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

Add to cart Fine $3.80

Volume 107 - 1st printing. " Poland 1939!" Written by Steven J Zaloga. Art by Howard Gerrard. The German invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 began World War II in Europe, pitting the newly modernized army of Europe's great industrial power against the much smaller Polish army and introducing the world to a new style of warfare - Blitzkrieg. Panzer divisions spearheaded the German assault with Stuka dive-bombers prowling ahead spreading terror and mayhem. This book demonstrates how the Polish army was not as backward as it is often portrayed and fielded a tank force larger than that of the contemporary US Army. Its stubborn defence did give the Germans some surprises and German casualties were relatively heavy for such a short campaign. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Add to cart Near Mint $8.00

Volume 143 - 1st printing. " Caen 1944!" Written by Ken Ford. Art by Peter Dennis. One of the key objectives of British forces on D-Day was the capture of the strategically vital city of Caen. General Montgomery saw Caen as the key to Normandy and the springboard for the Allied breakout, but so did the Germans and the city did not fall. It took three major offensives and more than 30 bloody days of struggle to finally take Caen. In the process the city was controversially devastated and its civilian population decimated. The Allies paid a high price for Caen but the horrific German casualties bled their forces in Normandy white and helped open the way for the American breakout in Operation Cobra. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Add to cart Near Mint $8.00

Add to cart Near Mint $8.00

Volume 147 - 1st printing. "Crete 1941!" Written by Peter Antill. Art by Howard Gerrard. Operation Mercury, the German airborne assault on the island of Crete in May 1941, was the first strategic use of airborne forces in history. The assault began on 20 May, with landings near the island's key airports, and reinforcements the next day allowed the German forces to capture one end of the runway at Maleme. By 24 May, the Germans were being reinforced by air on a huge scale and on 1 June Crete surrendered. This book describes how desperately close the battle had been and explains how German losses so shocked the Führer that he never again authorised a major airborne operation. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Add to cart Near Mint $8.00

Volume 156 - 1st printing. "The Doolittle Raid 1942!" Written by Clayton Chun. Art by Howard Gerrard. In early 1942, the strategic situation was bleak for the United States. She had been in continual retreat since Pearl Harbor, surrendering major areas such as the Philippines, and was preparing for the worst in Hawaii and on the West Coast. The Japanese, on the other hand, had secured a well-defended perimeter, and was set for further expansion. Something needed to happen quickly and be of considerable impact-and the combined-arms, April 1942 Doolittle Raid on Japan was a way to achieve this. This book examines the planning, execution, and aftermath of this innovative, daring and risky attack, which would show that the Japanese navy and air forces were anything but invincible. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Add to cart Near Mint $8.00

Add to cart Near Mint $8.00

Volume 162 - 1st printing. "Inch'on 1950!" Written by Gordon L Rottman. Art by Peter Dennis. Inch'on was probably the most significant campaign in the Korean theater, as well as being the last major amphibious assault of division-size conducted in the history of warfare. The odds were stacked against the US troops, with virtually no time for training and many of the divisions unprepared for the conflict. The success of the Inch'on campaign is a testament to the sheer initiative of the officers and NCOs conducted it. This book details the strategy and tactics that led to the operation's success, as well as narrating the experience of the battle in fascinating detail. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Add to cart Near Mint $8.00

Add to cart Near Mint $8.00

Volume 167 - 1st printing. "Moscow 1941!" Written by Robert Forczyk. Art by Howard Gerrard. Suffering a staggering loss of over 2 million troops by September 1941, Soviet forces were faced with the prospect of Hitler victoriously re-directing his powerful German armies toward the heart of Soviet Russia - Moscow. However, the season was late and the Germans found themselves in a race to launch a final decisive attack before the arrival of the dreaded Russian winter. Stalin desperately sought to play for time by mustering all available military resources to save his capital. This book is the story of Operation Typhoon, the largest German operational attack of the war and Hitler's desperate attempt to seize Moscow. With expert knowledge of the subject, author Robert A. Forczyk successfully manages to bring to life the battle which saw the most horrific losses for the Soviet defending forces and marked the first defeat of the Wehrmacht. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Add to cart Near Mint $8.00

Volume 170 - 1st printing. "Osaka 1615!" Written by Stephen Turnbull. Art by Richard Hook. In 1614-15 Osaka Castle was Japan's greatest fortification, measuring approximately 2 miles in length with walls 100 feet high. It was guarded by 100,000 samurai, determined to defend the last of the once-powerful Toyotomi clan. The castle was seemingly impenetrable; however, Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the ruling dynasty, was determined to destroy this remaining threat to the Tokuwaga ruling dynasty. This book explores the bitter struggle of the Summer and Winter campaigns, which eventually saw the last great clash of the samurai and defined the balance of power in Japan for years to come. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Add to cart Near Mint $8.00

Volume 174 - 1st printing. "Pharsalus 48 BC!" Written by Si Sheppard. Art by Adam Hook. In 48 BC, the stage was set for the final clash of the two titans of the Roman world and the odds were heavily in Pompey's favour, with 45,000 men against Caesar's 22,000. Having the dice loaded against him, however, seems to have stimulated Caesar's genius for battle. In a brilliant display of generalship he routed his rival's larger army. Pompey's army retreated, with Caesar's army in parallel pursuit, until, their general having escaped, Pompey's men finally surrendered. Simon Sheppard expertly charts the events surrounding the Pharsalus campaign, and the seismic implications of the decisive clash between the two greatest generals of their age. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Add to cart Near Mint $8.00

Add to cart Fine $3.80

Volume 175 - 1st printing. "Remagen 1945!" Written by Steven J Zaloga. Art by Peter Dennis. In the aftermath of the Battle of the Bulge in February 1945, the Allies embarked upon the final assault of Germany. The long-delayed US thrust over the Roer River eventually took place in February, leaving the Rhine as the last major geographical barrier to the Allied advance into Germany. This book describes how the US Army, in the face of furious last-ditch German resistance, captured the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen - securing the last surviving major crossing over the Rhine and setting the stage for the defeat of the German Army in the West. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Add to cart Near Mint $8.00

Add to cart Near Mint $8.00

Volume 180 - 1st printing. "Easter Rising 1916!" Written by Michael McNally. Art by Peter Dennis. When the outbreak of World War I delayed home rule for Ireland, a faction of Irish nationalists decided to take direct action. On Easter Monday 1916, a rebellion was launched from the steps of the Dublin General Post Office and the existence of an Irish Republic proclaimed. The British response was a military one and they drove the rebels back in violent street fighting until they surrendered on 29 April. The leaders of the rising were tried by court martial: 15 of them were summarily executed and a further 3,500 'sympathizers' imprisoned. This book covers this important milestone in Anglo-Irish history in detail, thoroughly examining the politics behind the Easter Rising and the tactics employed to counter it. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Add to cart Near Mint $8.00

Volume 181 - 1st printing. "Siegfried Line 1944-45!" Written by Steven J Zaloga. Art by Steve Noon. The campaign on the German frontier in late 1944 was one of the most frustrating and costly efforts by the US Army in the ETO. The Allies first encountered the Siegfried Line (Westwall) fortifications in September 1944, having pursued the retreating Wehrmacht through Belgium and the Netherlands. The border area around Aachen had been fortified with a double line of bunkers, and both the terrain and the weather made things difficult for the Allies. This book focuses on the involvement of the US First and Ninth armies in the six-month fighting, including the hellish fighting for the Hürtgen forest. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Add to cart Near Mint $8.00

Add to cart Near Mint $8.00

Volume 182 - 1st printing. "Granicus 334 BC!" Written by Michael Thompson. Art by Richard Hook. Granicus River was Alexander's first great victory over the Persians, where he demonstrated the heroic style of active and decisive leadership that was the hallmark of his career. In the initial engagement, Alexander's 5,000 cavalry, supported by archers and javelin men, routed a force of 20,000 Persian cavalry This convincing victory was the springboard for the subjugation of the coastal cities, the neutralisation of the Persian navy and ultimately the conquest of the Persian Empire. Exploring the courageous leadership of one of the world's most inspirational yet ruthless leaders, this book provides a detailed analysis of the battle, strategy and tactics of the forces engaged. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Add to cart Near Mint $8.00

Volume 187 - 1st printing. "Cambrai 1917!" Written by Alexander Turner. Art by Peter Dennis. This crucial new study on one of the seminal events in military history dispells many of the myths surrounding Cambrai 1917. Common perception classifies it as the 'world's first tank battle' but Alexander Turner shows us that the true importance of Cambrai was that it saw the first use of armour as an operational shock tactic. With this, the conduct of war was irrevocably changed. The battle also heralded the combined use of aircraft, armour and artillery, marking the birth of modern combined-arms techniques. Written by a military historian and serving soldier, this is a fascinating analysis of a battle which ended a stalemate, yet spawned a host of war-winning tactics. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Add to cart Near Mint $8.00

Add to cart Near Mint $8.00

Volume 189 - 1st printing. "Sevastopol 1942!" Written by Robert Forczyk. Art by Howard Gerrard. In late July 1941, Hitler ordered Army Group South to seize the Crimea as part of its operations to secure the Ukraine and the Donets Basin, in order to protect the vital Romanian oil refineries at Ploesti from Soviet air attack. After weeks of heavy fighting, the Germans breached the Soviet defences and overran most of the Crimea. By November 1941 the only remaining Soviet foothold in the area was the heavily fortified naval base at Sevastopol. Operation Sturgeon Haul, the final assault on Sevastopol, was one of the very few joint service German operations of World War II, with two German corps and a Romanian corps supported by a huge artillery siege train, the Luftwaffe's crack VIII Flieger Korps and a flotilla of S-Boats provided by the Kriegsmarine. This volume closely examines the impact of logistics, weather and joint operational planning upon the last major German victory of World War II. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.

Add to cart Near Mint $8.00

Volume 194 - 1st printing. "Liberation of Paris 1944!" Written by Steven J Zaloga. Art by Howard Gerrard. In July 1944, Operation Cobra broke the stalemate in Normandy and sent the Allies racing across France. The Allied commanders had ignored Paris in their planning for this campaign, considering that the risk of intense street fighting and heavy casualties outweighed the city's strategic importance. However, Charles de Gaulle persuaded the Allied commanders to take direct action to liberate his nation's capital. Steven J Zaloga first describes the operations of Patton's Third Army as it advanced towards Paris before focussing on the actions of the Resistance forces inside the city and of the Free French armoured division that fought its way in and joined up with them to liberate it on the 24th August. On the back of this morale-boosting victory, De Gaulle could finally proclaim Paris to be liberated, as one of the world's loveliest cities survived Hitler's strident command that it should be held at all costs or razed to the ground. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $19.95.