War in the Peninsula

The new series of Spellmount Military Memoirs provides rare and sought-after texts for the collector of classic historical works, together with rigorously selected personal narratives never before in print - destined to become classics in their own right. This book provides two rare memoirs for the price of one. Lieutenant Knowles served in the 7th (Royal) Fusiliers 1811 - 1813, seeing action in several battles of the Peninsular War, being wounded at the Storming of Badajos and at the Battle of Salamanca, He was killed at the Battle of the Pyrenees.

By combining the overall picture of the campaign by Lt Knowles with the bloody narrative of the storming of the Castle by Captain MacCarthy, this book offers the discerning reader a whole new perspective on the campaign in its 200th anniversary. Wellington watched helplessly as the cream of his army was smashed against the ramparts of Badajos - and even the Iron Duke could not quell the orgy of pillage and destruction that followed when the Castle finally fell. What did these two brave officers - of very different temperaments - make of such terrible events?Ian Fetcher, an acknowledged expert on the Peninsular War, introduces both memoirs.