Osprey's Big Reveal: Under Fire

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Next year, we will be launching a brand new graphic novel series that tells the stories of history’s most dramatic battles and campaigns through the eyes of the men who were there. Find out which conflicts we'll be starting with and let us know your thoughts!

FIRE: D-Day

6 June, 1944: a vast armada approaches the coast of Normandy under cover of darkness. In the pre-dawn light, the beaches are quiet, but on board the ships the tension is palpable. Hours earlier, hundreds of airborne troops were dropped on targets inland and now naval gunfire begins to rain down on the fortified shore. Taken by surprise, the German defenders on the beaches race to man their positions. The first glimmers of dawn reveal thousands of ships packed tightly with tanks and men. The long-expected Allied invasion is here. The liberation of Europe is about to begin.

The D-Day landings are brought to life in this electric graphic novel which blends a historically authentic narrative with masterful illustration to tell the story of that Longest Day through the eyes of the men who were there.

FIRE: The Battle of Britain

In the summer of 1940, the bombs began to fall over Britain. Seeking to pave the way for a full-scale invasion, Luftwaffe bombers flew over the Channel, dropping their deadly payload on key targets across the south of England. Scrambling to meet them were the pilots of the Royal Air Force. Men from Britain, the British Empire and Commonwealth, and even volunteers from occupied and neutral territories took to the skies against the might of the German forces. The Battle of Britain had begun.

Delving into the battle through the eyes of the pilots who lived through it, as well as of the men and women in support roles on the ground and experiencing the battle as civilians, this vibrant graphic novel combines expert knowledge and master storytelling to bring the campaign to life, from the epic dogfights along the coast to the terror of the London Blitz.

FIRE: The Battle for Guadalcanal

A New World power facing off against an ancient empire. A desperate struggle to control a Pacific archipelago. A high-stakes campaign that would tip the balance in a fiercely contested theatre of war. 

On 7 August 1942, US forces invaded Japanese-held Guadalcanal, signalling the beginning of a campaign which would last over six months. The American troops who stormed the Solomon Islands forced the Imperial Japanese Navy to abandon Guadalcanal in a victory which marked the first step towards Japan’s eventual defeat. This colourful graphic novel follows the stories of the troops on the ground, bringing the campaign vividly to life through the eyes of the soldiers, sailors, and pilots who fought on both sides. Combining an authentic historical story with striking visuals and expert storytelling, Guadalcanal reveals a campaign that changed the course of the War in the Pacific.

FIRE: Teutoburg Forest

The battle of the Teutoburg Forest in AD 9 was one of the greatest military disasters of the Roman empire. It witnessed the near-total annihilation of a Roman force three legions strong under Publius Quinctilius Varus, lured into a deadly trap by the Roman officer and Cheruscan nobleman Arminius on the pretext of assisting with the Roman pacification of the Germanic tribes. Stranded in unfamiliar forested country in the midst of torrential rain and mud, harried by lightning attacks from Arminius’ allies and abandoned by their Germanic cavalry, the legionaries struggled on in a desperate effort to break through to open ground. This colourful graphic novel tells the whole story of the running ambush and its climax in the narrow pass near Kalkriese, bringing the conflict vividly to life through the eyes of both the victorious Germanic tribesmen and the doomed Roman legionaries. Combining an authentic historical narrative with striking visuals and master storytelling, Teutoburg Forest brings the history of one of Rome’s greatest defeats vividly to life. 

FIRE: The Battle of Kursk

In 1943, the fate of the Eastern Front hung in the balance. After a crushing defeat at Stalingrad, the German Army, desperate to regain the initiative, planned a huge offensive near the city of Kursk, 280 miles south-west of Moscow. Armed with the new Panther and Tiger tanks, Hitler and Field Marshal Erich von Manstein hoped to cut off and destroy Soviet forces in the Kursk salient using a pincer attack. But the Soviets knew they were coming, and they were ready.

The elite SS Panzer divisions were flung headlong into a well-prepared Soviet defence, and a bitter battle ensued. This graphic novel brings that battle vividly to life through the eyes of the men who were there, combining historical authenticity with stunning illustrations to tell the full story of the last great German offensive on the Eastern Front.