Kate

More details about Command - our new series

For those of you who wanted to know a bit more about our new COMMAND series I am pleased to say that it will launch in May and June 2010. The four launch titles will be Napoleon Bonaparte, Erich von Manstein, George Patton, and Julius Caesar.

Stolen WMIKs, the SAS, Operation Barras in Sierra Leone and the West Side Boyz

Early in 2010 we will bringing you the Raid title Certain Death in Sierre Leona – The SAS and Operation Barras 2000. This was the rescue operation launched by the SAS (part of the United Kingdom’s Special Forces), to rescue a group of Royal Irish Regiment soldiers who had been captured by a gang of rebel forces. The rebels, who went by the colourful name of the West Side Boyz, also captured some WMIKs, which were being used by the Royal Irish.

Wrong index in Men-at-Arms 458 Seminole Wars

I like to think we don’t make too many mistakes here at Osprey but I’m afraid that we have done in the case of the latest Men-at-arms on the Seminole Wars. The contents by Ron Field is absolutely perfect as is the excellent artwork from Richard Hook.

The next ten Raid titles announced - thanks for your help in choosing them!

Thanks to all of you for your fantastic feedback on what titles we should be publishing in the Raid series. I thought you might like to know the confirmed list of Raid subjects for 2010. They are: Zeebrugge 1918 Gran Sasso 1943...

An exciting new series out early in 2010 - Command is on the horizon

Throughout the history of warfare, individual commanders have dominated the battlefield and in so doing decided the fate of nations. From the warlords of the ancient world through to the architects of the blitzkrieg warfare of World War II and beyond, these great captains have adopted revolutionary technology, battlefield tactics, training methods or simply inspired their troops through their leadership skills to carry out their plans and win victory. So it was inevitable that Osprey would ultimately have to create a new series to do justice to the most famous generals of history!

Doing something different in the Raid series

As with all our new series we will be launching two Raid titles a month for three months. Our first four titles are obvious candidates for the series: RAID 1 Rangers Lead the War – Pointe-du-Hoc D-Day 1944 RAID 2 Israel’s Lightning Strike – The raid on Entebbe 1976 RAID 3 Cabanatuan Prison Raid – The Philippines 1945 RAID 4 Who Dares Wins – The SAS and the Iranian Embassy Siege 1980...

The first Raid books have just arrived in the office

Just to let you know that the first printed Raid titles have arrived in the office! They officially publish in September but here is a sneak peek at what the first two titles contain:

Raid - a sneak peek at our new series!

In less than a month the first titles from our new Raid series will publish. Here is a sneak preview of what you will get in some of the launch titles. Our third volume in the series is RAID 4 Who Dares Wins – The SAS and the Iranian Embassy Siege 1980. Much has been written about Operation Nimrod, the SAS assault on the Iranian Embassy in the heart of London to free the hostages held within, but we hope that our title offers that something extra.

Like Tanks? Live in the Uk? Why not head off to Tankfest 2009?

On the 27th and 28th June you can experience the best display of historic moving armour in the world at The Tank Museum - bringing the story of tanks, tank crew and soldiers to life! Billed as the most explosive weekend in history, at Tankfest you can watch incredible live displays, mock battles and living history encampments - representing German, US and UK Forces. There are arena displays of historic armour from The Tank Museum's collection, British Army displays and rare Second World War tanks in operation, as well as the usual range of trade stalls and family entertainment.

Historian unearths World War I identities

British historian Peter Barton, commissioned by the Australian government to conduct research into the mass grave at Fromelles in France, has discovered a treasure trove of material in a Red Cross archive in Geneva. The records, carefully entered on card indexers, provide the details for millions of soldiers caught up in the war on the Western Front. The information was all gathered from combatants by the Red Cross and include details of the capture, death or burial of servicemen including their home addresses and grave sites whenever possible.

The Raid website is here

We are very pleased to announce that the new Raid website is now up and running. With details of the first books to be released, a competition to win one of the launch titles, a vote for which Raid you would like to see next and with sneak previews, this is the best place to go for the most up-to-date information on the newest series from Osprey!

Raid - and the Raid artwork

I just thought I would reassure some of you who weren’t keen on the cover art that we are having traditional artwork inside all of the books – including some truly fantastic pieces by Peter Dennis and Howard Gerrard. Here is a sneak peak at the great battlescene painting Peter created for Raid 2 Israel’s Lightning Strike – The raid on Entebbe 1976 as well as the small section of the wonderful painting Howard has created for Raid 4 Who Dares Wins – The SAS and the Iranian Embassy Siege 1980.

The Anglo-Dutch Wars

Joe and Phil recently joined the rest of you in deciding what topics we should add to our hitlist/wishlist for forthcoming years. One subject they highlighted was the Anglo-Dutch Wars of the 17th century. This is obviously a huge gap in our list considering the long-term impact of this naval race for supremacy so thinking along the same lines I was searching around on the internet and came across this website.

Raid 1 - first look at the cover

Probably the single hardest thing to do when you are about to launch a new series is coming up with a new cover design. The mantra 'never judge a book by it's cover' is all very well and good. Unfortunately in these days of online shopping the pressure to come up with a fantastic cover has never been greater.

Osprey Obituaries - Jerry Scutts and Jon Latimer

We are very sad to report that two Osprey authors, Jerry Scutts and Jon Latimer have recently passed away.

Raid - The launch titles!

For those of you have been waiting with bated breath and also for those of you who sent in such great suggestions I can now confirm the first six Raid titles.

Alex de Quesada explains his interest in The Bay of Pigs

In January we will publish Elite 166 Bay of Pigs. Having had a sneak preview I think it is going to be a fantastic addition to the series and I asked Alex de Quesada, the author, to give our blog readers some insight into his motivation for researching the topic. Here are his thoughts...

The next 450 Men-at-Arms titles?

Here at Osprey HQ we have just had John, our US Sales and Marketing Director, over for a week. This generally means a chance for us not only to have a catch-up but also an opportunity to brainstorm future titles and plan our publishing programme for the next couple of years. As you know Osprey is 40 years young this year and this August we published our 450th Men-at-Arms title. In honour of these two milestones I thought I would ask you, our readers, to join in our brainstorming session and help us decide what Men-at-Arms titles you would like to see published.

Dambuster flies again

Squadron Leader Tony Iveson, who flew with the ‘Dambusters’ 617 Squadron made an emotional return to the skies last week as part of a campaign drive to raise funds for a national monument in central London to pay respects to Bomber Command. Together with Flight Lieutenant Mike Leckey, he took the controls of PA 474 ‘City of Lincoln’ Lancaster. Incredibly the Squadron Leader flew more than 20 missions over enemy territory with 617 Squadron and had previously fought in the Battle of Britain as a Spitfire pilot for 616 Squadron.

Warrior US Army Long Range Patrol Scout in Vietnam

This month sees the publication of our volume on the LRP Scout in Vietnam - a great book put together by Gordon Rottman, himself an LRP vet, and the artist Adam Hook. Unfortunately when the book printed one of the artwork plates has appeared as a mirror image of itself.

T-62 at the Tank Museum

In August next year we’ll be publishing a book on the T-62 Main Battle Tank by Steve Zaloga (New Vanguard 158). In the meantime, if Cold War tanks are your thing you can help sponsor your very own T-62!

Osprey is planning a new series! Get ready for Raid!

For those of you who haven't already herad the news on the Osprey grapevine, we are planning another new series. This one is going to be called Raid and will cover all of the classic wartime raids from Pointe-du-Hoc to Entebbe to the SAS storming the Iranian Embassy...

Visit to Vimy Ridge Memorial

A visit to the Vimy Ridge Memorial on the Somme as well as to a small private memorial over-looking some of the major battlefields.

Delville Wood visit

A visit to Delville Wood on the Western Front where the 1st South African Infantry Brigade were involved in some of the heaviest fighting on the Somme.

Unsung Heroines

As some of you might already know I am a bit of a Battle of Britain nut, so I was recently intrigued to hear that the surviving female members of the Air Transport Auxiliary are expected to be honoured with a special badge to commemorate their service.

MERTS in Afghanistan

Not sure how many of our UK readers managed to catch this brilliant report on Channel 4 news a couple of months ago, so I thought I would share it with everyone. A television crew was allowed to accompany a British medical emergency response team (MERT for short) as it picked up the wounded from the battlefield...

British Uniform Stamps

For all you uniform buffs who also perhaps have a secondary hobby as stamp collectors, you may be interested to know that one of Osprey’s artists, Graham Turner, has recently produced a series of stamps showing the evolution of British Army uniforms for the Royal Mail...

Hell Land (Helmand Province Exhibition)

The National Army Museum here in London recently launched a new exhibition about 3 Para’s deployment as part of 16 Air Assault to Helmand Province, or as they fondly called it “Hell Land”. The exhibit has actually been nominated for The Art Fund Prize...

Courage under fire: Recent British military decorations

181 members of the British Armed Forces and the Ministry of Defence have recently been honoured for courage and professionalism while on active service. There had been a lot of expectation that ...

General Dan Shamron, organiser of the Entebbe Raid, dies 26 February 2008

Lt. Gen. Dan Shamron, a former Chief of Staff for the Israeli Defence Forces, died yesterday. The 13th Chief of Staff, he was a highly decorated soldier, having received ...

Military – the new buzz word from documentaries to gyms…

At the moment military history seems to be creating a bit of a buzz particularly in the States where Ken Burns’ new documentary series on World War II has just launched. I was a huge fan of his Civil War documentary ...

Greatest War Speeches... or not

I’m currently working on a book on the battle between Russian and Japanese battleships during the war of 1904–05 for our new Duel series. In it, the author Robert Forczyk highlights ...

The Ice Girls

Some of you might have caught a news story a couple of weeks ago telling the incredible story of Glacier Gal; nearly 65 years ago this P-38 was one of eight planes to ditch in the dangerous environs of ...

Calling all doccie fans...

Well if Mike is a bit nutty about old buildings I am definitely a bit of a history documentaries obsessive. But that’s not to say that I spend my life in a darkened room watching History Channel re-runs. I am quite picky about...

Who wins in the battles of the machines?

Some of you may have heard about our new series Duel, which is coming in September. It looks at the machines of war pitted against each other; in particular the classic confrontations like the Spitfire vs the Bf 109. Each book looks at the design and development of the particular weapons, the crews that operated them and how they performed in real combat situations...