Customer Reviews

Medieval Chinese Armies 1260-1520 (Men-at-Arms)

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The Men-at-arms Series covers ancient and classical China in five books, all by Chris Peers who is very familiar with the subject. This is the fourth book in this series. The chapters: Chronology -- The Yüan Dynasty -- The Yüan Army -- The Civil Wars 1351-1368 -- The Ming Dynasty -- The Ming Army -- Strategy and tactics -- Six significant battles. The text focuses on telling Chinas military history; it is very weak on topics like weapons or battle tactics. The drawings by David Sque are good. The maps are primitive and not very useful. American units of measurement are used throughout the book, which is a nuisance for international readers. This book is the sequel to "Imperial Chinese Armies 590 - 1260" (MAA 295). The next book in the series is "Late Imperial Chinese Armies 1520 - 1840" (MAA 307).

This book in a related series of 5 books by Chris Peers is let down by some of the ugliest illustrations I have ever seen in the Osprey series. Just look at the title page illustration! The figures are amateurishly executed, posed and drawn. These books are all about illustrations. The text is merely there to support the illustrations.
Avoid this book.