British Sieges of the Peninsular War by Frederick Myatt

British Sieges of the Peninsular War by Frederick Myatt

The Peninsular War continues to be of great interest to students of military history, but the various siege operations have tended to be overlooked. However as Frederick Myatt demonstrates in British Sieges of the Peninsular War, they are of no less interest than the battles in the open fields, particularly in Spain where the circumstances were so unusual. The British Army under Wellington was hopelessly outnumbered by the French and could only keep the field at all by virtue of the superior supply system which enabled them to remain concentrated, whereas the French, who lived off the country, were compelled to disperse widely in order to survive. They were nevertheless capable of rapid concentration for a particular object, so that any siege operation conducted by the British inevitably ran the risk of being overwhelmed by sheer weight of numbers of the relieving force. As a result, Wellington’s main preoccupation was not how long it would take to bring a siege to a successful conclusion by normal means but rather what chance he had of snatching success before the French overcame their supply problems and arrived in front of him.

Frederick Myatt won the Military Cross in Burma in 1944 whilst in command of the Gold Coast Regiment. On leaving the army in 1968 he was appointed curator of The Weapons Museum at the School of Infantry at Warminster. He was the author of numerous works of military history, including The Soldier's Trade, Peninsular General and The British Infantry 1600-1945.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781862274273
ISBN 10	1862274274
Title	British Sieges of the Peninsular War
Author	Frederick Myatt
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	The History Press Ltd
Year published	2008-01-29
Number of pages	192
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.