Wellington's Navy: Sea Power and the Peninsular War 1807-1814 Review

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(More customer reviews)"Wellington's Navy" is Christopher Hall's indepth examination of the key supporting role played by the British Navy in the liberation of the Iberian Peninsula from Imperial French control during 1807-1814.
Numerous authors have acknowledged the superb mobility provided to Wellington's Army in the Peninsula by the British Navy. Hall documents the British Navy's success in regularly moving forces and supplies to Portugal and Spain by sea without French interdiction, and while denying the same degree of mobility to the French. Especially important was the role of the British Fleet providing operational mobility around a theater of war surrounded, as Hall notes, on three and a half sides by water. The British Fleet enabled Wellington's entry into Portugal in 1808, evacuated Sir John Moore's surrounded army from Corunna in 1809, provided an escape option for Wellington's Lines of Torres Vedras in 1810, and enabled Wellington to shift his lines of communication to northern Spain in 1813. In between these major events, the British Navy blockaded French-held ports, escorted Portuguese and Spanish trade, and provided gunfire support ashore. Individual British captains and squadron commanders displayed remarkable initiative in working with local Spanish leaders to harass and confound the French occupation forces.
"Wellington's Navy" represents an impressive degree of research into a portion of the Peninsular Wars that gets light coverage in most histories. His list of sources will be of interest to the specialist in this period.
Hall's narrative may be a challenge for the casual reader. He writes in a serviceable but undramatic style. He does assume a working knowledge of the British Navy's ships and tactics of the period, of the land campaigns of the Peninsular Wars, and of the larger strategic struggle against Napoleon on the part of the reader. Hall does not provide a primer on naval matters, and makes only passing reference to the larger Naval strategy against Napoleon. The breakdown of naval operations in Spain during 1810-1814 follows a primarily geographic rather than chronological order, which may make it difficult to understand the full context of each event.
This book is recommended to the student of the Peninsular Wars, and may be best read in conjunction with one of the comprehensive histories, such as Oman's dated but still excellent seven volume narrative.

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'If anyone wishes to know the history of this war, I will tell them that it is our maritime superiority gives me the power of maintaining my army while the enemy are unable to do so.' Wellington's remark reveals that he fully appreciated the strategic importance of the naval support for his campaign, but up to now this crucial aspect of the Peninsular War has been largely ignored, except where there were overt naval contributions to battles and sieges. As this new book amply demonstrates, the maritime dimension was far broader, and stretched from the very start of the military intervention to the final days of Wellington's invasion of southern France. The Navy not only transported the armies to the theatre - and evacuated them when required, as at Corunna - but also provided direct support to the land campaigns in terms of heavy gun crews at sieges, and also tied down large numbers of enemy troops by diversionary attacks on coastal targets. But the biggest contribution was less visible, though arguably the most significant: in order not to lose local support, Wellington refused to let his army live off the land as the French had done, so all provisions - food, clothing and arms - were supplied from the sea. This was an enormous undertaking, involving nearly 1000 ships (or about 10 per cent of the British merchant marine) which had to be convoyed and protected. Furthermore, local financial support had to be paid in hard currency, so the Navy also took responsibility for moving vast quantities of specie to the Peninsula, tying up valuable warships in the process. This important new book is the first full study of the workings of sea power in the campaign, from operations to the complexities of logistics and administration. It is significant reading for naval and military historians alike.