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On 11 January 1879 the British Empire went to war with the independent kingdom of Zululand. The British anticipated a swift and decisive victory, placing great faith in modern firepower; no plans were made for suppressing the Zulu over a protracted period, or for providing defensive positions from which to occupy Zulu territory. However, the losses suffered at Isandlwana and Rorke's Drift quickly altered the British approach; throughout the rest of the war, the British fortified almost every position they occupied in Zululand, from permanent column depots to temporary halts. This title explores British defensive techniques employed during the war, and how these related to contemporary engineering theory. Among the sites covered are Eshowe Mission Station, forts Pearson and Tenedos, and Rorke's Drift.

Monsters rarely stay dead and buried. They have a way of reaching for you from the grave.Sim had warned them about strangers. He set strict rules. But Sim is gone, and the remaining orphans are creating a new life - and new rules - for themselves.In the months since Zagan's defeat, the fortress has become a beacon of hope for those seeking asylum from the dangers of the fallen world. When travelers led by a man named Vash show up at the fortress's doorstep, the kids follow their new protocol: they welcome the strangers, peculiar as they may be, and send them on to Charlie at the heights.Little do the orphans know that the arrival of Vash and his group threatens everything they hold dear.What started as a harmless encounter spirals into a psychological game of terror as the fortress comes under attack, this time by a group that uses stealth and deceit to exact revenge for Zagan's death. If the orphans hope to survive, they must remember everything that Sim taught them, even as the enemy aims to break them down, take away their hope, and tear them apart.Will they rise to the challenge, or will the revenant of their past come to claim them, one by one?

The Normans were some of the most feared warriors of the High Medieval period, descended from the Vikings. They built on their warlike reputation, culminating in their quest of England under Duke William I. This work covers all these developments from the early days of William I.

The major fortresses of the Iberian peninsular controlled the most important routes in and out of the country. Their renovation included the adding of ravelins, bastions, curtains, and counterscarps. This work examines these fortifications, their design, development and strategic importance.

The Teutonic Knights were the most warlike of the religious orders, and this is reflected in the architecture they left behind. This work tells the history of spectacular fortresses from their inception through to their eventual decline and fall.

This work takes a look at the formidable U-boat bases and bunkers built on the French coast in Norway and Germany, and also focuses on the huge "Valentin" factory complex at Bremen, which manufactured the new type XXI electro-boats.

Hadrian's Wall is the most important monument built by the Romans in Britain. This work details the design development and construction of the wall and covers the everyday lives of those who manned it as well as the assaults it withstood.

This is the first title in a series that takes a detailed look at fortifications and defensive systems throughout history. The prolonged and bloody fighting for control of the Japanese occupied Pacific islands in World War II is a key point in the history of 20th century warfare.

The Philippines were declared an American Territory on January 4, 1899, and construction of seacoast fortifications began in the mouth of Manilla Bay - Fort Mills, Fort Frank, Fort Hughes, and Subic Bay's Fort Wint. This work brings back to life these key sites.

Following the Soviet invasion in 1979, the Mujahideen defenders of Afghanistan developed and reinforced many natural cave systems to use as supply bases and defensive positions. The Taliban and Al Qaeda further strengthened these positions in the 1990s. Following the events of September 11, 2001, these cave systems have once more come to prominence and sites such as Tora Bora and Zhawar Kili have featured in news headlines around the world. This title provides an analysis of these caves and underground systems, and discusses the U.S.-led Coalition's tactical approach to dislodging the enemy from these fortified positions.

After the Second Crusade in 1148 the Crusader States embarked on a period of caution and consolidation and, in an increasingly hostile environment, began strengthening existing fortifications and building new castles.

During the 1840s, the rarely visited Great American Desert of the Southern Plains and Southwest became part of the inexorable westward expansion, as European traders and settlers headed overland from the eastern seaboard. This title explores the design and development of the sites, the life of the garrisons that manned them, and more.

Vice-Admiral Lord Nelson's decisive victory over the combined fleets of France and Spain on 21 October 1805 remains one of the greatest naval triumphs in history. Off Cape Trafalgar, 27 British and 33 Franco-Spanish ships pounded each other in an epic four-hour struggle on whose outcome rested nothing less than Britain's security against Napoleonic invasion. Nelson's brilliant tactics, inspiring leadership and the superior training and morale of his crews left his opponents shattered in a savage encounter that not only marked the last great battle fought in the age of sail, but ushered in a century of British naval mastery.

In 1961 US Special Forces units began entering remote areas of Vietnam dominated by the Viet Cong. Their task was to organize local defense and strike forces aimed at stopping the enemy from gaining further control of such areas. The Green Berets set up fortified camps from which indigenous troops defended local villages and attacked and harassed the enemy. How these camps were constructed, developed, and defended is documented here for the first time. This book also covers the weapons, barriers, and obstacles used in these camps, providing specific examples of camp design, and details how they withstood the test of battle against a determined and resourceful enemy.

From the 10th century onwards the great Japanese monastic foundations of Nara and Mount Hiei maintained large armies of warlike monks. The tempestuous political rivalries that developed between the different orders of monks and religiously inspired laymen ensured that their temples and monasteries had to be securely sited and robustly defended. This books recreates these enormous fortified monasteries and temples, tracing their development from the 10th century through to the Sengoku Jidai period and the rise of the power of the shogunate under Tokugawa Ieyasu.

For 40 years following the end of World War II, the Western democratic governments and the Eastern Bloc Communist powers were locked in the ideological, political, and economic struggle of the Cold War. The United States and the Soviet Union developed missile systems capable of delivering conventional and nuclear explosives against enemy massed bomber formations in the air, and of delivering retaliatory nuclear payloads against ground targets located on distant continents. The missile systems played both a defensive role, and a potential offensive role, which was parlayed to the public as deterrence against attack by the rival bloc. This title provides a detailed overview of the fixed-launch-site strategic missile systems of the United States.

The walls of Constantinople are the greatest surviving example of European medieval military architecture in the world. They withstood numerous sieges until being finally overcome by the artillery of Mehmet the Conqueror in 1453, and exist today as a time capsule of Byzantine and Medieval history. This book examines the main defensive system protecting the landward side of the city, which consisted of three parallel walls about 5 miles long. The walls defended the city against intruders, including Attila the Hun, before finally being breached by European knights during the Fourth Crusade in 1204 and, ultimately, destroyed by Turkish artillery in 1453.

This title examines the stone forts that played a crucial part in the course of the American Civil War, showing a wide range of fortifications from the Gulf of Mexico through to New England. It covers their design, construction and the way that they were armed and manned.

This title covers the entire period of Japanese castle development from the first introduction of stone walls and tower keeps in the mid-16th century, through the period of the great sieges of Japanese history.

Starting in 1940, Germany was subjected to a growing threat of Allied bomber attack. They were joined by US daylight raids which first began to have a serious impact on German industry in the autumn of 1943. This book focuses on the land-based infrastructure of Germany's defense against the air onslaught.

A major period of westward expansion took place in the United States during the first half of the 19th century. Fur trading, the coast-to-coast railroad, the California gold rush and the removal of Native American tribes both facilitated and encouraged America's "manifest destiny" to become a transcontinental nation. The task of protecting the settlers from the tribes that inhabited the Great Plains fell to the US Army, and to do this an extensive network of permanent forts was created via construction and acquisition. This title examines why the forts were built, as well as their design, defensive features and the role they played in the settlement of the American West. The daily lives of the garrison soldiers and fort inhabitants are also covered, together with the fighting witnessed at key sites.

The lines of Torres Vedras played a key role in the Peninsular War, preventing the French from driving the British out of Portugal. This title details the techniques of Napoleonic defensive warfare and features some of the key commanders of the period, such as Soult, Massena and Wellington.

This title is an in-depth exploration of the defences of "Fortress Oahu". It documents the development of these complex and integrated systems and analyzes the success of the infamous Japanese attack in the light of their knowledge of the island's defences.

Featuring some of the most distinctive castles of Europe, including Chateau Gaillard, this book covers in detail the events and aftermath of the First Crusade and the foundation of the Crusader states and castles.

It has been said in China that a city without a wall would be as inconceivable as a house without a roof. This book traces the evolution of the walled city from the 3,000 year old remains of the beaten earth walls of the Shang dynasty to the huge stone fortifications of the Ming dynasty.

A strategically important natural harbor in the Orkney Islands, Scapa Flow served as Britain's main fleet anchorage during World Wars I and II. In 1914 and again in 1939, the British began building a comprehensive defensive network by fortifying the entrances to Scapa Flow, and then extended these defenses to cover most of Orkney.

Due to its location in the western North Atlantic some 600 miles off the Carolinas and halfway between Halifax in Canada and Jamaica in the West Indies, the island of Bermuda was a key naval haven for the Royal Navy over the centuries. It was vital for the Navy first in the development of its American colonies, then during its rivalry with the United States, and finally as allies with the United States. The need to defend its 64 miles of coastline and ports has resulted in the construction of about 50 forts from 1617 to 1945, even though its total land mass is only 20.6 square miles. This led to an incredible concentration of fortifications with 2.5 forts for every square mile. Today, the legacy of these defense efforts remain either as disused structures or parks scattered throughout Bermuda, many of them now popular tourist attractions. Using stunning commissioned artwork and meticulous research, this is the fascinating story of Britain''s ΓÇ£Gibraltar of the West."

"Fortress Monasteries of the Himalayas: Tibet, Ladakh, Nepal and Bhutan".

This book provides an in-depth study of the construction and location of these fortifications, and examines what it was like to live and fight inside them, with the forts themselves illustrated by beautifully detailed artwork.

In the early 12th century AD, a large part of what we think of as France was not under the direct control of the French King who's authority stretched little further than Paris. This book describes the so-called 'Cathar castles', why they were positioned where they were, and how well those they withstood the realities of the Albigensian Crusade.