The Eagles in Andalusia
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February 1811. For a year, Marshal Victor has been besieging the Spanish city of Cádiz. Generals Manuel de Lapeña and Thomas Graham, at the head of the Anglo-Spanish forces, converge on Algeciras and Tarifa. After landing, their combined contingents march on Chiclana to strike the French in the rear. On 5 March, the two armies clash near the Torre de la Barrosa — which would give its name to the battle — and the Torre Bermeja. The French forces of Generals Villatte, Leval and Ruffin are gradually driven back by the British and Spanish troops. The ferocity of the fighting is such that the 8th Line Regiment loses its eagle, which had been crowned by the municipality of Paris only a few months earlier. Through exhaustive research in French, Spanish and British archives, and through firsthand accounts recovered and published here for the first time, the author reveals a rich and compelling account of this forgotten and little-known engagement of the Peninsular War.
