Topic 1 - Britain and the French Wars,  1793–1815 

There were 40,000 members, all were voulenteers. They weren't paid much byt recieved food, drink etc.

18,596 died

40, 639

Between 16,000 and 24,000

Strict. Most soldiers came from poor backgrounds, however many were criminals who joined instead of a punishment

Recruitment, dicipline, increase in officer class and strong sense of patriotism and adventure

1793 - 1802 - wars against revolutionary France
1803 - 1815 - wars against Napoleonic France

August 1808, Wellington's first battle

France made an indirect trade to Britain's trade, everyone agreed except Portugal
Junot was sent by France to Invade portugal
Napoleon planned to control all of Iberian Peninsula

100,000 French soldiers in Spain. The kind abdicates and is replaced by Napoleon's brother
Junot's troops pull back to Lisbon. British troops arrive 1st August
Junot sent to delay them but were forced to retreat
Wellington used reverse slope tactic - defensive technique

30th August 1808, Portugal was signed over

16th January 1809, took place in North-Western Spain

British army (led by Sir John Moore) were retreating from Napoleon
Retreated to Corunna and hoped to escape by sea
French (led by Marshal Soult) attacked before they could evacuate
British managed to escape. Moore was fatally wounded but lived long enough to hear they'd withdrawn
French tactical victory but a British strategic success

27th - 28th July 1809
Between Britain and Spain vs France
Began in the morning

French began by landing many attacks
Fighting continued into the night and they both faced heavy losses
On the second day, France launched an attack but were repulsed by Britain and Spain
Spanish army were poorly diciplined
After heavy losses, France withdrew
Anglo-Spanish victory but both sides lost aroung 7000 men

Series of fortifications built by the British (organised by Wellington)
Strategy to defend Portugal against Napoleon
Went from Lisbon Peninsula to the Tagus River
Was a defensive strategy as Britain didn't habe to numbers to fight
Consisted of 3 defensive lines. Redoubts, forts and entrenchments

In 1808, Napoleon had already conquered most of Spain
Construction was carred out in secret and completed in 1810
Considered one of the greated military defensive works of the 19th century
Defences caused aroung 20,000 french soldiers to starve as there were no recources nearby

It was a siege
It secured a key supply line as the French struggled to reinforce defences

It was an even tougher siege than Ciudad
Britain suffered heavy casualties before storming the city
Looting and disorder followed
The victory opened the way into central Spain

This battle was a major turning point
Wellington used his superior tactical awareness to outmanoeuvre and defeat Marshal Marmont’s French army
The British army forced the French to retreat from central Spain

The final blow to French control in Spain
Wellington's army crushed Joseph Bonaparte's forces and caused a full retreat
Britain pursued them towards the Pyrenees
Marked the end of French rule in Spain

Use of terrain and reverse slopes - kept troops hidden
Placed an army on a defensive line along a ridge near Tala Vera
The Line of torres Vedras
He used squares in the Battle of Fuentes de Onoro

Coordinated movements with the Spanish despire tensions with Cuesta
His soldiers were diciplined
Political diplomacy - Spanish ports, GB government

18th June 1815
Britain (and allies) led by Wellington, Prussian army led by Blucher, French army led by Napoleon
The battle began aroung 11 30am after heavy read. the ground was soaked

The French attacked the allies, it was repulsed
Cavalry chaeges from the French were unsuccsessfu;
The Prussian arrival helped the British win
Decisive victory for Britain, Napoleon surrendered
"the nearest run thing you ever saw in your life"
25,000 French soldiers killed and wounded, allies lost 15,000

135 ships of the line, 133 smaller frigates
20,000 officers and sailors

In 1793 there were 120,000 men, byt 1812 there were 140,000

They could be recruited instead of recieving a hanging (counties had a number of men they had to provide)
Crewmembers had daily gunnery practice and could fire guns every 90 seconds
Punishments were severe

1 - 3 August 1798, Britain vs France
Took place at Aboukir Bay, Egypt

Napoleon travelledd to Egypt to threaten British interest in India
Nelson attacked in the late afternoon
They caught the French off guard
British ships manoevered around the shore and surrounded them
Britain had 23 battleships, 280 transports and around 50,000 men
France had 13 battleships

Denmark and other neutral countries wanted to ensure trading with France

2 April 1801
The Brish fleet attacked the Danish in Copenhagen as an attempt to counter the LoAN

The Danish opened fire by 10 05am and the British were in line by 11 30am
They fought until one side gave up
The Danish flagship, Dannebrog, caught fire
Most Danish ships had surrendered by 2pm
Britain captures 12 ships but only kept 1 of them

In 1802 Britain and France paused fighting for a year due to funding

14 February 1797
Britain vs Speain near the southern coast of Portugal
Britain had 15 ships, Spain had 27

Nelson famously refused orders to back down, his actions led to the capture of two Spanish ships
The battle was a clear win for Britain

Nelson was famed for bold thinking and taking risks, this lead to many wins for Britain
His leadership earned him the loyalty of his crew
He was present at many sea battles such as the Battle of Cape St Vincent, the Battle of the Nile and the Battle of Copenhagen

Napoleon was asserting control over Switzerland
napoleon was creating a new force to invade British Isles
Napoleon wasn't expecting war and his ships were scattered across the sea (british ships were at ports)
Britain sunk spanish ships and Spain sided with France
France got to British colonies before Britain would

The fleets were well matched
HMS Victory changed course and crashed into another ship
Nelson used a tactic to split up the enemy's ships
The battle lasted for hours
Nelson died and the French ship blew up

21 October 1805
Britain vs France and Spain
Britain had 27 ships of the line, Spain and France had 33

Trade war, once it had eased tariffs were introduced
New markets appeared in better trading places (Spain, Portugal, Canada)
Lots of families couldn't afford food
Parishes attempted to help struggling families

Benefitted through wartime prices being higher
New machinery was introduced
Selective breeding made better animals

The wars intensified demand for cotton
Powered looms were introduced
Boom in textile mills
Technology advanced made more accurate threads

Industrial towns began to grow - canals needded to transport heavy materials
Canal systems created in the south and midlands by 1815

Wars marked the turning point towards the advancement of steam engines
Invention of the Chappe telegraph allowed messages to be transmitted across the country