British Rifleman vs French Skirmisher : Peninsular War and Waterloo 1808–15

During the Peninsular War (1907-14) and the Hundred Days campaign (1815), British and French forced deployed specialist units of skirmishers trained in marksmanship and open-order combat. These 'light' troops fulfilled several important battlefield roles, such as 'masking' large bodies of friendly close-order troops and harassing enemy artillery crews and senior officers with aimed fire. On occasion, the skirmishers were also tasked with special missions such as the capture or defence of key positions. While Napoleon's skirmishers carried the smoothbore musket, Britain were armed with the rifle, a far more accurate weapon that was hampered by a slower rate of fire. As well as the legendary 95th Rifles, Britain fielded rifle-armed German troops of the 60th Reigment and the King's German Legion, while France's light troops were fielded in individual companies but also entire regiments. In this study, David Greentree assesses the role and effectiveness of rifle-armed British tropps and their French open-order opponents in three very different encounters: Roica (1808), the first British battle of the Peninsular War; the struggle for a key bridge at Barba del Puerto (1810) ; and the fight for the La Haye Sainte farmhouse during the battle of Waterloo (1815). --Back cover.