The struggle of the Allied forces against the French at the crossroads of Quatre Bras set the stage for the battle of Waterloo that followed.

To commemorate the 2015 bicentenary of the Battle of Waterloo, one of the defining campaigns in European History, Osprey replaced its single volume Campaign title covering the whole of the battle with three highly detailed volumes.

Based on new research drawn from unpublished first-hand accounts these volumes will provide a comprehensive resource for every aspect of the battle. The first of this trilogy details the battle of Quatre Bras where an initial 8,000 Allied troops faced 48,000 men of the French Armée du Nord under Marshal Ney. Realising his error, Wellington concentrated his troops at the strategic crossroads of Quatre Bras where they just managed to hold off Ney's attacks. The battle ended in a tactical stalemate but, unable to link up with Blücher's Prussians, Wellington retreated back along the road to Brussels to new positions at Waterloo.

Featuring extensive photographs, full colour artworks, maps and bird's-eye-views, this first instalment is not to be missed.

John Franklin is a professional military historian based in Switzerland who specializes in the Napoleonic period, and the Waterloo campaign in particular. A Fellow of the International Napoleonic Society (FINS), and a graduate of the University of Bern, he has been engaged in one of the most comprehensive investigations of the campaign ever undertaken, with the aim of providing a wealth of previously unpublished material on the various armies and contingents present during the dramatic climax to this important period of European history. The vast majority of his work is based on manuscript and archival sources, with the emphasis on primary research. He is the author of the acclaimed books of correspondence on the Hanoverian and Netherlands armies, with further publications on the French and Prussians scheduled.

Gerry Embleton has been a leading illustrator and researcher of historical costume since the 1970s, and has illustrated and written Osprey titles on a wide range of subjects over more than 20 years.