Towards the end of the 16th century three outstanding commanders brought Japan's century of civil wars to an end, but it was Tokugawa Ieyasu who was to ensure a lasting peace.

In terms of his strategic and political achievements Ieyasu ranks as Japan's greatest samurai commander. Ieyasu possessed the rare wisdom of knowing who should be an ally and who was an enemy, a key skill for a successful military leader. Ieyasu's crowning victory at Sekigahara depended on the defection to his side of Kobayakawa Hideaki, and the absence from the scene of Ieyasu's son Hidetada serves to illustrate how just once there was a failure in Ieyasu's otherwise classic strategic vision.

As Stephen Turnbull explores in this colour-illustrated volume, to establish his family as the ruling clan in Japan for the next two and a half centuries was abundant proof of his true greatness.

Stephen Turnbull is recognized as one of the world's foremost military historians of the medieval and early modern periods. He first rose to prominence as a result of his 1977 book, The Samurai: A Military History. Since then he has achieved an equal fame in writing about European military subjects and has had 70 books published. He has always tried to concentrate on the less familiar areas of military history, in particular such topics as Korea, Eastern Europe, the Baltic states, and the Teutonic Knights.

Giuseppe Rava was born in Faenza in 1963, and took an interest in all things military from an early age. Entirely self-taught, Giuseppe has established himself as a leading military history artist, and is inspired by the works of the great military artists, such as Detaille, Meissonier, Rochling, Lady Butler, Ottenfeld and Angus McBride. He lives and works in Italy. For more on Giuseppe, please visit his website at www.g-rava.it