Wellington&#39;s Wars: The Making of a Military Genius

Huw J. Davies

Published by Yale University Press 2012

Wellington's Wars

The Making of a Military Genius

Huw J. Davies

https://doi.org/10.12987/9780300165401

Overview
Contents

About this book

Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, lives on in popular memory as the "Invincible General," loved by his men, admired by his peers, formidable to his opponents. This incisive book revises such a portrait, offering an accurate—and controversial—new analysis of Wellington's remarkable military career. Unlike his nemesis Napoleon, Wellington was by no means a man of innate military talent, Huw J. Davies argues. Instead, the key to Wellington's military success was an exceptionally keen understanding of the relationship between politics and war.

Drawing on extensive primary research, Davies discusses Wellington's military apprenticeship in India, where he learned through mistakes as well as successes how to plan campaigns, organize and use intelligence, and negotiate with allies. In India Wellington encountered the constant political machinations of indigenous powers, and it was there that he apprenticed in the crucial skill of balancing conflicting political priorities. In later campaigns and battles, including the Peninsular War and Waterloo, Wellington's genius for strategy, operations, and tactics emerged. For his success in the art of war, he came to rely on his art as a politician and tactician. This strikingly original book shows how Wellington made even unlikely victories possible—with a well-honed political brilliance that underpinned all of his military achievements.

Author / Editor information

Huw J. Davies is lecturer in defense studies, King's College, London, and the Joint Services Command and Staff College, Defence Academy, UK. He lives in Berkshire, UK.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	v
Illustrations and Maps Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	vi
Preface: A Military Genius? Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	viii
1. An Introduction to War and Politics: Arthur Wellesley in Europe and India, 1794–1799 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
2. Command Apprenticeship: The Campaign Against Dhoondiah Vagh, 1800 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	23
3. Learning the Wrong Lessons: War with the Marathas, 1801–1803 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	40
4. From India to the Peninsula: 1804–1808 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	76
5. The Search for a Strategy: The Defence of Portugal, 1809–1810 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	99
6. England’s Oldest Ally: The Liberation of Portugal, 1811 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	126
7. England’s Essential Ally: The Invasion of Spain, 1812 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	146
8. ‘I Will Beat Them Out, and with Great Ease’: The Liberation of Spain and the Invasion of France, 1813–1814 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	171
9. Wellington’s Waterloo: The Battle for the Balance of Power in Europe, 1814–1815 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	214
Conclusion: From Sepoy General to Military Statesman Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	248
Abbreviations Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	255
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	257
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	278
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	294

Language: English
Publisher: Yale University Press
Pages
- Main content: 336
Illustrations
- Other: 16 illus.

eBook

Published: June 26, 2012
ISBN: 9780300165401