This summer we're unveiling all the titles we're publishing in 2023! Today we're presenting the upcoming books in the Men-At-Arms series. Editors, Martin Windrow and Nick Reynolds announce the new titles coming soon to the series.

In the Men-at-Arms series, I am happy to announce a title (MAA 550) on a post-1945 colonial war which I had long wished to cover - The Dutch-Indonesian War, or Indonesian War of Independence, in 1945-49, written and illustrated by Marc Lohnstein and Adam Hook - the same team who so successfully covered the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army 1936-42 in MAA 521. This was a conflict that played out in a very different way from those in, for instance, French Indochina and British Malaya, and it is always valuable to be reminded that every war has its own regional and ethnic particularities.

Let us know what you're most looking forward to in the comments!

 

 MAA 549 The Dacians and Getae at War: 4th Century BC– 2nd Century AD

 By Andrei Pogacias

This intriguing book describes the Romans’ formidably warlike enemies in modern Romania and Bulgaria – their ‘most illustrated’ opponents, thanks to friezes on Trajan’s Column and carvings on Trajan’s  Adamclisi monument.

Formidable warriors, able to field tens of thousands of infantry and cavalry and led by a military aristocracy, the Dacians and Getae presented a real threat to Rome’s north-eastern frontier. They inflicted several defeats on Rome, crossing the Danube to invade the province of Moesia, and later stubbornly resisting counter-invasions from their strong mountain fortresses.

Historians believe that the Dacians and Getae were essentially the same group of tribes during successive periods, related to Thracian tribes from territory south of the Carpathian Mountains, but their exact relationship in place and time is a subject for debate. Those called the ‘Getae’ by ancient Greek sources were actively expanding by at least the 4th century BC; some enlisted as mercenaries in Roman armies during the 1st century BC, and others later clashed with the army of Augustus, fighting alongside the Sarmatians. The people whom the Romans called the ‘Dacians’ are best known from wars against the emperors Domitian in AD 85–89 and Trajan in 101–106. At their peak, the Dacians and Getae defeated neighbouring peoples stretching from modern Slovakia to southern Ukraine and it is believed that the effectiveness of their weapons caused modifications in Roman infantry armour.

Although most direct ancient sources have been lost to us, enough references remain to reconstruct a picture of their society and culture. Using previously unseen photos of archaeological finds with colour illustrations showing the appearance and weaponry of their warrior kings, noblemen, infantry and cavalry, this detailed book draws upon the latest literary and archaeological research to provide a complete account of these formidable fighters.

 

MAA 550 The Dutch–Indonesian War 1945–49: Armies of the Indonesian War of Independence

By Marc Lohnstein

Highly detailed and colourful, this account illustrates the struggle of Indonesian forces in their War of Independence against the Netherlands, following the surrender of occupying Japanese forces in 1945.

The Japanese surrender in September 1945 left a power vacuum in the colonial Dutch East Indies (Indonesia). Using vivid colour illustrations and rare photos, this title explains the various forces involved in the struggle for Indonesia: British Indian Army troops were sent to key areas to disarm Japanese garrisons; but Indonesian nationalists immediately proclaimed an independent Republic; attacking the British, and Dutch forces which arrived from the Netherlands in 1946.

The wide dispersion of populations, and their ethnic, religious and political differences ensured that the struggle which followed was complex. Fragmented bands of nationalist permuda insurgents were slowly brought together under command of a republican army (the BKR, later TKR, and finally the TNI, complete with naval and air elements), but stubborn negotiations alternated with bouts of major fighting.

This book details how the nationalists were defeated by Dutch and Dutch-led local forces in urban areas (e.g. during Operations Product and Crow, 1947 and 1948), but how their guerrillas evaded Dutch troops in the jungle hills and swamps. Illustrating a wide range of uniforms, insignia, personal weapons and equipment, this book covers the troops involved in the conflict.

 

MAA 551 Ottoman Armies 1820–1914

By Gabriele Esposito

Describes and illustrates the armies of the embattled Ottoman Turkish Empire involved in 19th-century wars during the Empire’s long spiral of decline.

During the so called ‘long 19th century’, between the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815 and the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the difficulties faced by the Ottoman Turkish Empire were a recurrent factor in international geopolitics. Against a background of Russian–Ottoman rivalry, France and Britain supported the Empire during the Crimean War (1854–56), but not in the Russo–Turkish War (1877–78).

Portraying the uniforms, arms and appearance of Ottoman troops, this book traces the history of the Ottoman Empire throughout this period, when no fewer than ten wars of regional insurgency and foreign expansion against the Empire were fought in territories in south-eastern Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.

Using rare photos and illustrations from Turkish, Balkan and other sources, author, Gabriele Esposito details the history of the multi-ethnic Ottoman armies' periodic attempts to modernize, which enabled them to win some victories at a tactical level. But the Empire – ‘the sick man of Europe’ – lacked a coherent strategy or sufficient resources, and failed attempts to crush regional uprisings and to defend borders saw the steady loss of territories. Due to misgovernment and economic failure, unrest finally boiled over in 1908–09, reducing the sultan’s court to a largely ceremonial role, and installing a military government by the ‘Young Turks’ led by the general Enver Pasha.

This book is a vivid description of the organization, operations, uniforms and equipment of one of the most active and varied armies of the ‘long 19th century’ and paints a detailed picture of the Ottoman Empire's struggle to maintain control of its territories.

 

MAA 552 Medieval Indian Armies (2): Islamic

By David Nicolle

From 1206, much of what is now India as well as parts of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal were ruled by a succession of Islamic dynasties that had their origins in the Ghurid forces that conquered parts of northern India in the 12th century. Although it was never complete, the Islamic domination of this huge region also had a profound impact upon Islamic civilization as a whole, not least in military terms, being felt as far west as Africa. Within South Asia, the war-torn medieval centuries laid the foundations for the subsequent even more brilliant Mughul Empire.

In specifically military terms, including arms, armour, fortification and transport both on land and at sea, the widely successful Muslim armies learned a great deal from their more numerous Hindu, Jain and Buddhist opponents. This was especially evident in developments such as the use of war-elephants and the adoption of lighter, often textile-based forms of protection such as ‘soft armour’ made of cotton. On the other side, there would be widespread adoption of more potent weapons such as the composite bow, and considerably more sophisticated systems of cavalry warfare, among the non-Islamic forces of the Indian sub-continent. Fully illustrated, this lively study covers the Indo-Islamic forces operating in South Asia, from the Abbasid Caliphate’s frontier in north-western India and Afghanistan in the late 7th century through to the Delhi Sultanate, the Sultanate of Bengal and the Bahmani Sultanate in the 15th and 16th centuries.