The first French invasion of Portugal in 1807 - which was commanded by Junot, one of Napoleon's most experienced generals - was a key event in the long, brutal Peninsular War, and it was the first campaign fought in the Peninsular by Sir Arthur Wellesley, later Duke of Wellington, yet it tends to be overshadowed by more famous episodes in the six-year conflict that followed. David Buttery, in this original and perceptive new study, sets the record straight - his tightly focused narrative covers the entire campaign in vivid detail. AUTHOR: David Buttery has established a reputation as a leading historian of nineteenth-century British military history and the British Empire. He has made a particular study of the Napoleonic and Crimean Wars. He has worked in newspapers and in an oral history archive and has published extensively in many of the leading military history periodicals including the Victorian Military Society's journal, The Leicestershire Chronicle and Military Illustrated. His most recent books are Wellington Against Massena: The Third Invasion of Portugal 1810-1811 and Messenger of Death? Captain Nolan and the Charge of the Light Brigade. SELLING POINTS: ? Compelling study of the opening campaign of the Peninsular War ? Reassessment of two great Peninsular generals ? Vivid reconstructions of the battles at Rolica and Vimiero ? Insight into Napoleonic warfare from eyewitness accounts ? Covers the guerrilla war against the French ? Reconsiders the impact of the campaign on the outcome of the Peninsular War ILLUSTRATIONS: 30 illustrations *
