These videos on the Peninsular War are excellent. This campaign has fascinated me for some decades now, but I feel I’m gaining a much deeper understanding of it through your work. Thank you.
I think occupation of Portugal gave Wellesley the bridgehead he needed for an assault on Spain, and the ports to keep his supplies coming in. Until then he only really had Lisbon as a reliable port.
Being known as a cautious commander. That was a risky move crossing the douro. Maybe Richard Sharpe was in the right place and at the right time when he found those barges. Sorry Too much listening to Sharpe's series of Audiobooks 😅
The general you spoke of after Sir Charles Stuart, @@redcoathistory , was it a General De La Bord or General D'alembord? I apologise for having to ask; my internet is wonky. As a result, neither the sound nor the subtitles work properly.
As it says on the label an “ I was there “ soldiers eye view of the campaigning, very well put together and narrated certainly keeps the interest. Very much appreciate the maps and graphics as they add tremendously to the understanding of the campaigns and individual actions.
I love these Redcoat History podcasts. Excellent! It would be good if you could do an interview with JOHN TAMS about the soldiers' songs of thePeninsula War.
Helpful depth of research and well laid out. I particulalry appreciate you showing Wellesley's original assessment, then Horseguards' orders to him. Thank you
Well, if you ask me it's (A) because he hasn't got the British version of our Irish H.Dip.Ed/M.A (Education), and (B) because the establishment hate people who make school fun!
Listened to this again today having found the spot on the River Douro, marked by a commemorative plaque, where the allied troops made their landing against the French. The banks of the river and its valley are steep and the tidal river a significant obsticle for an army. The combination of being here and your graphic account has brought it all to life. I give thanks for those brave allies who defeated tyranny in this place.
When i was in Porto recently I spied a monument at the north side of main bridge there. It is at the footings of the original bridge (at that time) saying it was once a wooden bridge and how it collapsed under the weight of the local inhabitants fleeing from the French grand army, Many hundreds died, what a tragedy but i guess this is the reason why there wasn't a bridge across and therefore ferries needs for the the crossing, How wonderful is was that the locals ferried the Brits across surreptitiously as the the French left their original position completely unguarded to attack the first secret crossings of wellington just further west. os portugueses estam os melhores!!
To cross his men at the bend of the river where the French couldn't see them was absolutely brilliant, and the subsequent defence of the seminary a great achievement of arms ! Who said that Wellington couldn't attack, only defend?
I'd like to hear more about the KGL. Though they are often reported in histories as fighting well (e.g.: La Haye Sainte), their story & worth as a component of the British Army is usually missing from accounts of the great battles. Rather like the contributions of Dominion troops during WW1 lost in reports/histories of Great British Victories. That drawing 'pic' of Soult you use here looks nothing like him as shown in later portraits in which he is quite obese.
Oporto (or the Battle of Duoro, as it was officially called then) has always been my favourite battle of the Peninsular War, maybe due to the fact that despite hard fighting for the Seminary, there wasn't the terrible carnage there that was seen in later battles.
Would you ever consider doing videos about the battles of the American revolution from the British perspective? Or a segment about the Queen's Rangers?
"And as for you Soult, I say only 'Act as you always do!' " - then-Emperor Napoleon to Marshal Jean de Dieu Soult, circa. 1805 or 1806. Spoken at one of the big battles in Germany or the then Austrian Empire. Austerlitz, Jena-Auerstad, Friedland, Eaylau, or someplace like that...
After General Beresford had trained the Portuguese army, they were just as good as many British regiments, in particular the Caçadores, the equivalent of the British Rifles.
I noticed in this podcast that the modern British flag was displayed in the background. id like to raise the point that this is not the flag that would have been used at that time. The Union jack at this time would have been the Saint Georges flag with combined with the Scottish flag and would not have had the diagonal red cross of today's modern Union Jack.
@@redcoathistory I think Soult's failure there was critical though. Wellesley couldn't have crossed the Douro if they had manned the seminary, because the French would have spotted any attempt. No crossing, no recapture of Oporto, no foothold for the army, no campaign. Mind you the repeated error of pitting French column v British line when they /knew/ from past experience it had never worked was bizarre.
The comment about wine reminded me of the fictional 'Sharpe's Honour'. Officer: Shall I serve sherry to the Spanish officers sir? Wellington: Dammit Stokeley! It's an execution not a bloody christening..
@@redcoathistory fair, my apologies. It's just as someone who lives in the city, it drive us nuts. Great episode though, been listening to these and quite liking them. :)
Wellesley is at best Britain's second, more likely third best general. John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough is Britain's best, greatest general. Oliver Cromwell (English, not British) is likely second best general with Wellesley third best.
Lisbon was the most modern, rational urbanized and full of parks, plazas and open spaces. Even built the first public health system for controling waters residues and garbages. All built after the great earthquake of 1755. So, these books to criticize and attack Portugal with lies and destructive propaganda have to stop!
Sorry mate - but I spend a fortune on this channel - got to try and make a few pennies back. Happy for you to donate via my ko-fi.com/redcoathistory page and then I can start dumping the adds.
You should withdraw your comment. The TA train as regulars and have been mobilised many times in the lad 20 years to support our forces with great effect.
You sound a little bit fascist with all this redcoat and other brittish icons adoration.. Thanks for the content tho, it's good, just don't emphasize so much, Especially cz u seem to want to forget throughout all ofl your Portuguese-napoleon videos Britain's attempt to actually make Portugal a brittish colony since the king was in brasil. People starved while the brits took all the wheat out of the country. Idk your sources but memoirs from officers and soldiers are not the best historical evidences since they tend to be utterly one sided and narrow in context. Also, the 2nd battle of oporto as much more to it than a daring river crossing, it was a regional popular struggle, out of Britain's Control, that provoked such arm on the French that they couldn't even secure the Douro shores Britain's generals were the last to know the French were defeated in their own lines
As usual this accounts are just personal descriptions to emphasise the brits, more like propaganda, not including the eforts of fousand of locals in rebelion, and all the support the brits had from portuguese troops, and the population, even whith the english looting the country, after the french did the same. Why did the brits didnt have the same results in other batles, when the portuguese were not there, and had sever losses in Spain, before the portuguese were there in support? Considering that all the main portuguese army was send to the campain in Russia, Austria, etc, were they were considerer by Napoleon has top warriers
To walk in the Whitechapel parts of London in those times would be much worst than Lisbon! We just need to read dozens of British authors! When will the English stop being the eternal worst enemies of Portugal, insisting in comparing their best with Portugals worst?
