In 1809 French armies controlled almost every province of Spain and only Wellington s small force in Portugal stood between Napoleon and the conquest of Iberia.The French invaded Portugal in the summer of 1810 but found their way blocked by the most extensive field fortifications the world had ever seen the Lines of Torres Vedras. Unable to penetrate the Lines, the French were driven back into Spain having suffered the heaviest defeat yet experienced by Napoleon s armies. The retreat from Portugal marked the turning point in the Peninsular War and, from the security of the Lines, Wellington was able to mount the offensive campaigns that swept France s Imperial armies back across the Pyrenees.The Lines of Torres Vedras is an authoritative account of the planning, construction and occupation of the Lines and of the battles, sieges and horrors of the French invasion. It is also an important study of Wellington s strategy during the crucial years of the war against Napoleon. This is a well-researched, well-written, closely argued and fascinating contribution to the historiography of the Peninsular War. The Spectator Essential reading for every Peninsula enthusiast, this is recommended highly. Military Illustrated"

Following the battle of Bussaco on 27 September 1810 Wellington's heavily outnumbered troops began to withdraw towards Lisbon. By the evening of 9 October the British and Portuguese began to withdraw behind a line of defensive works that had been built to the north of Lisbon. These were not the rudimentary field works that the French anticipated, but an enormous network of forts, batteries and redoubts whose construction had been started the previous November the Lines of Torres Vedras. This 30-mile-wide line utilised the area's natural defences, damming rivers, scarping hillsides, blocking roads and establishing forts upon almost all of the hills. This title describes its design, creation and effectiveness in the face of French attacks.

With the rest of Europe subservient to Emperor Napoleon, he sends his best Marshals to Portugal to rid himself of the annoyance that is Sir Arthur Wellesley. Thanks to an uncooperative parliament, the Viscount has little chance of defeating the French with their superior numbers and so he constructs a devilishly complicated series of defences north of Lisbon.While they are being built Major Matthews and his sergeant have to travel behind enemy lines to discover the size of the problem. There Major Matthews' past comes back to haunt him and he risks all to gather the information which General Wellesley needs.As Viscount Wellesley and his resilient army try to fend off the tentacles of the French army they have to fight battles in the most uncompromising of landscapes. The Light Division's defence of the Côa, the Battle of Bussaco and the bloody Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro are just three of the actions in which Major Matthews and Sergeant Sharp fight for Sir Arthur Wellesley!

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Pages: 71. Chapters: Fortifications of Switzerland in the 20th century, World War II defensive lines, World War I defensive lines, Maginot Line, Atlantic Wall, Gothic Line, Bernhardt Line, Spring 1945 offensive in Italy, Siegfried Line, Saxon Shore, Mannerheim Line, Alpine Line, Battle of M awa, Limes Germanicus, Dutch Water Line, Czechoslovak border fortifications, Brisbane Line, Maunsell Forts, K5 Plan, Lines of Torres Vedras, Alpine Wall, Kammhuber Line, Gin Drinkers Line, Hindenburg Line, Molotov Line, Fort de Chillon, Swedish coastal artillery, Panther-Wotan line, Lines of Weissenburg, Fort Hommet 10.5 cm Coastal Defence Gun Casement Bunker, Trasimene Line, Mareth Line, Defence lines of the Netherlands, Salpa Line, Grebbe line, Winter Line, Fort de Champillon, Volturno Line, Metaxas Line, Barbara Line, Sk ne Line, Stalin Line, Fortress Europe, Peel-Raam Line, Pillbox affair, Mi dzyrzecz Fortified Region, Main Line of Resistance, Toblerone line, Drocourt-Qu ant Line, Frontier Wire, Pomeranian Wall, Hitler Line, East Wall, KW-line, South-east wall, Caesar C line, Karelian Fortified Region, Strata Diocletiana, VT-line, VKT-line, Roman switch line, Mius-Front. Excerpt: The Gothic Line (German: Italian: ) formed Field Marshal Albert Kesselring's last major line of defence in the final stages of World War II along the summits of the Apennines during the fighting retreat of German forces in Italy against the Allied Armies in Italy commanded by General Sir Harold Alexander. Adolf Hitler had concerns about the state of preparation of the Gothic Line: He feared the Allies would use amphibious landings to out-flank its defenses. So, to downgrade its importance in the eyes of both friend and foe, he ordered the name, with its historic connotations, changed, reasoning that if the Allies managed to break through they would not be able to use t...