Wellington’s Guns: The Untold Story of Wellington and his Artillery in the Peninsula and at Waterloo

 
From the publisher:
 
“Dismissive, conservative and aloof, Wellington treated his artillery with disdain during the Napoleonic Wars – despite their growing influence on the field of battle. Wellington's Guns exposes, for the very first time, the often stormy relationship between Wellington and his artillery, how the reluctance to modernize the British artillery corps threatened to derail the British push for victory and how Wellington's views on the command and appointment structure within the artillery opened up damaging rifts between him and his men.
 
At a time when artillery was undergoing revolutionary changes – from the use of mountain guns during the Pyrenees campaign in the Peninsular, the innovative execution of 'danger-close' missions to clear the woods of Hougomont at Waterloo, to the introduction of creeping barrages and Congreve's rockets – Wellington seemed to remain distrustful of a force that played a significant role in shaping tactics and changing the course of the war.
 
Using extensive research and first-hand accounts, Colonel Nick Lipscombe reveals that despite Wellington's brilliance as a field commander, his abrupt and uncompromising leadership style, particularly towards his artillery commanders, shaped the Napoleonic Wars, and how despite this, the ever-evolving technology and tactics ensured that the extensive use of artillery became one of the hallmarks of a modern army.

Contents:

•Introduction
•Robe's Frustrations
•Moore's Arrival and Advance
•Backs to the Sea
•Portuguese Liberation
•Spanish Collaboration
•The Defence of Portugal and Cadiz
•The Third French Invasion
•The Defence of Lisbon
•Masséna's Last Throw of the Dice
•A Bloody Sideshow
•The Glorious Fields of Grief
•Dickson – the die is cast
•Capturing the Keys
•The Salamanca Campaign
•The Failure at Burgos
•The Forgotten Front – opening moves
•The Vitoria Campaign
•The Forgotten Front – failure to consolidate
•The Battle of the Pyrenees
•The Final Siege
•Southern France – the final Battles
•The Final Battle
•Interlude
•Napoleon Returns
•Opening Moves
•Battle at Waterloo
•The Immediate Aftermath
•The Peace Dividend”