One of the more important events of classic history is the battle for Syracuse on the island of Sicily. It was one of those times when war was urged upon a people by their leadership and in this case, it was the claim that the Syracusans were supplying Athen's current enemies, the Peloponnesian League.

This resulted in a massive build up of troops and ships to invade Syracuse in hopes of taking over and establishing itself in Sicily, which would be a major blow to the Carthaginians. It would also allow Athens to have control over a goodly part of the Mediterranean. So off to war they went, a venture that involved 60,000 Athenian troops and the clash of two of the largest fleets of ships the world had yet seen.

As one might imagine, things did not go quite as well as the Athenians had hoped. Thanks to a series of strategic and tactical blunders, some of which were caused by poor leadership, after initial successes, the Athenians found themselves in dire straits after the Syracusans were able to get some support from allies. The Athenians also were able to be rescued by reinforcements from the home country. But the advantage was lost and in the end, there was total annihilation of the Athenian fleet and the men sent to fight with few escaping back home. Such was the scope of the debacle that it eventually caused a change in how Athens was ruled and let to decades of repression.

In this edition, author Nic Fields does a superlative job of looking at all aspects of the campaign and helping to sort out what is to may, a rather confused series of events. This includes looking at the personalities involved, the opposing armies, and the planning in addition to the events themselves.

The book is further enhanced by a superb selection of photographs of the battle areas as they look now, some artifacts of the time, and the outstanding artwork and maps of illustrator Peter Dennis.  Like all Osprey titles, it is highly recommended and one that you will find as fascinating a read as did I. 

February 2009

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