Лучшие книги Иэна Касла

Кампания 1809 года на Дунае должна была разрушить чары непобедимости Наполеона. Действительно, Ваграм – крупнейшее сражение в истории того времени – стал местью Наполеона за его первое личное поражение на поле боя – при Асперн-Эсслинге. Французский командующий не полностью достиг успеха в осуществлении этой мести. Хотя французы выиграли битву, когда австрийцы в конце концов покинули поле боя, победа была чрезвычайно пустой. Обе эти эпические битвы мастерски описаны Иэном Каслом, описывающим многочисленные превратности судьбы, когда каждая сторона захватывала, теряла, а затем вновь возвращала ключевые позиции.

The 1809 campaign on the Danube was to break the spell of Napoleon's invincibility. Indeed Wagram - the largest battle in history at the time - was Napoleon's revenge for his first personal defeat on the battlefield - at Aspern - Essling. In gaining this revenge the French commander was not wholly successful. Although the French won the battle as the Austrians eventually quit the field, the victory was an extremely hollow one. Both these epic battles are expertly described by Ian Castle, chronicling the many changes of fortune as each side captured, lost, then recaptured key positions.

After the British garrison of Fort William Henry in the colony of New York surrendered to the besieging army of the French commander Marquis de Montcalm in August 1757, it appeared that this particular episode of the French and Indian War was over. What happened next became the most infamous incident of the war - and one which forms an integral part of James Fenimore Cooper's classic novel The Last of the Mohicans - the ‘massacre' of Fort William Henry. As the garrison prepared to march for Fort Edward a flood of enraged Native Americans swept over the column, unleashing an unstoppable tide of slaughter. Cooper's version has coloured our view of the incident, so what really happened? Ian Castle details new research on the campaign, including some fascinating archaeological work that has taken place over the last 20 years, updating the view put forward by The Last of the Mohicans.

In the summer of 1914, as Europe teetered on the brink of war, the spectre of immediate Zeppelin raids on London and other major British towns and cities loomed large. When Winston Churchill accepted responsibility for the defence of London, he realised that Zeppelins were most vulnerable when on the ground. Despite limited resources, he believed that attack was the best form of defence. In the final four months of 1914, the RNAS launched four separate air attacks on Zeppelin bases in Germany: Düsseldorf/Cologne twice, Friedrichshafen and Cuxhaven. Author Ian Castle presents the full story of Britain's first strategic bombing campaign and the results it achieved.

On a sunny May afternoon in 1917, the peace of an English seaside town was shattered when a flight of German Gotha bombers appeared without warning. Twenty-three Gothas had set out to attack London in this first bomber raid, but heavy cloud forced them to target Folkestone and the Shorncliffe army camp instead. It was the start of a new phase of the war aimed at destroying the morale of the British people. London's defences were quickly overhauled to face this new threat, providing the basis for Britain's defence during World War II. This book tells the story of the Gotha and the massive Staaken 'Giant' bomber raids against London.

This book reveals the fascinating story of the cat and mouse duel between the airship and another pioneering form of technology - the submarine during World War 1. Detailed cut-away drawings reveal the design and development of the airship, during and after the war, whilst full-colour illustrations depict the airship in dramatic action shots. A tragic accident in 1930 brought the airship's military service to an end, resulting in a tiny window in which they were used and little acknowledgement over the years. Ian Castle gives deserved attention to an aeronautical wonder that for a short amount of time played a crucial service to the defence of Britain.

The first Zeppelin attack on London came in May 1915 - and with it came the birth of a new arena of warfare, the ‘home front'. German airships attempted to raid London on 26 separate occasions between May 1915 and October 1917. This book tells the story of Germany's strategic Zeppelin offensive against Britain, and how it came to be neutralized.

Mention of the Zulu War of 1879 inevitably conjures up images of the redcoats at Isandlwana and Rorke's Drift; it is often forgotten that the limited number of Imperial troops available led to the raising of several thousand local troops from Natal, Cape Colony and beyond. Typified by hard-riding white frontiersmen and lightly armed African infantry, these units made up for the British Army's severe shortage of cavalry scouts and local knowledge. Ian Castle's concise study of their organisation, uniforms, weapons, and campaign service covers a far wider range of units than ever previously published; it is illustrated with rare photographs and vivid colour plates.

For many people the epitome of the British soldier of the late Victorian period is the Redcoat who fought in southern Africa in the 1870s. This title covers the key period of the wars against the Zulu and Boers; the dramatic battles of Rorke's Drift, Isandlwana, Ulundi, Laing's Nek and Majuba are some of the most famous engagements in the history of the British Army. The journey of the British soldier from the back streets of Britain's inner cities, to the isolated rock outcrop of Isandlwana and the mountain top of Majuba is one of discipline, devotion, loyalty, bravery, determination and sheer hard-work. It is a journey from which many men never returned.

This all-new volume chronicles the events that climaxed on the field of Austerlitz in one of the most famous battles of history. Not only was it the first campaign Napoleon waged as Emperor of France, but also the first great test for his Grande Armée. The Emperor himself regarded it as his greatest victory and it undoubtedly won him a mastery of Europe that would remain unbroken for almost a decade. Most accounts of the campaign have until now been based almost exclusively on French sources, but following extensive research in the Austrian archives Ian Castle is now able to provide a far more balanced account of Austerlitz.

In the Spring of 1809, the Austrian army, buoyant and full of new-found patriotic fervour, rolled across the frontier with Bavaria. The time had come to exact revenge for the humiliating defeat suffered at Austerlitz. But ten days later, harassed by ceaseless rain, they were streaming back from the Abens river with Napoleon in hot pursuit. Napoleon had not been in the front line when Austria had launched its campaign and the French and their German allies had blundered backwards and forwards across the Bavarian countryside. But, with the appearance of Napoleon, Archduke Charles lost the initiative. Based for the first time upon the Austrian primary sources, this title takes the reader through the various clashes of this significant campaign.

In 1881 the tension between Britain and the Boer farmers of southern Africa that had existed for 75 years boiled over into open conflict. The British entered the war full of confidence, yet in a few short weeks they had suffered three separate reverses before suffering their final humiliating defeat on the isolated summit of Majuba. George Colley's force were swept off their 'unassailable' position and into headlong retreat. It was a defeat that sent shock waves reverberating around the Empire. Ian Castle examines not only the battle at Majuba, but also the previous engagements at Laing's Nek, Schuinshoogte and Bronkhorstspruit.

In the late 1870s the British Imperial administration in the Cape colony in southern Africa began to view the Zulu kingdom as a challenge to its authority.To contain this perceived threat, the British engineered a war. The early campaigns went terribly wrong, with the decisive Zulu victory at Isandlwana. Ultimately however, the British won the war. The Zulus, primarily reliant on their skill with the stabbing spear, had no real defence or retaliation against the massed firepower of professional British soldiers. Ian Castle examines the British-Zulu war and its two key battles, Isandlwana and Khambula, with excellent black and white photographs accompanying the clear and detailed text.