On 16 May 1811, the small town of Albuera was the setting for one of the Peninsular War's most bloody and desperate battles. A combined Spanish, British and Portuguese force of more than 30,000 men, under the command of Lord Beresford, stubbornly blocked the march of the French field marshal Soult, who was trying to reach the fortress of Badajoz, 12 miles north. Beresford, who defended himself with his bare hands against a Polish lancer, was victorious, but at the cost of 6,000 Allied deaths and 7,000 French in just four hours. The battle is best known for the Fusilier Brigade's charge, made famous by Sir William Napier's melodramatic description, and because of the tenacity of the 57th Foot that earned them the "Die Hards" nickname. This compelling new book fills the gap by using authentic primary sources to tell the story of the battle as completely as possible and dispels long-standing myths. The book also brings to life the human dimension of the story by using first-person recollections to describe experiences on and off the battlefield. The battle's drama is intensified by their circumstances of the fighting, which led to extremes of behaviour ranging from incomprehensible valour to rank cowardice. The book balances the traditional Anglocentric bias by paying equal attention to Spanish, Portuguese, French and German soldiers who fought there. SELLING POINTS: The most complete history of the bloody battle of Albuera. Meticulously researched using primary source material. Fills an important gap in the history of the Peninsular Wars. AUTHOR: Guy Dempsey has written a number of Napoleonic military history books, including Greenhill's Napoleon's Mercenaries: Foreign Units in the French Army Under the Consulate and Empire, 1799-1814. Donald E. Graves is the author of Fields of Glory: The Battle of Crysler's Farm, 1813 and Where Right and Glory Lead!: The Battle of Lundy's Lane, 1814. ILLUSTRATIONS: 16 pages of b/w plates 8 pages of colour *
