MacDowall has done a good job of producing a coherent account from some often rather difficult sources. The Vandals didn't produce a historian of their own, so their story can only be told using sources written by their enemies - Roman or Barbarian - and of course these don't always agree on events. The result is a useful study of one of the more obscure but important conquerors of the Western Empire.

Read the complete review here.

History of War - John Rickard

For someone, perhaps especially a wargamer, wanting a basic account of Vandal history, the book should do fine.

SlingShot, November-December 2016 - – reviewed by Andreas Johansson

As featured in

VaeVictis, September 2016

In December AD406, a group of German tribes crossed the River Rhine, penetrated the Roman defensive lines and began to rampage across Roman controlled Gaul, sacking cities such as Arras, Metz and Strasbourg. Foremost among the tribes were the Vandals from eastern Gaul, searching for a new homeland. The Romans were unable to stop the Vandals, who with their Alan allies marched across Gaul into Spain where they established a joint kingdom. This kingdom however soon came under intense pressure from Rome’s allies – the Visigoths, being soundly defeated in battle in AD418, so the Alans and Vandals migrated to North Africa, crossing the Straits of Gibraltar in AD429. Here they established a stable and powerful kingdom, as well as taking to the seas and raiding Italy, including Rome itself in AD455. Eventually however they were conquered by the Byzantine general Flavius Belisarius in AD533 and subsequently vanished from history.

The Vandals are, today, a household name synonymous with barbaric destruction, yet they are still little understood. The author follows the migrations of the Vandals, as well as analysing their armies, equipment and tactics, plus those of their opponents. No less than 37 plates – mostly in colour - and 10 monochrome maps support the author’s text, which is rounded off with a chronology, a brief biographical list of the Vandal and Alan kings, similarly the Later Roman emperors, then a glossary, a select bibliography and finally an index.

Stuart Asquith, Author