15 h 20 minAudiobook9 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
How does a small army defeat larger forces—and what keeps it from falling apart?
In Wellington's Army, 1809–1814, Charles Oman looks beyond campaigns to the force Britain sends to Portugal and Spain against Napoleon's marshals. He asks how this army is raised, led, fed and fought. Infantry, cavalry, guns, engineers and supply services all have a place in his study.
Wellington stands at the centre, carrying much of the burden of command with a thin staff. Around him are officers who buy their commissions, common soldiers and Portuguese allies. Oman explores how tactics, patience and supplies help a small force face larger French armies—and where its weaknesses lie.
What you’ll discover
- An army of volunteers See how Britain builds a small land force without conscription on the French model.
- The burden of command Explore how much rests on Wellington when the staff offers only limited support.
- Line against column Follow Oman's close examination of British infantry tactics against the deep French attacking column.
- Courage and its limits Meet cavalry with good horses and brave men, but a troubling reputation for rashness.
- Patience, people and supplies Look beyond battlefield movement to the soldiers, allies and supplies on which strategy depends.
Who will love it
For readers who love military and Napoleonic history, and anyone who enjoys Sharpe style fiction and wants the real machinery behind it.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A small army in a long war
- Wellington ran the army himself
- The line beat the French column
- Cavalry, guns and engineers had their troubles
- Officers, men and their allies
- Strategy rested on patience and supply
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El ejército de Wellington, 1809–1814
by Charles Oman · 1912
Wellington's army reveals how supply roads, training and the infantry line turn a small force into a winning one.
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In short
Wellington's Army, 1809 to 1814 is a study of the force that Britain sent to Portugal and Spain to fight Napoleon's marshals. It was written by Charles Oman, who held the chair of modern history at Oxford and spent years on the Peninsular War.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A small army in a long war
Oman begins with the plain fact that Britain was a naval power with a small land force. Its army had to be raised by voluntary enlistment, since conscription on the French model was out of the question. The men were recruited from the poor, and the regiments were fitted into a system that had grown by habit rather than design. In 1809 this army was sent to Portugal as a partner to local forces, not as the main weapon of the war.
The forces that Britain placed in the Peninsula were never large beside the great French armies. Oman stresses that Wellington often had fewer than forty thousand British troops in the field. Portuguese units and sometimes Spanish troops made up the rest of the strength. This meant that every loss mattered, and that a general could not afford to waste lives in careless attacks.
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What is Wellington's Army 1809 to 1814 about?
It describes the British army that served under Wellington in the Peninsular War. Oman covers its staff, infantry, cavalry, artillery, engineers, supply, officers and men, and the Portuguese allies, and shows how these shaped its tactics and strategy.
Who was Charles Oman?
Charles Oman was a British historian and Oxford professor who died in 1946. He wrote the standard multi volume history of the Peninsular War, and this book grew out of that long study of Wellington's campaigns.
Is Wellington's Army a good book on the Peninsular War?
It is a standard reference on how the British force was organised and fought. Readers who want campaign narrative may prefer Oman's larger history, but this book is valued for its focus on the army itself.
The author
Charles Oman
1860–1946 · British military historian
Charles Oman was a British military historian born in British India in 1860. He lived in England and taught history at Oxford University. He wrote A History of the Peninsular War, published between 1902 and 1930, and Wellington’s Army, 1809–1814, published in 1912. He died in Oxford in 1946.
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