The first French invasion of Portugal in 1807 - which was commanded by Junot, one of Napoleon's most experienced generals - was a key event in the long, brutal Peninsular War. It was the first campaign fought in the Peninsular by Sir Arthur Wellesley, later Duke of Wellington, yet it tends to be overshadowed by more famous episodes in the six-year conflict that followed.

David Buttery, in this original and perceptive new study, sets the record straight - his tightly focused narrative covers the entire campaign in vivid detail.