Bøker av Michael McNally

Quintilius Varus, give me back my legions!' supposedly yelled Augustus Caesar when he received the news of the disaster in the Teutoburg Forest. One of the greatest military disasters of the Roman Empire, Teutoburg Forest witnessed the near-total annihilation of three Roman legions at the hands of the German barbarians led by their Roman-educated chief Arminius. Michael McNally tells the complete story of the disaster, supported by the incredible artwork of Peter Dennis.

The death of the Emperor Charles VI in 1741 was the catalyst for a conflict ostensibly about the female inheritance of the Hapsburg patrimony but, in reality, about the succession to the Imperial Throne. The great European powers were divided between those, such as Britain, who supported the Pragmatic Sanction and the rights of the Archduchess Maria-Theresia, daughter of Charles VI, and those who challenged it, including Bavaria which were supported by France.The conflict quickly escalated into what is now known as the War of the Austrian Succession, and a series of turbulent political events brought the crisis to a head on the road to Hanau, near Dettingen. There, the French moved to put into place a complex manoeuvre which had the potential to end the war at a single stroke. A column of French troops would cross the Main near Dettingen and block the road to Hanau, their orders being to simply hold their ground and bar the route of the Allied British and Hanovarian advance. A second column would cross the Main behind the enemy and then follow their line of march northwards. The bulk of the army would use a combination of bridges and pontoon-bridges to cross the Main and engage the enemy from the flank as they were strung out on the line of march. However, the plan relied heavily on the blocking force, and command of this crucial sector fell to an inexperienced nobleman Louis-Auguste, Duc de Grammont, who chose to attack rather than hold his position. Consequently, the manoeuvre failed and the French broke, fleeing for the Main and safety, with the Gardes Francaises famously swimming the river.Supported by specially commissioned artwork including maps and battleplates, this title explores the battle in depth, detailing its build-up, events, and aftermath, as well as analysing the strengths and weaknesses of the commanders, armies, and tactics of both sides.

A disputed succession to the Austrian throne led to general war between the leading powers of Europe in 1740, with France, Spain and Prussia on one side, and Britain, Habsburg Austria and the Dutch Republic on the other. While fighting occurred across the globe, the bloodiest battles were fought on the European continent, with none more costly than the battle of Fontenoy in 1745.Fearing an encirclement of France by a resurgent Habsburg-controlled Austria, the French commander Marshall Saxe planned to overrun the Austrian Netherlands, thereby dealing a decisive blow against their enemy''s ability to wage war. Saxe''s army, the cream of the French military, invaded and set up a defensive position at Fontenoy, near Tournai - daring his enemies to knock him off his perch. This title, beautifully illustrated with full colour plates, is an in-depth study of the British Duke of Cumberland''s attempt to assault Saxe''s position. It focuses on the inability of allied leaders to coordinate their attacks and how Cumberland came within a whisker of achieving a major victory.