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1 August 1808
The Peninsular War
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Sir Arthur Wellesley lands in
Lisbon with a British force to support Portuguese and Spanish resistance
to France. Spain and Portugal have been forced to close their ports to
British ships as Napoleon tries to impose the Continental
System across Europe. But Wellesley – later to become 1st duke of
Wellington – routs the first French forces he encounters on the peninsula,
marking the onset of the six-year Peninsular War. This will put a severe
strain on Napoleon's chain of command and impose a major drain on his
resources.
'Adversity is the midwife of genius.' Napoleon
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