Donald F. Featherstone Livres

From the 12th to 15th centuries the longbow was the weapon that changed European history more than any other. In the skilled hands of English and Welsh archers it revolutionized all the medieval concepts and traditions of war. No other weapon dominated the battlefield as it did, and it was the winning factor in every major battle from Morlaix in 1342 to Patay in 1429. Donald Featherstone's study of the English longbow from its early development until the Wars of the Roses is an inspiring and authentic reconstruction in human terms in an age of courage, vitality and endurance. He provides an enthralling footnote to the history of the longbow by recording the engagement in which it was last used - in France in 1940.

This volume tells the story of the conquest of the Dervish Empire, culminating at Omdurman in 1898: one of the great desert battles in the imperial drama of the Victorian era. This dramatic conflict witnessed hordes of native warriors set against British discipline and firepower, gunboats on the Nile, a dramatic cavalry charge and Kitchener, the Sirdar, as conqueror. This book explores the events, weaponry and leaders of both sides, and accompanying illustrations and colourful graphics bring the whole campaign vividly to life.

Osprey's Campaign title for the Siege of Kartoum (1884-1885). Early in 1881 unrest in the Sudan began to crystallise around Mohammed Ibn Ahmed el-Sayyid Abdullah. Proclaiming himself the long-expected Madhi, the Guided One of the Prophet, he preached that the Sudan was to be purged of its Egyptian oppressors. Drawn in by the Egyptian failure to deal with the situation, the British sent General Gordon to organise an evacuation. On reaching Khartoum however, General Gordon believed, incorrectly, that the Madhi could be reasoned with. Instead of negotiating, the Madhi besieged the town for 317 days. This title looks in particular, although not exclusively, at the battles fought by the British columns sent to relieve Khartoum.

Autor se nejdříve soustředil na obecný výklad dlouhého období vývoje válek, válečnictví a bitev od starověku, přibližně od r. 7000 př. Kr., až do konce středověku. Dále detailně popisuje jednotlivé bitvy, způsob vedení boje, druhy a kvalitu zbraní a celkové vybavení armád. Hodnotí také morálku a kvalitu velitelů i vojáků. U každé popisované bitvy je podrobný plánek se schematickým nákresem rozestavení vojenských sil před útokem a je také vyznačena členitost terénu (bitva u Kadeše - 1288 př. Kr., bitva u Leukter - 371 př. Kr., bitva u řeky Jaxartes - 330 př. Kr., bitva u Kynoskefalai - 197 př. Kr., bitva u řeky Ticinus - 218 př. Kr., bitva u Farsalu - 48 př. Kr., bitva u Tagin - 552, bitva u Stamfordského mostu - 1066, bitva u Hastingsu - 1066 , bitva u Kresčaku - 1346, bitva u Poitiers - 1356, bitva u Azincourtu - 1415). Publikace je doplněna kresbami válečníků ve zbroji a rejstříkem.... celý text