The moderately nice weather outside the Burrow recently meant more sitting in the garden reading than messing about on my computer/tablet with the latest iteration of Call of Duty, and the usual production line of painting has also continued at a fair pace (to be detailed in a post later this week). I’m still recovering the blitz visited on my games room just over a week ago, and it’s amazing how the process means that (a) I unearthed lots of stuff I’d forgotten I had or had misplaced, and, (b) I have since got no idea where various other stuff is that I was working on! Spooky.
I am picking up this review in Bangalore where it a pleasant mid to high 20s having arrived almost a week ago.
One of the latest new releases in Helion’s Retinue to Regiment series is The Sieges of Rhodes, 1480 and 1522 by Jonathan Davies has jumped my reviewing queue as the subject is something I have long held an interest in, and many a summer holiday was spent in Rhodes so I could explore the utterly impressive fortifications.
Jonathan gives us an epic tale of the two sieges, where the Knights Hospitaller of St John defied all the odds, successfully thwarting the Ottoman assault in 1480 and the heroic yet doomed defence during the siege of 1522 that so impressed the Sultan that the survivors were permitted to leave, ultimately finding a new home in Malta, but that as they say is another story.
Back to the book, the author sets the scene for the sieges within the broader Mediterranean and European context, and considers the difference between the Christian and Ottoman soldiers the tactics used, mining and counter-mining operations, artillery both old and new, weapons and armour, and the innovations in siege warfare such as fire weapons which were used with devastating effect by the Hospitallers. He also asks the question of how did vastly inferior forces do so well against overwhelming numbers of Ottomans, including the dreaded Janissaries? All in all a fascinating unpicking of the sieges.
The book contains a good selection of present day and contemporary images, both colour and black and white. The maps in the book include the earliest known example of a picture of Rhodes harbour, from around 1420. Many of the photos are of surviving weapons and armour, as well as several of the frankly awesome and extensive fortifications still standing. The colour plates are completed by a number of specially commissioned paintings of the banners used by the Hospitallers.
Enthusiasts of the Knights of St John and their exploits will love this book, as will amateur historians and wargamers, especially those with an eye on a challenging modelling project. I certainly found it an interesting and informative read.
ISBN : 978-1804514511 .246 pages soft covers.
I am picking up this review in Bangalore where it a pleasant mid to high 20s having arrived almost a week ago.
One of the latest new releases in Helion’s Retinue to Regiment series is The Sieges of Rhodes, 1480 and 1522 by Jonathan Davies has jumped my reviewing queue as the subject is something I have long held an interest in, and many a summer holiday was spent in Rhodes so I could explore the utterly impressive fortifications.
Jonathan gives us an epic tale of the two sieges, where the Knights Hospitaller of St John defied all the odds, successfully thwarting the Ottoman assault in 1480 and the heroic yet doomed defence during the siege of 1522 that so impressed the Sultan that the survivors were permitted to leave, ultimately finding a new home in Malta, but that as they say is another story.
Back to the book, the author sets the scene for the sieges within the broader Mediterranean and European context, and considers the difference between the Christian and Ottoman soldiers the tactics used, mining and counter-mining operations, artillery both old and new, weapons and armour, and the innovations in siege warfare such as fire weapons which were used with devastating effect by the Hospitallers. He also asks the question of how did vastly inferior forces do so well against overwhelming numbers of Ottomans, including the dreaded Janissaries? All in all a fascinating unpicking of the sieges.
The book contains a good selection of present day and contemporary images, both colour and black and white. The maps in the book include the earliest known example of a picture of Rhodes harbour, from around 1420. Many of the photos are of surviving weapons and armour, as well as several of the frankly awesome and extensive fortifications still standing. The colour plates are completed by a number of specially commissioned paintings of the banners used by the Hospitallers.
Enthusiasts of the Knights of St John and their exploits will love this book, as will amateur historians and wargamers, especially those with an eye on a challenging modelling project. I certainly found it an interesting and informative read.
ISBN : 978-1804514511 .246 pages soft covers.
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