The story of HMS Venomous told by its officers and crew.
Venomous fought in the 1919 "forgotten war" which gained
independence for the Baltic states. In 1940 she rescued
thousands of troops from Boulogne and, on Convoy duty in the
Atlantic kept Britain from starvation. She served in Arctic
convoys to north Russia and was then deployed to the
Mediterranean. Here Venomous fought the U-boat which sank
HMS Hecla, rescued survivors and took part in Operation
Pedestal to run supplies to the besieged island of Malta.
After limping home to Britain, her engine shot, she was
converted to a Fleet Air Arm target ship, survived a
hurricane off the east coast of Scotland and was sent to
Norway to accept the surrender of German naval forces.
New in d/w - 480pp, 256 photographs, 12 maps and plans
The infantry was Wellington's favoured tool, and he
played a major role in raising its standards of excellence.
He used it carefully, on ground which he selected to give it
maximum advantage and protection, and he came to understand
its capabilities and weaknesses. Bryan Fosten examines all
aspects of Wellington's infantry, including army life,
organisation, uniforms, drill, regimental distinctions,
weapons and equipment, in an engaging text well-illustrated
throughout including eight full page colour plates by the
author himself.
New in card cover - 40pp, 8 colour plates, c44 b/w
illustrations
OSPREY MEN-AT-ARMS 130:
WELLINGTON'S HEAVY CAVALRY
by Bryan Fosten
Wellington considered the British
cavalry to be technically inferior to the French, although
paradoxically he also said that one British squadron would
be a match for two of the enemy. His main concern was that
although the British cavalry lacked neither courage nor
dash, they lacked discipline, in that they invariably failed
to rally and re-form once they had charged home. At
Waterloo, although the cavalry generally performed superbly
well, the endemic faults which Wellington had already
identified were repeated more than once, resulting in the
decimation of several fine regiments.
New in card cover - 40pp, 8 colour plates, c44 b/w
illustrations
From 1740 the British army earned
itself a formidable reputation as a fighting force. However,
due to its role as a police force at home, and demonisation
by American propaganda, the army was viewed at home as a
penal institution run by aristocratic dilettantes. This view
is challenged by Stuart Reid, who paints a picture of an
increasingly professional force. It was an important time of
change and improvement for the British Army, and this book
provides a comprehensive account of the lives, conditions
and experiences of the late 18th-century infantryman.
New in card cover - 64pp, 12 colour plates, c50 b/w
illustrations
OSPREY MEN-AT-ARMS 483:
CUMBERLAND'S CULLODEN ARMY 1745-46
by Stuart Reid
In August 1745 Charles Edward Stuart, the 'Young
Pretender', landed in Scotland and sparked the Second
Jacobite Rising. The Jacobite forces seized Perth, then
Edinburgh, where they proclaimed his father King James VIII.
Trouncing their Hanoverian opponents at Prestonpans they
crossed into England, getting as far south as Derby before
withdrawing into Scotland. There they bested another
Hanoverian army at Falkirk, only to be routed by the Duke of
Cumberland's army at Culloden in April 1746. Full-colour
artwork depicts the distinctive uniforms of Cumberland's
men, and this exhaustively researched study includes a
chronology that places individual units in specific places
throughout the campaign.
New
in card cover - 48pp, 8 colour plates, numerous b/w
illustrations
