt. Following his victory, the English conquered a large part of northern France, and by 1429 were besieging the city of Orléans. In this darkest hour, France's fortunes were transformed by the inspirational leadership of a young woman, Jeanne d'Arc (Joan of Arc). Within four months the French had broken the siege and won a great victory at the battle of Patay over the previously invincible English. This book examines the crucial campaign which marked the turning point of the Hundred Years War. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W. Cover price $19.95.

Volume 95 - 1st printing. "Second Manassas 1862!" Written by John Langellier. Art by Mike Adams. There never was such a campaign, not even by Napoleon wrote Confederate General Pender of the Second Manassas campaign in which the gray-bearded Virginian, Robert E Lee, came as close as he ever would to exterminating his Northern enemies. In so doing, Lee established himself as the South's pre-eminent military commander and the Army of Northern Virginia as it's most powerful weapon. The fighting in northern Virginia left Union General John Pope's career in tatters and proved the South was a power to be reckoned with. This book's powerful account demonstrates that during that fateful summer of 1862 Lee's soldiers were fighting for anything but a lost cause. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W. Cover price $19.95.

Volume 96 - 1st printing. " Okinawa 1945!" Written by Gordon L Rottman. Art by Howard Gerrard. By the spring of 1945 the Allies were sweeping all before them in the Pacific War against Japan, and a series of victories had reclaimed many of the islands and territories seized by the Imperial Japanese forces in the early months of the war. The dark days of humiliating defeat were far behind the unstoppable Allied juggernaut - victory was now assured. The question was where the last battle would be fought. That place was the island of Okinawa. This book details the struggle for the island as US Marines and Army units battled determined Japanese defenders in the last battle of World War II. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W. Cover price $19.95.

Volume 97 - 1st printing. " Bussaco 1810!" Written by René Chartrand. Art by Patrice Courcelle. By 1810, Napoleon reigned supreme over most of continental Europe. But the Iberian Peninsula remained unsubdued, particularly Portugal, which continued to resist. Napoleon ordered Marshal Masséna to crush this resistance with the Army of Portugal. Greatly strengthened, Masséna's army would drive the Portuguese and British into the sea. Facing the French were 60,000 British and Portuguese troops. No-one knew how the Portuguese would perform in battle, but on 27 September 1810, they received their baptism of fire. This title details the gruelling Bussaco campaign as French attempts to subdue Portugal reached their climax. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W. Cover price $19.95.

Volume 98 - 1st printing. " Kalka River 1223!" Written by Viacheslav Shpakovsky and David Nicolle. Art by Victor Korolkov. In 1221, Genghiz, Great Khan of the Mongols, ordered an armed reconnaissance expedition into Russia commanded by Sübodei Bahadur and Jebei Noyon 'The Arrow'. The consequences for the history of Europe were incalculable. The decisive Mongol victory at Kalka River, opened up vast regions of Russia and Eastern Europe to Mongol conquest. Genghiz ordered his victorious army to return eastwards, delaying the final cataclysm by a few years. Genghiz died in 1227, but within 10 years his son Ögedei ordered a return to Russia to complete the conquest. This title details the events of the dramatic Kalka River campaign. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W. Cover price $19.95.

Volume 99 - 1st printing. " Fuentes de Oñoro 1811!" Written by René Chartrand. Art by Patrice Courcelle. In October 1810 the Allied position in Portugal appeared precarious. Despite defeating Marshal Masséna's French army at Bussaco, Wellington had been forced to retreat to within a few miles of Lisbon. Here the French encountered a massive line of fortifications stretching from the River Tagus to the sea. Built amid great secrecy and on Wellington's specific orders, these Lines of Torres Vedras were the French high-water mark. In February, with his army on the point of starvation, Masséna was forced to retreat and the scene was set for the climactic action of Fuentes de Oñoro. This book examines this crucial campaign culminating in the hard-fought battle that finally drove the French from Portugal. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W. Cover price $19.95.

Volume 100 - 1st printing. " D-Day 1944 Part 1!" Written by Steven J Zaloga. Art by Howard Gerrard. The D-Day landings of 6 June 1944 were the largest amphibious military operation ever mounted. The greatest armada the world had ever seen was assembled to transport the Allied invasion force across the Channel and open the long-awaited second front against Hitler's Third Reich. Of the landings on the five assault beaches, Omaha Beach was the only one ever in doubt. Within moments of the first wave landing a third of the assault troops were casualties. Yet by the end of D-Day the Atlantic Wall had been breached and the US Army's V Corps was firmly entrenched on French soil. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W. Cover price $19.95.