Wellington’s Guns: The Untold Story of Wellington and His Artillery in the Peninsula and at Waterloo

Written in the same engaging style of Mark Urban's Fusiliers and Rifles, this is a brilliant study of the Gunners who revolutionised warfare during the course of the Napoleonic Wars despite the opposition of their commander-in-chief. Dismissive, conservative and aloof, Wellington treated his artillery with disdain during the Napoleonic Wars – despite their growing influence on the field of battle. Wellington's Guns exposes, for the very first time, the often stormy relationship between Wellington and his artillery, how the reluctance to modernize the British artillery corps threatened to derail the British push for victory and how Wellington's views on the command and appointment structure within the artillery opened up damaging rifts between him and his men. At a time when artillery was undergoing revolutionary changes – from the use of mountain guns during the Pyrenees campaign in the Peninsular, the innovative execution of 'danger-close' missions to clear the woods of Hougomont at Waterloo, to the introduction of creeping barrages and Congreve's rockets – Wellington seemed to remain distrustful of a force that played a significant role in shaping tactics and changing the course of the war. Using extensive research and first-hand accounts, Colonel Nick Lipscombe reveals that despite Wellington's brilliance as a field commander, his abrupt and uncompromising leadership style, particularly towards his artillery commanders, shaped the Napoleonic Wars, and how despite this, the ever-evolving technology and tactics ensured that the extensive use of artillery became one of the hallmarks of a modern army.

Table of Contents:
List of images List of maps Acknowledgements Foreword by General Sir David Richards, GCB, CBE, DSO, ADC Gen, Chief of the Defence Staff Preface Introduction Chapter 1 Robe's Frustrations Chapter 2 Harding's Preparations Chapter 3 Cookson's Powder Keg Chapter 4 Howorth's Arrival Chapter 5 Wellington's Cold Shoulder Chapter 6 MacLeod's Labours Chapter 7 Shrapnel's Duck Shot Chapter 8 Ross's Agitation Chapter 9 Duncan's Determination Chapter 10 Ramsay's Breakout Chapter 11 Cleeves's Escape Chapter 12 Dickson, the Die is Cast Chapter 13 Borthwick, the Walking Target Chapter 14 Douglas's Close Support Chapter 15 Dyneley's Capture and Wellington's Failure Chapter 16 Holcombe's Opportunity Chapter 17 Ramsay's Arrest Chapter 18 Williamson's Fury Chapter 19 Curtain of Fire Chapter 20 Waller's Remonstrance Chapter 21 Frazer's Swank and Lane's Rockets Chapter 22 Wood's Commitment Chapter 23 Wellington's Guns and Napoleon's Daughters Chapter 24 Wellington's Gunners Appendices Appendix 1: List of the Royal Horse Artillery and Royal Artillery officers, by Troop and Battalion/Company, who served in the Peninsula 1808–1814 Appendix 2: List of Royal Horse Artillery and Royal Artillery officers by Troop and Battalion/Company who served during the Waterloo Campaign 1815 Appendix 3: Lists of Royal Horse Artillery and Royal Artillery medal recipients from the Peninsula and Waterloo Appendix 4: Siege Tables Glossary and Abbreviations Bibliography Index

About the Author :
Colonel Nick Lipscombe was born in 1958 in Angers, France. He has a degree in business studies and an MSc in defence studies. He was commissioned into the Royal Artillery in 1980. During his thirty years in the British Army he has seen considerable operational service with the British and American armies, as well as with NATO and the UN. He was awarded the US Bronze Star in 2006. A keen interest in military history followed his academic studies at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst concentrating on the Napoleonic era and the Peninsular War in particular. He is Chairman of Peninsular War 200, the UK official organisation for the commemoration of the bicentenary of the Peninsular War and a key member of the Waterloo 200 committee. He speaks German and Spanish, currently works in Portugal and lives in Spain with his wife Janny and their three daughters.

Review :
'A very timely landmark book in a much neglected field. This is a scholarly and meticulous examination of one of the great puzzles of military history. Why did one of Britain's greatest commanders think so little of his gunners? Nick Lipscombe presents us with a fascinating analysis of Wellington's treatment of men who deserved better.' Peter Snow, journalist, broadcaster and author of To War with Wellington 'Though ever present and ever more efficient, the artillery that supported the British armies that fought in the Peninsula and at Waterloo has not figured strongly in this historiography. In this fine work Nick Lipscombe remedies this want and in the process provides us with much fresh information on the internal workings of the British military machine.' Professor Charles J. Esdaile, University of Liverpool 'A remarkable and masterly account of Wellington's gunners that is unlikely to be surpassed.' Ian Fletcher, author of The Peninsular War - Wellington's Battlefields Revisited