Featured battle : Mars-la-Tour

Part of Franco-Prussian War

Date : 16 August 1870

Marshal Bazaine had been ordered by Napoleon III to withdraw from Metz and concentrate at the fortress of Verdun but as he began the withdrawal, Prussian forces caught up. The Prussian 2nd Army under Prince Frederick Charles was sent west to make contact with the French and when the 3rd Corps under von Alvensleben came under fire, they assumed it was a rearguard, but soon realised it was in fact the whole 2nd Army and threw in all available troops. The surprise stalled the French, and with Bazaine more concerned about communications with Metz than Verdun, the advance halted. Later in the day the Prussian 10th Corps arrived on their left to shore up the defence and the French move on Verdun was abandoned. Casualties on the Prussian side were heavy but they achieved their objective of delaying the French.

Wellington's History of the Peninsular War

Stuart Reid
In this book we find the four long memoranda concerning the Peninsular war which Wellington wrote. He only did this for the years 1808, 1809, 1810 and 1811; it is a pity that he did not do the same for the remaining years of the war. However these years are covered by the author in selecting some dispatches from Wellington concerning the major battles 1812 to 1814. This is the first time that this material has been brought together as a continuous narrative. It is supported by brief summaries of the careers of the officers mentioned in Wellington’s dispatches, by a set of 21 very nice annotated colour plates, and 8 moderately useful maps. Appendix 2 is particularly worthy of mention as it contains a breakdown of the Peninsular army from 1808 -1814. It goes into much detail even to the extent of movement of regiments between division and temporary commands of various formations.
What I found really interesting is the way Wellington writes about events, actions and other people which reveals so much about himself. The times he goes through the thought process in considering the for and against an action proceeding to explain why he came to the conclusion he reached. He constantly makes reference to the well being of the men and to the subsistence of both men and animals. He held to Napoleon’s maxim ‘an army marches on its stomach’ far better than Napoleon ever did. This is Wellington’s performance review of his own and his subordinates actions and we see a generous nature in his praise of them.
This is a very good read for the general reader and a valuable resource for the specialist. We highly recommend it.

Frontline Books, 2019