Description
This Osprey title examines the crucial campaign culminating in the hard-fought battle that finally drove the French from Portugal during the Napoleonic Wars (1799-1815). In October 1810 the Allied position in Portugal appeared precarious. Despite defeating Marshal Masséna's French army at Bussaco, Wellington had been forced to retreat to within a few miles of Lisbon. Here the French encountered a massive line of fortifications stretching from the River Tagus to the sea. Built amid great secrecy and on Wellington's specific orders, these Lines of Torres Vedras were the French high-water mark. In February, with his army on the point of starvation, Masséna was forced to retreat and the scene was set for the climactic action of Fuentes de Oñoro.
About the authors
René Chartrand was born in Montreal and educated in Canada, the United States and the Bahamas. A senior curator with Canada's National Historic Sites for nearly three decades, he is now a freelance writer and historical consultant. He has written numerous articles and books including almost 20 Osprey titles and the first two volumes of ‘Canadian Military Heritage’. Also a student of wines, he currently lives in Hull, Quebec, with his wife and two sons.
Other titles by Rene Chartrand
Raiders from New France
North American Forest Warfare Tactics, 17th-18th Centuries
French Naval & Colonial Troops 1872-1914
Forts of the American Revolution 1775-83
Montcalm's Crushing Blow
French and Indian Raids along New York's Oswego River 1756
French Musketeer 1622-1775
Talavera 1809
Wellington's lightning strike into Spain
Oldest Allies
Alcantara 1809
Forts of the War of 1812
Tomahawk and Musket
French and Indian Raids in the Ohio Valley 1758
Japanese War Art and Uniforms 1853-1930
Other titles by Patrice Courcelle
Gibraltar 1779-1783
The Great Siege
Bussaco 1810
Wellington defeats Napoleon's Marshals
Vimeiro 1808
Wellesley's first victory in the Peninsular
Louisbourg 1758
Wolfe's first siege
Ticonderoga 1758
Montcalm's victory against all odds
Emigre and Foreign Troops in British Service (2)
1803-15
Emigre and Foreign Troops in British Service (1)
1793-1802