Salamanca 1812: Wellington’s Year of Victories

From the publishers:

1812 was the year in which the Peninsular War swung in the favor of the combined forces of the British, the Spanish and the Portuguese. This was the result of a series of victories over the French gained by the allied armies under Wellington, and this is the subject of Peter Edwards's compelling new history. The year began with Wellington launching a series of raids in Estramadura to distract French attention from preparations for an assault on Ciudad Rodrigo, which was taken in late-January. There followed the capture of Badajoz and the advance on Salamanca, which was captured after a ten-day siege. The Battle of Salamanca, on 22 July, saw some 50,000 French troops arrayed against a similar number of allies. Using ground astutely, Wellington gained a crushing victory, inflicting over 14,000 French casualties. Although there was a rebuff at Burgos later in the year, Wellington's forces were firmly on the march to victory in the Iberian Peninsula. Peter Edwards uses a range of sources to bring to life this pivotal year in the Peninsular War. His work offers a fascinating insight into the strategy, the command decisions and the experience of combat 200 years ago.