The Portuguese Army of the Napoleonic Wars

Osprey are confident in boasting that this remarkable three-part study will transform the research material available to the English-speaking student of the Peninsular War (1808-1814). Most know that Wellington's Portuguese troops were praised as the 'fighting cocks' of his army; fewer appreciate that they represented between half and one-third of his entire forces. Similarly, most uniform historians have been limited to a few half-understood paintings by Dighton, and brief notes from secondary sources. Rene Chartrand's recent primary research in Portuguese and British archives now offers a wealth of important new material. This second volume covers the light infantry, cavalry, specialist corps and several supporting military and civilian departments

RENE CHARTRAND was born in Montreal and educated in Canada, the USA and the Bahamas. A senior curator with Canada's National Historic Sites for nearly three decades, he is now a freelance writer and historical consultant. He has written many books, including some dozen Men-at-Arms titles - of which the most recent are three on the Spanish Army of the Napoleonic Wars - and the first two volumes of Canadian Military Heritage. He lives in Hull, Quebec, with his wife and two sons.