Jun 01 2011
Contemporary views are often a useful corrective to how we see situations 200 years ago through the wrong end of the telescope. The following article, the first of two on the subject, considers a contemporary assessment of the French army. Continue Reading »
Apr 01 2011
Cadiz from the sea
Graham had won the battle of Barrosa; now he needed to win the battle of words which followed. Continue Reading »
Mar 01 2011
After an abortive march inland (see last month’s article), the combined Anglo-Spanish force, under the command of General La Peña, was following a coastal route back towards Cadiz, to link up with the small force of General Zayas, operating from Cadiz. The first attempt by Zayas to build a pontoon bridge and attack the French from the rear had been thwarted when Victor attacked the tête-du-pont at Santi Petri on the night of the 3rd March. Zayas, however, had been able to save the pontoons, keeping them on the Isla. Continue Reading »
Dec 24 2010
Although a soldier of Wellington’s army would no doubt be amazed by our modern Christmas, which only began to develop in the mid-nineteenth century, it was still a special time. For men hundreds of miles from home, Christmas could provoke some unexpected feelings. Continue Reading »
Dec 01 2010
Frontispiece from the 1806 edition of Captain Grose’s book. Continue Reading »
Nov 01 2010
The large tile mosaic in the museum at Vimeiro, showing a general view of the battle. Continue Reading »
Sep 01 2010
