New Osprey Titles

Men-at-Arms 408, Warriors at the Little Bighorn 1876, by Richard Hook, illustrated by the author, ISBN 1-84176-666-6, 48 pages.

This is a complete change from the usual MAA format and makes a fascinating book. Richard Hook has taken 28 fighters at the Little Bighorn (two of them women) and given their stories. These are all people known to have taken part in the fighting against the 7th Cavalry and whose appearance on the day is known with some certainty thanks to the paintings made by them and their friends and relatives. Mr Hook gives us their life stories, as far as is known, as well as their parts inthe fighting. This is where the departure from normal MAA format comes in – the book is not mostly text with good plate captions, but mostly long plate captions with a few pages at the start to set the scene and show how we come to know what they looked like. The plates are really excellent, and backed up by photographs of surviving items, old photos of some of the fighters, and splendid drawings based on the original paintings. Very, very highly recommended to anyone with an interest in the Plains Wars.

Men-at-Arms 407, The German Army in World War I (2) 1915-17, by Nigel Thomas PhD, illustrated by Ramiro Bujeiro, ISBN 1-84176-566-X, 48 pages.

This one covers a great deal of ground and deals with the State armies as well as the Imperial army, on all fronts not just in France and Belgium. It describes and illustrates all arms, including the Air Service with its bombers, fighters, airships and observation balloons as well as the expected infantry, cavalry, artillery medical services etc. Full details of uniforms, rank badges and unit insignia are given so this book will be invaluable to WWI modellers. I can’t resist singling out one photograph, of a couple of observation balloon men so swaddled against the cold that they look like Michelin Men (surely I can’t be the only one who remembers the Michelin adverts?). Highly recommended to all WWI modelers.

Campaign 134, Cassino 1944, by Ken Ford, illustrated by Howard Gerrard, ISBN 1-84176-623-2, 96 pages.

The battle for Monte Cassino is well known, but it isn’t all that’s covered here. Mr Howard covers the whole of the battle to break the Gustav Line, including the fighting on the East of Italy and the attempts to cross the Rapido river as well as the Anzio landings. The plates are evocative and the maps and bird’s-eye-views make it easy to understand why the Allies had such a hard time in this area and why they needed to attack where they did. Recommended.

Campaign 137, Saipan & Tinian 1944, by Gordon L Rottman, illustrated by Howard Gerrard, ISBN 1-84176-804-9, 96 pages.

The fighting for the Marianas was a joint Army/Marines affair, with of course Navy assistance. There had been a move to avoid assaulting Saipan and Tinian, but they wereneeded to provide advanced air bases for the B-29s attacking the Japanese Home Islands so the attack had to be made. Fierce resistance included several Banzai charges and tank attacks, which met with their usual fate of obliteration. Both assault landings are described here, with the course of fighting to expand the bridgeheads and clear the islands of Japanese resistance. And yes, the US did employ “funnies” in the Pacific and they’re shown here – modified LVT(2)s carried ramps ashore and dropped them against the low cliffs that hindered exit from the Tinian beaches. There’s enough here for any modeller to reproduce this rig! Recommended.

My thanks as always to Osprey for the review books. If you don’t have a local stockist these books can be ordered online direct. My thanks to Osprey for the review books, also as always.