Лучшие книги Саймон МакДауэлл

Битва при Адрианополе 9 августа 378 года нашей эры закончилась разгромом легионов и гибелью императора Валента, что стало величайшей трагедией эпохи Поздней Римской Империи. Готы, германские племена, которые в этом сражении одержали сокрушительную победу над римскими войсками, завоевали право жить на территории Империи, а двадцать лет спустя разграбили и сам Рим. Автор в свете новейших исследований реконструирует ход кровопролитной битвы, а также дает всесторонний анализ тактики и специфических особенностей военного дела поздних римских легионов и готов.

На закате Римской Империи произошла революция в принципах ведения войны. Тренированный пехотинец – опора средиземноморских армий со времен греческих гоплитов, постепенно был заменен конным воином. Это изменение произошло не в одночасье, и в III и IV веках роль кавалериста заключалась в первую очередь в поддержке пехоты. Однако к VI веку ситуация полностью изменилась. Книга дает полный отчет об изменяющемся облике конных воинов, защищавших Западную Римскую Империю.

The twilight of the Roman Empire saw a revolution in the way war was waged. The drilled infantryman, who had been the mainstay of Mediterranean armies since the days of the Greek hoplite, was gradually replaced by the mounted warrior. This change did not take place overnight, and in the 3rd and 4th centuries the role of the cavalryman was primarily to support the infantry. However, by the time of the 6th century, the situation had been completely reversed. Late Roman Cavalryman gives a full account of the changing experience of the mounted soldiers who defended Rome's withering western empire.

Between the 3rd and 6th centuries AD the traditional legions of heavy infantry were whittled away and eventually replaced by a force of various arms and nationalities dominated by cavalry and supported by missile troops. However, in spite of this trend towards cavalry, the pedes remained the backbone of the Roman army until well into the 5th century. This book details a warrior who was very different from the legionary who preceded him; perhaps he was not as well disciplined, but in many ways he was more flexible - ready for deployment to trouble spots, and for fighting both as a skirmisher and a heavy infantryman.

In 1709, after eight years of war, France was on her knees. There was not enough money left in the treasury to pay, equip or feed the army and a bad harvest led to starvation throughout the kingdom. Circumstances had worsened to the point that King Louis XIV was forced to offer to end the War of Spanish Succession on humiliating terms for his country. However, the allied powers - Britain, the Dutch Republic and the Holy Roman Empire - refused Louis' offer, believing that one more successful campaign would utterly destroy French power.

This book examines the campaign of 1709, culminating in the battle of Malplaquet, which would prove Louis' enemies disastrously wrong. Led by the Duke of Marlborough and Prince Eugene of Savoy, the allied armies achieved a tactical victory - but it was a hollow one. The allies suffered 23,000 casualties to the French 11,000 in what was the bloodiest battle of the 18th century. The scale of casualties shocked Europe and led to a reversal of fortunes, with the dismissal of Marlborough and a newly confident King Louis resolving to fight on. When the war finally ended, it did so on terms favourable to France.

In this illustrated title, Simon MacDowall examines the campaign in full and shows how, though it is generally accepted that Marlborough was never defeated, the Battle of Malplaquet was ultimately a French strategic victory.

The battle of the Catalaunian Fields saw two massive, powerful empires square up in a conflict that was to shape the course of Eurasian history forever. For despite the Roman victory, the Roman Empire would not survive for more than 15 years following the battle, whilst the Huns, shattered and demoralized, would meet their downfall against a coalition of German tribes soon after. This book, using revealing bird's-eye-views of the plains of Champagne and detailed illustrations of the opposing warriors in the midst of desperate combat, describes the fighting at the Catalaunian Fields and reveals the broader campaign of Hunnic incursion that led up to it. Drawing on the latest research, Simon MacDowall reveals the shocking intensity and appalling casualties of the battle, whilst assessing the wider significance and consequences of the campaign.

'Never, except in the battle of Cannae, had there been so destructive a slaughter recorded in our annals.' Thus the Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus recorded the battle of Adrianople, which spelled the beginning of the end of the Roman Empire. Such a crushing Roman defeat by Gothic cavalry proved to the Empire, as well as to the Goths themselves, that the migratory barbarians were a force to be reckoned with. This book tells the story of the misguided Roman plans and the surprise attack of Gothic cavalry, and puts forward the most recent theories as to the true location of the battlefield.

The 3rd to the 6th centuries saw the collapse of the classical Mediterranean civilization and the emergence of new states in western Europe based on the Germanic warrior society. This book focuses particularly on the men who made up the retinues of the Germanic warlords who carved kingdoms out of the carcass of the West Roman Empire. Although sources are scarce, Simon MacDowall constructs a convincing picture, using evidence from Roman historians, German archaeology and Anglo-Saxon poetry. The warriors' society, hierarchy, training, equipment, appearance, tactics and style of fighting are all examined, building a comprehensive portrait of the Germanic warrior in this period.