In 1811, the French again took the offensive in the peninsula. Soult moved to Badajoz and Massena advanced to relieve Almeida which Wellington had invested. At Fuentes de Onoro Massena and Wellington's armies clashed in a hard-fought contest. The attacks of the French cavalry were thwarted by the stalwart resistance of the British infantry in square. Wellington lost 1800 men, Massna 2700 but the French failed to break Wellington's siege of Almeida and were forced to withdraw. Massena was relieved of his command in disgrace to be relieved by Marshal Marmont. This book features the full story of the construction of the lines of Torres Vedras, the most massive undertakings of military engineering in the whole of the Napoleonic wars.

Illustrated by: Patrice Courcelle