Corunna 1809: Sir John Moore’s Fighting Retreat (Campaign, 83)

The retreat to Corunna is one of the epic campaigns of the Napoleonic Wars (1799-1815). Late in 1808 Sir John Moore found himself virtually alone with his small British army deep inside Spain. The armies of his Spanish allies had been overwhelmed and he faced a victorious French force under the Emperor Napoleon. He had little option but to order a retreat to the port of Corunna. This became the most arduous of trials with armies traversing mountainous terrain over appalling roads in the depths of winter. Somehow Moore held his outnumbered, exhausted men together as they struggled to reach safety. Finally at Corunna Moore's army turned to face its tormentors.