Berliner Zinnfiguren/Books & Media/Osprey/Osprey - Essential History products

Nicolle, D.: Essential Histories. The Crusades 16,95 €

Mon, 20 Apr 2026 07:34:00 +0200

Born amid immense suffering and bloodshed, the Kingdom of Jerusalem remained a battlefield for almost 200 years. The Crusades gave rise to the Military Orders of the Templars and Hospitallers, and were a backdrop to the careers of some of history's most famous leaders including Richard 'The Lionheart' and Saladin. On occasion the savagery of the Crusaders left their opponents reeling, creating frictions that survived for more than 700 years. At the same time, as this book lavishly illustrates, art, architecture and learning all benefited from new knowledge the Crusaders brought back from the East.

Engle, S. D.: Essential Histories. The American Civil War Teil 2: The War in the West 1861 - July 1863 16,95 €

Mon, 20 Apr 2026 07:34:00 +0200

The American Civil War's vast Western Theater witnessed enormously important military campaigning during the period 1861 - 1863. This book, the third in a four-volume series, examines the geographical, logistical and strategic factors that shaped fighting in this theater, as well as assessing officers who played key roles . It covers the story of Ulysses S Grant's important capture of rebel positions before marching south to win the battle of Shiloh, as well as that of Albert Sidney Johnston, the pride of the Confederacy. Finally, it details the dramatic events of the siege of Vicksburg, the Confederates final fortress.

Glatthaar, J. T.: Essential Histories - The American Civil War Teil 4: The War in the West 1863-1865 16,95 €

Mon, 20 Apr 2026 07:34:00 +0200

Union military forces suffered momentary defeat followed by sustained success in the Western Theater during the second half of the American Civil War. Following the Union's defeat at Chickamauga, Ulysses S. Grant took command at Chattanooga and orchestrated a striking victory which paved the way for a Union advance against Atlanta, a confederate city second in importance only to Richmond. This book traces the events that surrounded the capture of Atlanta, followed by Sherman's famous campaign of destruction through the southern interior which culminated in April 1865 with the surrender of the last major Confederate field army at Durham Station, North Carolina.

Bennett, M.: Essential Histories. Campaigns of the Norman Conquest 16,95 €

Thu, 14 May 2026 06:30:07 +0200

a full introduction to the Norman Conquest, an event which resulted in dramatic changes to the nation's aristocracy, church and administration. It brought a new language and cultural influences and revolutionised military architecture with the introduction of the castle. This profound impact was not brought about as the result of a single battle and it took a five-year war for William to establish control over his new kingdom. The campaigns are studied in detail, with maps showing how William's energy and strategic intelligence enabled him to defeat his formidable opponents and create a new order.

Jukes, G.: Essential Histories. The First World War. Teil 1: The Eastern Front 1914-1918 16,95 €

Mon, 20 Apr 2026 07:34:00 +0200

This book unravels the complicated and tragic events of the Eastern Front in the First World War. The author details Russia's sudden attack on German forces, despite her inadequate resources. A crushing defeat at Tannenberg was followed by Germany inflicting humiliation after humiliation on desperate Russian troops. For a while, those forces led by General Brusilov and facing Austria-Hungary fared better, but in the end this front too collapsed. Morale plummeted, the army began to disintegrate, and the Tsar was forced to abdicate - paving the way for the Bolshevik seizure of power in 1917.

Simkins, P.: Essential Histories. The First World War. Teil 2: The Western Front 1914-16 16,95 €

Mon, 20 Apr 2026 07:34:00 +0200

More than 80 years on, the Great War - and particularly the great battles such as the Somme and Verdun - continues to fascinate us and to cast long shadows over the world in which we live. For Britain, the effort and sacrifice involved in creating and sustaining its first-ever and biggest-ever mass citizen army, and in helping to defeat the main enemy in the decisive theatre of operations, left deep emotional and psychological scars that have influenced much of the nation's subsequent history and that are still felt today. In this volume Peter Simkins re-examines the struggle and sheds an interesting new light on the nature, course and effects of the fighting in France and Belgium from 1914 to 1916.

Anderson, D.: Essential Histories. The Falklands War 1982 16,95 €

Mon, 20 Apr 2026 07:34:00 +0200

The Argentine invasion of the Falklands in 1982 sparked national outrage and Britain felt she had to avenge the humiliation and protect her own. This volume explores both the military and political dimensions of this important conflict, including detailed accounts of the air / sea battle, the Battle for San Carlos Water, Goose Green, Mt Harriet, Tumbledown and many others. It explains how success in the Falklands set the stage for the years of Thatcher's dominance, and restored British prestige. Including first hand accounts from both soldiers and civilians, this is an interesting and thoroughly up to date appraisal.

Bagnall, N.: Essential Histories. The Punic Wars 264-146 BC 16,95 €

Mon, 20 Apr 2026 07:34:00 +0200

The three Punic Wars lasted over 100 years, between 264 BC and 146 BC. They represented a struggle for supremacy in the Mediterranean between the bludgeoning land power of Rome, bent on imperial conquest, and the great maritime power of Carthage with its colonies and trading posts spread around the Mediterranean. This book reveals how the dramas and tragedies of the Punic Wars exemplify many political and military lessons which are as relevant today as when Hannibal and Scipio Africanus fought to determine the course of history in the Mediterranean.

Fremont-Barnes, G.: Essential Histories. The Napoleonic Wars Teil 3: The Peninsular War 1807-1814 16,95 €

Mon, 20 Apr 2026 07:34:00 +0200

Napoleon's occupation of the Iberian peninsula embroiled him in a protracted and costly war against British, Spanish and Portuguese forces ultimately led by one of history's greatest commanders - the Duke of Wellington. Yet it also introduced a new dimension to warfare, for Napoleon's 'Spanish ulcer' became a bitter seven-year struggle against peoples inflamed by nationalism. Thus, while Wellington achieved successive victories in open battle, a parallel guerrilla war exacted a heavy toll of its own on the invaders. No mere sideshow to the other campaigns of the period, the Peninsular War made a significant contribution to Napoleon's eventual downfall.

Horner, D.: Essential Histories. The Second World War. Teil 1: The Pacific 16,95 €

Mon, 20 Apr 2026 07:34:00 +0200

The war in the Pacific began with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 and ended with the atomic bombs on Hirsoshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, which led to the surrender in Tokyo Bay on 2 September 1945. It was a war of great naval battles, such as those in the Coral Sea, at Midway, and at Leyte and of grim jungle battles, at Guadalcanal, New Guinea and Burma. This book explores the many facets of this complicated conflict, which reshaped the face of Asia and splintered forever European invincibility as a colonial power.

Curry, A.: Essential Histories. The Hundred Year´s War 1337-1453 16,95 €

Mon, 20 Apr 2026 07:34:00 +0200

There can be no doubt that military conflict between France and England dominated European history in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. This war is of considerable interest both because of its duration and the number of theatres in which it was fought. In this book, Hundred Years War expert Dr Anne Curry reveals how the war can reveal much about the changing nature of warfare: the rise of infantry and the demise of the knight; the impact of increased use of gunpowder and the effect of the wars on generations of people around it.

Sweetman, J.: Essential Histories. The Crimean War 16,95 €

Sat, 23 May 2026 07:10:15 +0200

This bitter war between Russia and Turkey, aided by Britain and France, was the setting for the stuff of legends. This book details the gallant yet suicidal Charge of the Light Brigade, now immortalised in film: in the words of Tennyson, 'Into the Valley of Death rode the Six Hundred'. It relates the reports made by the first real war correspondant, William Russell of the London Times - reports which served only to highlight the army's problems - and memorialises the heroic deeds of Florence Nightingale, who struggled to save young men from the most formidable enemy in the Crimean War: not the Russians, but cholera.

Karsh, E.: Essential Histories. The Iran-Iraq War 1980-1988 16,95 €

Mon, 20 Apr 2026 07:34:00 +0200

The Iran-Iraq War, which ended in August 1988, one month short of its eighth anniversary, was one of the longest, bloodiest and costliest Third World armed conflicts in the twentieth century. Professor Karsh addresses the causes of the Iran-Iraq War, unpacking the objectives of the two belligerents and examining how far objectives were matched by strategy. He assesses the war's military lessons regarding such key areas as strategy, tactics and escalation and in particular the use of non-conventional weapons, Finally, he examines the utility of armed force as an instrument of foreign policy.

Whitby, M.: Essential Histories. Rome at War AD 293-696 16,95 €

Mon, 20 Apr 2026 07:34:00 +0200

In the early third century AD the Roman Empire was a force to be reckoned with, controlling vast territories and wielding enormous political power from Scotland to the Sahara. 400 years later this mighty Empire was falling apart in the face of successive problems that the rulers failed to deal with. In this challenging new volume Michael Whitby tackles the fundamental issues (such as the rise of Christianity) that led to the 'decline and fall' of the Roman Empire, and offers a startling reassessment of the performance of the late Roman army.

Simkins, P.: Essential Histories. The First World War Teil 3: The Western Front 1916-1918 16,95 €

Mon, 20 Apr 2026 07:34:00 +0200

In this, the second volume covering the war on the Western Front, Peter Simkins describes the last great battles of attrition at Arras, on the Aisne and at Passchendaele in 1917. Then he moves on to relate the successive offensives launched by Germany in the spring and summer of 1918 in an effort to achieve victory or a favourable peace before American manpower proved decisive. Again, questioning and correcting several myths and long-held assumptions about the nature and conduct of war on the Western Front, the author also looks at the aftermath and legacy of the 'war to end wars.

Hickey, M.: Essential Histories - The First World War. Teil 4: The Mediterranean Front 1914-1923 16,95 €

Mon, 20 Apr 2026 07:34:00 +0200

The First World War in the Mediterranean represented more than just a peripheral theatre to the war on the western front. This engaging volume includes details of allied attempts to capture Constantinople; bloody campaigning in Northern Italy; the defence of the Suez Canal and the defeat of the Turkish army in Palestine. The Arab revolt, skirmishes in North Africa and the entrapment of a huge allied garrison in Greece - the 'worlds biggest prison camp' as the Germans described it - are also covered. The result was the fall of the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian empires and the birth of nations unknown in 1914.

Jukes, G.: Essential Histories. The Second World War. Teil 5: The Eastern Front 1941-1945 16,95 €

Mon, 20 Apr 2026 07:34:00 +0200

This book details Operation "Barbarossa" and the four years of campaigning that followed it. Hitler expected to conquer Russia in just four months, but the Russians fought back and finally emerged from the war as victor, and as a communist superpower to be reckoned with.

Meed, D. V.: Essential Histories. The Mexican War 1846-1848 16,95 €

Tue, 05 May 2026 06:25:06 +0200

The war with Mexico was the one of the most decisive conflicts in American history. After smashing Mexico's armies the young republic bestrode the North American continent like a colossus with one leg anchored on the Atlantic seaboard and the other on the Pacific. It was a bitter, hard fought war that raged across Mexico through the northern deserts, the fever-ridden Gulf cities and the balmy haciendas of California. This book covers the full course of the war, ending with General Winfield Scott's march from the captured port of Vera Cruz to Mexico City, fighting all the way.

Heckel, W.: Essential Histories. The Wars of Alexander the Great. 336-323 BC 16,95 €

Fri, 01 May 2026 07:10:10 +0200

The age of Alexander and his conquest of the Persian or Achaemenid Empire, which had existed for over two centuries, represents a watershed in the history of the world. This book offers a fascinating insight into the achievements of one of the greatest generals ever known. Alexander's conquests are of profound significance. By perfecting the new weapons and tactics developed by his father, Philip II, and combining them with the use of specialist units and advancements in siege warfare, Alexander enabled the Macedonian kingdom to move beyond the restrictions of city-state armies and on to the stage of world conquest.

Souza, P. de: Essential Histories. The Peloponnesian War 421-404 BC 16,95 €

Mon, 20 Apr 2026 07:34:00 +0200

It is a testament to the fascination of the subject that even today the events of the Peloponnesian War are studied for what they can teach about diplomacy, strategy and tactics. This book reveals the darker side of Classical Greek civilization. From the horrific effects of overcrowding and the plague on the population of Athens, to the vicious civil strife that often erupted in cities allied with Athens or Sparta, this volume offers vivid and at times disturbing insights into the impact of warfare on the people who are celebrated as the founders of Western civilization.