This book is an important reminder also of Wellington's wider role before Waterloo. We are brought to a time when Napoleon was master of Continental Europe, with the Austrian Armies having just been defeated at Austerlitz in 1805. Throughout it also gives the reader much focus on Suchet with the famous Napoloeon comment: "If I had two Suchet's, I could have held Spain"...

The book also emphasises in it's conclusion that, given the historical differences between Britain and Spain, the survival of the Anglo-Spanish alliance was nothing short of a minor miracle.

Jon Sandison, Freelance

Nick Lipscombe, a recognized expert in military history, fills a gap and provides a nine on this forgotten war.

Gloire & Empire, No.72

The author behind the title is an established authority on the Peninsular War and a gifted battlefield guide. In this volume Lipscombe provides a clear description and analysis of a neglected part of the war against Napoleon. Well-chosen quotations from Wellington's dispatches illustrate not only the Iron Duke's strategic and political grasp, but also the importance of these campaigns to his major thrusts in 1812 and 1813, when he advanced to victory at Salamanca and Victoria. The text rightly highlights the Royal Navy's key role in supporting the allied armies against one of Napoleon's ablest commanders, Louis-Gabriel Suchet. Not to be missed by students of the Peninsular War.

Soldier, March 2017 – reviewed by Dr Rodnety Atwood, military historian

You will find a comprehensive book on operations on the Valencia, Girona, Zaragoza and Saguntum, during the Spanish campaign, with maps and orders of precise battle in annex.

VaeVictis, March-April 2017

This is an important volume for students of the Peninsular War, bringing to readers a clear understanding of a heretofore largely neglected section of that conflict.

Gunner magazine

The book describes in graphic detail the battles fought by the French army of General Suchet against the Spanish regulars and guerrillas and subsequently the Anglo-Sicilian force sent by the British government to stabilize the region.

Mr. Lipscombe is a leading historian on the Peninsular War and Napoleonic Wars.

Regency Explorer

An excellent addition to research on the Peninsular War. The book covers in fine detail all of the actions on the East Coast of Spain. An unknown aspect of the war, that explains the many effects and benefits that the campaign had on the main battles in the west, and in Portugal. Easy to read, and full of stimuli to encourage the reader to go and visit the many sights. Nick never disappoints his readers, and this is definitely a five star read.

Suzanne Brunt, Amazon Reviewer

This is an excellent book - easy to read and succinct and to the point. It covers an almost unknown aspect of the Peninsular War and, as such, it provides more insight into Wellington and his ability to think outside the box. Highly recommended.

Amazon Reviewer

In summary, Lipscombe has triumphed again, producing a well researched work that breaks new ground. He has struck a happy balance between scholarly research and well-written history which is accessible to the average reader, resulting in a book that will interest and excite students and novices alike.

Zack White, Freelance

Although arguably the struggle on Spain’s eastern front is often overlooked as not being integral to the Duke of Wellington’s main army and their campaigns in Portugal and western Spain, the author of this very readable new book argues that they were in fact intrinsically linked. He describes in some detail the battles fought by the French army of General Suchet against both Spanish regular troops and guerrillas, as well as the later Anglo-Sicilian force sent by the British government to stabilise the region.

Despite initial French successes and setbacks for the allied armies, by late 1813 the east coast of Spain held a key to Wellington’s invasion of France and the eventual defeat of Napoleon’s in the Iberian Peninsula.

The preface and list of acknowledgements which begin the book are followed by a chronology of events on the east coast of Spain 1808-1814. The work’s main text is then divided into three main parts covering, in sequence, the French invasion, the British intervention and finally observations and finale.

Appendices on Commanders: Troop Organisations and Strengths, as well as Notes on Foreign Units in British Service on the East Coast of Spain are included, along with notes, a glossary, bibliography and index. Also included are three illustrations and six maps in colour, with a further 23 illustrations and 11 maps in monochrome.

Stuart Asquith, author

As seen on Napoleonic Wars Forum.

Napoleonic Wars Forum

'If there was ever a moment that Wellington was thrown into despair in the course of the Peninsular War, it was when the French captured the eastern city of Valencia on 8 January 1812. In this much needed addition to the literature, Nick Lipscombe has given chapter and verse as to why a front that has generally been overlooked was actually crucial to the outcome of the struggle. Highly recommended.'

Professor Charles Esdaile