Product Description

The major fortresses of the Iberian peninsular controlled the most important routes in and out of the country. Although all these fortifications had existed prior to the French invasion, they were considerably renovated and updated according to the principles of French military engineering laid down by the great engineer Vauban. This renovation included the adding of ravelins, bastions, curtains, counterscarps and all the other defensive features of the period. This title examines these fortifications, their design, development and strategic importance. It also deals with the various attempts, both successful and otherwise, that were made to besiege and storm them, some of the bloodiest and most savage encounters of the Peninsular War.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #590167 in Books
• Published on: 2003-11-19
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 64 pages

About the Author
Ian Fletcher has established a reputation as a Napoleonic historian of the first rank, with particular regard to the British Army in the Peninsular. He has been widely published and among his several titles for Osprey are Elite 52: 'Wellington's Foot Guards' and Campaign 65: 'Badajoz 1812'. Bill Younghusband was born in 1936. He has been interested in all things military since childhood, an interest compounded through the reading of authors such as G. A. Henty. In 1954 he joined the Life Guards and saw service in Egypt and Cyprus. Bill is a respected military illustrator of many years' experience, and has illustrated numerous Osprey books on 18th- and 19th-century subjects. He is married, and lives in Ireland.