OSPREY ROUNDUP,
a brief look at new books from Osprey Publishing Ltd.

by John Prigent

FORTRESS 5, JAPANESE CASTLES 1540-1640,
by Stephen Turnbull,
illustrated by Peter Dennis,
ISBN 1-84176-429-9, 64 pages.

This is a great book for anyone interested in the Samurai age of Japan. Stephen Turnbull gives us a fascinating look at the principles of fortification as applied in Japan, with excellent illustrations bot in Peter Dennis' colour plates and in modern photographs of details of surviving and restored castles. If you like Samurai figures this book will give you plenty of ideas for authentic settings, and if you just like castles (as I do) it's an indispensable addition to the bookshelf. Highly recommended.

FORTRESS 6, AMERICAN CIVIL WAR FORTIFICATIONS (1) COASTAL BRICK AND STONE FORTS,
by Angus Konstam,
illustrated by Donato Spedaliere and Sarah Sulemsohn Spedaliere,
ISBN 1-84176-442-6, 64 pages.

This is the first in a series on the fortresses of the American Civil War - the ACW itself is a popular subject so these books should be considered essential for its students. This volume looks at the coastal forts held by both sides with a good description of each one, including its war service and eventual fate. The contemporary photographs are amazing, one would never imagine that the piles of rubble shown by some were actually held till honourable surrender. Yes, Fort Sumter is here and is one of those cases. Excellent colour plates show what they looked like before the War, and there's a list of those that can still be visited. Recommended to everyone interested in the ACW.

MEN-AT-ARMS 389, NAPOLEON'S RED LANCERS,
by Ronald Pawly,
illustrated by Patrice Courcelle,
ISBN 1-84176-508-2, 48 pages.

Here is the complete story of the famous Dutch Lancers of the Imperial Guard, better known to all wargamers and figure modellers as the Red Lancers. We get their history and service from their original Dutch service to their disbandment after fighting at Waterloo. Their uniforms are shown in a splendid selection of contemporary portraits and sketches as well as in Patrice Courcelle's noteworthy plates. Highly recommended!

WARRIOR 55, IMPERIAL JAPANESE NAVAL AVIATOR 1937-45,
by Osamu Tagaya,
illustrated by John White,
ISBN 1-84176-385-3, 64 pages.

Osprey continues to widen coverage of little-known subjects with this book. Everything is covered here, from training to clothing and combat tactics, and a short section centred around a typical, though fictional, pilot gives a real flavour of combat. Aircraft modellers interested in the IJN's air arm will no doubt recognise some photographs, but the really interesting ones are those showing aircrew. If you model Japanese Naval Aviation subjects you need this book to put your pilots in the correct clothing! Recommended.

WARRIOR 66, BRITISH INFANTRYMAN IN THE FAR EAST 1941-45,
by Alan Jeffreys,
illustrated by Kevin Lyle and Jeff Vanelle,
ISBN 1-84176-448-5, 64 pages.

Here's a good look at the British Army in India, Burma and Malaysia, from basic jungle training to combat. Uniforms are covered too, not in as much detail as in a Men-at-Arms title but quite enough for most figure modellers' purposes. Unfortunately some misprints appear to have crept into the captions for plate G, which shows all the formation signs for British, Indian and African divisions in the area ñ some descriptions have been transposed, but they're not too hard to sort out with a little thought.

WARRIOR 69, DARBY'S RANGERS 1942-45,
by Mir Bahmanyar, illustrated by Michael Welply,
ISBN 1-84176-627-5, 64 pages.

Darby's Rangers fought at Dieppe, in North Africa and in Italy. Here is their story, from recruitment and training to combat and even the POW experience of some of those unlucky enough to be captured. If you're interested in Special Forces, get this book! Highly recommended.

CAMPAIGN 120, TOWTON 1461, ENGLAND'S BLOODIEST BATTLE,
by Christopher Gravett,
illustrated by Graham Turner,
ISBN 1-84176-513-9, 96 pages.

Here's a comprehensive treatment of one of the crucial battles of the Wars of the Roses, when the rival noble houses of York and Lancaster and their various supporters fought for the throne of England. Thousands of men met in a snowstorm and fought at Towton, and this is the complete campaign history with superb illustrations and battle maps. Students of medieval history and warfare will find this a great reference. Recommended!

CAMPAIGN 121, QUEBEC 1759, THE BATTLE THAT WON CANADA,
by Stuart Reid,
illustrated by Gerry Embleton,
ISBN 1-85532-605-1, 96 pages.

Wolfe beat Montcalm on the Heights of Abraham, and that's about as far as most of us can go - even I, who live only a few miles from Wolfe's family home. This is the story of the campaign and the battle, in detail and with some great Gerry Embleton plates as well as a host of contemporary illustrations and of course the Campaign standard battle maps. Anyone interested in North American history should read this one! Recommended.

CAMPAIGN 126, THE YOM KIPPUR WAR 1973 (2), THE SINAI,
by Simon Dunstan,
illustrated by Kevin Lyles,
ISBN 1-84176-221-0.

This was perhaps the closest-run of the Middle East Wars, and the Egyptian attack across the Suez Canal was only narrowly held off before Israeli forces were fully mobilised. Mistakes were made on both sides, and all is revealed here. Armour fans will find some well-known photos of Israeli tanks but little from the other side, but the campaign itself was so critical that anyone interested in the Arab-Israeli wars should have this book. Recommended.

ESSENTIAL HISTORIES, THE BOER WAR 1899-1902,
by Gregory Fremont-Barnes,
ISBN 1-84176-396-9, 94 pages.

Imperial Britain against the simple Boer farmers, seeking to extend the empire? There's quite a bit more to it than that, and here is the full story from an unbiased historian. The Boer War was a precursor of World War 1 in many ways, and it's hard to understand why its lessons weren't absorbed by generals on both sides of that war. Tactics had to change to cope with the modern weapons just coming into use, but their effects on the battlefield were forgotten until relearnt in 1914. Recommended to all students of warfare.

ESSENTIAL HISTORIES, THE WARS OF THE ROSES 1466-1485,
by Michael Hicks,
ISBN 1-84176-491-4, 94 pages

If the Campaign title on Towton, reviewed above, has whetted your appetite for medieval history here's the full background. The thirty years of fighting between the Yorkist and Lancastrian camps ended with the birth of what was to be Tudor England. Their course is set out here, with some fascinating sidelights. Recommended.