Rene Chartrand was born in Montreal and educated in Canada, the United States and the Bahamas.

A senior curator with Canada's National Historic Sites of Parks Canada for nearly three decades and he was also attached to Canada's Department of National Defence as an historian. He went on as a free lance writer and historical consultant for media productions and historical restorations of military sites in North America and the West Indies.

As a curator, he initially specialized in military material culture and later researched organization, tactics, policy and geo-strategy. He has authored some 50 books and hundreds of articles and research notes published in England, France, the United States and Canada. He lives in Gatineau (Quebec).

Stephen Walsh studied art at the North East Wales Institute and has worked as a professional illustrator since 1988. Since then he has illustrated a variety of books and games including Settlers of Catan.

His projects for Osprey include such diverse subjects as the battle of Otterburn, the Chinese army from 1937 to 1949, and the US Home Front in World War II.