NAPOLEON'S PENINSULAR MARSHALS by Humble, Richard

New York, 1974, Taplinger, first US edition, hard bound in dust jacket, VG/VG condition ( prev owners name on front free end paper ), light wear to top of dj on spine, 5 1/2 x 8, 228 pages, map, illustrations, note on further reading, index.In his dealings with Spain. Napoleon showed surprisingly little understanding of the extent of Spanish nationalism arid used poor judgment in installing his brother Joseph as puppet king rather than designating a strong supreme commander.Nevertheless, it took four years for Wellington's forces to cross the Pyrenees, and Mr. Humble's reappraisal of Napoleon's Marshals in the Peninsula a demonstrates their frequent military brilliance in the face of difficult circumstances,. torn by internal disputes, hampered by Spain's mountain terrain and atrocious roads, and handicapped by Napoleon's neglect of the Spanish campaign in general, (lit! Marshals nevertheless scored repealed major successes in their light against Wellington before his final victory in the waning years of the Napoleonic Empire.Out of Napoleon's twenty six Marshals, over half served in the Peninsula at one time or another including Ney, Suchet, Murat, Marmont, Massena, and Soult. This exciting reappraisal of their victories and defeats in the Peninsular Campaign, written with an unusually profound grasp of both French history and military strategy, relates the performance of the Marshals to one another and to their previous and subsequent careers.