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Title: A highly critical history of the Peninsular War
Review: Esdaile criticizes the mythological role of the partisans in the Peninsular War and the contention tht these irregular fighters had popular support. Esdaile believes the partisans were nothing more than draft dogers and bandits, who hindered rather than helped the Spanish cause. According to Esdaile the use of these guerrillas hampered the Spanish war effort because they took away valuable men from the army and committed numerous crimes against the civilian population. Esdaile states in this book that the guerrillas were motivated by personal profit and not by any sense of nationalism. In the concluding chapters of the book, Esdaile believes it was Napoleon blunders by asking his subordinates to launch offensives in eastern Spain which led to the western part of the country vulnerable to Welligton's offenisves that ultimately ended the war. I would reccomend this book to anyone who wants a new view of the Peninsular War.
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