Featured battle : Somosierra

Part of The French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars

Date : 29 November 1808 - 30 November 1808

San Juan's force were sent to hold up the French approach to Madrid by blocking the Somosierra Pass. On the 29th San Juan's forward positions in the village of Sepulveda were over run. On the 30th troops fron Victor's corps were working their way round the Spanish position when Napoleon ordered his personal escort cavalry to charge straight up the pass. They almost succeeded but 60 of the 80 were killed. A more coordinated attack of infantry supported by guns and in the later stages heavy cavalry eventually won the day. San Juan was killed by his own men when he attempted to stem their flight.

The Transformation of British Naval Strategy

James Davey
This is a book aimed more at the specialist rather than the general browser. Having said that it is written in an easy flowing style which makes the subject matter easy to understand. The subject of the book, sub-titled 'seapower and supply in Northern Europe 1808 to 1812' is the logistical problem of keeping a substantial fleet supplied with all its needs far from any base. The story is one of the evolution and development of systems which brought together the different branches of the supply chain to become a very efficient 'machine'. The end user, Admiral Saumarez's fleet, contributed greatly, in terms of the feed back, to the vast improvements made. The text is supported by very few illustrations and maps but with a wealth of tables and graphs.
A book not to missed by students of Napoleonic naval warfare.
I warmly recommend a fascinatingly good read.
The Boydell Press, 2012