As Napoleon's French Army retreated, all hope that it could maintain a hold over the Iberian Peninsula began to fade. By September of 1813 the Allied Army commanded by the 'captain of the age'-the Duke of Wellington-stood on the frontier of France within the area of the estuary of the Bidassoa. Napoleon was being pressed on two fronts, but he still had a large reserve of veteran troops stationed in the south of France to call upon. The time had come to tighten the grip on France. Wellington would now invade it, engage the southern army which it was hoped would spur the Coalition of northern European powers to greater endeavours to bring about its defeat. No longer now an expanding empire, the French were faced with the defence of their own homeland and Wellington was poised for a campaign which would bring a large and prosperous region of it under allied control. It would be a contest bitterly fought as only those with desperate stakes can be. In this, the second of Beatson's series on the fall of Revolutionary France published by Leonaur, the reader is once again taken into the centre of Wellington's strategic and tactical genius. Every action is described in detail and complemented by the voices of the soldiers who experienced those momentous times.

The final phase of the campaign in the Iberian Peninsula
F. C. Beatson's famous trilogy on the genius of the Duke of Wellington as military commander as he led his 'old peninsular army' towards victory is a classic study of the 'great captain of the age' at the height of his powers. It is also an account of the British Army on campaign that encompasses both strategy and tactics together with the personal narratives of the soldiers who took part in these fascinating battles of the Napoleonic Wars. The days of French dominance of Spain and the British war of retreat and defence are over. Everywhere it is Napoleon's French Army that is retiring and it appears that the pivotal battle of Vitoria has heralded their decline. Between the French and their homeland stretches the great natural barrier of the Pyrenees mountain range--difficult terrain ideal for defence. Over the border lay vital resources for the continuance of the war. Marshal Soult believes all is not lost and he intends to throw the advancing Wellington back and regain the offensive.

Wellington's contribution to the end of the Napoleonic AgeNapoleon's bright star is fading and following his Russian defeat and further setbacks in Northern Europe his back is against the wall .The great powers are advancing on his borders and the beleaguered French have few resources in men or material that compare to those opposed to them. Now the Emperor must face advancing armies on two fronts-because the war in Spain has been effectively lost and his army under Soult is being pressed back over the borders of the French motherland by the dogged military genius of the Duke of Wellington and his 'Old Peninsula Army', a body of men of whom he would say 'he could go anywhere and do anything ' The mighty barrier of the Pyrenees has been crossed and now the campaign is moving into Southern France where the difficult fighting in the 'gaves' or torrential ravine country of the highlands is taxing for the attacker and favours a desperate defender. The drama is nevertheless drawing to a close as the curtain is about to be drawn on the golden epoch that is the First Empire. Pitched battle lies ahead and at Orthez. This would be a particularly desperate affair as the 'eagles' are finally brought to bay. Only Toulouse would follow and by this time Napoleon would be close to his abdication in Paris. This final chapter of F. C. Beatson's brilliant trilogy shows the 'captain of the age' at his most inspired and makes all three books essential additions to any Peninsular War library.

Wellington's contribution to the end of the Napoleonic Age Napoleon's bright star is fading and following his Russian defeat and further setbacks in Northern Europe his back is against the wall .The great powers are advancing on his borders and the beleaguered French have few resources in men or material that compare to those opposed to them. Now the Emperor must face advancing armies on two fronts-because the war in Spain has been effectively lost and his army under Soult is being pressed back over the borders of the French motherland by the dogged military genius of the Duke of Wellington and his 'Old Peninsula Army', a body of men of whom he would say 'he could go anywhere and do anything ' The mighty barrier of the Pyrenees has been crossed and now the campaign is moving into Southern France where the difficult fighting in the 'gaves' or torrential ravine country of the highlands is taxing for the attacker and favours a desperate defender. The drama is nevertheless drawing to a close as the curtain is about to be drawn on the golden epoch that is the First Empire. Pitched battle lies ahead and at Orthez. This would be a particularly desperate affair as the 'eagles' are finally brought to bay. Only Toulouse would follow and by this time Napoleon would be close to his abdication in Paris. This final chapter of F. C. Beatson's brilliant trilogy shows the 'captain of the age' at his most inspired and makes all three books essential additions to any Peninsular War library.

As Napoleon's French Army retreated, all hope that it could maintain a hold over the Iberian Peninsula began to fade. By September of 1813 the Allied Army commanded by the 'captain of the age'-the Duke of Wellington-stood on the frontier of France within the area of the estuary of the Bidassoa. Napoleon was being pressed on two fronts, but he still had a large reserve of veteran troops stationed in the south of France to call upon. The time had come to tighten the grip on France. Wellington would now invade it, engage the southern army which it was hoped would spur the Coalition of northern European powers to greater endeavours to bring about its defeat. No longer now an expanding empire, the French were faced with the defence of their own homeland and Wellington was poised for a campaign which would bring a large and prosperous region of it under allied control. It would be a contest bitterly fought as only those with desperate stakes can be. In this, the second of Beatson's series on the fall of Revolutionary France published by Leonaur, the reader is once again taken into the centre of Wellington's strategic and tactical genius. Every action is described in detail and complemented by the voices of the soldiers who experienced those momentous times.

The final phase of the campaign in the Iberian Peninsula
F. C. Beatson's famous trilogy on the genius of the Duke of Wellington as military commander as he led his 'old peninsular army' towards victory is a classic study of the 'great captain of the age' at the height of his powers. It is also an account of the British Army on campaign that encompasses both strategy and tactics together with the personal narratives of the soldiers who took part in these fascinating battles of the Napoleonic Wars. The days of French dominance of Spain and the British war of retreat and defence are over. Everywhere it is Napoleon's French Army that is retiring and it appears that the pivotal battle of Vitoria has heralded their decline. Between the French and their homeland stretches the great natural barrier of the Pyrenees mountain range--difficult terrain ideal for defence. Over the border lay vital resources for the continuance of the war. Marshal Soult believes all is not lost and he intends to throw the advancing Wellington back and regain the offensive.