Osprey

Ancient Rome had deep roots in the 'Villanovan' culture that we call today the Etruscans. Their long-lived civilization can be traced to 900-750 BC in north-west Italy. They were a sea-faring people trading with and competing against Greek and Phoenician peoples, including the Carthaginians. They (...)

In the 1840s, Italy was a patchwork of states. The North was ruled by the Austrian Empire, the South by the Spanish-descended monarchy of the Two Sicilies. Over the next two decades, after wars led by Savoy/Piedmont and volunteers such as Garibaldi, an independent Kingdom of Italy emerged. These (...)

France's colonial wars in sub-Saharan Africa and South-East Asia were very largely fought by an organization completely separate from both the home-defence Metropolitan Army and the Armée d'Afrique in Algeria. The Naval Troops (Troupes de la Marine) were volunteers, and earned a reputation for (...)

Until 1945, Indonesia was a Dutch colony known as the Netherlands East Indies. In 1930, the area had over 60 million inhabitants and was a major exporter to Japan, providing some 13 per cent of its oil needs - second only after the United States. Following Germany's occupation of the Netherlands in (...)

In November 1859, the French warship La Gloire was launched. She was the world's first seagoing ironclad - a warship built from wood, but whose hull was clad in a protective layer of iron plate. Britain, not to be outdone, launched her own ironclad the following year - HMS Warrior - which, when she (...)