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AUTHOR: Fletcher, I
FORMAT: 64pp 35 Bw 27 col 248x184 Pb
The network of forts, batteries and redoubts in Spain, during the
Peninsular War. Following the battle of Bussaco on 27 September 1810
Wellington's heavily outnumbered troops began to withdraw towards Lisbon. By the
evening of 9 October the British and Portuguese began to withdraw behind a line
of defensive works that had been built to the north of Lisbon. These were not
the rudimentary field works that the French anticipated, but an enormous network
of forts, batteries and redoubts whose construction had been started the
previous November - the Lines of Torres Vedras. This 30-mile-wide line utilised
the area's natural defences, damming rivers, scarping hillsides, blocking roads
and establishing forts upon almost all of the hills. This title describes its
design, creation and effectiveness in the face of French attacks. Contents
Introduction · Chronology · Design and Development · Tour of the Sites · The
Principles of Defence · The Living Sites · Operational History · Aftermath · The
Sites Today.
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