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Author: John Grehan
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 1473852757
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 229
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Book Description
“This is a well-researched, well-written, closely argued and fascinating contribution to the historiography of the Peninsular War.”—The Spectator In 1809 French armies controlled almost every province of Spain and only Wellington’s small force in Portugal stood between Napoleon and the conquest of Iberia. The French invaded Portugal in the summer of 1810, but found their way blocked by the most extensive field fortifications the world had ever seen—the Lines of Torres Vedras. Unable to penetrate the Lines, the French were driven back into Spain having suffered the heaviest defeat yet experienced by Napoleon’s armies. The retreat from Portugal marked the turning point in the Peninsular War and, from the security of the Lines, Wellington was able to mount the offensive campaigns that swept France’s Imperial armies back across the Pyrenees. The Lines of Torres Vedras is an authoritative account of the planning, construction and occupation of the Lines and of the battles, sieges and horrors of the French invasion. It is also an important study of Wellington’s strategy during the crucial years of the war against Napoleon. “Essential reading for every Peninsula enthusiast, this is recommended highly.”—Military Illustrated
Author: John Grehan
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 1473852757
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 229
Get Book
Book Description
“This is a well-researched, well-written, closely argued and fascinating contribution to the historiography of the Peninsular War.”—The Spectator In 1809 French armies controlled almost every province of Spain and only Wellington’s small force in Portugal stood between Napoleon and the conquest of Iberia. The French invaded Portugal in the summer of 1810, but found their way blocked by the most extensive field fortifications the world had ever seen—the Lines of Torres Vedras. Unable to penetrate the Lines, the French were driven back into Spain having suffered the heaviest defeat yet experienced by Napoleon’s armies. The retreat from Portugal marked the turning point in the Peninsular War and, from the security of the Lines, Wellington was able to mount the offensive campaigns that swept France’s Imperial armies back across the Pyrenees. The Lines of Torres Vedras is an authoritative account of the planning, construction and occupation of the Lines and of the battles, sieges and horrors of the French invasion. It is also an important study of Wellington’s strategy during the crucial years of the war against Napoleon. “Essential reading for every Peninsula enthusiast, this is recommended highly.”—Military Illustrated
Author: Ian Fletcher
Publisher: Osprey Publishing
ISBN: 9781841765761
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
Following the battle of Bussaco on 27 September 1810 Wellington's heavily outnumbered troops began to withdraw towards Lisbon. By the evening of 9 October the British and Portuguese began to withdraw behind a line of defensive works that had been built to the north of Lisbon. These were not the rudimentary field works that the French anticipated, but an enormous network of forts, batteries and redoubts whose construction had been started the previous November - the Lines of Torres Vedras. This 30-mile-wide line utilised the area's natural defences, damming rivers, scarping hillsides, blocking roads and establishing forts upon almost all of the hills. This title describes its design, creation and effectiveness in the face of French attacks.
Author: Mark S. Thompson
Publisher: From Reason to Revolution
ISBN: 9781914059858
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 240
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Book Description
This book describes plans to defend Lisbon from invaders during the Peninsular War 1807-1814. Three different nations considered this challenge. First the French after their invasion of 1807. Second, the Portuguese after the French were ejected in 1808 and third, the British after the French were ejected in 1809.
Author: C. S. Forester
Publisher: DigiCat
ISBN:
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 155
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Book Description
"Death to the French" is an absorbing historical novel about the Peninsular War. It narrates the experiences of a British soldier, Rifleman Dodd, who gets separated from the army, joins the guerrillas and becomes their leader to avoid being caught by the French. The soldier and the story of his adventures is fictionalized, but the events are somewhat based on real historical events.
Author: Tim Saunders
Publisher: Pen and Sword Military
ISBN: 1399001337
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 383
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Book Description
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’.
Author: Marcus de la Poer Beresford
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781788550321
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
Marshal William Carr Beresford is the story of a celebrated and distinguished Irishman who served as Commander in Chief of the Portuguese army for eleven years. The book follows the trajectory of Beresford's extensive military career. Born the illegitimate son of the 1st Marquis of Waterford, Beresford joined the British army in 1785, serving in the Mediterranean, Egypt, South Africa, and South America, before further distinguishing himself as Marshal of the Portuguese forces during the Peninsular War. Sent to Portugal to rebuild its army in the fight against Napoleon, Beresford was so successful that the Duke of Wellington integrated the Portuguese and British armed forces in that struggle. Beresford is revealed as a trusted friend and confidant of Wellington, a relationship that was to endure for the rest of their lives.
Author: Lynn Bryant
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781980553106
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 436
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Book Description
The year is 1802.A brief and fragile peace has been reached in Europe, but Britain is at war against the Maratha in India. In its Leicestershire barracks, the 110th infantry welcomes a new officer. Paul van Daan is far from being a typical raw young subaltern. Ambitious, talented and a charismatic leader of men, Paul has the means to buy his way up the ladder of promotion. He also has an unconventional past, a fierce temper and a passion for justice which bring him into conflict with other officers. Paul needs to find a way to adjust to the realities of life in the officers' mess while remaining true to himself. Along the way he makes enduring friendships, forged on the battlefields of India and Europe, and builds an unexpected bond with the unemotional commander of the Peninsular army, Sir Arthur Wellesley. As the 110th joins Wellesley in Portugal, Paul has established a reputation as a respected officer, a courageous fighter and a shameless womaniser. His marriage to the shy, gentle Rowena brings him companionship and stability. But it is Anne Howard, the extraordinary daughter of a wealthy manufacturer, who bursts into his life like a shooting star, leaving him dazzled. Beautiful, intelligent and courageous, Anne refuses to conform to the expectations of the men around her, and changes forever everything Paul thought he knew about women. From the slaughter of Assaye to the bloody battlefields of Portugal and Spain, this is the first book in the Peninsular War Saga which follows Paul through war, danger, loss, triumph and an unforgettable love story."For 40 years I've been fascinated by this period of history and have read everything I could get my hands on, history, biography, memoirs and fiction. This series is the best fiction I've ever read - fantastically well-researched and historically accurate, with wonderfully drawn characters and relationships." (Amazon UK review)
Author: Richard Holmes
Publisher: HarperCollins UK
ISBN: 0007383495
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 258
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Book Description
In this compelling book, Richard Holmes tells the exhilarating story of the Duke of Wellington, Britain's greatest ever soldier.
Author: David Gates
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 9780712697309
Category : Peninsular War, 1807-1814
Languages : en
Pages : 557
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Book Description
By July 1807, following his spectacular victories over Austria, Prussia and Russia, Napoleon dominated most of Europe. The only significant gap in his continental system was the Iberian Peninsula. He therefore begun a series of diplomatic and military moves aimed at forcing Spain and Portugal to toe the line, leading to a popular uprising against the French and the outbreak of war in May 1808. Napoleon considered the war in the Peninsula, which he ruefully called 'The Spanish Ulcer', so insignificant that he rarely bothered to bring to it his military genius, relying on his marshals instead, and simultaneously launching his disastrous Russian campaign of 1812. Yet the war was to end with total defeat for the French. In late 1813 Wellington's army crossed the Pyrenees into the mainland of France. This is the first major military history of the war for half a century. Combining scholarship with a vivid narrative, it reveals a war of unexpected savagery, of carnage at times so great as to be comparable to the First World War. But it was also a guerilla war, fought on beautiful but difficult terrain, where problems of supply loomed large. The British Navy, dominant at sea after Trafalgar, was able to provide crucial support to the hard-pressed, ill-equipped and often outnumbered forces fighting the French. Dr Gates' history can claim to be the first to provide a serious assessment of the opposing generals and their troops, as well as analysing in detail the social and political background. The Peninsular war is particularly rich in varied and remarkable campaigns, and his book will fascinate all those who enjoy reading military history.
Author: John Grehan
Publisher: Spellmount, Limited Publishers
ISBN: 9781862272583
Category : Fortification, Field
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
This is the first book to examine in detail the role of one of the most important fortifications in military history, the Lines of Torres Vedras in the Peninsular War. In 1809 the French armies controlled almost every Spanish province and only Wellington's small force in Portugal stood between Napoleon and the conquest of Iberia. The French invaded Portugal but found their way blocked by the greatest range of field fortifications the world had ever seen--the Lines of Torres Vedras. Unable to penetrate the Lines, the French were driven back into Spain having suffered the heaviest defeat yet experienced by Napoleon's armies. From the security of the Lines, Wellington was then able to mount the offensive campaigns which ultimately brought him victory in the Peninsula. This is an account of the planning, construction, and occupation of the Lines and of the battles, sieges, and horrors of the French invasion. It is also a challenging new study of Wellington's strategy during the crucial years of the Peninsular War.
