Battlescapes: A Photographic Testament to 2,000 Years of Conflict

Walking through the battlefields of Europe today can be a bewildering experience--not for what you see, but for what is now vanished. In his new book, German photographer Alfred Bullesbach takes readers on a photographic journey through 34 of Europe's most legendary battlefields. A hauntingly beautiful grain field in Austria was once the site of the largest battle ever between knights in armor. A seemingly pristine forest marks the spot where Americans fought the Germans in the bloody Battle of the Bulge. And sheep now graze on the grass-covered trenches of the Somme where more than 1.5 million soldiers lost their lives.

Three-hundred stunningly reproduced photographs, together with text provided by long-time Osprey editor, Marcus Cowper, tell a moving story that will stir armchair generals and travelers alike. For each battle, full-bleed panoramic battlescape photos are supplemented with candid shots of the surrounding area, including present-day cemeteries and memorials.

Battlescapes is a timelessly apt tribute to the landscapes which will forever be remembered for that brief moment in time when they were consumed by war.

The 34 battlefields pictured:
Alesia (September, 52 BC); Poitiers (October 732); Hastings (October 1066); Marchfeld (August 1278); Agincourt (October 1415); Morat (June 1476); Nieuwpoort (July 1600); Lutzen (November 1632); Fehrbellin (June 1675); Blenheim (August 1704); Gadebusch (December 1712); Leuthen (December 1757); Valmy (September 1792); Austerlitz (December 1805); Jena and Auerstedt (October 1806); Leipzig (October 1813); Waterloo (June 1815); Solferino (June 1859); Vienna (September 1863); Dybbol (April 1864); Koniggratz (July 1866); Metz (September-October 1870); Sedan (September 1870); Ypres (1914-1918); Dolomites (1915-1918); Isonzo (June 1915-November 1917); Verdun (February-December 1916); The Somme (July-November 1916); Vimy Ridge (April 1917); Normandy (June 1944); Operation Market Garden (September 1944); Hurtgen Forest (September 1944-February 1945); Ardennes (December 1944-January 1945); Seelow Heights (April-May 1945)

Alfred Buellesbach, M.A., was born in Asbach, Westerwald, Germany in 1961. He studied photography at Lette-Verein, Berlin and journalism, geography and political science at Freie Universitat Berlin. Since 1993 he has been co-owner, managing director and photographer of VISUM photo agency, Hamburg. He is a member of Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Photographie. In his photography, he is attracted most to landscapes that show not just nature but have a deeper cultural meaning. He first made the first connection between history and landscape in the high altitude of the Italian Dolomites when he joined the Paths of Peace 25 years ago. Here, volunteers of the Dolomitenfreunde, coming from many nations, established an open-air-museum in the high alpine battlefield of the Monte Piano, establishing new hiking trails that linked not just historic military objects but also people in that famous vacation area. His website may be found at www.buellesbach.com.

Marcus Cowper studied Medieval history at the universities of Manchester and Birmingham. He specialized in High and Late Medieval Church history, and received his postgraduate degree for a study on the impact of heresy in the locality. He has edited Osprey military history books for over seven years and is one of the editors responsible for the creation of the Fortress series. The author lives in Oxford, England.