How did Britain manage the transportation of large numbers of troops to French controlled territory during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars and successfully land them? Shortlisted for the Society for Nautical Research Anderson Medal 2016 Britain's naval victories in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars succeeded in protecting Britain from French invasion, but they could not of themselves defeat France. This required the support of allied armies and necessitated the shipping of large numbers of troops to, and successfully landing them on, French controlled territory - a major logistical operation. Wellington's expedition to Portugal and Spain led to Napoleon's defeat in the Peninsular War, but there were many other British expeditions before this which were not successful, in part because they were too logistically ambitious and/or they lacked allied support. This book examines the nature of combined operations and considers the planning and preparation of expeditions. It highlights the navy's important role in amphibious warfare and describes in detail the logistical operations which supported British expeditionary warfare in the period. It outlines the role of the Transport Board, explores how it periodically chartered a large proportion of the British merchant fleet and what theeffects of this were on merchant shipping. The book concludes that the Transport Board grew in competence; that the failure of expeditions was invariably due to circumstances well beyond its control; and that its pivotal role inthe preparation of all the major military expeditions in which hundreds of thousands of British troops served overseas was very significant and very effective. Robert K. Sutcliffe completed his doctorate at the University of Greenwich.
Reviews
An important signpost towards future research, his [Sutcliffe's] study deserves to find a wide readership. * WAR IN HISTORY BOOK REVIEWS *
[S]crupulously detailed throughout; one cannot imagine another scholar ever needing to revisit this question of how transport ships were hired in this period, for example. This will be a useful reference for much future scholarship on the British side of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars. * JOURNAL OF MODERN HISTORY *
An important study. * INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NAUTICAL ARCHAEOLOGY *
Contains much which would be of interest to the general reader as well as the dedicated naval and maritime historian. * MARINER'S MIRROR *
Resplendent in detail, this work provides a seemingly definitive statement on the Transport Board's troop movement and support activity during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Robert Sutcliffe's book will appeal to naval and maritime historians interested in this period, but also those focused on the logistics behind seaborne military expeditions, and anyone exploring the organization and growth of British government bureaucracy during this era. * NORTHERN MARINER/LE MARIN DU NORD *
With thirty charts and tables, three appendices (the British empire's shipping, ships built in England, and Britain's military forces serving at home and overseas), full footnotes, and bibliography, this book will long serve as a work of reference. Sutcliffe and Boydell Press are to be congratulated on a significant contribution to our knowledge of the military history of the British state. -- Roger Morriss * Journal of British Studies *



Book Information
ISBN 9781843839491
Author Robert K Sutcliffe
Format Hardback
Page Count 294
Imprint The Boydell Press
Publisher Boydell & Brewer Ltd
Weight(grams) 1g