WELLINGTON’S LIGHT DIVISION THE IN THE PENINSULAR WAR
◗ Robert Burnham ◗ Frontline Books (2020) ◗ £30.00 ◗ 448 pages (hardback) ◗ ISBN:9781526758903 ◗ frontline-books.com
This book’s subtitles,‘britain’s Rise to Global Superpower in the Age of Napoleon: The Formation, Campaigns and Battles of Wellington’s Famous Fighting Force 1810’, sums up its contents perfectly.
The opening chapter summarises briefly the origins of the division: the British Army began raising local light infantry battalions in the West Indies in the 1790s; Hompesch’s Chasseurs, a German émigré regiment, became the rifle-armed 5th Battalion 60th Foot; the formation of the Experimental Corps of Riflemen in 1800; the conversion of line to light infantry regiments at Shorncliffe; the deployment of the newly named Light Brigade for the expedition to Copenhagen in 1807; the expedition to Portugal in 1808; the Corunna campaign; the Light Brigade’s orders to join Wellesley’s army in Spain in 1809 and its march to Talavera.
The second chapter begins with the creation of the Light Division by a General Order of 22nd February 1810, under the command of Major-general Robert Craufurd, and commences a chronological account of its service until the end of December 1810. The author uses numerous quotations from the letters, diaries and memoirs of officers and men who served in the division to create a vivid impression of their experiences and the‘esprit de corps’ that made them the elite of the Peninsular army, whilst simultaneously providing a carefully researched, detailed narrative that will enable wargamers to recreate the action at Barba del Puerco, the Combat on the Coa or Marshal Ney’s attack on the Light Division at the Battle of Busaco, or provide inspiration for skirmish games portraying minor actions.
The final chapter describes what happened to the officers and men who feature prominently in the narrative; those on the staff are listed first, followed by members of the division’s British regiments of foot; Portuguese Cacadores; King’s German Legion and British light dragoons; Ross’s Royal Horse Artillery, and Royal Engineers. Members of each unit are listed alphabetically, not by rank. Many of them, sadly, were to die later of their wounds or be killed in action: a salutary reminder for wargamers that‘the paths of glory lead but to the grave.’
Thirty-two illustrations, a mixture of modern colour and monochrome photographs of sites, are bound into the book in two separate sections. A onepage Key to Map Symbols is provided immediately before the text to help readers to interpret the fifteen full page maps that accompany the text.
Five appendices contain tables showing the strength of the Light Division from February to December 1810; a gazetteer of the nineteenth century place names and their modern equivalents; the locations of bridges and fords across the Agueda and Azaba rivers, with contemporary and modern place names, geographical coordinates, military grid reference system and map names; and General Craufurd’s reports on the action at Villa de Puerco and the Combat of the Coa. An extensive bibliography, an index of names and another of places conclude the book.
Highly recommended to anyone interested in the British Army of the Peninsular War in general, or the exploits of the Light Division in particular. Even if you have already read some of the participants’ accounts quoted in the text and are familiar with the campaign, you will find this book a most enjoyable read and discover some new information in its pages.
Arthur Harman