Monthly Lecture: Wellington and the 1813 Campaign
Tuesday 22nd March 2022
Carole Divall spoke to the Society about Wellington's 1813 Peninsular campaign on 22 March 2022.
A recording of the talk is now available: https://youtu.be/VJHKK6SaxUI
Synopsis
The Battle of Vitoria has been called the Waterloo of the Peninsular War, a battle in which Wellington already had the whip hand before a shot had been fired. The battle can only be fully understood by considering the whole campaign, from the time that Wellington brought his British, German, and Portuguese troops out of Portugal, where a demoralised army had rediscovered its spirit, and joined those Spanish who were also serving under his command. He then proceeded to outmanoeuvre the French from start to finish. At the same time, attention will be given to the French commanders, who found their options limited by orders coming from Paris, which in turn emanated from central Europe, where Napoleon was engaged with the other allied nations of the Sixth Coalition.
Speaker biography
Carole Divall MA FINS has a particular interest in the British Army of the late 18th and early 19th centuries: its organization, its campaigns (culminating at Waterloo), and, most importantly, the human perspective. As a member of the Waterloo200 education committee, Carole curated the Waterloo200 website. Carole has published seven books - the most recent, a study of the Vitoria campaign, appearing in Nov 21 - and is currently working on an examination of the 5th Division in the Peninsula.