March of Death
Book Review
by Paul Chamberlain
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Sir John Moore’s Retreat to Corunna, 1808-1809
This study of Sir John Moore’s campaign of 1808-09 has, as its emphasis, the horrors of the retreat, using diaries, memoirs, letters and reports of many of the survivors to tell the story. Much of the text includes the liberal use of quotes from such sources. The story begins with Moore’s appointment to command the British Army in Portugal, his advance into Spain, and the problems he encountered in the form of transport, supplies and his Spanish allies. Moore’s own correspondence is used to illustrate and explain the serious problems he faced on the advance into Spain, and the author uses this as the background to explain why the horrors experienced on the retreat actually happened. Moore’s actions are studied, such as retreating when he could have turned and fought, and setting a punishing pace for the retreat when there seemed no reason to do so. The reasons for these decisions are placed in context with the state of the army at the time. This book does not provide any new revelations about the Corunna campaign, but it does relate in vivid detail the sufferings experienced by an army in retreat, and the reasons some units suffered a collapse of discipline. The liberal use of contemporary accounts brings to life the horrors of the long march to Corunna. The hunger, cold and exhaustion of the soldiers is described in such clear detail that the reader will easily imagine he is trudging through the mud and snow with them. Some soldiers succumbed to the conditions, dispensing with discipline, or simply giving up, while others carried on heroically, and their stories are graphically described to show all aspects of the human character during this terrible retreat. The only minor criticism I have about this book is that while there are notes at the end of each chapter, and a bibliography, the notes are very brief, and I feel that the quotes from the contemporary sources could have been better referenced. That aside, while there is nothing new to be found in this book, it does relate the horrors of the retreat in a vivid, fast-moving and very readable account. As a story of the human spirit in adversity, and the way soldiers cope (or otherwise), this work has value in the study of the campaign in the Peninsula. Book Review
Osprey Vanguard Books The Emperor’s Last Victory Letters from the Battle of Waterloo March of Death (Corunna 1809) Osprey: Wellington (Peninsula) Back to Table of Contents -- First Empire # 80 Back to First Empire List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2004 by First Empire. This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com |