Walcheren 1809 (3 reviews)
Imprint: Pen & Sword Military
Found in: Napoleonic Books
British History Books
Hardback
224 pages
ISBN: 9781848844681
Published: 2 August 2012
Scandalous Destruction of a British Army
by Martin HowardImprint: Pen & Sword Military
Found in: Napoleonic Books
British History Books
Hardback
224 pages
ISBN: 9781848844681
Published: 2 August 2012
£19.99
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In July 1809, with the Dutch coast ‘a pistol held at the head of England’, the largest British expeditionary force ever assembled, over 40,000 men and around 600 ships, weighed anchor off the Kent coast and sailed for the island of Walcheren in the Scheldt estuary. After an initial success, the expedition stalled and as the lethargic military commander, Lord Chatham, was at loggerheads with the opinionated senior naval commander, Sir Richard Strachan, troops were dying of a mysterious disease termed ‘Walcheren fever’. Almost all the campaign’s 4,000 dead were victims of disease. The Scheldt was evacuated and the return home was followed by a scandalous Parliamentary Enquiry. Walcheren fever cast an even longer shadow. Six months later 11,000 men were still registered sick. In 1812, Wellington complained that the constitution of his troops was ‘much shaken with Walcheren’.
This is a deeply researched work, with excellent use of primary and contemporary sources...It is extensively referenced, has appropriate and valuable statistical appendices and an extensive bibliography of contemporary and modern sources. An excellent read.
SOFNAM Newsletter, Spring 2013
Martin Howard draws heavily on a variety of primary sources to tell the story of this ill-fated campaign. In addition to writing a lively account of the military operations, he explores in depth the divided... [read full review]Napoleon Series
Martin Howard examines the reasons for this ambitious expedition in great detail, looking at the political and military characters involved, and their working relationship with each other. The author has woven an enthralling story to... [read full review]Waterloo Journal
Operation Infatuate
by by Andrew Rawson
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