Brassey's Dictionary of Battles

by John Laffin

The first battle in this alphabetized volume is Aachen, in October, 1944. The last is Zutphen, a battle during the Netherlands War of Independence against Spain in 1586. Between the first "A" and the final "Z" is every encounter worth reporting. Many are augmented with maps that show clearly who was where. Condensing the essentials of a battle such as Agendicum (Rome's Gallic Wars), Moncontour (Third Huguenot War), or Spotsylvania (American Civil War) is no simple task; but the author, a military history expert, has accomplished it perfectly. This is a singular quick reference, crisp and accurate. Recent conflicts, such as the various encounters between Israel and its neighbors and the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s, are given considerable coverage.

Genres: History

503 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

John Laffin was a prolific author with nearly 130 books to his name. Many of his books concerned military history.

Laffin's parents both served in WWI, his father in the 20th Battalion and his mother as a nurse. In 1940, aged 24, having worked with Smith's Weekly and The Wagga Advertiser, he enlisted in the 2nd AIF. He trained as an infantryman and later completed an officer course before serving in New Guinea. While convalescing in Sydney in 1943 he met his wife Hazelle.

After the war Laffin worked for a number of newspapers and magazines, wrote short novels and began his own feature service and editing unit. With his family he left for England in 1956 where he resided for nearly 40 years. He wrote articles for Australian newspapers and taught English, history and geography in secondary colleges.

Laffin traveled extensively in Europe, especially the Western Front areas of WWI and in the Middle East. He returned to Australia in 1995 but Hazelle developed heart problems and died in early 1997. He is survived by his two daughters, Bronwen and Pirenne, and a son, Craig.

Reviews

[Vircenguetorix · Rating 4 out of 5]

Con la llegada de Internet los diccionarios de papel fueron paulatinamente perdiendo vigencia, pero hasta no hace mucho seguían siendo una fuente esencial para los investigadores y curiosos. En este caso el australiano John Laffin, un veterano de la Campaña de Nueva Guinea en la SGM, nos brinda un magnífico diccionario de batallas, muy completo, con más de 7.000 entradas, editado por Salvat en España, y que además ilustra con mapas tácticos de algunos de los combates más importantes.
El diccionario es universal con batallas de todos los continentes y épocas, aunque lógicamente el peso del mundo anglosajón es un poco mayor.
Altamente recomendable para enciclopedistas, aunque hay que reconocer que su consulta se va disminuyendo cada vez más debido a las nuevas tecnologías.

Nota:8/10

[Spyros Stavroulakis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Τίτλος ελληνικής έκδοσης: "3.500 Χρόνια Μάχες", εκδόσεις Ι. Φλώρος.
Στην ουσία είναι ένα απλό ευρετήριο με λίγα λόγια για κάθε μάχη αλλά πλήρες.

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very handy. Nothing in depth; just date, location major players.

[Brent · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good reference to have on hand

[Walt · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good reference tool when seeking quick knowledge about leaders, numbers, and basic tactics.