Osprey's Big Reveal: Combat

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It's time for a showdown! In 2019 we'll be pitting 16 more adversaries against each other in 8 new books! Have a read of these new additions to the series, and let us know your favourites below!

CBT: British Airborne Soldier vs Waffen-SS Soldier

Operation Market Garden was an Allied plan to try and end the war before the end of 1944, and relied on landing airborne troops to secure bridges over the Rhine bridges in the Netherlands. Critical to this plan were the glider troops of Britain’s 1st Airlanding Brigade. Short on heavy weapons and not optimized for street fighting, the glider troops were meant to secure and defend the Allied perimeter around Arnhem as the parachute brigades fought their way into the city. Facing the airborne forces were understrength Waffen-SS units that were hastily formed into ad hoc battle groups, some supported by armour. The troops on both sides would have their tactical flexibility and powers of endurance tested to the limit in the bitter actions that ensued. This new Combat tells the story of the glider troops’ dogged defence of the Allied perimeter at Arnhem, and the Waffen-SS forces’ efforts to overcome them.

CBT: Macedonian Phalangite vs Persian Warrior

In August 334 BC, Alexander the Great invaded the Persian Empire and systematically set about its conquest. At the core of Alexander’s army were 10,000 members of the phalanx, the phalangites. Armed with a long pike and fighting in formations up to 16 ranks deep, these grizzled veterans were the mainstay of the Macedonian army.

Facing them were the myriad armies of the peoples that made up the Persian Empire. At the centre of these forces was the formation known as the Immortals: 10,000 elite infantry, armed with spears and bows.

This new Combat looks at three key battles of the era – the Granicus River, Issus and Gaugamela.

CBT: Russian Soldier vs Japanese Soldier

At the beginning of the 20th century, the region of Manchuria sat atop a potentially catastrophic political fault line; the ancient strength of China was crumbling, leaving opportunities for both Russia and Japan to claw out new territories from the edges of that ailing empire. Russian pride would contend with Japanese ambition in a conflict that ushered in the age of massed armies fighting on battlefields that were being redefined by the new tools of war such as newer, larger artillery pieces, and the use of machine guns in pitched battles. The vast, but over-stretched Russian Army was expected to steamroller its far smaller opponent, but the aggressiveness and zeal of the more modern Japanese military confounded expectations.

CBT: Samurai vs Ashigaru

During the 16th century, amid a move away from highly localized lordships and conflict and towards multi-provincial and ultimately unified rule, Japan experienced a military revolution, characterized by the deployment of large armies, the introduction of firearms and an eventual shift towards fighting on foot. This study encapsulates these great changes through the experience on the ground of three key battles: Uedahara (1548), Mikata ga Hara (1572) and Nagashino (1575), which pitted against each other two very different types of warrior, each of whom experienced profound and irreversible change across three decades as a result of the lessons learned.

On one side were samurai, the elite aristocratic knights whose status was proclaimed by the possession and use of a horse. On the other side were the foot soldiers known as ashigaru, lower-class warriors who were initially attendants to the samurai but who joined the armies in increasing numbers, attracted by loot and glory. 

CBT: Sioux Warrior vs US Cavalryman

Following the discovery of gold deposits, in December 1875 the US Government ordered the indigenous population of the Black Hills in what is now South Dakota and Wyoming, the Sioux, to return to the Great Sioux Reservation. When the Sioux refused, US Army sent forces into the area, sparking a conflict and momentous campaign that would make Lieutenant Colonel George Custer, Chief Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, and others household names around the world.

CBT: Soviet Partisan vs German Security Soldier

The savage partisan war on the Eastern Front during World War II saw a wide variety of forces deployed by both sides. On the Soviet side civilian partisans fought alongside and in co-operation with Red Army troops and Red Army and NKVD ‘special forces’. On the German side German Army security divisions with the indigenous components including cavalry fought alongside SS police and Waffen-SS units and other front-line troops employed for short periods in the anti-partisan role.

In addition to providing the background detail on the forces of both sides, this study focuses upon three examples of German anti-partisan operations that show varied success in dealing with the Soviet partisan threat.

CBT: Union Sharpshooter vs Confederate Sharpshooter

During the American Civil War, the Union and the Confederacy both fielded units of sharpshooters. Some were equipped with firearms no better than those of their infantry brethren and fought in a manner reminiscent of Napoleonic-era light infantry, while others were equipped with innovative small arms offering superior firepower or long-range accuracy

During sieges, sharpshooters could drive enemy signalmen from their towers, hampering communication. Siege warfare placed a premium on marksmanship and the sharpshooter became indispensable. Sharpshooters also became experts at raiding, especially for the Confederacy, and in one spectacular raid netted almost 250 prisoners. Union marksmen initially did not fare as well as their opponents, but when they became armed with more impressive weapons such as the Berdan Sharps rifle, they began to take the fight to the Confederates.

Union Sharpshooter vs Confederate Sharpshooter looks at three bloody clashes at the height of the American Civil War – the battle of Fredericksburg, the siege of Vicksburg and the siege of Battery Wagner.