Author : Hon. Sir John William Fortescue
Publisher : Pickle Partners Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1782891358
Total Pages : 905 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (828 download)
Book Synopsis A History Of The British Army – Vol. VIII – (1811-1812) by : Hon. Sir John William Fortescue
Download or read book A History Of The British Army – Vol. VIII – (1811-1812) written by Hon. Sir John William Fortescue and published by Pickle Partners Publishing. This book was released on 2014-06-13 with total page 905 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sir John Fortescue holds a pre-eminent place amongst British military historians, his enduring fame and legacy resting mainly on his life’s work “The History of the British Army”, issued in 20 volumes, which took him some 30 years to complete. In scope and breadth it is such that no modern scholar has attempted to cover such a large and diverse subject in its entirety; but Sir John did so and with aplomb, leading to a readable and comprehensive study. This eight volume covers the period from 1811-12, having drawn the invading French forces into a trap before the fortified lines of Torres Vedras the British Army under Wellington set about expelling his foe from the land of his Portuguese allies. Despite much skill and bravery on the part of their French foes, the Duke of Wellington and his British troops pushed them back in some disarray and with heavy loss. The French however regrouped quickly and almost inflicted a serious reverse on the British forces at the battle of Fuentes d’Oñoro, but the determined resistance of the British army ensured that the French would never return to Portugal as anything other than as prisoners of war. Sir John does not miss the actions and manoeuvres in the other provinces of Spain, French successes in the east were balanced by losses in the south at the battle of Barossa and the failed siege of Tarifa. Across the Atlantic British naval high-handedness allied with American opportunism began to simmer over into the War of 1812 as the British would be caught fighting on two fronts and their Canadian citizens would face annexation into the United States. Written as always with superb detail and authority, Fortescue blends the political machinations with the movements of the British Armies across the globe and the glory gained by the troops in Spain and Portugal. ARMY AND NAVY GAZETTE.—"The whole volume is admirable; it is equally the work of a great student and of an impartial historian." A MUST READ for any military enthusiast.