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.

Rene Chartrand was born in Montreal and educated in Canada, the United States and the Bahamas. A senior curator with Canada's National Historic Sites for nearly three decades, he is now a freelance writer and historical consultant. He has written numerous articles and books including almost 20 Osprey titles and the first two volumes of 'Canadian Military Heritage'. He lives in Hull, Quebec, with his wife and two sons. Patrice Courcelle, born in northern France in 1950, has been a professional illustrator for some 20 years. His previous work for Osprey includes Men-at-Arms 328 and 335, 'Emigre & Foreign Troops in British Service' Vols. 1 and 2, Campaign 76: 'Ticonderoga 1758' and Campaign 79: 'Louisbourg 1758'.