Kate
An exciting new series out early in 2010 - Command is on the horizon
August 31, 2009 12:00 AM
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!
COMMAND, our new series, promises to do exactly that, with each book taking you through the career of a particular commander, describing his background, military training and battlefield experiences.
The series will cover the most famous generals of history from the classical figures of Julius Caesar and Alexander the Great through to the modern titans such as Patton and Rommel.
Unfortunately you’ll have to wait until 2010 to get your hands on a copy of any of the COMMAND books but more details will follow later...
COMMENTS
I gather from a post on one forum that this is starting with napoleon and Manstein. I hope that the author of Nap mentions that his intelligence servcie built much of his success, the propaganda machine magnified it somewhat (together with lying about casualties) and that 200 years of bad research has led to a mythology of French "innovations", which already existed.
If the author uses "I have descended on Italy like a bolt out of the blue" for 1800, please smack him with a copy of Cam 70.
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Sounds like a great new serries to me. I for one can't wait to see what they look like.
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I share the same sentiments as Dave, i hope this won't be just a repetition of old established myths but quite the contrary. the first two titles are already controversial because i personally think Manstein is the single most overrated commander of ww2, maybe even history. i'd also like to know about what kind of artwork/maps (if any) will be in the new series...?
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Thank you for your feedback. I will need to speak to the editor in charge of this series about some of your specific queries regarding the first books so stay posted for more detail about the launch titles.
Information on the launch titles, sample pages and a sneak peak at the artwork will all of course follow as well!
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Kate:
I hope that this series wil also feature generals who failed. Examples like Crassus, et al. I think that readers would benefit to learn about the failures of leadership/generalship as well as the successes.
Leading men in war isn't easy and not everyone is gifted.
xavier
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There must be a danger here of treading well trodden ground with a list of the usual suspects. There are endless Napoleon/Rommel/Patton books already available and it is hard to see how a new series could possibily do some of these justice in the limited space available. As Dave Hollins implies, this series would really only be interesting if it was to engage in some serious 'myth-busting'. Patton is another one who needs a few rocks thrown in his direction rather than another eulogy.
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