I have been a little bit naughty over the last couple of months. When I first started announcing what books we were doing in 2011 I was immediately bombarded with emails from readers who desperately wanted to know what books we were doing in the Campaign series in 2011. But to increase the tension I thought I should tease you all a bit by delaying the Campaign reveal, and it ended up dropping to the bottom of my inbox, until Joe came across to my desk, cracking his knuckles and threatening me with harm if I didn't write the blog.
So enough procrastinating. Here is the list of Campaign titles (with approximate release dates) for 2011.
Campaign 144 Wake Island 1941 (September 2011)
Campaign 228 Teutoburg Forest AD 9 (January 2011)
Campaign 230 Nile 1798 (March 2011)
Campaign 231 Nez Perce 1877 (February 2011)
Campaign 232 The Bismarck1941 (March 2011)
Campaign 233 Boudicca's Rebellion AD 60-61 (April 2011)
Campaign 234 Nomonhan 1939 (October 2011)
Campaign 235 Walcheren 1944 (June 2011)
Campaign 236 Operation Pointblank 1944 (July 2011)
Campaign 237 The Fourth Crusade 1202-04 (August 2011)
Campaign 238 St Mihiel 1918 (October 2011)
So, all in all a pretty strong line-up of Campaigns for 2011, with us having the chance to cover some of the more glaring omissions in the series to date, as well as providing details on a couple of lesser known (and covered) conflicts. In particular I am looking forward to CAM 234 Nomonhan - partly because it is one of those moments in history which I just don't know much about, but which sounds like an incredible story.
You may have also spotted one strange anomaly. While all of the other books being published in 2011 are Campaigns whose series number ranks in the 230s, one of the books seems remarkably out of place, with a much earlier series number of 144.
We have re-numbered the Wake Island campaign to replace the hole that was left when we had to cancel a previous Campaign book (which was actually on New York). When we eventually did publish a Campaign on New York, the 144 number was overlooked, leaving a gaping hole in everyone's Campaign collections. For a lot of our customers who have collected the whole series, this gap was a painful one, and loads of you got in touch with us asking us to bring out a book to fill the space (one gentleman even suggested bringing out a blank 'fake' book to fill the hole in his collection).
So, following all of your comments, we have filled the CAM 144 slot - and are getting ever closer to being able to fill in the other holes in the Campaign series too, so that all the completionists out there can look at their series collections without a tingling sense of unease!
I hope you all find some bits and pieces in there that you like. It is another strong year in the Campaign series, and the handful of books that have already been proposed for 2012 look equally impressive - although you are going to have to wait till next year to find out what those are!!
Thanks Mike! I am in the starting blocks for Campaigns 144,232,234,235,236 and 238. Any update for Taranto and Graf spee?
Just a suggestion: Angus Konstam seems perfectly qualified to write these books.
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Thanks for posting, Mike. I'm especially eager to get my hands on St. Mihiel and Nomonhan. Could it be there's a Meuse-Argonne 1918 somewhere in the future? (I have my hopes, and even developed, sitting around the house, my own Chateau-Thierry on the subject. Please excuse the terrible pun. I couldn't resist!) By the way, I'll just ask you this point blank, what was Operation Pointblank?
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What a pity! Nothing about the Reinnassence warfare. Well... I will play more to Field of Glory and I read less.
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I second the cold0 opinion... nothing on Renaissance battles :(
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The a great list for 2011!!! I'm realy looking forward to Walcheren and Pointblank.
Have we had a Duel sneek peek yet???
CMB - Pointblank was the USAAF/RAF operation to try and destroy the Luftwaffe and German aero industry in the run up to D-Day.
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I am happy to see volume 144 filled in. This is great. I have been hoping for a time to see this done. I hope to see the other two missing numbers filled, but with 144 my hopes are greatly risen . Thanks for going back and filling it in.
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Thanks AdamC. I'm actually taking a class right now on airpower, and Op. Pointblank is sure to come up.
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Looking forward to the Fourth Crusade title!
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Delighted to see Walchern in there - after years of lobbying by me. Hope we will see Operations Switchback and Vitality in 2012 to complete the Scheldt battles. No much left then from NW Europe 1944-45.
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"We have re-numbered the Wake Island campaign to replace the hole that was left when we had to cancel a previous Campaign book (which was actually on New York). When we eventually did publish a Campaign on New York, the 144 number was overlooked, leaving a gaping hole in everyone's Campaign collections. For a lot of our customers who have collected the whole series, this gap was a painful one, and loads of you got in touch with us asking us to bring out a book to fill the space (one gentleman even suggested bringing out a blank 'fake' book to fill the hole in his collection)."
You mean people actually care about this kind of stuff?
I'm really scared now.
Anyways, re: the titles lined up for release (11 titles as compared to 12 for 2010 - not bad), St. Mihiel is the most pleasant surprise for me. Good of Osprey to persist with the WW1 operational-level campaign histories, something no other publisher does.
I suppose those WW1 titles actually sell somewhat better than I used to think. Which is also surprising - WW1, by contrast with WW2, is lacking in glamorous hardware, so the Great War nerds tend to focus on genealogy and graveyeards.
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Thanks for the feedback everyone - I don't think we have had a Duel preview just yet, I will get one up in the next week or so, there are some really cool titles coming up in that series next year!
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Looking forward to most of these. As for N W Europe in world war 2, I remember a bit of interest a while ago about a mini serries on Op Market Garden, similar to the 4 book set on D-Day. For example xxx corp's advance along Hell's Highway, Eindhoven, Nijmegen and Arnhem.
Any more thoughts?
Also on the First World War, anything on second ypres or passchendaele?
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Sorry folks, it's time to inflict another of my puns on you! Paul, a Campaign on Second Ypres would be a total gas!
I am truly passionate about Passchendaele.
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Looking forward to Walcheren 1944. Dad Gunner William (Bill) Harvey was KIA at Flushing on 1 November 1944. We remember them.
Gunner William (Bill) Harvey of No4 Commando landed at Uncle Beach Flushing and made his way with his section into Nieuwstraat. “Mac” MacAulay, his best friend, had a rifle and was about to go into Bellamy Park. Bill who had a Tommy gun or a Bren gun pulled him back saying “I will go first.” The intelligence report records that Gunner Harvey was killed by machine gun fire on 1 November 1944.
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