Books in Technologies and Strategies in Battle series

During the Revolutionary War, a combined force of American and French soldiers under George Washington defeated the British at Yorktown, Virginia, in 1781, winning independence for the new nation of the United States. Which American general influenced the British to march to Yorktown in the first place? What convinced Washington to go to Yorktown instead of defending New York? And how did the critical Battle of the Chesapeake influence the battle in Virginia? Find out what types of weapons and strategies worked and which ones did not in this detailed story of the Battle of Yorktown.

Late in the summer of 490 BCE, a Persian invasion force landed on Grecian shores at the Bay of Marathon. At the command of King Darius I, the invaders aimed to punish the Athenians for their role against the Persian king s forces in the Ionian Revolt a few years earlier. The outnumbered Athenians called on nearby Sparta for help, but their sister city-state delayed sending troops because of an ongoing religious festival. Faced with a decision whether to fight a defensive holding battle while awaiting help from Sparta, or to attack the invaders right away, the Athenians elected to attack. With the help of some 1,000 warriors from neighboring Plataea, about 10,000 Athenians charged a Persian army of at least twice their numbers on the Field of Marathon. By day s end, the Athenians and their allies had thrust open the doorway to Greece s Golden Age.

Waterloo was the climax of The Hundred Days, that remarkable period when Napoleon returned from exile on Elba and once again seized control of France. Waterloo was like a giant chessboard for both Napoleon and his opponent Wellington; both made strategic maneuvers knowing that not just their futures, but the future of Europe and maybe even the world, were at stake. Why was Napoleon so confident of victory at Waterloo that he detached thousands of men on another mission? What strategy did Wellington use to disguise the strength of his forces? What strategy did Napoleon employ that wound up costing him instead? These and other questions are what make the Battle of Waterloo so fascinating to examine.

On October 14, 1066, a battle took place in England that would dictate the course of history for the island nation for centuries to come. Soldiers from the army of Duke William of Normandy fought against those of the English king, Harold Godwinson. At stake was the throne of England. The battle took all day. Swords clanged, axes chopped, and arrows flew from both sides. In the end, the battle turned on the random flight of a single arrow. Find out what inventions and strategies determined which army prevailed or perished in this incredible true story of the Battle of Hastings.

After Japan s devastating attack on U.S. forces stationed at Pearl Harbor, it seemed the Japanese ruled the seas. The United States, determined to stop Japan from expanding its empire, entered World War II. In June 1942, as a massive Japanese force bore down on the islands of Midway, U.S. ships waited in ambush. There, U.S. and Japanese leaders played a deadly game of chess, using new technologies and strategies to try to wipe out the opposing navy once and for all. The battle would set the tone for the rest of World War II s Pacific campaign.