Forces of the Hanseatic League
13th–15th Centuries

Author: David Nicolle
Illustrator: Gerry Embleton

This 48 page paperback book is number 494 in the Men-at-Arms Series of books that are available from Osprey Publishing.

The Hanseatic League was a commercial and defensive federation of merchant guilds based in harbor towns along the North Sea and Baltic coasts of what are now Germany and her neighbors. These harbor towns eventually dominated maritime trade in Northern Europe and spread its influence much further afield.

The League was formed to protect the economic and political interests of member cities throughout a vast and complex trading network. The League continued to operate well into the 17th century, but its golden age was between c.1200 and c.1500. Thereafter it failed to take full advantage of the wave of maritime exploration to the west, south and east of Europe. During its 300 years of dominance the League’s large ships – called ‘cogs’ – were at the forefront of maritime technology, and were early users of cannon, and manned by strong fighting crews to defend themselves from pirates in both open-sea and river warfare. The home cities raised their own armies for mutual defense, and their riches allowed them, to invest in fortifications and gunpowder weapons, since as very attractive targets they were subjected to sieges at various times.

The Contents of this book are;

• Historical Background
• Chronology
• Evolution of the Hanseatic League
• Land Warfare, c. 1250- c. 1425
• Maritime Warfare
• Siege Warfare & Firearms
• The 15^th Century: The Costs of Competition
• Further Reading
• Plate commentaries
• Index

Forces of the Hanseatic League from the 13^th to the 15th Centuries, is an extremely interesting look at this important period of history. This book will be of particular interest to the Figure Painter because of the books color plates. Also, the wargamer or historian will enjoy learning more about the Hanseatic League.

This book is available from Osprey Publications.

This book is available in three formats and they are;