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WELLINGTON IN FRANCE
In 1813 and early 1814, the British and their Portuguese allies fought a series of battles against Frenchmen defending their native soil. In a fascinating new book, author Ian Robertson concentrates on this dramatic period, that has been little written about, and sheds new light on this challenging part of Wellington's military career. The book, entitled WELLINGTON INVADES FRANCE: THE FINAL PHASE OF THE PENINSULAR WAR, 1813-1814, will be published by Greenhill next month.
Drawing on eyewitness accounts and official despatches, Ian Robertson outlines the nature of the war as well as tracing the complicated manoeuvering and operations of the British and French armies. He describes in detail such hard-fought actions as the Nivelle, Orthez, Toulouse and Bayonne and throws light on some less-well-known clashes, many of which were fought in the unforgiving terrain of the Pyrenees.
For Wellington, as well as for his men, the campaign in France was a test of stamina and endurance. Now in hostile territory, and fighting an implacable and energetic foe,Wellington's troops fought hard to crown their victories and bring the war to a successful conclusion.
Ian Robertson is author of Wellington At War In The Peninsula and a respected writer on Spain, Portugal and France, notes in his Preface that:
"It has long been my intention to have a closer look at the concluding phase of the Peninsular War, between the battles of Vitoria (21 June 1813) and Toulouse (10 April 1814), terminating the long-drawn out contest. Too often, the several actions fought during that period in the Pyrenean frontier - among them Sorauren, Nivelle, Nive and Orthez, and the siege of San Sebastian - are assumed to be of less importance than the more obviously spectacular encounters during the war, notably (apart from Vitoria itself) Salamanca, not to mention those of Corunna, Talavera, and La Albuera, whose names may be more familiar.
My interest in the Peninsular War was motivated by my marriage to a Basque, whose parents now lie in the cemetery of Sare, a village through which part of the Battle of the Nivelle was fought. Forty years ago there was little of any consequence in print concerning Britain's struggle against the forces of Napoleonic France and I was in a position to both commission and edit Jac Weller's WELLINGTON IN THE PENSULA, first published in 1962, which together with his WELLINGTON AT WATERLOO and WELLINGTON IN INDIA, has been reprinted by Greenhill Books. Since writing Wellington at War in the Peninsula - a very general 'overview' and guide - I have contributed introductions to reprints of both Gleig's The Subaltern and Larpent's Journal."
Ian Robertson is not only a respected historian of the conflict but he also benefits from first-hand knowledge of the region in which Wellington's army campaigned in southern France. After a long residence in Spain, he now lives in Arles, France and was able to study and walk the battlefields of late 1813 and early 1814:
"I admit to not having scaled every steep and rugged mountain pass in the western Pyrenees traversed by Wellington¹s men in all climates, where often drizzles a 'sirri-mirri' the Basque equivalent for a Scotch mist and, in winter, thick snow falls. However, on more than one occasion, I have run into the dense, low clouds that surge in from the Biscayan coast and settle on the heights, making visibility nil at Roncesvalles, as General Lowry Cole had experienced also, causing him to retire rather than find himself and his troops cut off by Soult's advance on Pamplona.
In the interests of this book I decided to spend several days in the area, basing myself in a frontier village overlooking the ridge of San Marcial. From there, accompanied by my wife, I revisited almost every site fought over between Vitoria and Toulouse, which enabled me to describe better, in more detail and from a recent reconnaissance, the lie of the land. Luckily, although San Sebastian itself has grown enormously, it is still fairly obvious from where the Allies bombarded and assaulted the town. A less tiring afternoon was spent in St-Jean-de-Luz, Wellington¹s winter HQ. While naturally there has been a great deal of urbanisation between Bayonne still dominated by its citadel and largely surrounded by its Vaubanesque fortifications and Biarritz, the main areas of fighting around the 'Mayor's House', the church of Arcangues, and the chateau of Larraldia below the battlefield of St-Pierre, have little changed in almost 200 years. The military cemeteries just north of Bayonne deserve a visist. The sites of Sorauren and Orthez, Garris and those near Tarbes, remain almost exactly as they were. Only Toulouse remains a problem to envisage: I've been at particular pains to provide a comprehensive ground plan of the area of fighting, which, even if now entirely built over, should enable the reader to work out for himself almost exactly what happened, and to imagine what it would have been like at the time."
WELLINGTON INVADES FRANCE is a detailed and unique study, written by an author with an intimate knowledge of the area in which the campaign was fought and one who is thoroughly versed in all aspects of the military history of the Peninsular War. WELLINGTON INVADES FRANCE will be published next month, for the International Napoleonic Fair (Sunday 16th February) at which Ian Robertson will be presenting a talk.
The book is 240 x 159mm, has 288 pages and is £18.95.
Full information about this, and other books published by Greenhill Books, can be obtained from our web site at www.greenhillbooks.com
GREENHILL BOOKS/LIONEL LEVENTHAL LIMITED Park House, 1 Russell Gardens, London NW11 9NN . Telephone: 020 8458 6314 . Fax: 020 8905 5245. E-mail: sales@greenhillbooks.com. Web: www.greenhillbooks.com.
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