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105th Foot, The Prince of Wales Wessex Regiment #5
To the Walls of France
The fifth in the 105th Foot, ‘Rag and Bone Boys’ series. At the end of 1811, after four years of hard warfare against the forces of Napoleon, Wellington was not prepared to waste the Winter months and therefore he used them to capture, at great cost, the two ‘keys of Spain’: Cuidad Rodrigo and Badajoz. With these two now in Allied possession the story continues with Wellington advancing forward into Spain at the head of an Allied army to begin the campaigns of 1812. During this momentous year huge questions dominate the European stage, not least the aftermath of Napoleon’s disastrous invasion of Russia and the loss of an army of 600,000 men and all their horses and equipment. The following twelve months extending into 1813 is a year of titanic set-piece battles which will settle, one way or another, the fate of Spain and Portugal within the French Empire and also events far away over the Atlantic will have their own part to play, with the armies of the new Republic chancing their arm with their own invasions of Canada. Both triumph and tragedy befall the Allied army during 1812, first the complete victory of Salamanca, then the near farce and tragedy of the Burgos siege, followed by a retreat back to Cuidad Rodrigo, worse than that of Coruna due to acute starvation. British Intelligence makes full use of Napoleon’s tragedy, weaving deceit on both sides of the Atlantic, such that El Rey Joseph is ordered to send men back to France and then in 1813 the Allies spring forward from the Portuguese border, with an advance so rapid that within three weeks there comes the triumph of Vitoria and then fighting to open the passes over the Pyrenees into France itself. As part of what is now a formidable army, the 105th Foot Wessex The Prince of Wales Own, must first contend with the retirement of their Colonel, Bertram Lacey, finally worn down by years of intense campaigning and finally the horrors of Badajoz. His replacement is Carr’s old enemy from his last visit back to England after Talavera, this replacement being Sir Ambrose Brockenhurst MP, the Colonel of the 105th’s Militia, him arrived from England to take over from Lacey and the result is incompetence and even humiliation. Carr is promoted to temporary Brevet-Colonel, but their reputation is now sullied, yet the 105th play their part in Salamanca and endure the retreat from Burgos. With the Spring of 1813, all Allied armies advance to Vitoria to play their part in this momentous battle and take part in the conflicts in the Pyrenees, where, on the far right of Wellington’s line at the battle of Sorauren outside Pamplona, the 105th’s reputation is finally restored. Throughout all, the band led by Colour-Sergeant Jedediah Deakin hold together, giving mutual support and comfort, and taking advantage of any opportunity that comes their way which may soften the hard and dangerous life they necessarily lead.
- GenresHistorical Fiction
624 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 29, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 12, 2020
Outstanding series
Sad to have finished these great reads. Can only hope that the 105s reappear. Maybe at Waterloo? Or even Canada
Sad to have finished these great reads. Can only hope that the 105s reappear. Maybe at Waterloo? Or even Canada
April 24, 2020
An enjoyable read
Sometimes the story concentrated on the military action rather than the personal stories of those involved.
However, a rousing read. A chance to catch up with the characters introduced earlier and I have learned to care about. Militarily it reflected the loyalty that soldiers feel towards their regiment and those within it.
I am already looking forward to the next book.
Sometimes the story concentrated on the military action rather than the personal stories of those involved.
However, a rousing read. A chance to catch up with the characters introduced earlier and I have learned to care about. Militarily it reflected the loyalty that soldiers feel towards their regiment and those within it.
I am already looking forward to the next book.
May 29, 2020
Pity about the maps
Exciting battle scenes, imaginative background scenes and story lines covering ordinary infantry soldiers and camp followers. However sadly this whole series is missing even basic maps so that the too-ing and fro-ing and battles could be placed. Another useful addition would be xray. The inclusion of major Carr's brother and referring to each as Carr, is also unfortunate. Certainly a read again Author
Exciting battle scenes, imaginative background scenes and story lines covering ordinary infantry soldiers and camp followers. However sadly this whole series is missing even basic maps so that the too-ing and fro-ing and battles could be placed. Another useful addition would be xray. The inclusion of major Carr's brother and referring to each as Carr, is also unfortunate. Certainly a read again Author
April 28, 2020
Hard work but well worth a read
A hard read,tactics and the sheer scale of the conflict is hard to follow,but worth the effort.The main characters battle on,a few are lost on The way.
A hard read,tactics and the sheer scale of the conflict is hard to follow,but worth the effort.The main characters battle on,a few are lost on The way.
October 31, 2023
Brilliant book!
Started the series "by accident" and so pleased I did. As the characters have developed you get a feeling of what it must have been like. It's a really great mix of fact and fiction. Well recommended but start at book one.
Started the series "by accident" and so pleased I did. As the characters have developed you get a feeling of what it must have been like. It's a really great mix of fact and fiction. Well recommended but start at book one.
June 24, 2024
Serling Stuff
An enjoyable character lead adventure set in an interesting period of history.
Characters span across different levels of society reflecting different class views of each event.
A really entertaining read leading up to the last book in the series.
An enjoyable character lead adventure set in an interesting period of history.
Characters span across different levels of society reflecting different class views of each event.
A really entertaining read leading up to the last book in the series.
April 21, 2020
A little dragged out to my mind yet still a wonderful read
February 28, 2021
Excellent read
e " Rag and Bones " story was an exceptional reenactment of the last major battle of the Spanish campaign.
e " Rag and Bones " story was an exceptional reenactment of the last major battle of the Spanish campaign.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews