The War of the Triple Alliance is the largest single conflict in the history of South America.Drawing Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay into conflict the war was characterized by extraordinarily high casualty rates, and was to shape the future of an entire continent – depopulating Paraguay and establishing Brazil as the predominant military power.Despite the importance of the war, little information is available in English about the armies that fought...

In the 1840s, post-Napoleonic Italy was 'a geographical expression' – not a country, but a patchwork of states, divided between the Austrian-occupied north, and a Spanish-descended Bourbon monarchy, who ruled the south from Naples.Two decades later, it was a nation united under a single king and government, thanks largely to the efforts of the Kings of Sardinia and Piedmont, and the revolutionary Giuseppe Garibaldi. This book, the first of a two-part series on the ...

The Italian Renaissance marked a period of political and military turmoil, which saw trained infantry and firearms challenging the domination of heavy armoured cavalry.Many regional wars were fought between the states ruled by Milan, Venice, Genoa, Florence, the Papacy, Siena and Naples. Major foreign powers also exploited these divisions to invade Italy: both France and Spain made temporary alliances with city states to further their ambitions, an...

This fully illustrated study explores the formidable Athenian army, rivalled only by the Spartan army in terms of battlefield prowess and influence.In 508 BC, the reforms of Kleisthenes established the ten tribes of Athens, inaugurating a system of military organization that remained in place for nearly 200 years until Athens' eclipse by the growing power of Macedon in the early 3rd century BC. Fully illustrated, this lively study investigates the development and e...

The great powers of medieval Europe fought continuously in the Italian peninsula between the 12th and 14th centuries as they sought to expand their territory.Invading armies from Germany – the Holy Roman Empire – saw the creation of the defensive Lombard League of northern Italian city-states. Conflicts between rival confederacies proved to be the catalysts for developments in organisation and tactics. Italian urban militias became better organised and equipped, th...

This illustrated study lifts the veil on the gladiators of ancient Rome, who provided a bloody spectacle for the people of the Eternal City and its vast empire.By the start of the Principate in 27 BC, the gladiator games were a long-standing part of the social and political life of Rome and its sprawling empire. In the wake of reforms enacted by Augustus, the games continued to be at the heart of Roman culture and politics during the 1st and 2nd centuries AD.

This new study lifts the veil on the high-profile but often misunderstood gladiators of ancient Rome, from their origins to the dawn of the Principate.Originating in funeral rites during the Punic Wars of the 3rd century BC, the Roman gladiator games have come to symbolize the spectacle and savagery of Republican and Imperial Rome. Increasingly elaborate rules and rituals governed the conduct of gladiator combat, with an array of specially armed and armoured gladia...

The world's first war machines were ships built two millennia before the dawn of the Classical world. Their influence on the course of history cannot be overstated.A wide variety of galleys and other types of warships were built by successive civilisations, each with their own distinctive appearance, capability and utility. The earliest of these were the Punt ships and the war galleys of Egypt which defeated the Sea People in the first known naval battle. Following...

The introduction of the scutum in the 4th century BC revolutionized the way the Romans fought. Instead of being purely defensive, the shield became a weapon in its own right.Using the top edge or boss to punch an opponent, or the lower rim to smash down on their feet, it served to unbalance an enemy and allow the sword to do its work. The versatility of the scutum was characterized by the testudo, a formation the Romans used offensively l...

The 'Original Six' frigates were commissioned by the new-born US Navy at a staggering cost of nearly $700,000.Designed to be light and fast, these warships enabled America to project its power across the globe. Among the ships Mark Lardas examines is USS Constellation: the first ship to be commissioned by the United States Navy. Alongside stirring accounts of engagements during the Barbary Wars, the author explores the design and development of these friga...

The 'Original Six' frigates were commissioned by the new-born US Navy at a staggering cost of nearly $700,000.Designed to be light and fast, these warships enabled America to project its power across the globe. Among the ships Mark Lardas examines is USS Constellation: the first ship to be commissioned by the United States Navy. Alongside stirring accounts of engagements during the Barbary Wars, the author explores the design and development of these friga...

This study investigates the development, manufacture, decoration and use of the Roman infantry helmet, a vital piece of personal protection equipment of both legionary and auxiliary troops.The protective headgear worn by Roman foot soldiers of the Republican period was adopted directly from the Etruscans, who had in turn adapted helmets from neighbouring European cultures within and beyond the Italian peninsula. In this study, a renowned authority explains how its ...