In August 1808, a 14,000-man British army landed at Figura da Fozin Portugal under the future Wellington, Sir Arthur Wellesley. General Andoche Junot had 25,000 French troops in Portugal but these were scattered trying to contain the Portuguese. A 6,000-strong French force under General de Laborde was sent against the British. Wellesley outmanoeuvred his opponent and, at Rolica on 17 August, defeated the French. The suprized French mustered a further 13,000 men and hoped to defeat the British quickly as more troops were arriving from England. Junot met Wellesley (16,000 British, 2,000 Portuguese) at Vimeiro on 21 August.

While small in numbers, the Belgian Army played a vital role in World War 2 that is often overlooked. Germany's invasion of neutral Belgium, which led Britain to declare war in August 1914, should have been swift and fierce yet the unexpected heroic defence, against great odds, of Belgian fortresses, frustrated the German Schlieffen Plan for a thrust to Paris and a lightning victory. The plucky Belgian resistance proved successful in buying time for French and British troops to mobilize and report to the front, where the Belgians would then go on to fight, stubbornly defending the northern end of the Allied trench line for the rest of the war. In this work, discover the story of this determined Army, from their organization and commanders, to their uniforms and equipment. The only main combatant army of World War I not previously covered by Osprey, this volume will be an important addition to any enthusiast's collection, accompanied by detailed artwork and archive photographs.

The two regiments of Carabiniers were reorganized in 1802 as part of Napoleon's cavalry reforms on taking the Consulate. They were the elite of the heavy horse, selected from the best men of the more numerous Cuirassier regiments and distinguished by tall bearskins. They fought in all Napoleon's early triumphs - Austerlitz, Friedland, Eckmuehl, Essling and Wagram. After this victorious campaign their dress was changed. They were issued cuirasses and helmets of brass, which were striking against their new white and sky-blue uniform. This book incorporates research and striking illustrations to tell the story of these brave men and detail their uniforms and equipment.

By 1810 Viscount Wellington had been forced onto the defensive. Napoleon was not about to give up and ordered a third massive invasion of Portugal. Wellington was now faced by 80,000 men of the Army of Portugal under Marshal Massena. At Bussaco on 27 September the British/Portuguese force offered battle. They had taken up a strong defensive position on high ground. Massena was perhaps too confident; the determined attacks of the French were all repulsed with the loss of 4500 French casualties against less than 1300 for the Anglo-Portuguese. This title shows how Bussaco was both a stinging defeat for the French army, and a demonstration of the courage and quality of the newly reorganized Portuguese army. It includes coverage of the construction of the defence lines around Lisbon - a masterpiece of military engineering.

Osprey's study of James Wolfe's siege of Louisbourg during the French and Indian War (1754-1763). Louisbourg represented a major threat to Anglo-American plans to invade Canada. Bypassing it would leave an immensely powerful enemy base astride the Anglo-American lines of communication - Louisbourg had to be taken. Faced with strong beach defences and rough weather, it took six days to land the troops, and it was only due to a stroke of daring on the part of a young brigadier named James Wolfe, who managed to turn the French beach position, that this was achieved. The story is largely based on firsthand accounts from the journals of several participants, including French Governor Drucour's, whose excellent account has never been published.

Following his study of the astonishing range of French Royalist and foreign mercenary units employed by Britain in the period 1793-1802 of the French Revolutionary Wars (Men-at-Arms 328), the author describes - often for the first time in an English language publication - the part played by their successors during the crucial years of the Napoleonic Wars. He covers not only relatively well-recorded units, such as Roll's, Meuron's and Watteville's Swiss corps, but also the unjustly neglected Italians, Corsicans and Greeks, and such exotica as the African and Ceylon regiments. Uniform details of nearly 40 corps are based on impressive primary research, and this book and its companion volume make a genuinely new contribution to Napoleonic studies.