Britain and Wellington's Army

When the British government decided to support the Portuguese and Spanish against Napoleon it entered into a sustained military commitment that stretched its manpower resources to the limit. To sustain Wellington's army in the Peninsular War and Waterloo campaigns the British government scoured Britain for men, enacting legislation and reforms that enabled Britain to continue in the war and eventually defeat the French. This mobilisation produced complex and variable regional responses and also had a powerful and lasting impact on the relationship between Britain and its army, shifting the balance of military policy to the government and establishing Britain's regimental military culture. Kevin Linch provides a detailed analysis of the building blocks of Wellington's army -- the soldiers themselves -- and the way the government was able to meet the demands on it placed by the war with Napoleonic France between 1807 and 1815. In doing so, he provides a fresh analysis of Britain's military power and the enduring legacy of the Napoleonic Wars on the Britain and its army.

Kevin Linch currently holds an Arts and Humanities Research Council Grant on `Soldiers and Soldiering in Britain, c.1750--1815'. His recent publications include contributions to War and Society and the volume Soldiers, Citizens and Civilians: Experiences and Perceptions of the Revolutionary and Napolionic Wars, 1790--1820.