A History of the Peninsular War, Vol. 6, September 1, 1812-August 5, 1813: The Siege of Burgos, the Retreat from Burgos, the Campaign of Vittoria, the Battles of the Pyrenees

This is the sixth volume of Charles Oan's monumental eight-volume history, and it covers the most dramatic turning point of the Peninsular War. Between September 1812 and August 1813, the conflict transformed from a desperate defense of Portugal into a full-fledged Allied offensive to expel the French from Spain entirely. Oman chronicles Wellington's failed Siege of Burgos, a rare defeat for the British commander, and the humiliating winter retreat that followed, as logistics collapsed and French forces closed in. But the narrative pivots toward triumph: the brilliant campaign of Vittoria in June 1813, where the Allied armies shattered French power in Spain in a single day, and the subsequent battles among the Pyrenees at Roncesvalles, Maya, and Sorauren that sealed the enemy's fate. Oman writes with the precision of a scholar who examined original campaign documents, yet his prose carries the weight of great military narrative. For readers who already know the broad strokes of Napoleon's Spanish catastrophe, this volume reveals the agonizing decisions, the brutal marching conditions, and the strategic calculus that made victory possible.