Illustrated book about woodland animals or maybe rodents preparing for some kind of war. I can't remember the author or title but it was illustrated similar to the 11th hour with beautiful detailed pictures. I remember one page was a spy station in a flower bulb, another detailed the animal navy. I think the animals could have been squirrels or badgers? Hope you can help I would check this book out every time I went to the library.
Do you mean similar to The Eleventh Hour by Graeme Base? I know he did several other books.
This is Trouble For Trumpets by Peter Cross (the amazing illustrator) and Peter Dallas Smith. The main characters aren’t real animals, but a sort of fantasy creature. They are fighting the evil Grumpets. Check out the artist’s website here for some reproductions: https://petercrossart.com/books/trumpets/trouble-for-trumpets/
Agree – sounds like Trouble for Trumpets
This reminds me of “The Wind in the Willows” by Kenneth Grahame.
Remember Mr. Toad? The aristocratic amphibian who thought he was an Indy 500 racecar driver? He got into all kinds of mischief!
While dealing with the fallout from his shenanigans, his beloved Toad Hall was taken over by weasels.
His faithful friends, Mr. Badger and Ratty, came to his defense.
This description made me think of Redwall and Mattimeo
I concur with the most recent post – this is almost definitely the Redwall Series by Brian Jacques.