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The Spanish Ulcer: A History of the Peninsular War
Download Ebook The Spanish Ulcer: A History of the Peninsular War
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From Publishers Weekly
In 1808, on the Iberian peninsula, Napoleon began a six-year war of attrition against Spain and its British and Portuguese allies. Expecting a quick victory, the French emperor instead found himself facing a strong foe (led by Britain's Duke of Wellington), including popular opposition in the form of guerrilla bands, and constant supply and communications problems. In this thorough military history, Gates, a university lecturer in Scotland, offers a battle-by-battle account of the war in its various theaters, with maps and other illustrations. His descriptions of the brutal fighting on barren terrain are clear and balanced, making this a valuable modern view of the conflict. He likens the "Spanish Ulcer," as the ultimately devastating defeat of Napoleon was called, to the present-day Soviet attempt to impose rule against the popular will in Afghanistan. History Book Club selection. Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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From Library Journal
The Peninsular War of 1807-14, now aptly known as Napoleon's Vietnam, has long been the subject of serious military study. This new book by a dependable historian updates the extensive literature on the subject and condenses it into a useful and readable volume. There is little in the way of interpretation beyond the traditional anti-Napoleonic bias of British writers, but Gates presents a solid nuts-and-bolts overview of a complex and particularly nasty war. He is deft at reducing the mass of names, battles, and dates into an enticing narrative, and numerous maps make it easy to follow each siege and skirmish. This book will be valuable to academics and enjoyed by lay historians. History Book Club selection. Raymond L. Puffer, U.S. Air Force History Prog., Los AngelesCopyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Product details
Hardcover: 576 pages
Publisher: Norton & Co. Inc.; 1st edition (April 1, 1986)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0393022811
ISBN-13: 978-0393022810
Package Dimensions:
9.4 x 6.4 x 1.9 inches
Shipping Weight: 3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review:
3.8 out of 5 stars
22 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
#1,570,007 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
This is one of my favorite books on the war in Spain for two reasons. First, it is easy to follow with lots of chapters and sub-chapters. The book also contains many maps to help the reader follow along. The second reason is that this book is very balanced in its account of the war. Many British authors tend to say that the war was won by Britain alone and that is that. Gates says that the war could not be won by either the Spanish or the British alone and gives neither of them the upper hand in who won. Gates even does the cardinal sin of commenting on Wellington's mistakes in the campaign and saying that the French marshals were not all bone heads making guesses. In the struggle between Wellington and Massena he virtually says that Massena should have won if he was on his top game! Gates is a very balanced author in his other books as well which makes his reads enjoyable. In addition he like to take the conflict as a whole rather than an isolated event that leaves the reader wondering what happens next. The book deals almost exclusively with the military aspect of the conflict so if you are looking for that this is your book! If you are looking for the social impact I suggest Esdale's book.
Most military history books quickly become embedded in politics and economics, and in the process fail to complete their analysis of the military aspects of the history.In this book Gates has maintained his focus all the way through the book, on the Military campaigns. Any politics or economics are introduced only to explain logistical difficulties or broad trends in strategic direction.In most English focused histories Wellington is portrayed as some kind of superman who went out to Spain and roundly defeated one French army after another. Gates shows how far this is from the actual truth. He highlights the crucial role played by Peninsular forces, who fielded one army after another to keep the French busy. He demonstrates how the partisan guerilla war prevented the French from concentrating against Wellington to drive him out.At the same time he demonstrates just why Wellington was the greatest soldier of his age. How he used intelligence and patience as his weapons. How he always selected his preferred battleground to gain maximum advantage against the French, who were after all, masterful foes. Wellington was the master of Soult, Ney and Massena, but not by much. He admitted that he would have lost if Napolean had been there himself.Gates lavishes praise on the abilities of the French to survive in the harsh environment of the Peninsula, and at the same time extolls the mastery of the British use of naval support to outflank their gallic rivals.From an Irish perspective it is interesting to note the large number of Irish named Generals fighting for the Spanish, the English and the French. Blake, Clarke, O'Donnell, Lacy and O'Neill to name only a few.If I had any criticism of this book it would be on the way maps are presented. You always have to check which way is north. I prefer when North is the top of the page! Otherwise the large numbers of maps of all scales are a very useful tool in interpretation of the movements in the battles.Gates is also helpful in giving the reader a brief introduction to the tactics of Napoleonic armies, explaining the purpose of line, column and square, the flanking manoevre, use of the reverse slope, the use of Cavalry V Infantry etc. A really wonderful book!
Gates' Spanish Ulcer is a one-volume history of the Peninsular War waged by France in Spain from 1808-1814. It covers all operations in this complicated conflict and contains a map every three or four pages. There is plenty here for the academic doing research, the professional military person learning the origins of guerilla, or 4th generation warfare, or the war gamer who wants to know the terrain and order of battle for a particular engagement. For the casual reader such as myself, however, the narrative is too dense and the descriptions of operations too detailed. I would have personally preferred an account that either focuses biographically on Wellington or the French marshals, or gives a smoother narrative of developments. Such was not Gates' goal, so I won't subtract any stars just because I chose the wrong book on the Peninsular War for myself. The Spanish Ulcer certainly deserves five stars for hitting the mark for those more specialized purposes.
I bought this book as an introduction to the Penisular War. Gates' text was great - covered all aspects of the war, went into enough battle detail to understand the action, but not so much that the story bogged down. I also felt his approach was balanced - Gates' theme wasn't all about Wellington beating down the French at every turn, but how each side gained advantage and disadvantage through various actions.The book's short fall was the maps and diagrams. Frankly, I felt they were of poor quality, and didn't add to the text. Maps were not used to illustrate the often complex strategic moves, but just show where cities and commands were located. Maps were often oriented in a strange manner (ie, north seeking arrow facing one of the sides) which was confusing. Battle maps were very hard to decipher, didn't illustrtate troop movements, and just didn't have a professional feel.Bottom line - great text, with poor supporing diagrams and maps. Suggest having a quality atlas of the Peninsular War handy when you read it!
In reading the Richard Sharpe series by Cornwell, one is left with an incomplete understanding of just how complex, difficult and messy the Peninsular War really was. Richard goes here - problem solved. Richard goes there - problem solved. This excellent book places all of the players in chronological and historical perspective giving the full picture of the military actions in this war. It gives scant attention to the political machinations of the adversaries; but does tie in the ebb and flow of Napoleon's commitment to this open wound on his southern flank. Well written and researched this book is well worth it.
An engaging summary of a terribly chaotic phase of the Napoleonic Wars.
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