The major premise of this book, is that without the Illyrian revolt, Arminius might not have been ready to strike at Rome.

I have heard about Arminius and the lost legions. I used to live in Germany and frequently visited Hermans Denkmal which is a huge statue of Arminius (The Germans call him Herman).

Until this book, I didn’t know what an Illyrian was, but now know these were the people from the western balkans. Whats is now Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, Montenegro and parts of Albania.

The Illyrian revolt ran for three years. Like its Germanic counterpart, there is a one central figure, a man names Bato, from the Daesidiate tribe. He not only carried out one of the most successful military campaigns against Rome, he also managed to win several battlefield victories too. Unlike the Teutoburg forest revolt, the Illyrians had to face 15 Roman legions.

How this guy doesn’t have the same accolades as Arminius or some of the other revolt leaders of the period is a bit strange.

This is a very good read, and covers not only the revolt, but it also covers the history of Roman influence in the region.

If you are interested in the missing Varus legions, then this book might help shed some new light on the events leading up the loss of four legions in the woods of Germany.

The author Jason Abdale seems to believe so.

You can buy this book direct from Pen and Sword Books

Please note I was not paid to write this review but was sent a review copy of the book. All comments are my own, and the publishers have not amended the review in any way.

This book has a lofty title and to be honest it was a long read. Mainly because it was jammed packed with details of warfare covering a long period in history.

The book covers the early Middle Ages from Byzantium up to the 30 years war. This is actually the second d book, the first covers covers warfare in the ancient historical period. Apparently this took 7 years to put together. And I am not surprised.

Each chapter in the book looks at a specific period and covers battles that highlight the change in military tactics and strategies at the time.

It shows the change over the period from light cavalry to heavy, the mongol invasion, then the change to light infantry and onto heavy infantry becoming the dominant force during war.

The book also plots the change and warfare revolution that happened during the 16th century with writing on battle tactics being discovered and rewritten by Machiavelli which espoused the benefit of the infantryman. Mainly because the writing came from early writing about Roman strategies based on the legionary.

I found this book highly educational and I will be dipping in and out again for sure.

The Battle narrative is very well supported by detailed battle maps. This feature in itself is a huge benefit for wargammers looking to recreate and relive these battles.

Anyone that has an interest in this period needs to have this book on their bookcase.

You can buy this book direct from Pen and Sword Books 

Please note I was not paid to write this review but was sent a review copy of the book. All comments are my own, and the publishers have not amended the review in any way.