The Peninsular War was a war of contrasts; a war fought in the icy passes of the high Pyrenees and on the burning wastes of the Sierra Morena; a war of infinite cruelty yet remarkable courtesy; a war in which debonair British officers fought alongside ragged Spanish partisans. It began in 1808 with Napoleon at the height of his power and ended with his attempted suicide in 1814. This narrative recaptures the horror, excitement and drudgery of history's first guerrilla war.