Today we're showing three pieces of artwork from our October 2025 series books! Let us know in the comments which books you'd like to see featured in our November 2025 Artwork Reveal!

 

Armies of Justinian the Great, AD 527–65

By Raffaele D’Amato

Illustrated by Catalin Draghici and Giorgio Albertini

 

Art of three soldiers from Justinian the Great's army

THE INFANTRY
RIGHT: Stratiôtes, Numerus Quintani (ex-Legio V Macedonica), ad 540
LEFT: Drakonarios of Daci, ad 534
TOP: Isaurian elite warrior; battle of Thannuris, ad 527

Artwork requested by Daniel Figueroa Giraldez.

 

Bouvines 1214: Philippe Augustus and the Battle for France

By James Titterton

Illustrated by Graham Turner

 

Art showing the Battle of Bouvines 1214

PHILIPPE IS SAVED FROM THE FOOT SOLDIERS, 27 JULY 1214

King Philippe Augustus has been unhorsed and is threatened by enemy foot soldiers, only to be saved by his household knights. This is one of the iconic moments of Bouvines and has been the subject of numerous historical artworks depicting the battle. Philippe is wearing the best armour available: a full hauberk with mail leggings and a great helm that completely encloses his head. This almost certainly saved his life. His surcoat is decorated with the royal arms, golden lily flowers on a blue field (azure a semi of fleurs-de-lys or). Medieval knights were far from helpless on foot but the advantages of both speed and height granted by a warhorse meant that they would try to find a fresh mount should theirs be killed. Philippe’s household knights have taken the extraordinary step of dismounting in the midst of battle to protect him and help him to his feet. On the viewer’s left, a servant brings up a fresh horse for the king, protected by a caparison decorated with the royal arms.

Pierre Tristan, one of the king’s knights, is defending his lord from the enemy foot soldiers. They are probably professional soldiers from the Low Countries, given their aggressive behaviour and powerful assault that pierced through to the rear of the French line. They are well armed with a variety of thrusting and cutting weapons, as well as hooks specifically designed to unhorse enemy knights. All the coalition army wear white crosses on their chests and backs as a field sign to distinguish them from their enemies.

In the rear of the picture the royal standard-bearer, Galon de Montigny, dips the royal banner as a signal that the king is in danger and the French should rally to his position. Command and control was very limited on the medieval battlefield, restricted to trumpets, banners and word of mouth. If a banner fell, it was usually taken as a sign that its owner had been killed or captured, so protecting both the banner and its bearer was crucial.

Artwork requested by Paul Williams.

 

Central Pacific 1943–45: Seventh Air Force's island-hopping war

By Brian Lane Herder

Illustrated by Gareth Hector

Art showing a plane attacking a train

P-47N Thunderbolts strafe a train at Tosu, July 6, 1945

It is the summer of 1945, 413th Fighter Group P-47N Thunderbolt fighter-bombers stationed at American-occupied Ie Shima are on a search and destroy mission over Kyushu in the Japanese Home Islands. A section of 413th Fighter Group P-47Ns is seen here strafing a Japanese troop train on Kyushu with rockets and .50cal. machine guns. The Japanese locomotive, a Mitsubishi D51, is leaking steam from several ruptures in its boiler and is either in the process of exploding or will explode very soon from the heavy damage it is taking from the American fighters.

The 413th Fighter Group flew with a distinctive yellow empennage. After arriving in Saipan in late spring 1945, the 413th Group flew several practice strafing missions against Truk in May before deploying to Ie Shima in June. Upon arriving in Ie Shima, the 413th Group immediately began conducting strikes and sweeps of a variety of targets across China and Japan, including factories, radar stations, airfields, small ships, and railyards.

German trains of any importance typically mounted specialized railroad cars of twin or quadruple medium-caliber anti-aircraft guns that fired back at Allied strafers. However, this set-up was apparently less common from the Japanese; in contrast to several flak wagons, this Japanese train only has a single flat car with a pair of 25mm cannon firing back at the P-47Ns.

The 413th had originally been scheduled to be transferred from the Seventh Air Force to the re-deploying Eighth Air Force, where it would help escort the Eighth Air Force’s B-29s to Japan. As it happened, by August the Eighth Air Force was not yet operational and the wartime transfer never happened. The 413th Fighter Group P-47Ns flew a single B-29 escort mission on August 8, 1945, escorting XXI Bomber Command B-29s against Yawata. In its only VLR escort mission, the 413th Group scored five confirmed kills and two probables.