An Inexorable Invasion – and so it begins is just a very small taster of what is to come in book ten of the Peninsular War Saga. Those of my readers who have spent the past eight years getting to know Major-General van Daan can probably make a rough guess at what happens next…
Chapter One
The forward pickets were relieved at dusk and were almost blue with cold by then; blowing on numb fingers to keep them nimble enough to load and shoot a musket if necessary. The changeover was usually accompanied by cheerful greetings and a good deal of banter as the departing sentries described how miserable the posting was going to be, while their replacements scoffed at them for being softer than the camp women who would probably make a better job of guarding the outposts.
For weeks, the Light Division picket line had been close enough to the French to cause a few skirmishes. It had also led to a good deal of fraternisation. This was particularly bad among the German hussars who often accompanied them because they had quickly discovered that the opposing French cavalry vidette was also provided by a German regiment. The opposing sets of cavalrymen spent much of each day in friendly conversation but this evening brought an unpleasant shock. Along with the relieving pickets, provided by a company of the 110th Light Infantry and a dozen cavalrymen from the 9th Dragoon Guards rode a tall figure on a big roan gelding.
The officer’s uniform was hidden by a dark greatcoat but every one of the pickets recognised the commander of the third brigade of the Light Division. He was accompanied by his ADC, a slim young man in a grey cloak riding a neat bay mare. Both reined in, staring in surprise at the scene before them. They had arrived just in time to find the two opposing cavalry videttes comparing the best fishing spots on the banks of the River Nive while the pickets from the 43rd Light Infantry were bartering with half a dozen French infantrymen. They were offering the French packets of tea and what looked like wrapped packages of tack biscuits in return for French brandy and business was brisk.
There was a long, agonised silence as the two groups stared at each other.
Published on November 10th 2025.Order your copy here.
The great powers of Europe are meeting to decide whether to seek a negotiated peace or a decisive victory over the Emperor Napoleon. Major-General Paul van Daan and his brigade are beginning to look forward to the end of the long war but the fighting is not over yet.
Now fully established on French soil, Wellington’s army faces Marshal Soult’s defeated troops once again in three days of fierce combat on the banks of the River Nive.
For the first time in his career Paul is faced with not one but two colonels fleeing the field with their battalions, leaving General Hill’s corps in desperate peril. Ensign Laurence Fox is still adjusting to his new post as Paul’s ADC when he is called upon to make a vital decision.
Major Giles Fenwick receives news from home which threatens to distract him from his assignment working with the Royal Navy to build a bridge over the River Adour.
Lord Wellington is beset by unwanted visitors to headquarters and is infuriated by a determined attempt by a party of Royalists to force him to declare for their cause. Anne van Daan has to leave the surgeons’ tents for a while and use her diplomatic skills to diffuse the situation.
With winter quarters over, Wellington’s army marches further into France towards the town of Orthez and another encounter with Soult’s battered army.
Memorial to the Battle of Orthez
The Book
I’m always excited to release a new volume in the Peninsular War Saga but this one is also rather poignant. I was halfway through writing this when I realised just how close to the end of the war we are. For the first time my characters are beginning to look ahead. They’re probably afraid to hope too much at the beginning of this book but by the end it’s becoming clear that things are about to change.
It’s easy to throw a 21st Century mantle over the whole period at this point and imagine everybody being really excited that the war may well be ending and for some of my characters that is undoubtedly true. Paul and Anne are longing to go home to their children and extended families and there are men returning to wives and fiancées. Looking at biographical details of various officers in 1814 it’s clear there was a spate of weddings. Not every officer went home of course. Men like Harry Smith and Edward Pakenham were almost immediately sent to America where the war of 1812 was still dragging on.
For some of the enlisted men the end of the war brought new problems and difficult decisions. After years marching through Portugal and Spain, many had formed relationships with local women, and had children. Some would probably have had no hesitation in leaving these families behind but others were devastated. Some decided not to do so at all.
We have all that to come in book eleven, before marching with Wellington again on the field at Waterloo in book twelve. In the meantime I hope you enjoy this account of the adventures of the third brigade of the Light Division at the Nive and at Orthez. Once again I’ve taken a few liberties with history and geography and I’ve listed these in my author’s note at the end. Otherwise I’ve tried to keep to the facts as far as they’re known while still keeping Paul and his men busy.
Many of you are also fans of the legendary Bernard Cornwell and his Sharpe series. You’ll probably have already read his version of some of the events in this book in Sharpe’s Storm. It’s the first time I’ve accidentally collided in time with Sharpe and once I got over the sheer panic of people reading my book back to back with his I’ve quite enjoyed the process. At one point Sharpe and Paul were very close on the same battlefield but they didn’t run into each other which is a shame.
I’m now returning to finish my Age of Sail book for Sapere and will then move on to Manxman four. I’ve been putting that one off because of the sheer volume of research but I’ve now decided that I’ll be bringing the two series together for book eleven and I can’t do that without first writing about Hugh and Durrell’s adventures in Northern Spain in 1812.
In the meantime there will be the second collection of short stories coming out in December. It’s called Winter Quarters and will once again bring together some of my previously published free short stories along with one brand new story just for this collection.
Thanks to all my readers for your loyalty, enthusiasm and really dodgy sense of humour which causes you to laugh at all my jokes. I hope you enjoy the book.
An Inexorable Invasion – and so it begins is just a very small taster of what is to come in book ten of the Peninsular War Saga. Those of my readers who have spent the past eight years getting to know Major-General van Daan can probably make a rough guess at what happens next…
I’m now returning to finish my Age of Sail book for