Wellington's Guns

Written in the same engaging style of Mark Urban's Fusiliers and Rifles, this is a brilliant study of the Gunners who revolutionised warfare during the course of the Napoleonic Wars despite the opposition of their commander-in-chief.
Dismissive, conservative and aloof, Wellington treated his artillery with disdain during the Napoleonic Wars - despite their growing influence on the field of battle. Wellington's Guns exposes, for the very first time, the often stormy relationship between Wellington and his artillery, how the reluctance to modernize the British artillery corps threatened to derail the British push for victory and how Wellington's views on the command and appointment structure within the artillery opened up damaging rifts between him and his men.
At a time when artillery was undergoing revolutionary changes - from the use of mountain guns during the Pyrenees campaign in the Peninsular, the innovative execution of 'danger-close' missions to clear the woods of Hougomont at Waterloo, to the introduction of creeping barrages and Congreve's rockets - Wellington seemed to remain distrustful of a force that played a significant role in shaping tactics and changing the course of the war.
Using extensive research and first-hand accounts, Colonel Nick Lipscombe reveals that despite Wellington's brilliance as a field commander, his abrupt and uncompromising leadership style, particularly towards his artillery commanders, shaped the Napoleonic Wars, and how despite this, the ever-evolving technology and tactics ensured that the extensive use of artillery became one of the hallmarks of a modern army.

Colonel Nick Lipscombe was born in 1958 in Angers, France. He has a degree in business studies and an MSc in defence studies. He was commissioned into the Royal Artillery in 1980. During his thirty years in the British Army he has seen considerable operational service with the British and American armies, as well as with NATO and the UN. He was awarded the US Bronze Star in 2006. A keen interest in military history followed his academic studies at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst concentrating on the Napoleonic era and the Peninsular War in particular. He is Chairman of Peninsular War 200, the UK official organisation for the commemoration of the bicentenary of the Peninsular War and a key member of the Waterloo 200 committee. He speaks German and Spanish, currently works in Portugal and lives in Spain with his wife Janny and their three daughters.

List of images
List of maps
Acknowledgements
Foreword by General Sir David Richards, GCB, CBE, DSO, ADC Gen, Chief of the Defence Staff
Preface
Introduction
Chapter 1 Robe's Frustrations
Chapter 2 Harding's Preparations
Chapter 3 Cookson's Powder Keg
Chapter 4 Howorth's Arrival
Chapter 5 Wellington's Cold Shoulder
Chapter 6 MacLeod's Labours
Chapter 7 Shrapnel's Duck Shot
Chapter 8 Ross's Agitation
Chapter 9 Duncan's Determination
Chapter 10 Ramsay's Breakout
Chapter 11 Cleeves's Escape
Chapter 12 Dickson, the Die is Cast
Chapter 13 Borthwick, the Walking Target
Chapter 14 Douglas's Close Support
Chapter 15 Dyneley's Capture and Wellington's Failure
Chapter 16 Holcombe's Opportunity
Chapter 17 Ramsay's Arrest
Chapter 18 Williamson's Fury
Chapter 19 Curtain of Fire
Chapter 20 Waller's Remonstrance
Chapter 21 Frazer's Swank and Lane's Rockets
Chapter 22 Wood's Commitment
Chapter 23 Wellington's Guns and Napoleon's Daughters
Chapter 24 Wellington's Gunners
Appendices
Appendix 1: List of the Royal Horse Artillery and Royal Artillery officers, by Troop and Battalion/Company, who served in the Peninsula 1808-1814
Appendix 2: List of Royal Horse Artillery and Royal Artillery officers by Troop and Battalion/Company who served during the Waterloo Campaign 1815
Appendix 3: Lists of Royal Horse Artillery and Royal Artillery medal recipients from the Peninsula and Waterloo
Appendix 4: Siege Tables
Glossary and Abbreviations
Bibliography
Index