THE HARDEST FIGHT
It is early 1811 and Lord Wellington's redcoat army is still in the Peninsula, clinging to its hopes of keeping the French from adding Portugal and Spain to the Empire. There had been a victory against the formidable Marshal Massena at Busaco late the previous summer, but the outnumbered allied army has been forced to fall back towards Lisbon.
The pursuing French forces find that they are in for a shock as they approach the Portuguese capital. Lord Wellington had ordered the building of a formidable string of fortifications - the Lines of Torres Vedras - and Marshal Massena discovers that his enemy is now secure behind an impenetrable barrier.
Eventually hunger and disease force the dispirited French to retreat. The redcoats give chase, while a combined Anglo-Spanish army is storming out of Cadiz to take on the army of Marshal Victor. Wellington has his eye on the border fortresses and suddenly it is the French who are on the back foot.
But not everyone is able to enjoy these improved fortunes for the allies: Royal Engineer Tom Herryck is in disgrace and sent away from the army. Gritty infantryman Robert Blunt is parted from his regiment and ace sharpshooter Ned Truelove is threatened with being removed from his riflemen friends.
Can Lord Wellington afford to be without such useful individuals when his hard-pressed armies face a rapid succession of skirmishes, sieges and full-blooded battles?
The fourth story in the acclaimed Ties of Blood series, "The Hardest Fight" is packed with fast and furious action. The tale of the gripping events occurring in Portugal and Spain two hundred years ago is told through the adventures of an extraordinary cast of characters, both real and imagined, bringing the drama exploding into life.
Genre: Historical
It is early 1811 and Lord Wellington's redcoat army is still in the Peninsula, clinging to its hopes of keeping the French from adding Portugal and Spain to the Empire. There had been a victory against the formidable Marshal Massena at Busaco late the previous summer, but the outnumbered allied army has been forced to fall back towards Lisbon.
The pursuing French forces find that they are in for a shock as they approach the Portuguese capital. Lord Wellington had ordered the building of a formidable string of fortifications - the Lines of Torres Vedras - and Marshal Massena discovers that his enemy is now secure behind an impenetrable barrier.
Eventually hunger and disease force the dispirited French to retreat. The redcoats give chase, while a combined Anglo-Spanish army is storming out of Cadiz to take on the army of Marshal Victor. Wellington has his eye on the border fortresses and suddenly it is the French who are on the back foot.
But not everyone is able to enjoy these improved fortunes for the allies: Royal Engineer Tom Herryck is in disgrace and sent away from the army. Gritty infantryman Robert Blunt is parted from his regiment and ace sharpshooter Ned Truelove is threatened with being removed from his riflemen friends.
Can Lord Wellington afford to be without such useful individuals when his hard-pressed armies face a rapid succession of skirmishes, sieges and full-blooded battles?
The fourth story in the acclaimed Ties of Blood series, "The Hardest Fight" is packed with fast and furious action. The tale of the gripping events occurring in Portugal and Spain two hundred years ago is told through the adventures of an extraordinary cast of characters, both real and imagined, bringing the drama exploding into life.
Genre: Historical
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