To Conquer and to Keep Volume 1 1809-1811

Napoleon once famously remarked ‘If I had had two Marshals like Suchet I should not only have conquered Spain, but have kept it’. Louis-Gabriel Suchet was one of the few French commanders to leave the Peninsular War with his reputation enhanced, and the only one to win his marshal’s baton in that war. When Suchet was first appointed to take command of French forces in Aragon in 1809 as a général de division, the French were on the verge of losing control over that province. Through a string of brilliant battlefield victories and sieges against Spanish regular forces as well as an initially successful counter-guerrilla campaign, Suchet managed to not only secure French control of Aragon, but moved on to conquer Lower Catalonia and Valencia as well. Like all French commanders in the Peninsular War, Suchet was faced with the challenges of Spanish popular resistance, but stood out above his colleagues for his notable success in pacifying Aragon. Yet despite initial triumphs in 1809-1811 against the ‘traditional guerrilla’, Suchet’s counter-guerrilla policies were less successful than is often popularly perceived. As the war went on, French resources became thinly stretched, while conversely, the guerrilla war was increasingly spearheaded by Spanish regular forces to great efficiency, which contributed to the eventual collapse of French control in Eastern Spain.

Despite being universally accepted as among the best of Napoleon’s marshals, the pivotal role Suchet played in the Peninsular War has largely been overlooked thus far. Through analysing a variety of sources from both French and Allied perspectives, ranging from modern viewpoints to those who saw the war themselves, Yuhan Kim examines both Suchet’s successes and failures in his sieges, battles, counter-guerrilla operations, and administration.

Each of Suchet’s major actions, as well as those fought independently by his subordinates, is explained in extensive detail with maps and orders of battle. This first volume addresses the opening battles between Suchet and the Spanish commander Joaquin Blake, showing how Suchet recovered from an initial defeat to decisively crush his opponent, before considering the string of successful sieges that ended with the fall of Tarragona and a Marshal’s baton.

"....This carefully researched and readable book is an impressive debut in the field of Napoleonic military history by an undergraduate student at Yale University that will be welcomed by wargamers of the Peninsular War." Arthur Harman, Miniature Wargames Issue 484, Aug 2023

"....This is an excellent treatment of a little-known campaign, utilising numerous Spanish and French sources, largely unknown to an English-speaking audience and this reader for one cannot wait for Volume 2 to appear in the very near future. Highly recommended." The Napoleon Series

"....this is a tremendous book, bringing to the fore the details of this campaign often regarded as a bit of a sideshow when compared to the more ‘exciting’ campaigns to the west. I look forward to seeing the second volume, which takes us up to the ejection of the French from Spain in 1814." carryingsonupthedale.com

“If all volumes of military history possessed the same sparkling prose, plentiful maps, OOBs with numbers, and insightful analysis as this book, you wouldn't need book reviews—every book would be as brilliant as this one. Enjoyed it. And looking forward to Volume 2.” Historical Miniatures Gaming Society