Featured battle : Buena Vista

Part of American-Mexican War

Date : 22 February 1847 - 23 February 1847

The American commander, Zachary Taylor, with 4,800 men attempted to hold a defensive position against Santa Anna's Mexican army 15,000 men. The Americans made great use of mobile artillery batteries. The battle was only won when Taylor committed his last reserves and rode onto the battlefield himself. Santa Anna retired from the fray leaving at least 3,700 dead to the American's 746.

The Eighth Army in North Africa

Simon Forty
This series of Images of War is intended to be all about the pictures and this book is a very good example of that genre. There are photographs taken on both sides of the conflict showing the men and their equipment. Almost every type of armoured vehicle used in the desert campaign is shown some in pristine others in a well battered state. There is sufficient text to give the photographs a context but most usefully the bulk of the writing is as captions to the photographs. A few maps and schematic drawings fill out the story. Particularly informative in an easily understood way are the comparisons between Axis and Allied guns in both range and penetration on pgs. 36 & 37. The further reading list guides the interested reader to fuller explanations of the to and fro of the North African campaign. One tiny criticism is that on page 87 the captions for the two men have switched left to right.
We thoroughly enjoyed looking at this book and recommend it to you.


Pen & Sword Military, 2019