Wellington's contribution to the end of the Napoleonic Age Napoleon's bright star is fading and following his Russian defeat and further setbacks in Northern Europe his back is against the wall .The great powers are advancing on his borders and the beleaguered French have few resources in men or material that compare to those opposed to them. Now the Emperor must face advancing armies on two fronts-because the war in Spain has been effectively lost and his army under Soult is being pressed back over the borders of the French motherland by the dogged military genius of the Duke of Wellington and his 'Old Peninsula Army', a body of men of whom he would say 'he could go anywhere and do anything!' The mighty barrier of the Pyrenees has been crossed and now the campaign is moving into Southern France where the difficult fighting in the 'gaves' or torrential ravine country of the highlands is taxing for the attacker and favours a desperate defender. The drama is nevertheless drawing to a close as the curtain is about to be drawn on the golden epoch that is the First Empire. Pitched battle lies ahead and at Orthez. This would be a particularly desperate affair as the 'eagles' are finally brought to bay. Only Toulouse would follow and by this time Napoleon would be close to his abdication in Paris. This final chapter of F. C. Beatson's brilliant trilogy shows the 'captain of the age' at his most inspired and makes all three books essential additions to any Peninsular War library.
