Viking Warrior Operations Manual

The Viking Warrior Operations Manual is an in-depth look at the Viking warrior culture, from 700 to 1066. It focuses on their origins and how they raided their way to expansion over much of the known world. The warrior culture, clan warfare, overlords and local kingdoms, their relationship with the sea and ships, raiding, harrying and assimilation are all covered in the book.

A History of the Arms, Armor, and Individual Fighting Strategies of Medieval Europe's Most Feared Warriors A source of enduring fascination, the Vikings are the most famous raiders of medieval Europe. Despite the exciting and compelling descriptions in the Icelandic sagas and other contemporary accounts that have fueled this interest, we know comparatively little about Viking age arms and armor as compared to weapons from other historical periods. We know even less about how the weapons were used. While the sagas provide few specific combat details, the stories are invaluable. They were written by authors familiar with the use of weapons for an audience that, likewise, knew how to use them. Critically, the sagas describe how these weapons were wielded not by kings or gods, but by ordinary men, as part of their everyday lives. Viking Weapons and Combat Techniques provides an introduction to the arms and armor of the people who lived in Northern Europe during the Viking age, roughly the years 793-1066. Using a variety of available sources, including medieval martial arts treatises, and copiously illustrated with images of historical artifacts, battle sites, and demonstrations of modern replicas of Viking weapons, the author and his colleagues at Hurstwic (a Viking-age living history organization) and at the Higgins Armory Sword Guild have reconstructed the combat techniques of the Viking age and what is known about the defensive and offensive weapons of the time in general. Throughout, the author corrects some popular misconceptions about Viking warriors and warfare, such as the belief that their combat techniques were crude and blunt rather than sophisticated. In addition, the book provides an overview of Viking history and culture, focusing on the importance of weapons to the society as well as the Vikings' lasting impact on Europe through their expeditions of trade and exploration.

Until the early 1000s, waves of strange and ferocious warriors from the barren northlands swept into Britain and Western Europe. Plundering and pillaging, they left devastation in their wake. Trembling victims never knew when they would strike next. The Vikings fought for personal glory, material wealth and a longing for adventure and freedom. This book tackles the myth of the Vikings, their unconventional methods of warfare, cunning strategies and boldly innovative ship building techniques. The author casts a scholarly eye and a fresh light onto these fiercely independent people.

Between the late 8th and late 11th century Viking warriors had a massive impact not just in northern Europe, but across a huge arc from the western Mediterranean round through northern Europe and the Baltic to the Middle East and Central Asia. Their success depended in part on their skills in battle, their unique sense of strategic mobility, and on the quality of their weapons and equipment. Written by an expert on early medieval weaponry, this book examines the weapons of the typical Viking warrior, dispels some of the myths of the popular image, such as double-headed axes, and considers the range of weapons that actually underpinned the Vikings' success including bows and arrows. Drawing upon contemporary literary and historical accounts from the North Atlantic to the Arab world, surviving examples of weapons and armour, and practical experimentation and reconstructions by modern weapon-smiths and re-enactors, this study casts new light on how Viking weapons were made and used in battle.

In a city that has forgotten and erased much of its history, there are still places where traces of the past can be found. Deep histories, both natural and human, have been woven together over hundreds of years in places across Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, forming potent sites of national significance. This stunning book unearths these histories in three iconic landscapes: Pukekawa/Auckland Domain, Maungakiekie/One Tree Hill and the Ōtuataua Stonefields at Ihumātao. Approaching landscapes as an archive, Lucy Mackintosh delves deeply into specific places, allowing us to understand histories that have not been written into books or inscribed upon memorials, but which still resonate through Auckland and beyond. Shifting Grounds provides a rare historical assessment of Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland's past, with findings and stories that deepen understanding of New Zealand history.

Samurai Warrior Operations Manual examines the Samurai world: the moral and psychological development of the warrior, the ethical standards they were meant to uphold, their training in both martial arts and strategy, and the enormous role that the traditions of Shintoism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism had in influencing samurai ideals. It also examines the more personal aspects of a Samurai warrior: what they ate, how they dressed, the weapons they used, their battle tactics, and the fascinating details of their day to day life.

The Vikings' siege of Paris in 885–86 was a turning point in the history of both Paris and France. In 885, a year after Charles the Fat was crowned King of the Franks, Danish Vikings sailed up the Seine demanding tribute. The Franks' refusal prompted the Vikings to lay siege to Paris, which was initially defended by only 200 men under Odo, Count of Paris, and seemingly in a poor state to defend against the Viking warriors in their fleet of hundreds of longships. Paris was centred around the medieval Île de la Cité, the natural island now in the heart of the city, fortified with bridges and towers. The Vikings attempted to break the Parisian defenders, but the city itself still held out, and after a year Charles' army arrived to lift the siege. But Charles then allowed the Vikings to sail upstream against the revolting Burgundians. Outraged at this betrayal, the Parisians refused to let the Vikings return home via the Seine, forcing them to portage their boats overland to the Marne in order to reach the North Sea. When Charles died in 888, the people of the of the Île de France elected Odo as their king. The resistance of Paris therefore marked the end of the Carolingian line and the birth of a new kingdom. This fully illustrated volume, accompanied with maps and strategic diagrams tells the full story of the Vikings' expedition to conquer medieval Paris, highlighting a key moment in the history of France and its foundation as a nation.

The history of the Roman Empire and its technological and military prowess resounds through the ages. At its height, the empire covered five million square kilometres and held sway over 70 million people. How did a small city state in Latium achieve such prominence and carve an empire against which all other empires are measured? The answer is, in part, the Roman Legionary. It was Roman soldiers who carved out a foothold in Italy from warring neighbours. It was the legions who made safe the empire from external menaces – such as the Carthaginians, Greeks and Parthians – and who defeated fierce tribal leaders such as Boudicca in Britain and Vercingetorix in Gaul. It was the Roman legionaries who did much of the early building in these provinces and who policed the new borders. They maintained internal order, crushed rebellions by subjects or slaves, and provided the necessary muscle for imperial governors. Unique in so many ways, the Roman Army was the most feared fighting force of the ancient world, partly because of its outstanding discipline and organisation, but also because the men who made up its legendary legions were well trained, experienced warriors. The Roman Soldier Operations Manual gets to grips with what we know about the men of the legions, and includes fascinating detail on kit, equipment, weapons and insignia, as well as their unique fighting formations and battle tactics.

"Organizations succeed or fail based on the quality of their leaders. Even in the technology soaked 21st Century, leaders are still the key element in the accomplishment of your mission. Leadership in the Shadows describes, in detail, a set of leadership principles which have been proven in the most challenging conditions America has faced over the last two decades. Drawn from real life experiences, SGM (R) Lamb's lessons will give you the tools and insight to raise your leadership skills to the next level. Whether you're in the corporate world, military, or law enforcement, the knowledge in Leadership in the Shadows will help guide your team to mission success"--Back cover.