The dramatic conclusion to this trilogy explains the reversal of fortunes and final defeat of Xerxes’ Persian invasion of Greece; not as unlikely as usually presupposed. The focus is on the successful repulse of the Persian massive armada at Salamis, a resounding naval victory with parallels to the English defeat of the Spanish Armada. Along with the backstage policies and cloak-and-dagger events, the analysis of hard data of naval and military realities and environment shows the reason for this outcome and more so of the closely fought double campaign of the following year that ended the Persian threat. The massive land victory at Plataea that ousted the empire form mainland Greece and crippled its armies, and the amphibious operation at Mycale that destroyed the remnants of the royal Grand Armada and shut the doors to further Persian incursions in Greece is examined in detail. Manousos Kambouris examines in depth the plans, potential, assets and liabilities of the two protagonists to explain command decisions and developments in the field. This is a fine finale to this fresh appraisal of these hugely significant events.

The dramatic conclusion to this trilogy explains the reversal of fortunes and final defeat of Xerxes' Persian invasion of Greece; not as unlikely as usually presupposed. The focus is on the successful repulse of the Persian massive armada at Salamis, a resounding naval victory with parallels to the English defeat of the Spanish Armada. Along with the backstage policies and cloak-and-dagger events, the analysis of hard data of naval and military realities and environment shows the reason for this outcome and more so of the closely fought double campaign of the following year that ended the Persian threat. The massive land victory at Plataea that ousted the empire form mainland Greece and crippled its armies, and the amphibious operation at Mycale that destroyed the remnants of the royal Grand Armada and shut the doors to further Persian incursions in Greece is examined in detail. Manousos Kambouris examines in depth the plans, potential, assets and liabilities of the two protagonists to explain command decisions and developments in the field. This is a fine finale to this fresh appraisal of these hugely significant events.

The dramatic conclusion to this trilogy explains the reversal of fortunes and final defeat of Xerxes’ Persian invasion of Greece; not as unlikely as usually presupposed. The focus is on the successful repulse of the Persian massive armada at Salamis, a resounding naval victory with parallels to the English defeat of the Spanish Armada. Along with the backstage policies and cloak-and-dagger events, the analysis of hard data of naval and military realities and environment shows the reason for this outcome and more so of the closely fought double campaign of the following year that ended the Persian threat. The massive land victory at Plataea that ousted the empire form mainland Greece and crippled its armies, and the amphibious operation at Mycale that destroyed the remnants of the royal Grand Armada and shut the doors to further Persian incursions in Greece is examined in detail. Manousos Kambouris examines in depth the plans, potential, assets and liabilities of the two protagonists to explain command decisions and developments in the field. This is a fine finale to this fresh appraisal of these hugely significant events.

This is the epic story of the Great Persian War of 481-479 BC, the major land and sea Persian invasion of Greece under Xerxes. Starting from the Persian decision to avenge the outrage caused to imperial prestige by the battle of Marathon, this book details the policy, diplomacy and religion as they intermingle with matters of strategy and tactics. It includes detailed coverage of the legendary Battle of Thermopylae, immortalized in literature and film as the ultimate defiant last stand. There is similarly in-depth coverage, in terms of events, tactics, methods and intentions, afforded to the relatively unknown sea battles off Cape Artemisium, only recently dramatized for the Big Screen; a naval engagement that primed the Battle of Salamis. Special attention has been paid to the events following these two battles, leading to the bloody conquest of Athens and the implementation of vengeance by the Persian Empire, which for a brief time stood triumphant, victorious and awesome as never before, but also sowed the seeds of eventual defeat.

This is a reissue, with a new introduction and an update to the bibliography, of the original edition, published in 1970 as The Year of Salamis in England and as Xerxes at Salamis in the U.S. The long and bitter struggle between the great Persian Empire and the fledgling Greek states reached its high point with the extraordinary Greek victory at Salamis in 480 B.C. The astonishing sea battle banished forever the specter of Persian invasion and occupation. Peter Green brilliantly retells this historic moment, evoking the whole dramatic sweep of events that the Persian offensive set in motion. The massive Greek victory, despite the Greeks' inferior numbers, opened the way for the historic evolution of the Greek states in a climate of creativity, independence, and democracy, one that provided a model and an inspiration for centuries to come. Green's accounts of both Persian and Greek strategies are clear and persuasive; equally convincing are his everyday details regarding the lives of soldiers, statesmen, and ordinary citizens. He has first-hand knowledge of the land and sea he describes, as well as full command of original sources and modern scholarship. With a new foreword, The Greco-Persian Wars is a book that lovers of fine historical writing will greet with pleasure.

Plataea was one of the biggest and most important land battles of pre-20th century history. Close to 100,000 hoplite and light-armed Greeks took on an even larger barbarian army that included elite Asian cavalry and infantry, and troops from as far away as India, with thousands of Greek hoplites and cavalry also fighting on the Persian side. At points in the several days of combat, the Persians with their greater mobility and more fluid, missile tactics came close to breaking the Greek defensive line and succeeded in cutting off their supplies. But, in a fatal gamble when he nearly had the battle won, their general Mardonius committed the cream of his infantry to close-quarters combat with the Spartans and their Peloponnesian allies. The detailed reconstruction of this complex battle draws on recent studies of early 5th-century hoplite warfare and a fresh reading of the ancient textual sources, predominantly Herodotus, and close inspection of the battlefield.

Osprey's study of a crucial battle of the Grerco-Persian Wars (499-449 BC). Weeks after the glorious disaster at Thermopylae and heavy but inconclusive fighting at sea off Artemisium, with Athens now in barbarian hands and the Acropolis burned, the Greeks dramatically halted the Persian invasion of 480BC. They brought the 600-strong Persian fleet to battle with their 350 triremes in the confined waters of the straits of Salamis and, through a combination of superior tactics and fighting spirit, won a crushing victory. This drove the Persian navy out of the western Aegean and enabled the Hellenic Alliance to combine its manpower in sufficient force to destroy the massive occupying army in the following year. Victory over the Persians secured the 5th century flowering of Greek and, in particular, Athenian culture and institutions that so influenced the subsequent development of western civilisation. This book draws extensively on the findings of archaeological, technological and naval research, as well as on the historical sources to vividly recreate one of the most important naval campaigns in world history.