Commissioning Editor Nick Reynolds tells us what we can expect from the Combat series next year!

The four Combat titles due to be published in 2026 cover a wide range of important subjects, with the stand-out for me being Si Sheppard’s assessment of three pivotal battles during the struggle between Byzantine and Seljuk forces in the 11th and 12th centuries. Si is a compelling story teller with a mastery of the sources, and his take on these seismic events that shaped the fate of Anatolia and the surrounding regions is bound to cast some new light. Giuseppe Rava’s artwork for this book is very evocative and I’m looking forward to the book’s publication in February.

 

Byzantine Soldier vs Seljuk Warrior: Manzikert to Myriokephalon, 1071–1176

Si Sheppard

26/02/2026

This colourful study investigates the Byzantine and Seljuk forces that fought in a series of battles with profound implications for the Middle East during the 11th and 12th centuries.

The Byzantine defeat at Manzikert in one of history’s pivotal battles resulted in the victorious Seljuk Turks pushing west to the Bosporus. Byzantine appeals for aid sparked the First Crusade, as the Byzantines and Seljuks continued to fight their own private war for control of the Anatolian peninsula (present-day Turkey).

In this account, Si Sheppard examines the fighting men on both sides of this critical struggle, as the Byzantine armies stabilized their Empire’s eastern frontier, reclaiming control over the coastline, while the Seljuk forces tightened their grip in its interior. Placing the two sides’ struggle in the wider political and military context, he shows how this war of raid and counter-raid periodically flared up into full scale military commitments by both sides; the outcome of this stand-off hung in the balance, hinging on one wrong move, one decisive victory.

Incorporating carefully chosen photographs, specially drawn maps and vivid original artwork, this book also analyses the battles of Manzikert (1071), Philomelion (1116) and Myriokephalon (1176), three decisive encounters that determined not just the ultimate fate of the Anatolian peninsula, but the regions to its east and west for centuries to come.

 

US Soldier vs Japanese Infantryman: Philippines 1944–45

Gregg Adams

23/04/2026

Fully illustrated, this study examines the US Army and Japanese troops who fought for control of the jungles and mountains of the Philippine Islands in the climactic months of World War II.

In October 1944 the Sixth US Army landed on Leyte in the Japanese-held Central Philippine Islands, initiating a series of battles that became the largest contest between the US and Japanese armies. The US Army committed 18 divisions and three separate regimental combat teams to the Philippines, while the Japanese fielded one tank and 12 infantry divisions, six mixed brigades, and several provisional combat units formed from rear-echelon and naval personnel. Featuring specially commissioned artwork, archive photographs and full-colour mapping, this book casts light on the fighting men on both sides, with particular focus on three battles of the Philippines campaign.

The IJA's 1st Division faced the US Army's 24th Division as it attacked toward the port of Ormoc (Breakneck Ridge, November 5–15, 1944), in a fight that pitted one of Japan’s crack divisions against prewar US Regular units. The US 38th Division battled the reinforced 39th Infantry Regiment at Zig Zag Pass (January 31–February 15, 1945), an action that saw a relatively green US division facing IJA veterans located in highly defensible terrain. Finally, this study examines the battle for the Ipo Dam (May 19, 1945), where the veteran US 43rd Division fought the Kawashima Force.

 

Roman Legionary vs Hellenistic Phalangite: Italy and Greece 280–168 BC

Murray Dahm

30/07/2026

This fully illustrated study examines the clashes between the Roman legion and the Hellenistic phalanx in the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC.

At the moment of Alexander the Great’s death in 323 BC, the Macedonian phalanx had forged one of the largest empires the world had ever seen. Carving up his empire into realms of their own, Alexander’s generals waged war with one another for the next 300 years, using the phalanx of Alexander. Over time these formations grew in size, with refinements in equipment and arms akin to an ancient arms race.

When Alexander died, Rome was emerging as one of Italy’s most powerful cities. In the 3rd century BC, the Romans came into conflict with Syracuse and Carthage, the dominant power of the western Mediterranean. Rome would cement its position as the pre-eminent power in Italy and then begin to forge a wider empire – first in Sicily and then in Spain and North Africa.

The 3rd century BC saw the first clash of the Roman legion against the Hellenistic phalanx, when the army of Pyrrhus of Epirus confronted Roman forces at Heraclea (280). After Rome had prevailed in the Second Punic War (218–201 BC), the Romans came into conflict with the empires of Alexander’s successors, pitting the flexible Roman legion against the phalanx, notably at Cynoscephalae (197) and Pydna (168). The consequences of these bloody battles were profound, shaping the history of the Mediterranean and the emerging Roman Empire.

 

Soviet Rifleman vs German Infantryman: Operation Bagration 1944

Jacek Zabielski

22/10/2026

This fully illustrated account assesses the Soviet and German foot soldiers who fought in Operation Bagration, Stalin’s bid to drive the Axis forces from Soviet territory in 1944.


In the summer of 1944, the Red Army launched Operation Bagration, one of the most significant and devastating military operations of World War II. This massive offensive aimed to liberate Belarus and cripple the Wehrmacht’s Eastern Front operations. In just five weeks, the Red Army reached the gates of Warsaw, inflicting catastrophic losses on the Germans – over 300,000 men, a toll even greater than Stalingrad. More impactful than the concurrent D-Day campaign in Normandy, Operation Bagration marked a pivotal moment in the war, heralding the beginning of the end for Nazi Germany.

In this study, Jacek Zabielski assess the infantrymen fighting on both sides in three featured battles – the Vitebsk–Orsha Offensive, the battle for Minsk and the struggle for Vilnius. He highlights how, seeking to conduct high-mobility, high-tempo operations reminiscent of the German Blitzkrieg doctrine of 1939–41, the Red Army concentrated its forces to achieve decisive breakthroughs, relentlessly pursuing the destruction of Axis forces despite enormous casualties. In stark contrast, the Wehrmacht was in rapid decline. Hitler's increasing unwillingness to delegate decision-making to field commanders hampered German effectiveness, while years of relentless combat had depleted their ranks of irreplaceable experienced junior officers and NCOs. By the summer of 1944, the war’s end was still many months away, but Operation Bagration made Soviet victory inevitable, setting the stage for the Red Army's advance into East Prussia, the Baltic and South-eastern Europe.

 

 

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