This month's book vote sees five Campaign titles battling for your support. Read the full descriptions and have your say by filling out the form on the Book Vote Page. Plus, check out the results of last month's Air Campaign Vote.

 

Siege of Rhodes 1480: The Knights Hospitallers Hold off the Ottomans

Pontiac’s War 1763–66: Uprising in the Great Lakes

Battle of Passchendaele 1917: Third Ypres

Second Battle of Sirte 1942: Clash in the Mediterranean

First Arakan 1942–43: The Allies Strike Back in Burma

 

Siege of Rhodes 1480: The Knights Hospitallers Hold off the Ottomans

The Siege of Rhodes in 1480 is an epic tale of how the small Knights Hospitaller garrison under Grand Master Pierre d'Aubusson withstood a concerted attack by the Ottoman army and navy led by the vizier Mesih Pasha. Eventually the Knights forced the Turks to beat a disorderly retreat, capturing the holy standard of Islam in the process and humiliating the vizier.

 

Pontiac’s War 1763–66: Uprising in the Great Lakes

In 1763 a loose confederation of Native Americans, dissatisfied with British rule in the Great Lakes region following the French and Indian War, attempted to drive British soldiers and settlers out of the region. The war is named for the Odawa leader Pontiac. Numerous British forts and settlements were destroyed, and hundreds of colonists were killed or captured. British Army expeditions in 1764 ultimately led to peace negotiations. This was a ruthless conflict on the North American frontier, and the killing of prisoners, the targeting of civilians, and other shocking atrocities were widespread – a reflection of a growing racial divide between indigenous peoples and British colonists.

 

Battle of Passchendaele 1917: Third Ypres

The Third Battle of Ypres, also known as the Battle of Passchendaele, took place on the Western Front from July to November 1917, for control of the ridges south and east of the Belgian city of Ypres in West Flanders. It was one of the bloodiest battles fought on the Western Front. Ostensibly an Allied victory, both sides suffered significant losses during an offensive that has shaped popular memory of the entire conflict.

 

Second Battle of Sirte 1942: Clash in the Mediterranean

This March 1942 naval battle in the Mediterranean took place north of the Gulf of Sidra and south-east of Malta. The escorting warships of a British convoy to Malta held off a much more powerful squadron of the Regia Marina. However, despite the initial British success, the Italian Fleet attack delayed the convoy's planned arrival before dawn, which exposed it to intense air attacks that sank all four merchant ships and one of the escorting destroyers over the following days.

 

First Arakan 1942–43: The Allies Strike Back in Burma

The story of the first tentative Allied attack into Burma, following the Japanese conquest earlier in 1942. Japanese defenders occupying well-prepared positions repeatedly repulsed the British and Indian forces, who were then forced to retreat when the Japanese received reinforcements and counter-attacked. Its failure lay in the fact that the average British and Indian soldier was not properly trained for jungle fighting. However, First Arakan led to radical changes in the British Eastern Army, resulting in improved morale, health and training among its soldiers.

 

Last month, we asked what you would like to see published in our Air Campaign series. Thank you to everyone who voted and provided feedback. The results gave us a clear winner. Check out the full results below!

Operation Ke 1943: Air superiority in Japan’s evacuation of Guadalcanal (16%)

Operation Benedict 1941: The RAF expeditionary force in Russia (19.5%)

War of Attrition 1967–73: Jet duels over Sinai (36.4%)

Baedeker Blitz 1942: The Luftwaffe’s vengeance campaign (12.6%)

North Africa 1942–43: Airpower from Operation Torch to Tunisia (15.5%)