Fire and Sword

demonstrate his brilliance in command. Those who knew Arthur were in no doubt about his talent, but there were few opportunities to put it to the test in the field against the armies of France. Until the decision was made to intervene in Portugal and Spain, that is.

While many other British generals were overcautious,Arthur realised the need to take the fight to the enemy. This eagerness was tempered by the knowledge that Britain could not afford the same level of casualties that France could accept.The battle at Vimeiro was a foretaste of the tactics that would win Arthur the unmerited reputation for being a defensive commander. He had limited resources, and needed to husband them carefully. Yet, as the brilliant success at Oporto clearly demonstrates, Arthur was quick to seize any advantage and then exploit it to the full.The capture of Oporto fully justified Arthur’s appointment to the command of the British forces in the Peninsula, and in the years to come he would prove time and again that the British soldier, well led, was more than a match for the men of the French Emperor.

As in Young Bloods and The Generals, I hope that I have presented this epic period of history as accurately as possible. In order to make the story flow freely I have been obliged to change some details, for which I apologise to those who are well read in this period. For example, I have described France’s enduring enemy as ‘Britain’, yet the French habitually referred to the people and armed forces of the British Isles as the ‘English’. It seemed sensible to simplify things by just referring to Britain and the British, though even in modern times there is still a tendency in France to use the label ‘English’ for all those who live on the other side of the Channel.

Although this is a work of fiction, it is astonishing how often my research confronted me with instances where the reality was simply far more strange than anything I could have invented. So, dear reader, before you begin to have any doubts, let me just reassure you about one thing; on a sunny day in France, a small army of rabbits did indeed rout one of the world’s greatest generals!

Simon Scarrow

November 2008