A History of the Peninsular War: December 1810 - December 1811, Massena's Retreat, Fuendes De Onoro, Abuera, Tarragona

by Charles Oman

Volume IV covers the period during which Portugal was finally secured from the danger of French conquest. French successes in Spain continued but the army under Massena was forced finally to retreat from Portugal. The Allied offensive began to gather momentum, although their attempt to recapture Badajoz was unsuccessful. Beresford's campaign on the southern frontier of Portugal included one of the hardest-fought actions of the era, the Battle of Albuera, and Graham's victory at Barrosa aided the long-running defence of Cadiz against the French siege. Wellington saw victory at Fuentes de Onoro, and smaller scale successes for the British Army also occurred at E1 Bodon, Sabugal and Arroyo dos Molinos.

Genres: History, Military History, French Revolution, Military Fiction

664 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1996

About the author

Sir Charles William Chadwick Oman was a British military historian of the early 20th century. His reconstructions of medieval battles from the fragmentary and distorted accounts left by chroniclers were pioneering. His style is an invigorating mixture of historical accuracy and emotional highlights, and it makes his narratives, though founded on deep research, often read as smoothly as fiction, especially in his History of the Peninsular War. Occasionally, his interpretations have been challenged, especially his widely copied thesis that British troops defeated their Napoleonic opponents by firepower alone. Paddy Griffith, among modern historians, claims the British infantry's discipline and willingness to attack were equally important.

He was born in India, the son of a British planter, and was educated at Oxford University, where he studied under William Stubbs. In 1881 he was elected to a Prize Fellowship at All Souls College, where he would remain for the rest of his career.

He was elected the Chichele Professor of modern history at Oxford in 1905, in succession to Montagu Burrows. He was also elected to the FBA that year, serving as President of the Royal Historical and Numismatic societies, and of the Royal Archaeological Institute.

His academic career was interrupted by the First World War, during which he was employed by the government Press Bureau and Foreign Office.

Oman was a Conservative member of Parliament for the University of Oxford constituency from 1919 to 1935, and was knighted in 1920.

He became an honorary fellow of New College in 1936 and received the honorary degrees of DCL (Oxford, 1926) and LL.D (Edinburgh, 1911 and Cambridge, 1927). He died at Oxford.

Two of his children became authors. Son Charles wrote several volumes on British silverware and similar housewares. Daughter Carola was notable for her biographies, especially that of Nelson.

Reviews

[Peter Harrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a while since I read any of the seven volumes of Oman's monumental History of the Peninsular War. Volume 4 covers the French retreat from the Lines of Torres Vedras along with the major battles of Fuentes de Onoro and Albuera - along with enormous amounts of detail for what was going on throughout the Peninsular at the same time.

Despite the claims of recent history to be 'revisionist' and re-evaluate the Spanish contribution to the war I find Oman's approach unproblematic. He covers the Spanish campaigns in great detail and does not simply focus on the British army. Oman does make clear judgements about the performance of the armies and generals involved, and sometimes that feels like a slightly old fashioned approach to the subject. Those judgements are however based on sound research and are logically justified.

Oman is also the strongest proponent of what became the 'standard' analysis of the tactics of the time, with his criticism of French use of column and the superiority of the British line. I am not convinced that the argument is that simple, that there are many reasons for consistent success of the Anglo-Portuguese armies against the French.

As the 'standard' reading though, this is unsurpassed. The sheer level of detail is stupendous. Anyone with an interest in the Peninsular War still cannot avoid this monumental work.

[Rob Markley · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a total work this is possibly the greatest historical work ever written. It is still as readable and accurate as ever but of course the deeper you go the more detail there is to explore and this accounts for the quite unjustified criticism that everyone want to level at Oman

[Steven Malone]

Very detailed, well researched study of the Peninsular War. Will appeal to those interested in the campaign, the Napol and British military history.

If you liked the Sharpe series by Bernard Cornwell, this is a microscopic look into what happened there.

[Sue Law · Rating 5 out of 5]

Volume 4 of the most comprehensive history of the Peninsular War written in the English language. Oman's research was detailed and broad-ranging and he covers all aspects of this complex war in detail. 1811 was in many respects the turning point and Oman shows how all the different aspects of the allied military effort combined to force the French armies on to the defensive in all but one of the Peninsular theatres.
Oman's fluent language makes this mammoth work a delight to read.

[Errol Cavan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still the best and best written account of the campaign. Each volume (and there are seven) is long and detailed but the pace rarely flags and. It is detailed, analytical and definitive, a prodigous work of scholarship and style