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The Spanish Peninsular War (1808–1814), which saw open confrontation between the Spanish people together with their British and Portuguese allies against Napoleon, was more than just a war of occupation and national liberation. Remembered for its violence and drama, it was unusual given that two countries who had traditionally been allies, France and Spain, entered into armed conflict without their governments declaring war. Histories and memoirs drafted since then in France, England or Spain show clear bias in their interpretations, hence the difficulty in finding reliable information to draft a rigorous analysis of those historic events. However, two centuries having elapsed since the start of this conflict allow us to address the topic today with greater objectivity. At the start of the war, the climate in London was favorable to cooperation with Spain. Yet the feeling of failure soon took hold of British society due to having embarked in another long and costly war, and many felt disappointment with the scarce cooperation of Spanish troops. However, among the few who defended the importance of the Spanish cause were the Wellesley brothers, the'British Gracchi', who together maintained this fragile alliance between both countries until the final victory over the French. Richard, the eldest brother and Minister of Foreign Affairs for the United Kingdom, changed the war against France and was decisive in the success on the Iberian Peninsula. Beside him, his younger brother Henry coordinated official relations between Britain and Spain in his role as ambassador plenipotentiary in Cádiz, maintaining a climate of collaboration up to the end of the war. But the efforts of the two brothers would not have borne fruit without the intervention of a third, Arthur Wellesley (Duke of Wellington), who, in a five-year campaign defeated the French troops which outnumbered his, liberating Portugal and Spain from Napoleon's grip. The same man who in 1815 commanded one of the allied armies which came together to defeat Napoleon at Waterloo. Based on original sources, this book aims to clarify the setting in which these important events for the history of Spain unraveled, through the study of anglo-hispanic relations during the years of conflict.

While one military empire in Europe lay in ruins, another awakened in North America. During the Peninsular War (1808-1814) the Spanish launched an unprecedented guerrilla insurgency undermining Napoleon's grip on that state and ultimately hastening the destruction of the French Army in Europe. The advent of this novel “system” of warfare ushered in an era of military studies on the use of unconventional strategies in military campaigns and changed the modern rules of war.A generation later during the Mexican-American War (1846-1848), Winfield Scott and Henry Halleck used the knowledge from the Peninsular War to implement an innovative counterinsurgency program designed to conciliate Mexicans living in areas controlled by the U.S. Army, which set the standard informing a growing international consensus on the proper conduct for occupation.In this first transnational history of the Mexican-American War, historian Benjamin J. Swenson chronicles the emergence of guerrilla warfare in the Atlantic World. He demonstrates how the Napoleonic War in Spain informed the U.S. Army's 1847 campaign in the heart of Mexico, romantic perceptions of the war among both Americans and Mexicans, the disparate resistance to invasion and occupation, foreign influence on the war from monarchists intent on bringing Mexico back into the European orbit, and the danger of disastrous imperial overreach exemplified by the French in Spain.

This book was originally prepared on behalf of the Directorate of Military Training to be used as a text for officers'study courses. It covers the rise of Napoleon to the battle of Toulouse and the end of the war.

The Light Division is rightly regarded as the most famous force within Wellington's army in the Peninsular War. Often the first into every battle and the last to withdraw, the men of the Light Division were trained to act independently and think for themselves as well as operating in their battalion formations. The regiments which comprised the Light Division were present at almost every battle, large or small, throughout the Peninsular War. Many people, however, associate the Light Division with the men of the 95th Rifles, wearing in the distinctive green uniforms made famous in the Sharpe novels. What is less understood is that the majority of the Light Division actually consisted of troops dressed in the traditional red uniforms. These were men who, although equally capable of skirmishing as light infantry, actually spent the vast majority of their time formed as regular infantry, fighting in line, column or square. The 95th Rifles has literally a dozen or more memorialists including many famous ones such as Kincaid, Harry Smith, Harris, Costello, Leach, Simmons and others, who have been published and republished countless times. But the 52nd Foot – the first of the regiments of the Light Division to be trained as light infantry – has, until now, been largely unrepresented. After decades of research, Gareth Glover has unearthed a collection of short memoirs from soldiers of the 52nd (Oxfordshire) Regiment which have never been published before and one previously published, but now virtually unobtainable. This collection will undoubtedly add an essential element to our understanding of the role of the Light Division both in battle and on campaign.

'...this is an excellent partner to the original volume, very well presented by experienced military men, with a clear tactical eye and it is extremely well illustrated. It comes highly recommended.'— The Napoleon Series By the middle of 1811, Brigadier General Robert Craufurd's Light Division was emerging as the elite of the Peninsular Army and Wellington was seeking opportunities to go over to the offensive, following the expulsion of Marshal Masséna from Portugal. After a period of outpost duty for the Light Division on the familiar ground of the Spanish borders, Wellington seized ‘the keys to Spain'in the epic sieges of Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajoz. Still reeling from the loss of General Craufurd, ‘The Division'led the army against Marshal Marmont and after a protracted period of marching and counter marching, the French were finally brought to battle at Salamanca. As a result of King Joseph being driven out of Madrid, the French marshals united and in the autumn of 1812, the British were driven back to Ciudad Rodrigo in another gruelling retreat. With news of Napoleon's disaster in Russia and with reinforcements from Britain, Wellington prepared his army to drive the French from the Peninsular. A lightening march across Spain to cut the Great Road found King Joseph and Marshal Jourdan at Vitoria and the resulting battle, in which the Light Division fought their way into the heart of the French position, was a triumph of arms for Wellington's light troops. The pursuit into the Pyrenees, had a sting in the tail when Marshal Soult mounted counter offensives in an attempt to relieve San Sebastian and Pamplona. Having thrown the French back and with the Sixth Coalition intact, the Light Division fought their way through the mountains and into Napoleon's France. With the allies closing in on all sides, the French fought on into 1814 and the Light Bobs had further fighting before the spoils of peace in a war-weary France could be enjoyed.

Excerpt:'For the authenticity of the events the reader has this guarantee. The author was either an eye-witness of what he relates, or acquired his knowledge from those who were. Persons of no mean authority. Commanders-in-chief, generals, and other officers on both sides; private official correspondence of the English envoys; military journals and reports of the French leaders; the correspondence of the intrusive King Joseph, and his ministers, and the private military notes and instructions of the Emperor Napoleon, have all contributed to establish the truth of the facts and motives of action.'

The 1810 French invasion of Portugal, commanded by the veteran marshal André Masséna, who was known to Napoleon as the ‘Spoilt Child of Victory'has been well covered by historians. Conversely, the shock revelation of the presence of the Lines of Torres Vedras baring the French Army of Portugal's way to their objective of Lisbon, and numerous combats through to the Battle of Funtes de Oñoro, has been frequently and unjustifiably glossed over. This book, starting with the occupation of the Lines of Torres Vedras, which were at the heart of Wellington's Peninsular strategy from October 1809-1812, is the story of Wellington's pursuit of Masséna back to Spain. This was a time when the Peninsular Army was still being forged and Wellington was refining his own art of war. In addition, 1810-1811 was a period when the outcome of the struggle in Iberia was still far from certain, and Wellington could not manoeuvre with the same confidence in the outcome as he could in future years. The series of combats fought at Pombal, Redhina, Foz da Arounce and Sabugal while Masséna was at bay, though not categorised as ‘general actions', were of the same scale and significance as those of 1808; Roliça and Vimiero. The general action at Funtes de Oñoro was one of the most significant of Wellington's victories, but he confessed that ‘If Bony had been here we would have been beat'.

In this definitive account of the Peninsular War (1808-14), Napoleon's six-year war against Spain, Ronald Fraser examines what led to the emperor's devastating defeat against the popular opposition - the guerrillas - and their British and Portuguese allies. As well as relating the histories of the great political and military figures of the war, Fraser brings to life the anonymous masses - the artisans, peasants and women who fought, suffered and died - and restores their role in this barbaric war to its rightful place while overturning the view that this was a straightforward military campaign. This vivid, meticulously researched book offers a distinct and profound vision of'Napoleon's Vietnam'and shows the reality of the disasters of war: the suffering, discontents and social upheaval that accompanied the fighting.With a new Introduction by Perry Anderson.

This regimental history chronicles the legendary exploits of the British Army's Light Division against Napoleon in Spain and Portugal.From the outset of the Peninsular campaigns in 1808, the Light Division achieved results way beyond their scant numbers. But it was during the epic winter retreat to La Corunna that they showed their metal. Returning to the Peninsula months later, the irascible Brigadier Robert Craufurd led the Light Brigade on a terrible march to meet General Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington, at Talavera. The Light Division played significant roles in the Battle of the River Côa, where the riflemen fought hard to escape Marshal Ney's trap; the Battle of Buçaco Ridge, the Battle of Salamanca, and many others. More than a simple series of battle scenes, however, this history of the Light Division provides a wider picture of campaigning during the Napoleonic Wars and sheds light on the life of a 19th century light infantry soldier.

“A detailed and riveting account of the Light Division and its three regiments, 43rd and 52nd Light Infantry and the 95th Rifles... An important book.” —FiretrenchIn February 1810, Wellington formed what became the most famous unit in the Peninsular War: the Light Division. Formed around the 43rd and 52nd Light Infantry and the 95th Rifles, the exploits of these three regiments is legendary. Over the next 50 months, the division would fight and win glory in almost every battle and siege of the Peninsular War.How the division achieved its fame began on the border of Spain and Portugal where it served as a screen between Wellington's Army and the French. When it came time pull back from the border, the division endured a harrowing retreat with a relentless enemy at their heels. It was during this eventful year it developed an esprit-de-corps and a belief in its leaders and itself that was unrivaled in Wellington's Army.Wellington's Light Division in the Peninsular War uses over 100 primary sources—many never published before—to recount the numerous skirmishes, combats, and battles, as well as the hardships of a year of duty on the front lines. Others are from long-forgotten books published over 150 years ago. It is through the words of the officers and men who served with it that this major, and long-anticipated study of the first critical year of the Light Division is told.“Given the limited scope of the book, covering only one year of the Peninsular campaign, the depth of the study is truly remarkable... An excellent history of the Light Division ‘Warts and All.'”—The Napoleon Series

The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was a military conflict for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic War, where the French were opposed by British, Spanish, and Portuguese forces. The war began when the French and Spanish armies invaded and occupied Portugal in 1807 and lasted until the Napoleon's defeat in 1814.

Napoleon, on quitting Spain in January, left behind him as a legacy to his brother a comprehensive plan for the conquest of the whole Peninsula. But that plan was, from the first, impracticable: and when it had miscarried, the fighting in every region of the theatre of war became local and isolated. Neither the harassed and distracted French King at Madrid, nor the impotent Spanish Junta at Seville, knew how to combine and co-ordinate the operations of their various armies into a single logical scheme. Ere long, six or seven campaigns were taking place simultaneously in different corners of the Peninsula, each of which was practically independent of the others. Every French and Spanish general fought for his own hand, with little care for what his colleagues were doing: their only unanimity was that all alike kept urging on their central governments the plea that their own particular section of the war was more critical and important than any other.

Albert Jean Michel de Rocca gives a riveting account of the Peninsular War from an entirely different perspective. Albert Rocca was a junior officer in Napoleon's 2nd Regiment of Hussars, and describes such early events as the march to Madrid and Napoleons entry into the city, followed by the subsequent battles and the pursuit of Sir John Moore to Corunna. For him Spain was not just alien but totally hostile as well. Where British chroniclers of the Peninsular berate the qualities of the Spanish armies Rocca knew that his life was constantly under threat from not only the enemy armies but also from a population who would kill an unwary or isolated Frenchman in a moment. The Peninsular War was a bitter struggle by the Spaniards to liberate their country from the French invaders and in this essential memoir Albert de Rocca describes the fighting in uncompromising detail.

Una historia apasionante, la búsqueda incansable de las propias raíces.El autor de este volumen, Domingo Neuenschwander de Clarós, nos descubre a su antepasado, Juan Clarós y Presas (1749-1827), uno de aquellos héroes olvidados por el paso del tiempo.Sus capítulos, llenos de episodios de las guerras con Francia de 1793 a 1814, nos explican extraordinarias historias del Ampurdán, de Gerona, de Figueras y del mismo castillo de San Fernando.

Field Marshal Stapleton Cotton, 1st Viscount Combermere GCB GCH KSI PC (14 November 1773 - 21 February 1865), was a British Army officer, diplomat and politician. As a junior officer he took part in the Flanders Campaign, in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War and in the suppression of Robert Emmet's insurrection in 1803. He commanded a cavalry brigade in Sir Arthur Wellesley's Army before being given overall command of the cavalry in the latter stages of the Peninsular War. He went on to be Commander-in-Chief, Ireland and then Commander-in-Chief, India. In the latter role he stormed Bharatpur—a fort which previously had been deemed impregnable.This book, which was published in two volumes, represents Viscount Combermere's memoirs in the form of a vast collection of his private papers, as collated by his third wife, Mary, Viscountess Combermere. They serve to provide an invaluable and comprehensive view of the public and private life of one of England's most distinguished soldiers.

Souvenirs militaires. Napoléon à Waterloo est un livre captivant qui nous plonge au cœur de l'une des batailles les plus célèbres de l'histoire : la bataille de Waterloo. Écrit par Gustave de Pontécoulant, ce livre est un témoignage précieux et unique sur les événements qui ont marqué la fin de l'Empire napoléonien.Pontécoulant, qui a lui-même participé à cette bataille en tant qu'officier, nous livre ici ses souvenirs personnels, nous offrant ainsi une perspective intime et authentique sur les événements qui se sont déroulés sur le champ de bataille. Son récit détaillé nous permet de revivre les moments clés de cette bataille décisive, où les destins de Napoléon et de l'Europe étaient en jeu.À travers ses mots, Pontécoulant nous fait ressentir l'excitation et la tension qui régnaient sur le champ de bataille, les bruits assourdissants des canons, les charges de cavalerie, les combats acharnés. Il nous décrit également les stratégies militaires mises en place par Napoléon et ses adversaires, nous permettant ainsi de mieux comprendre les enjeux de cette bataille.Mais ce livre ne se limite pas à une simple description des faits. Pontécoulant nous livre également ses réflexions sur les motivations de Napoléon, sur sa personnalité complexe et sur les conséquences de sa défaite à Waterloo. Il nous offre ainsi une analyse profonde et nuancée de cet épisode historique majeur.Souvenirs militaires. Napoléon à Waterloo est un ouvrage incontournable pour tous les passionnés d'histoire et les amateurs de récits de bataille. Grâce à la plume captivante de Pontécoulant, nous sommes transportés au cœur de l'action, vivant chaque instant avec intensité. Ce livre est une véritable immersion dans l'histoire, une occasion unique de revivre l'une des batailles les plus marquantes de tous les temps.Extrait :'Conformément à ce qu'il avait annoncé dans sa réponse à l'Adresse des députés, Napoléon s'était mis en route pour la frontière dans la nuit suivante. Heureux d'échapper à tous les mécomptes, à tous les embarras, à tous les ennuis qu'il avait éprouvés depuis le 20 mars, jour de son entrée dans la capitale, si chaleureusement saluée par une population enthousiaste...'

The purpose of this paper was to study the practice of military art at the operational level of war. The story of Wellington's ultimate success against Napoleon's Marshals was selected as a case study as it seemed rich in the application of mental agility to achieve an asymmetrical military advantage in a theater of war. As military theory recognizes two general types of military art, classical strategy and operational art, the research question was constructed to determine if Wellington practiced pure classic strategy, or an early/transitional form of operational art.In order to provide a basis of analysis, the essential elements of both classic strategy and operational art are next defined. The history of classic strategy is outlined, then the theory of Clausewitz and Jomini used to define its four basic elements. The practice of operational art is then traced, from its inception by U.S. Grant during the American Civil War, to Soviet operational theory developed in the 1920's. The theory of Dr. James Schneider, a primary interpreter of both Grant and the Soviets, provides the eight essential elements of operational art. To round out the section on military art, U.S. operational doctrine is outlined and discussed.Like most military officers, Wellington was a creature of his own experience, therefore a chapter is dedicated to the lessons he learned as a young officer in India. The following chapter is dedicated to a study of the Peninsular War. As the research question deals with both the operational and strategic levels of war, Wellington's tactics are neglected in favor of his campaign concepts and execution.

Illustrated with 11 maps and 2 portraitsThe 1807-14 war in the Iberian Peninsula was one of the most significant and influential campaigns of the Napoleonic Wars. Arising from Napoleon's strategic need to impose his rule over Portugal and Spain, it evolved into a constant drain on his resources. Sir Charles Oman's seven-volume history of the campaign is an unrivalled and essential work. His extensive use and analysis of French, Spanish, Portuguese and British participants'accounts and archival material, together with his own inspection of the battlefields, provides a comprehensive and balanced account of this most important episode in Napoleonic military history.Between the autumn of 1812 and the late summer of 1813 campaigning in the peninsula took on a new aspect. From being a defence of Portugal and those parts of Spain not under French control, it became an effort by the British, Spanish and Portuguese forces to drive the French out completely. Operations at the end of 1812 included the unsuccessful British siege of Burgos and the subsequent retreat; renewed campaigning on the east coast of Spain, including Murray's actions around Tarragona; and the beginning of the final offensive against the French, including the epic battles of Roncesvalles, Maya and Sorauren.

Illustrated with 18 maps and illustrationsThe 1807-14 war in the Iberian Peninsula was one of the most significant and influential campaigns of the Napoleonic Wars. Arising from Napoleon's strategic need to impose his rule over Portugal and Spain, it evolved into a constant drain on his resources. Sir Charles Oman's seven-volume history of the campaign is an unrivalled and essential work. His extensive use and analysis of French, Spanish, Portuguese and British participants'accounts and archival material, together with his own inspection of the battlefields, provides a comprehensive and balanced account of this most important episode in Napoleonic military history.Between August 1813 and the end of hostilities in April 1814, Napoleon's forces were finally expelled from the Iberian Peninsula. Wellington's army invaded southern France, only halting its operations when news was received of Napoleon's abdication. The events covered in this volume include the British siege and capture of St Sebastian; the final campaigning in eastern Spain; Wellington's invasion of France; and the last actions of the war in the Battle of Toulouse and the French sortie from Bayonne. A chapter on the place of the Peninsular War in history concludes Oman's monumental work.

Illustrated with 9 maps and 5 portraitsThe 1807-14 war in the Iberian Peninsula was one of the most significant and influential campaigns of the Napoleonic Wars. Arising from Napoleon's strategic need to impose his rule over Portugal and Spain, it evolved into a constant drain on his resources. Sir Charles Oman's seven-volume history of the campaign is an unrivalled and essential work. His extensive use and analysis of French, Spanish, Portuguese and British participants'accounts and archival material, together with his own inspection of the battlefields, provides a comprehensive and balanced account of this most important episode in Napoleonic military history.The fate of the Iberian Peninsula was very much in the balance during the period January-September 1809, when it seemed all too possible that Napoleon would achieve control over Spain and Portugal. This volume covers the continuing Spanish resistance to French occupation, the renewed French invasion of Portugal, and the return to the Peninsula and subsequent victories of Sir Arthur Wellesley, including his outmanoeuvring of the French from Oporto and culminating in the hard-fought victory at Talavera.

This highly detailed study provides a clear account of how the British Army was organised, who commanded it, and how it functioned in the field during the Peninsular War.Focusing principally on infantry, cavalry and artillery, including foreign units in British pay, it provides a detailed and comprehensive order of battle. Doctrine, training, tactics and equipment are discussed in depth, and medical services and engineers are also covered. Concise biographical details of key commanders, over 60 unit tree diagrams, organisational tables, plus numerous illustrations make this an essential reference work for students of this period.

Illustrated with 16 maps and 5 portraitsThe 1807-14 war in the Iberian Peninsula was one of the most significant and influential campaigns of the Napoleonic Wars. Arising from Napoleon's strategic need to impose his rule over Portugal and Spain, it evolved into a constant drain on his resources. Sir Charles Oman's seven-volume history of the campaign is an unrivalled and essential work. His extensive use and analysis of French, Spanish, Portuguese and British participants'accounts and archival material, together with his own inspection of the battlefields, provides a comprehensive and balanced account of this most important episode in Napoleonic military history.Volume IV covers the period during which Portugal was finally secured from the danger of French conquest. French successes in Spain continued but the army under Massena was forced finally to retreat from Portugal. The Allied offensive began to gather momentum, although their attempt to recapture Badajoz was unsuccessful. Beresford's campaign on the southern frontier of Portugal included one of the hardest-fought actions of the era, the Battle of Albuera, and Graham's victory at Barrosa aided the long-running defence of Cadiz against the French siege. Wellington saw victory at Fuentes de Onoro, and smaller scale successes for the British Army also occurred at El Bodon, Sabugal and Arroyo dos Molinos.

Illustrated with 15 maps and 6 portraitsThe 1807-14 war in the Iberian Peninsula was one of the most significant and influential campaigns of the Napoleonic Wars. Arising from Napoleon's strategic need to impose his rule over Portugal and Spain, it evolved into a constant drain on his resources. Sir Charles Oman's seven-volume history of the campaign is an unrivalled and essential work. His extensive use and analysis of French, Spanish, Portuguese and British participants'accounts and archival material, together with his own inspection of the battlefields, provides a comprehensive and balanced account of this most important episode in Napoleonic military history.During this period, the outcome of the war was effectively decided by Wellington's advance from Portugal into Spain. The operations that took place at this time included the French campaigns of late 1811, the Allied offensive, and Wellington's great victory at Salamanca. Other notable actions included that at Garcia Hernandez, and there were also smaller operations such as those on the east coast of Spain. Orders of battle, lists of strength and casualties, and an account of Wellington's intelligence officer and code-breaker Sir George Scovell, whose efforts contributed greatly to Wellington's plans of campaign, are given in the appendices to this volume.

By 1807, Napoleon's victories over his European adversaries were legendary. His Grand Army had defeated the greatest European armies of the period. Each army, in succession, from the Hapsburg Empire to Russia, had been soundly beaten and had not been able to come to grips with how to deal with his lightning style of warfare. Yet, over a six-year period from 1807 to 1813, in the backwater Iberian Peninsula, Napoleon lost both his prestige and more troops than he lost in the infamous wintry campaign in Russia. How did an army of bandits, priests, and commoners along with a small expeditionary force achieve victory over the most powerful armies on the continent? The answer lies in that Napoleon did not only fight a band of insurgents and a small British led coalition army, but he also suffered from a combination of poor morale, weak leadership and a refusal to fully recognize the enemy situation. His overextended lines of communications covered an area that was bleak and poor in resources and he could no longer rely on foraging to feed and supply his troops, many of them suffering from starvation.The Iberian Campaign cost Napoleon over 250,000 troops and drained the French of manpower and resources that could have been used elsewhere. The campaign bankrupt Napoleon's image of invincibility and sapped his armies'leadership and experience. Therefore, Napoleon would have to rely on more conscripts and an ever-increasing number of foreign troops to fill his depleted ranks. Napoleon's generals were entangled in a politico-military quagmire for which they were never prepared and for which they received little guidance. The Peninsular Campaign sucked the lifeblood of Napoleon's armies and they were never able to fully recover from it.

Napoleon's invasion of the Iberian Peninsula brought Spain, Portugal, and Britain into a close, if sometimes uneasy alliance. When an expeditionary force led by General Sir Arthur Wellesley, later the 1st Duke of Wellington, disembarked in Portugal in August 1808, the British Army had been at war with France for five years. If the experience gained during campaigns on five continents had sharpened the efficiency of the Commissary Department, whose staff supplied and transported its rations, Wellington might not have complained after only one week in Portugal: “I have had the greatest difficulty in organizing my commissariat for the march. The logistic challenges faced by the Duke of Wellington during the Peninsula War were daunting. The role logistics played in deciding the outcome of the war in the Peninsula as well as detailing the needs of the troops is important in understanding how the war was conducted. The procurement, transport, distribution, and payment of supplies for the use of the Anglo-Portuguese Army during the Peninsula War played a direct role in determining its final outcome.

Illustrated with 9 maps and 2 portraitsThe 1807-14 war in the Iberian Peninsula was one of the most significant and influential campaigns of the Napoleonic Wars. Arising from Napoleon's strategic need to impose his rule over Portugal and Spain, it evolved into a constant drain on his resources. Sir Charles Oman's seven-volume history of the campaign is an unrivalled and essential work. His extensive use and analysis of French, Spanish, Portuguese and British participants'accounts and archival material, together with his own inspection of the battlefields, provides a comprehensive and balanced account of this most important episode in Napoleonic military history.The first part of this classic work provides the background to the war and its origins, and covers the early stages of the conflict. Introducing the subject and many of its main players, this volume recounts the French invasion of Portugal and the forcible deposition of the Spanish royal family, the beginning of Spanish popular resistance, the arrival of the British in the Iberian Peninsula, the first victories of Sir Arthur Wellesley (the future Duke of Wellington), Napoleon's personal participation in the Spanish campaign, the French surrender at Baylen, and Sir John Moore's terrible retreat, ending with his death in the hour of victory at the Battle of Corunna.

The enjoyment of wargaming is greatly enhanced if the battles (games) are played within well thought-out scenarios. Instead of simply lining up evenly-matched armies and fighting to the death, the players can have realistic objectives (such as the capture of a vital piece of terrain or delaying a superior enemy to cover a retreat) and be confronted with more challenging tactical decisions. Devising such scenarios can take a lot of effort, and more critically, time, which is always in short supply. This book is designed to take the time and effort out of organising fascinating and challenging wargames set in the Peninsular War. rnrnIn addition to 20 carefully devised scenarios of varying size and complexity, this book contains a concise introduction to the theatre of operations and an integrated chronology of battles and campaigns, showing where the scenarios fit into the wider events. The scenarios and orders of battle are intended for use with Pen & Sword's own Napolenic wargame rules, Grand Battery, but they are easily adaptable for use with other leading systems.rnrn Briefing notes on the context of the battle and the dilemmas and objectives facing each commander.rn Orders of battle for each side and any other information required to set up. rnContents :rnrn Concise introduction to the Peninsular War with chronology to place the scenarios in context.rn 20 carefully devised scenarios of varying size and complexity.rn a wargamer-friendly map, showing players where to place terrain, buildings and other features that had an impact on the battlefield. It will also show initial dispositions (historical) and mark the point of entrance (or exit) of units during the battle. rn Clear win/lose/draw conditions.

Illustrated with 14 maps and 5 portraitsThe 1807-14 war in the Iberian Peninsula was one of the most significant and influential campaigns of the Napoleonic Wars. Arising from Napoleon's strategic need to impose his rule over Portugal and Spain, it evolved into a constant drain on his resources. Sir Charles Oman's seven-volume history of the campaign is an unrivalled and essential work. His extensive use and analysis of French, Spanish, Portuguese and British participants'accounts and archival material, together with his own inspection of the battlefields, provides a comprehensive and balanced account of this most important episode in Napoleonic military history.Volume III covers the period from September 1809 to December 1810, when the French were consolidating their hold on Spain, crushing resistance and attempting to drive the British out of Portugal. However, they could not wholly defeat their opponents. The forces of the Spanish Regency Council, with British and Portuguese aid, held out against the siege of Cadiz. Wellington's Allied army fought a model defensive battle at Bussaco, stalling the French drive into Portugal and enabling the British and Portuguese forces to retire to the shelter of the Torres Vedras fortifications. Here the Allies'defence led to a strategic victory, blunting the French offensive, and ultimately forcing the French to abandon their invasion.

This book unveils the role of a hitherto unrecognized group of men who, long before the International Brigades made its name in the Spanish Civil War, also found reasons to fight under the Spanish flag. Their enemy was not fascism, but what could be at times an equally overbearing ideology: Napoleon's imperialism.Although small in number, British volunteers played a surprisingly influential role in the conduct of war operations, in politics, gender and social equality, in cultural life both in Britain and Spain and even in relation to emancipation movements in Latin America. Some became prisoners of war while a few served with guerrilla forces.Many of the works published about the Peninsular War in the last two decades have adopted an Anglocentric narrative, writing the Spanish forces out of victories, or have tended to present the war, not as much won by the allies, but lost by the French. This book takes a radically different approach by drawing on previously untapped archival sources to argue that victory was the outcome of a truly transnational effort.

General Maximilien Foy was a renowned and experienced French general with a long and distinguished career. An artilleryman like his master Napoleon, he fulfilled his duty to France despite disagreeing with Napoleon, and fought across Europe from Switzerland, Germany, Portugal and Spain. He spent a major part of his career fighting in the Peninsular armies at Busaco and with Masséna in Portugal. His military career came to an end after heroic fighting at Waterloo in 1815, after which he became involved in politics and writing.Foy set about writing a history of the Peninsular War, which had been covered in great detail by British and Spanish writers but not so well by those of France. Although his untimely death in 1825 cut short his endeavour to two books, they are a valuable addition to the literature on the period, filling the gap of a French perspective on the bloody “Spanish Ulcer”.Author — Général de Division Comte Maximilien Foy, 1775-1825.Editor —Comtesse Élisabeth Augustine (née Daniels) FoyText taken, whole and complete, from the edition published in 1827, London, by Treuttel and Würtz Original Page Count – xv and pages.Illustrations — 1 Facsimile.

This book forms part of General Beatson's trilogy dealing with the campaigns in and around the Pyrenees during late 1813 and 1814 and they are rightly acknowledged as the standard works on these campaigns. This volume deals with the Allied armies'struggle to gain a foothold in France itself in the late summer months of 1813.Following the repulse of the last French offensive in 1813, Wellington began to take the fight into France; what faced him and his men was an unenviable position to attack: in the east stood the formidable Pyrenees mountains, bristling with redoubts and French troops; in the west, the difficult tidal estuaries. It would be a tough nut to crack, but Wellington's army was experienced, blooded and the momentum that had carried them forward all the way from the borders of Portugal should be enough. On the French side, Marshal Soult had problems aplenty of his own, he was ordered to stage his defence as close to the Spanish border as possible and the troops themselves were outnumbered by the Allied army. He chose to defend the mountain passes that he had used to attack the Allies earlier in the year with the bulk of his men, relying on the difficulty of a river crossing to ensure his safety to the West.Wellington prepared meticulously for his assault, opted for the element of surprise by deciding to assault across the Bidassoa estuary. Sending troops to hold the attention of the French inland, his rugged peninsular veterans cross the Bidassoa with ease pushed on into France. It was to be the second time Soult was levered from a river line by Wellington and, as illustrated by this masterful piece of generalship and co-ordinated planning, it would not be the last before Napoleon was to abdicate.Author — Major-General Finlay Cochrane Beatson C.B. (1855-1933)Text taken, whole and complete, from the ed. pub. London, E. Arnold & co., 1931.Original Page Count – xi and 224 pages.Illustrations – Numerous maps, plans and photos

“If I had had two Marshals like Suchet I should not only have conquered Spain, but have kept it.'This was the measured and just opinion of Marshal Suchet. Out of the graveyard for reputation that Spain became for the French generals, Marshal Suchet's ability, aplomb and shrewdness gained him the unique distinction of being awarded his marshal's dignity to his services in Spain.In his memoirs of the War in Spain, he recounts his experiences with honesty, balance and verve. His exciting battle narratives are interspersed with his expert appreciations of the situation as the Peninsular slipped from French grasp and the often acrimonious relations between the French commanders. With the fanatical resistance of the Spanish people, a lack of co-ordination, few supplies and growing British pressure, the achievement of Suchet under such circumstances is truly brilliant. A humble and moderate man, Suchet wrote his memoirs as he commanded in the field, with dash, brilliance, balance and poise.A fine addition to the library of anyone interested in the Peninsular War.Author —Marshal Suchet, Louis-Gabriel, Duc d'Albufera, 1770-1826Translator — Anon.Text taken, whole and complete, from the edition published in London: H. Colburn, 1829.Original Page Count – lvi and 344 pages.

“If I had had two Marshals like Suchet I should not only have conquered Spain, but have kept it.'This was the measured and just opinion of Marshal Suchet. Out of the graveyard for reputation that Spain became for the French generals, Marshal Suchet's ability, aplomb and shrewdness gained him the unique distinction of being awarded his marshal's dignity to his services in Spain.In his memoirs of the War in Spain, he recounts his experiences with honesty, balance and verve. His exciting battle narratives are interspersed with his expert appreciations of the situation as the Peninsular slipped from French grasp and the often acrimonious relations between the French commanders. With the fanatical resistance of the Spanish people, a lack of co-ordination, few supplies and growing British pressure, the achievement of Suchet under such circumstances is truly brilliant. A humble and moderate man, Suchet wrote his memoirs as he commanded in the field, with dash, brilliance, balance and poise.A fine addition to the library of anyone interested in the Peninsular War.Author —Marshal Suchet, Louis-Gabriel, Duc d'Albufera, 1770-1826Translator — Anon.Text taken, whole and complete, from the edition published in London: H. Colburn, 1829.Original Page Count – 499 pages.