Blog

Napoleon Bonaparte is renowned as one of the great military commanders in history, and the central figure in so many of the events of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars. Throughout the first decade of the 19th century he won battle after battle by wielding the Grande Armée decisively against the other powers of Europe. Yet his fortunes changed in 1812 when the invasion of Russia wrecked his forces, and Napoleon suffered his final defeat at Waterloo in 1815. Following his crushing loss, he was exiled to the remote island of Saint Helena where he died on 5 May 1821. To commemorate this bicentenary, we've pulled up some artwork from a few of his campaigns.Continue Reading

Today marks the 550th anniversary of the Battle of Tewkesbury, one of the defining conflicts of the Wars of the Roses. To commemorate this anniversary, we look back at some of the battles and skirmishes from across the Wars.Continue Reading

The Battle of Culloden, fought exactly 275 years ago today, ended the Jacobite Rising and is undoubtedly one of the most famous battles in British military history. To commemorate this anniversary, we look at the beginning of the battle with an extract from Stuart Reid’s Culloden Moor 1746.Continue Reading

Exactly 311 years ago today, the battle of Malplaquet was fought near the border of France. To commemorate this anniversary, Simon MacDowall, author of the upcoming Campaign title 'Malplaquet 1709', gives a brief overview of this conflict.  Continue Reading

The Battle of Britain was the successful defence of Great Britain against a series of destructive air raids by the Luftwaffe from 10 July through September 1940. The outcome of the Battle was a decisive victory for the British, the first time the Germans had faced defeat in World War II. To mark the anniversary, on the blog today, we are sharing a selection of images taken from the groundbreaking new book 'To Defeat the Few: The Luftwaffe’s campaign to destroy RAF Fighter Command, August–September 1940' by Douglas C. Dildy and Paul F. Crickmore.Continue Reading

The Battle of Britain was the successful defence of Great Britain against a series of destructive air raids by the Luftwaffe from 10 July through September 1940. The outcome of the Battle was a decisive victory for the British, the first time the Germans had faced defeat in World War II. To mark the anniversary, on the blog today, we are sharing an extract taken from the groundbreaking new book 'To Defeat the Few: The Luftwaffe’s campaign to destroy RAF Fighter Command, August–September 1940' by Douglas C. Dildy and Paul F. Crickmore.Continue Reading

Today marks the 75th anniversary of Victory in Europe day and the final collapse of the Nazi regime across the war-torn continent. In the preceding weeks and months, Allied forces had pressed on into Germany itself, facing desperate German resistance until Berlin was taken and Hitler took his own life. With that, resistance ceased and an armistice was negotiated and signed.  This was not the end of the wider war, as Japan was still to be defeated, but for many in the UK and on the continent, it meant celebration before the rebuilding of a shattered world could be contemplated. Across Europe the 75th anniversary celebrations will be muted as the coronavirus crisis continues, but there will still be opportunities to commemorate the brave men and women who went through so much.Continue Reading

The D-Day landings were one of the most complex operations of the war, and marked a key turning point in the campaign to liberate “Fortress Europe” from Nazi control. Hundreds and thousands of troops took part in the invasion, whether fighting on the beaches, manning the vast armada of ships, or providing vital support from the air. Over the years, Osprey has published many extraordinary personal stories of the men and women who took part in this historic day, and to conclude our D-Day coverage we have drawn together three extracts which offer a snapshot of just some of their experiences.Continue Reading

Today is the 75th Anniversary of the D-Day landings. We have been marking this anniversary with a series of blogs and today we are pleased to offer you three freely downloadable desktop backgrounds.Continue Reading

Today is the 75th Anniversary of the D-Day landings. To commemorate this anniversary of the landings, we look at the key assaults that occurred that day using a few extracts from Steven Zaloga’s Atlas of the European Campaigns 1944-45. This blog post examines the events on Juno Beach.Continue Reading