Download or read book The Sieges of Ciudad Rodrigo 1810 and 1812 written by Tim Saunders and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2018-10-30 with total page 417 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The area astride the Spanish/Portuguese border between the respective fortresses of Ciudad Rodrigo and Almeida was the focus of the Peninsular War for much of the period from the autumn of 1809 through until 1812. The fortress of Ciudad Rodrigo that dominated the country between the Rivers Agueda and Ca, was one of the Keys to Spain for any army attacking either east or west across the frontier.With the defeat of the Fifth Coalition at Wagram in 1809, Napoleon was free to turn his attention to the rebellious Iberian Peninsula and the small British Army. Tasking a reluctant Marshal Massna to 'throw the leopard into sea, preparations started for what proved to be a protracted and lacklustre siege. Marshal Ney, however, champed at the bit and wanted to press on with the invasion and despite an increasing tempo of outpost actions, such as the renowned affair at Barbra del Puerco, Napoleon in attempting to control events from Paris, insisted on an orderly siege.With the fall of Ciudad Rodrigo, Craufurds Light Division remained covering the Armys frontage but after a superbly conducted withdrawal, Craufurds judgement erred and he was force into a costly fighting withdrawal to the River Ca. The British now fell back into Portugal but by Spring 1811 they were back and with Napoleon stripping troops from the Peninsular Wellington could prepare to invade Spain and besiege Ciudad Rodrigo.Preparations for the siege were almost complete in December 1811, when further troops were stripped from Marshal Marmont, an opportunity to presented itself for a lightening operation to take Ciudad Rodrigo in the 1812 siege, which was of very different character.
Download or read book Salamanca Campaign 1812 written by Tim Saunders and published by Pen & Sword Military. This book was released on 2022-04-30 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After a gap of two years, the 1812 Salamanca Campaign saw Wellington taking the offensive in Spain against Marshal Marmont's Army of Portugal. Marching from the border fortress of Ciudad Rodrigo which fell to the Allies in January, neither commander was willing to take the risk of a general action without a clear tactical advantage. The result were stand-offs as Wellington offered battle on the San Christóbal Heights, but once the small French-garrisoned forts left behind in Salamanca fell, Marmont withdrew to the Douro. For over a week the two armies shared cooling waters of the river before Marmont 'humbugged' Wellington and fell on the Allied left flank at Castrejón. Wellington rushed to the aid of the Light and 4th divisions with the heavy cavalry. Over the following days Marmont dexterously maneuvered Wellington back towards Salamanca, with both armies within cannon shot still not risking battle.When it seemed Wellington would have to march back to the safety of Portugal, Marmont finally made a mistake on the plains south of Salamanca on 22 July 1812, by allowing his army to become over extended. Wellington saw what was happening and after weeks of marching and counter marching, the battle the soldiers earnestly hoped for was on.In the past it has been difficult to place the fighting on the ground in the center of the Salamanca battlefield, where 'vast clouds of smoke and dust that rolled along the basin' obscured vision even for those fighting. Supplementing their letters, diaries and memoirs with modern geographical aids, archaeology and a stout pair of boots, it is now possible to reconcile the sequence of the battle with locations, in a way in which it was not feasible even a few years ago.
Download or read book Mass na at Bay 1811 written by Tim Saunders and published by Pen and Sword Military. This book was released on 2021-10-13 with total page 383 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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’.
Download or read book The Peninsular War 1807 1814 written by Michael Glover and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume provides a fascinating insight into what it was like to march and fight, to eat and be wounded, to command and be commanded at the start of the 19th century. Stress is laid on the technological limitations of warfare at that time.
Download or read book History of the King s German Legion written by North Ludlow Beamish and published by . This book was released on 1832 with total page 460 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Waterloo Roll Call written by Charles Dalton and published by . This book was released on 1890 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Egypt 1801 written by Stuart Reid and published by Frontline Books. This book was released on 2021-07-07 with total page 330 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first campaign medal awarded to British soldiers is reckoned to be that given to those men who fought at Waterloo in 1815, but a decade and a half earlier a group of regiments were awarded a unique badge – a figure of a Sphinx - to mark their service in Egypt in 1801. It was a fitting distinction, for the successful campaign was a remarkable one, fought far from home by a British army which had so far not distinguished itself in battle against Revolutionary France, and one moreover which had the most profound consequences in the Napoleonic wars to come. In 1798 a quixotic French expedition led by a certain General Bonaparte not only to seize Egypt and consolidate French influence in the Mediterranean, but also to open up a direct route to Indian and provide an opportunity to destroy the East India Company and fatally weaken Great Britain. In the event, General Bonaparte returned to France to mount a coup which would eventually see him installed as Emperor of the French, but behind him he abandoned his army, which remained in control of Egypt, still posing a possible threat to the East India Company, until in 1801 a large but rather heterogeneous British Army led by Sir Ralph Abercrombie landed and in a series of hard-fought battles utterly defeated the French. Not only did this campaign establish the hitherto rather doubtful reputation of the British Army, and help secure India, but its capture en route of the islands of Malta gained Britain a base which would enable it to dominate the Mediterranean for the next century and a half. This little understood, but profoundly important campaign at last receives the treatment it deserves in the hands of renowned historian Stuart Reid.
Download or read book Marshal Jean Lannes In The Battles Of Saalfeld Pultusk And Friedland 1806 To 1807 The Application Of Combined Arms In The Opening Battle written by Major Robert E. Everson and published by Pickle Partners Publishing. This book was released on 2014-08-15 with total page 164 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The French Army corps during the Napoleonic era was a combined arms organization, designed as a self-sustaining combat unit which could operate independently from the rest of the army. One corps was designated as the advanced guard to the French army’s main body and acted as the unit which would make first contact with the enemy’s army. This corps developed the situation while other corps would attempt to maneuver to the rear of the enemy force and consequently fight a major battle under Napoleon’s control. The advanced guard corps which made first contact, would fight an opening battle which could last many hours until reinforcements arrived. The corps under Marshal Lannes in 1806 to 1807 fought three opening battles. During each battle the corps conducted their security and reconnaissance while moving towards the enemy, seized their initial positions on the impending battlefield and fought as a combined arms organization for the duration of the opening battle. This study shows how each of the branches; artillery, infantry, and cavalry, interacted in the opening battle. This study also reveals how Marshal Lannes established a combined arms advanced guard element within his corps each time he moved the corps as the advanced guard for the French Army. Although this advanced guard element was not a doctrinal organization for the French Army, the elements mission was strikingly similar to the larger corps acting as an advanced guard, but on a reduced scale.
Download or read book A Book of Golden Deeds of All Times and All Lands written by Charlotte Mary Yonge and published by . This book was released on 1913 with total page 392 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book They Fought with Extraordinary Bravery written by Geert van Uythoven and published by From Reason to Revolution. This book was released on 2020-02-10 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In October 1813, the soldiers of one of Napoleon's staunchest Allies, Saxony, defected en masse in the midst of battle at Leipzig. Almost immediately III German Army Corps was formed with these same soldiers as its nucleus and augmented with returning former prisoners of war, volunteers and militia. Commanded by the Duke of Saxe-Weimar the Corps was sent to the Southern Netherlands to take part in the final defeat of Napoleon amidst of a constant changing command of control structure, in which the Swedish Crown Prince Bernadotte played a major and dubious role. Although for the greater part inexperienced and badly armed, fighting against the much superior French I Corps which even contained Imperial Guard units, III Corps struggled to prove that it could be trusted, paying a major role to protect the Netherlands against the French as these regions tried to regain their own identity after decades of French rule.
Download or read book The Two Battles of Copenhagen 1801 and 1807 written by Gareth Glover and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2018-09-30 with total page 285 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This military study sheds new light on the significance of Copenhagen in the Napoleonic Wars through primary source accounts of two major battles. In 1801 and 1807, British forces clashed with Napoleon and his allies in the Danish capital of Copenhagen. Yet the significance of those battles, and the key role the country played in the conflict in northern Europe, has rarely been examined in detail. In The Two Battles of Copenhagen, Gareth Glover uses original source material to describe these events from the British and Danish perspectives. In the process, he reveals new insights into the politics of this region during this turbulent phase of European history. The first Battle of Copenhagen was a naval battle celebrated in Britain as one of Nelson’s great victories. The second was an assault on the city by the British army in which Wellington played a prominent part. These episodes in the continental struggle to resist the French are described in vivid detail, with extensive quotes from the recollections of eyewitnesses on both sides.
Download or read book English Battles and Sieges in the Peninsula written by Sir William Francis Patrick Napier and published by . This book was released on 1855 with total page 498 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "In this publication, the combats of Roriça, Vimiero, and Coruña, and the character of Sir John Moore, have been entirely recomposed. The other battles and sieges are, with more or less compression of details, transcripts from the History of the Peninsula War." - from notice.
Download or read book The Lines of Torres Vedras written by John Grehan and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2015-11-30 with total page 229 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “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
Download or read book Wellington s Peninsular Army written by James Lawford and published by Osprey Publishing. This book was released on 1973-06-15 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: At the beginning of the Napoleonic period, the British Army's record left something to be desired. During the Peninsular War (1808-1814), however, Wellington led and trained an army that never knew a major defeat on the field. Even Wellington himself described his army as "able to go anywhere or do anything." This book examines the formidable British Army which played an integral part in stalling Napoleon's advance, focusing on the staff, infantry, cavalry, artillery and sieges and sappers. Numerous illustrations, including eight color plates, vividly depict the weaponry and uniforms of Wellington's Peninsular Army.
Download or read book 1810 1812 written by Sir William Francis Patrick Napier and published by . This book was released on 1882 with total page 574 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Stalin s War on Japan written by Charles Stephenson and published by Pen and Sword Military. This book was released on 2021-06-09 with total page 423 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This WWII military study examines the critical yet overlooked Soviet offensive on Japan’s puppet state and its influence on winning the Pacific War. Did Japan surrender in 1945 because the Americans dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Or because of the crushing defeat inflicted by the Soviet Union in Manchukuo, the Japanese puppet state in north-east China? In Stalin’s War on Japan, Charles Stephenson describes the Soviet offensive from the top-level decision-making and early planning stages to its decisive outcome on the ground. He also considers to what extent Japan’s capitulation is attributable to the atomic bomb or the stunningly successful entry of the Soviet Union into the conflict. Stephenson combines a vividly detailed narrative of the invasion itself with an absorbing account of the political and diplomatic process that gave rise to the offensive—with particular focus on the Yalta conference. There, Stalin allowed the Americans to persuade him to join the war in the east; a conflict he was determined on entering anyway. Stalin’s War on Japan sheds new light on the last act of the Second World War.
Download or read book Wellington s Command written by George E. Jaycock and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2020-01-19 with total page 229 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A military historian assesses the leadership style of the man who defeated Napoleon. The Duke of Wellington’s victory at the Battle of Waterloo cemented his reputation as a great general, and much subsequent writing on his career has taken an uncritical, sometimes chauvinistic view of his talents. Little has been published that fully pins down the reality of Wellington’s leadership, clearly identifying his weaknesses as well as his strengths. George E. Jaycock, in this perceptive and thought-provoking reassessment, does not aim to undermine Wellington’s achievements, but to provide a more nuanced perspective. He clarifies some simple but fundamental truths regarding his leadership and his performance as a commander. Through an in-depth study of his actions over the war years of 1808 to 1815, the author reassesses Wellington’s effectiveness as a commander, the competence of his subordinates, and the qualities of the troops he led. His study gives a fascinating insight into Wellington’s career and abilities. Wellington’s Command is absorbing reading for both military historians and those with an interest in the Napoleonic period.
