In 1373, John of Gaunt set off from Calais on a Great Raid to strike at the heart of France.
He has written numerous books and articles on medieval and Islamic warfare, and has been a prolific author of Osprey titles for many years..
About author(s): Born in 1944, David Nicolle worked in the BBC\'s Arabic service for a number of years before gaining an MA from the School of Oriental and African Studies, London, and a doctorate from Edinburgh University.
This book charts the course of the Raid from beginning to end, studying all the battles and skirmishes the raiders fought along the way in this bloody example of chivalric warfare.
While the military value of the Raid is debatable, the English knights who finally made it home were hailed as heroes.
Unable to attack any major fortifications, John of Gaunt\'s men plundered the countryside, raiding towns and villages, weakening the French infrastructure.
Beset on all sides by French ambushes and plagued by disease and starvation, the raiders battled their way through Champagne, east of Paris, into Burgundy, across the Massif Central and finally down into the Dordogne.
However, the reality soon overwhelmed the raiders.
Driven by the high ideals of chivalry, the raiders left with epic pageantry.
In 1373, John of Gaunt set off from Calais on a Great Raid to strike at the heart of France
