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Wellington: The Iron Duke
Richard Holmes, highly acclaimed military historian and broadcaster, tells the exhilarating story of Britain’s greatest-ever soldier, the man who posed the most serious threat to Napoleon. The Duke of Wellington’s remarkable life and extraordinary campaigns are recreated with Holmes’ superb skill in this compelling book.
Richard Holmes charts Wellington’s stellar military career from India to Europe, and in the process, rediscovers the reasons Queen Victoria called him the greatest man the nineteenth century had produced. Combining his astute historical analysis with a semi-biographical examination of Wellington, Holmes artfully illustrates the rapid evolution in military and political thinking of the time.
Wellington is a brilliant figure, idealistic in politics, cynical in love, a wit, a beau, a man of enormous courage often sickened by war. As Richard Holmes charts his progress from a shy, indolent boy to commander-in-chief of the allied forces, he also exposes the Iron Duke as a philanderer, and a man who sometimes despised the men that he led, and was not always in control of his soldiers. Particularly infamous is the bestial rampage of his men after the capture of Cuidad Rodgrigo and Badajoz.
THE IRON DUKE is a beautifully produced book, complete with stunning illustrations and colour plates. Richard Holmes’ TV series to accompany THE IRON DUKE will be lavishly constructed in four parts, and filmed on location in Britain, India, Spain, Portugal, France and Belgium.
Richard Holmes charts Wellington’s stellar military career from India to Europe, and in the process, rediscovers the reasons Queen Victoria called him the greatest man the nineteenth century had produced. Combining his astute historical analysis with a semi-biographical examination of Wellington, Holmes artfully illustrates the rapid evolution in military and political thinking of the time.
Wellington is a brilliant figure, idealistic in politics, cynical in love, a wit, a beau, a man of enormous courage often sickened by war. As Richard Holmes charts his progress from a shy, indolent boy to commander-in-chief of the allied forces, he also exposes the Iron Duke as a philanderer, and a man who sometimes despised the men that he led, and was not always in control of his soldiers. Particularly infamous is the bestial rampage of his men after the capture of Cuidad Rodgrigo and Badajoz.
THE IRON DUKE is a beautifully produced book, complete with stunning illustrations and colour plates. Richard Holmes’ TV series to accompany THE IRON DUKE will be lavishly constructed in four parts, and filmed on location in Britain, India, Spain, Portugal, France and Belgium.
324 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
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About the author
Richard Holmes
116 books92 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
See this thread for more information.
Edward Richard Holmes was Professor of Military and Security Studies at Cranfield University and the Royal Military College of Science. He was educated at Cambridge, Northern Illinois, and Reading Universities, and carried out his doctoral research on the French army of the Second Empire. For many years he taught military history at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst.
A celebrated military historian, Holmes is the author of the best-selling and widely acclaimed Tommy and Redcoat: The British Soldier in the Age of Horse and Musket. His dozen other books include Dusty Warriors, Sahib, The Western Front, The Little Field Marshal: Sir John French, The Road to Sedan, Firing Line, The Second World War in Photographs and Fatal Avenue: A Traveller’s History of Northern France and Flanders (also published by Pimlico).
He was general editor of The Oxford Companion to Military History and has presented eight BBC TV series, including ‘War Walks’, ‘The Western Front’ and ‘Battlefields’, and is famous for his hugely successful series ‘Wellington: The Iron Duke’ and ‘Rebels and Redcoats’.
See this thread for more information.
Edward Richard Holmes was Professor of Military and Security Studies at Cranfield University and the Royal Military College of Science. He was educated at Cambridge, Northern Illinois, and Reading Universities, and carried out his doctoral research on the French army of the Second Empire. For many years he taught military history at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst.
A celebrated military historian, Holmes is the author of the best-selling and widely acclaimed Tommy and Redcoat: The British Soldier in the Age of Horse and Musket. His dozen other books include Dusty Warriors, Sahib, The Western Front, The Little Field Marshal: Sir John French, The Road to Sedan, Firing Line, The Second World War in Photographs and Fatal Avenue: A Traveller’s History of Northern France and Flanders (also published by Pimlico).
He was general editor of The Oxford Companion to Military History and has presented eight BBC TV series, including ‘War Walks’, ‘The Western Front’ and ‘Battlefields’, and is famous for his hugely successful series ‘Wellington: The Iron Duke’ and ‘Rebels and Redcoats’.
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March 20, 2021
Very basic introduction to Wellington; almost a high school book. Not that it was poorly written, but that it was so shallow. Oh, there were the occasional confusions, such as when Holmes quotes Wellington (we might as well call him that consistently; his list of titles takes a full page in the book) describing the siege of Burgos as "the worst scrape that ever I was in." Yet, though the author later dutifully quotes Wellington calling Waterloo as a "close run thing", there's nary a mention of which came closest to failure.
My greatest disappointment with the book: I had some notion on his India campaigns, and a reasonably good feel for at least the timing, geography and opponents of the Peninsular campaign, and (at this point) easy familiarity with Waterloo, but knew nothing about his childhood, and little about his political career.
I admit to being somewhat satisfied on the first. his father went bankrupt; Wellington had to withdraw from Eaton. And Wellington had his (then more successful)brother Arthur purchase an Army Commission, because he ran out options: "his wishes, if he had any, were in favour of a civilian life." But after that, Wellington (as was custom at the time) merely transferred from the books of regiment to regiment seeking promotion, not fighting, but taking a "real" job (often as an ADC to someone higher on the patronage chain). Holmes gives good discourse on late 18th century infantry tactics, and shows how the Army became more meretricious: by the height of the Napoleonic conflict, in 1810, only one fifth of Army commissions were bought. But, based on this book, it would seem that Wellington did no more than appear at the occasional parade drill, and pass the claret at the regimental mess. Holmes agrees with historian Andrew Roberts that "while it is possible to write a long book on Napoleon's early career, not much could be said of Arthur Wesley."
His break came when transferred to India, where brother Arthur now was Governor-General. Wellington is given the 33rd regiment of Foot, leapfrogging other senior Colonels--because his brother wants a quasi-official representative, a situation causing substantial and lingering jealousy. The goal is to take Seringapatam, the stronghold of Tipoo, something Cornwallis flunked eight years before. Again, by virtue of his brother's prestige, Wellington also commands the Sepoy (Indian) troops and places his 33rd in the lead position of one side of a pincer attack. The 33rd was the first to arrive at Tipoo's outer defenses, and routed them. Both British armies now joined the siege of the the granite fort Seringapatam. After suffering a brief defeat when ordered to attack ground he had not been able to reconnoiter (a lesson never forgotten), the siege began in earnest, on different ground with better sited guns. It succeeded almost immediately, with fewer than 400 casualties among the attackers to between 8,000-9,000 dead among Tipoo's Mysore tribe. Wellington slept; his soldiers got wildly drunk, and the next day Wellington was named to garrison the fort, again over the head of the senior officer. Wellington restored order, flogging many (and hanging four) British soldiers for theft.
This only convinced the local General that Wellington was just the man to take charge of the whole Mysore province, which he did through a 5 year-old puppet, the closest surviving descendent of the former Hindu rajahs. Wellington, vice puppet, ruled fairly, and had to kill another challenger for the province, which he did (though his forces were badly outnumbered, and short of supplies).
This was my WTF? moment. The book never explained how, or why, Wellington became such a military tactician, leader, fair disciplinarian, and -- above all -- a pioneer in military logistics. Some talents, I grant you, may be innate. Others may be learned by observation. But the book makes it appear that all four were gifts from the gods. Wellington earned the (derisive) nickname "Sepoy General" from these exploits, but did his talents spring, unbidden, from the thigh of Zeus?
Anyway, now a Major-General, he is assigned to pacify the Peshwa. Starting with a complete rece, and ensuring a secure supply chain, he did so. This this sparked a wider rebellion among three other provinces. Waiting for the natives to fire the first shot, and overcoming the nervousness of the East India Company, Wellington (with help from other British forces) attacked and defeated each in detail, another portent of a great battle to come. One of his most famous victories relied on his gaining the other side of a river, where the enemy lay. Although no crossing was known to exist, he lead his army parallel to the river until finding a place where two villages were just across the river from each other: they could not have been built so close "without some habitual means of communications", and a ford swiftly was found; the battle joined. The British won, despite a miscommunication in orders that led to needless deaths, and despite Wellington's being shot off his horse.
The war still was on when, in 1804, Wellington asked for a transfer--he's tired, Ill and homesick. The real reason was brother Arthur's term as Governor-General was ending, and the regular army doubtlessly would take its revenge. So he returns, no longer penniless, but with £42,000 and a Knighthood. And (he later was supposed to have claimed) all knowledge about military matters as I ever had since.
Life as a Major-General in London was less notorious -- aside from his famous meeting with Vice Admiral Nelson, the latter on his way to join the fleet at Trafalgar. A year later, Wellington commanded a division in the raid on the Danish Navy: he cleared the whole island of Zeeland of Danish regulars and militia, at a cost of only 6 killed and 115 wounded.
But, his first efforts in Spain ended in ignominy, when The Convention of Cintra, nominally a surrender that he signed, allowed the French to take all their private property, arms and ships back to France. Only a solid Tory majority saw off that investigation, on top of fresh news of Sir John Moore's martyrdom during the otherwise miraculous evacuation onto Royal Navy vessels of besieged troops that only months before had thrust deep into Spain.
Moore's death was Wellington's chance. He was appointed as senior officer in defense of Portugal, where (after his usual preparations) he drove the French from Mendellin and Talavera. This brought him a viscountcy, but as there was no time to consult over the title, his brother William chose Wellington, on the ground that there was a town called Welling not far from the town of Welleslie.
The remainder of the Peninsular campaign is in some ways as tediously defensive as World War I, but:
"Salamanca gives the lie to the suggestion that Wellington was simply a great defensive general. Maximillen Poy, who commanded a French division that day, thought that the battle: 'raises Lord Wellington's reputation almost to the level of Marlborough.'"
Viatoria, of course, can be counted as a similar offensive triumph. It broke the French grip on Spain forever, and got Wellington a promotion to full General. Welling made it as far as Toulouse before Napoleon abdicated.
While diplomats met in Vienna to dance, tryst, and write a peace treaty, Wellington becomes Britain's envoy to France, a position Napoleon thought unwise at time, as he would be expecting to be treated as equals by those he humbled. Although briefly enjoying the restored Salons of Mme de Staēl, and tryed to persuade the French to abolish the slave trade, it became clear Napoleon was right: assassination plots abounded. So Wellington went to Vienna to assist Castlereigh. Three months after arriving, Napoleon escaped from Elba, lands on France, and the Czar of all Russia placed his hand on Wellington's shoulder and said "Now it is up to you to save the world again."
I propose to skip the book's account of Waterloo, both because I learned little new, and I've treated that battle extensively in other reviews. With this exception: when his Prussian aide Müffling asked whether he really expected Macdonell and 1500 of the Coldstream Guards to hold Hougoumont (a small farm key to his right flank), Wellington said "Ah' you don't know Macdonell. I've thrown Macdonell into it."
For me, the last quarter of the book was the most interesting: Wellington as politician, a subject I had not studied. He was bull-headed: invited immediately to join the Tory government, he was piqued when Canning, not he, became Prime Minister. So he resigned as Commander in Chief and Master of Arms. Canning's death restored him to the Tory Cabinet, as Commander in Chief, and (following a crisis in the Crimea), he ascended to the top of the greasy pole--but only after promising the King he would not push for Catholic emancipation.
Wellington, it is clear, became a reformist Tory—yet, although no one would compare him with Disraeli, Wellington was one of Disraeli's early heroes. He ran the government as he ran the army--a poor delegator, unwilling to listen to other opinions. Wellington started his term with the support only of the high Torys. He fell out with them when he sided with those favoring dissolution of the two most rotten boroughs in England. Needing support from the Whigs, he turned to championing Catholic emancipation. Wellington had to out-wait the King's opposition; the Royal Assent contained a postscript: "God knows what pain it costs me to write these words. G.R."
Wellington still needed approval of the Lords, where a particularly obnoxious Ninth Earl of Winchilsea spoke for hours (the word "filibuster" was not born for another 25 years). Winchilsea accused Wellington of "desiring to infringe our liberties and introduce Popery into every department of the state." These then, literally, were fighting words, and Wellington demanded satisfaction. The duel was fought at dawn the next day: when Wellington turned, he saw Winchilsea's arm kept firmly at his side. Wellington aimed wide and shot, and Winchilsea fired into the air. Winchilsea's Second read a prepared statement, to which Wellington insisted the word "apology" be added, and with that, the affair of honor was done.
For a Prime Minister to break the law and duel was remarkable. But it completely changed public opinion. The Lords began to swing behind emancipation. "[T]he mob, hooting Wellington a week before, now took to cheering him." Wellington created the embryo of the metropolitan police, usually credited to his protege Peel.
He was out of power for a while, though not out of work, as lord-lieutenant of Hampshire. He also cleaned and re-made the Tower of London, of which he had been made Constable. In opposition, he and the other Tories fought Lord Gray's 1832 reform bill to a standstill in the Lords, at the cost of two mob scenes at his own home, two attempts at changes in government and finally -- threatened by a greater evil: mass creation of Whig peers to break the stalemate -- Wellington chose the lesser of two evils, and called off the hounds in the Lords, allowing the bill to pass.
He lived long enough not just to see Victoria coronated, but to outlast the Whig Lord Melbourne, and become one of the young Queen's favorites. And, in one of his last acts in the Lords, he helped vote away the Corn Laws, so noxious to economics and to the British poor. So Holmes provides the FACTS allowing us to conclude that Wellington wasn't just the stiff, high Tory of history, but little of the reasoning.
He died in 1852; the no longer young Queen Victoria was the first visitor to where he lay in state , but "never got beyond the centre of the hall, where her feelings quite overcame her, and whence she was led, weeping bitterly." Well over a million thronged the streets for the funeral; another 300,000 had seats in the stands.
Holmes's best analysis comes nearly at his last page:
"Wellington's death marked the passing of an age. He was born when the countryside dominated the town, industry bowed to agriculture, and Britain ruled North America. He was buried [next to Nelson--NOfP] amidst the smoke of busy railways in an accomplished industrial revolution, in a nation which ruled the centre of the greatest empire the world had ever seen, and had begun the long ascent to parliamentary democracy. He ranks, with the Duke of Marlborough, as one of the two greatest generals Britain produced."
All good. But, as everyone knows, the British LOVED Nelson and Respected Wellington. The difference is crucial. But Holmes's book won't tell you why.
My greatest disappointment with the book: I had some notion on his India campaigns, and a reasonably good feel for at least the timing, geography and opponents of the Peninsular campaign, and (at this point) easy familiarity with Waterloo, but knew nothing about his childhood, and little about his political career.
I admit to being somewhat satisfied on the first. his father went bankrupt; Wellington had to withdraw from Eaton. And Wellington had his (then more successful)brother Arthur purchase an Army Commission, because he ran out options: "his wishes, if he had any, were in favour of a civilian life." But after that, Wellington (as was custom at the time) merely transferred from the books of regiment to regiment seeking promotion, not fighting, but taking a "real" job (often as an ADC to someone higher on the patronage chain). Holmes gives good discourse on late 18th century infantry tactics, and shows how the Army became more meretricious: by the height of the Napoleonic conflict, in 1810, only one fifth of Army commissions were bought. But, based on this book, it would seem that Wellington did no more than appear at the occasional parade drill, and pass the claret at the regimental mess. Holmes agrees with historian Andrew Roberts that "while it is possible to write a long book on Napoleon's early career, not much could be said of Arthur Wesley."
His break came when transferred to India, where brother Arthur now was Governor-General. Wellington is given the 33rd regiment of Foot, leapfrogging other senior Colonels--because his brother wants a quasi-official representative, a situation causing substantial and lingering jealousy. The goal is to take Seringapatam, the stronghold of Tipoo, something Cornwallis flunked eight years before. Again, by virtue of his brother's prestige, Wellington also commands the Sepoy (Indian) troops and places his 33rd in the lead position of one side of a pincer attack. The 33rd was the first to arrive at Tipoo's outer defenses, and routed them. Both British armies now joined the siege of the the granite fort Seringapatam. After suffering a brief defeat when ordered to attack ground he had not been able to reconnoiter (a lesson never forgotten), the siege began in earnest, on different ground with better sited guns. It succeeded almost immediately, with fewer than 400 casualties among the attackers to between 8,000-9,000 dead among Tipoo's Mysore tribe. Wellington slept; his soldiers got wildly drunk, and the next day Wellington was named to garrison the fort, again over the head of the senior officer. Wellington restored order, flogging many (and hanging four) British soldiers for theft.
This only convinced the local General that Wellington was just the man to take charge of the whole Mysore province, which he did through a 5 year-old puppet, the closest surviving descendent of the former Hindu rajahs. Wellington, vice puppet, ruled fairly, and had to kill another challenger for the province, which he did (though his forces were badly outnumbered, and short of supplies).
This was my WTF? moment. The book never explained how, or why, Wellington became such a military tactician, leader, fair disciplinarian, and -- above all -- a pioneer in military logistics. Some talents, I grant you, may be innate. Others may be learned by observation. But the book makes it appear that all four were gifts from the gods. Wellington earned the (derisive) nickname "Sepoy General" from these exploits, but did his talents spring, unbidden, from the thigh of Zeus?
Anyway, now a Major-General, he is assigned to pacify the Peshwa. Starting with a complete rece, and ensuring a secure supply chain, he did so. This this sparked a wider rebellion among three other provinces. Waiting for the natives to fire the first shot, and overcoming the nervousness of the East India Company, Wellington (with help from other British forces) attacked and defeated each in detail, another portent of a great battle to come. One of his most famous victories relied on his gaining the other side of a river, where the enemy lay. Although no crossing was known to exist, he lead his army parallel to the river until finding a place where two villages were just across the river from each other: they could not have been built so close "without some habitual means of communications", and a ford swiftly was found; the battle joined. The British won, despite a miscommunication in orders that led to needless deaths, and despite Wellington's being shot off his horse.
The war still was on when, in 1804, Wellington asked for a transfer--he's tired, Ill and homesick. The real reason was brother Arthur's term as Governor-General was ending, and the regular army doubtlessly would take its revenge. So he returns, no longer penniless, but with £42,000 and a Knighthood. And (he later was supposed to have claimed) all knowledge about military matters as I ever had since.
Life as a Major-General in London was less notorious -- aside from his famous meeting with Vice Admiral Nelson, the latter on his way to join the fleet at Trafalgar. A year later, Wellington commanded a division in the raid on the Danish Navy: he cleared the whole island of Zeeland of Danish regulars and militia, at a cost of only 6 killed and 115 wounded.
But, his first efforts in Spain ended in ignominy, when The Convention of Cintra, nominally a surrender that he signed, allowed the French to take all their private property, arms and ships back to France. Only a solid Tory majority saw off that investigation, on top of fresh news of Sir John Moore's martyrdom during the otherwise miraculous evacuation onto Royal Navy vessels of besieged troops that only months before had thrust deep into Spain.
Moore's death was Wellington's chance. He was appointed as senior officer in defense of Portugal, where (after his usual preparations) he drove the French from Mendellin and Talavera. This brought him a viscountcy, but as there was no time to consult over the title, his brother William chose Wellington, on the ground that there was a town called Welling not far from the town of Welleslie.
The remainder of the Peninsular campaign is in some ways as tediously defensive as World War I, but:
"Salamanca gives the lie to the suggestion that Wellington was simply a great defensive general. Maximillen Poy, who commanded a French division that day, thought that the battle: 'raises Lord Wellington's reputation almost to the level of Marlborough.'"
Viatoria, of course, can be counted as a similar offensive triumph. It broke the French grip on Spain forever, and got Wellington a promotion to full General. Welling made it as far as Toulouse before Napoleon abdicated.
While diplomats met in Vienna to dance, tryst, and write a peace treaty, Wellington becomes Britain's envoy to France, a position Napoleon thought unwise at time, as he would be expecting to be treated as equals by those he humbled. Although briefly enjoying the restored Salons of Mme de Staēl, and tryed to persuade the French to abolish the slave trade, it became clear Napoleon was right: assassination plots abounded. So Wellington went to Vienna to assist Castlereigh. Three months after arriving, Napoleon escaped from Elba, lands on France, and the Czar of all Russia placed his hand on Wellington's shoulder and said "Now it is up to you to save the world again."
I propose to skip the book's account of Waterloo, both because I learned little new, and I've treated that battle extensively in other reviews. With this exception: when his Prussian aide Müffling asked whether he really expected Macdonell and 1500 of the Coldstream Guards to hold Hougoumont (a small farm key to his right flank), Wellington said "Ah' you don't know Macdonell. I've thrown Macdonell into it."
For me, the last quarter of the book was the most interesting: Wellington as politician, a subject I had not studied. He was bull-headed: invited immediately to join the Tory government, he was piqued when Canning, not he, became Prime Minister. So he resigned as Commander in Chief and Master of Arms. Canning's death restored him to the Tory Cabinet, as Commander in Chief, and (following a crisis in the Crimea), he ascended to the top of the greasy pole--but only after promising the King he would not push for Catholic emancipation.
Wellington, it is clear, became a reformist Tory—yet, although no one would compare him with Disraeli, Wellington was one of Disraeli's early heroes. He ran the government as he ran the army--a poor delegator, unwilling to listen to other opinions. Wellington started his term with the support only of the high Torys. He fell out with them when he sided with those favoring dissolution of the two most rotten boroughs in England. Needing support from the Whigs, he turned to championing Catholic emancipation. Wellington had to out-wait the King's opposition; the Royal Assent contained a postscript: "God knows what pain it costs me to write these words. G.R."
Wellington still needed approval of the Lords, where a particularly obnoxious Ninth Earl of Winchilsea spoke for hours (the word "filibuster" was not born for another 25 years). Winchilsea accused Wellington of "desiring to infringe our liberties and introduce Popery into every department of the state." These then, literally, were fighting words, and Wellington demanded satisfaction. The duel was fought at dawn the next day: when Wellington turned, he saw Winchilsea's arm kept firmly at his side. Wellington aimed wide and shot, and Winchilsea fired into the air. Winchilsea's Second read a prepared statement, to which Wellington insisted the word "apology" be added, and with that, the affair of honor was done.
For a Prime Minister to break the law and duel was remarkable. But it completely changed public opinion. The Lords began to swing behind emancipation. "[T]he mob, hooting Wellington a week before, now took to cheering him." Wellington created the embryo of the metropolitan police, usually credited to his protege Peel.
He was out of power for a while, though not out of work, as lord-lieutenant of Hampshire. He also cleaned and re-made the Tower of London, of which he had been made Constable. In opposition, he and the other Tories fought Lord Gray's 1832 reform bill to a standstill in the Lords, at the cost of two mob scenes at his own home, two attempts at changes in government and finally -- threatened by a greater evil: mass creation of Whig peers to break the stalemate -- Wellington chose the lesser of two evils, and called off the hounds in the Lords, allowing the bill to pass.
He lived long enough not just to see Victoria coronated, but to outlast the Whig Lord Melbourne, and become one of the young Queen's favorites. And, in one of his last acts in the Lords, he helped vote away the Corn Laws, so noxious to economics and to the British poor. So Holmes provides the FACTS allowing us to conclude that Wellington wasn't just the stiff, high Tory of history, but little of the reasoning.
He died in 1852; the no longer young Queen Victoria was the first visitor to where he lay in state , but "never got beyond the centre of the hall, where her feelings quite overcame her, and whence she was led, weeping bitterly." Well over a million thronged the streets for the funeral; another 300,000 had seats in the stands.
Holmes's best analysis comes nearly at his last page:
"Wellington's death marked the passing of an age. He was born when the countryside dominated the town, industry bowed to agriculture, and Britain ruled North America. He was buried [next to Nelson--NOfP] amidst the smoke of busy railways in an accomplished industrial revolution, in a nation which ruled the centre of the greatest empire the world had ever seen, and had begun the long ascent to parliamentary democracy. He ranks, with the Duke of Marlborough, as one of the two greatest generals Britain produced."
All good. But, as everyone knows, the British LOVED Nelson and Respected Wellington. The difference is crucial. But Holmes's book won't tell you why.
February 11, 2016
Aussie Rick got me reading about the Napoleonic Era 2 years ago and it has been a rich vein of history to explore. Really, how many historical figures are known by one name? In Wellington: The Iron Duke we are introduced to the man credited with ending the threat of Napoleon. The book is a companion to the eponymous BBC TV series (available on YouTube!). We follow Wesley/Wellesley/Wellington from his early childhood, to his days in India through his campaigns in the Peninsular War, ending his military days as the victor at Waterloo and then on to his political career. The book frames the man and his role in the era in an easily understood manner. A hero with plenty of warts. Read the book and then watch the series to see the battle sites and fortifications. 4 Stars only because the final part of the book on his political career was not all that interesting.
September 5, 2025
True Grit
The late, great military historian Richard Holmes wrote this book after a lifelong admiration for Britain’s greatest soldier. For me Wellington: The Iron Duke is an excellent book and the best mid-sized biography of Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington there is. Holmes ultimate conclusion is that ‘he was east to admire, perhaps harder to like.’ This is perhaps the right one, as other great historians such as Andrew Roberts have attested. The nature and character to succeed as a military commander in the early 19th century certainly dictates that a strong and ruthless mind is needed. Nice guys finish last in this arena, with good reason.
Holmes visited the Wellington’s, then Arthur Wellesley’s, battlefields in India which built his true understanding of Wellington. It was here that as a young officer he learnt key lessons in becoming an effective and great military commander. Logistics, supplies and fighting in extreme temperatures were the key lessons which he would later apply with unmatched success in the Peninsular War. Visiting where Wellington became the legend in both India, Portugal and Spain has severed Holmes well. He has developed a real connection with Wellington, Holmes understands his subject matter and this has translated perfectly onto the text.
Holmes also is quick to point out that the Battle of Waterloo and the Hundred Days campaign was an allied effort, with British, Netherlands and Prussian troops all playing vital parts. The victory should not be compartmentalised. I feel it is an outdated approach to consider it only a ‘British’ or ‘German’ victory. Holmes even tackles the difficult questions raised by historians such as Peter Hofschroer who has claimed that Wellington tried to down play the role of the Prussians during the victory. Holmes says this is not clear cut and explains this was an age before the telephone or radio and that ‘honest men can have a different views of traumatic events.’ We are also given some ‘what if’ scenarios, where Holmes documents alternative routes to Brussels that Napoleon could just have easily taken.
Holmes does not hide the fact that he is an admirer of Wellington. But why not? He is one of the greatest people in British history. He was by no means perfect, for example his involvement in the Connvention of Sintra, the treatment of his wife Kitty, etc and he was often supported by his connections, for instance his brother Richard in India or his friendship with Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh when he was foreign secretary. But who is perfect? Who hasn't used those around them? For me Wellington is not controversial and has stood the test of time. After the success of Battle of Waterloo, his reputation may have suffered through going into politics. But in this time he saw through the Catholic Emancipation as prime minster and was the one who finally talked the House of Lords into voting through the Great Reform Act (although he did initially appose it).
In following the life of a shy and dreamy child who wanted to play the violin to the man who ordered the execution of the governor, officers and one tenth of the rank and file after the 1813 siege of Pamplona, Holmes has shown how the man buried in Saint Paul’s Cathedral was made. This isn't a complete biography of Wellington, and would recommend further reads such as Elizabeth Longford or Rory Muir to top up the knowledge. In summary, read this book! Great subject matter and very well written.
The late, great military historian Richard Holmes wrote this book after a lifelong admiration for Britain’s greatest soldier. For me Wellington: The Iron Duke is an excellent book and the best mid-sized biography of Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington there is. Holmes ultimate conclusion is that ‘he was east to admire, perhaps harder to like.’ This is perhaps the right one, as other great historians such as Andrew Roberts have attested. The nature and character to succeed as a military commander in the early 19th century certainly dictates that a strong and ruthless mind is needed. Nice guys finish last in this arena, with good reason.
Holmes visited the Wellington’s, then Arthur Wellesley’s, battlefields in India which built his true understanding of Wellington. It was here that as a young officer he learnt key lessons in becoming an effective and great military commander. Logistics, supplies and fighting in extreme temperatures were the key lessons which he would later apply with unmatched success in the Peninsular War. Visiting where Wellington became the legend in both India, Portugal and Spain has severed Holmes well. He has developed a real connection with Wellington, Holmes understands his subject matter and this has translated perfectly onto the text.
Holmes also is quick to point out that the Battle of Waterloo and the Hundred Days campaign was an allied effort, with British, Netherlands and Prussian troops all playing vital parts. The victory should not be compartmentalised. I feel it is an outdated approach to consider it only a ‘British’ or ‘German’ victory. Holmes even tackles the difficult questions raised by historians such as Peter Hofschroer who has claimed that Wellington tried to down play the role of the Prussians during the victory. Holmes says this is not clear cut and explains this was an age before the telephone or radio and that ‘honest men can have a different views of traumatic events.’ We are also given some ‘what if’ scenarios, where Holmes documents alternative routes to Brussels that Napoleon could just have easily taken.
Holmes does not hide the fact that he is an admirer of Wellington. But why not? He is one of the greatest people in British history. He was by no means perfect, for example his involvement in the Connvention of Sintra, the treatment of his wife Kitty, etc and he was often supported by his connections, for instance his brother Richard in India or his friendship with Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh when he was foreign secretary. But who is perfect? Who hasn't used those around them? For me Wellington is not controversial and has stood the test of time. After the success of Battle of Waterloo, his reputation may have suffered through going into politics. But in this time he saw through the Catholic Emancipation as prime minster and was the one who finally talked the House of Lords into voting through the Great Reform Act (although he did initially appose it).
In following the life of a shy and dreamy child who wanted to play the violin to the man who ordered the execution of the governor, officers and one tenth of the rank and file after the 1813 siege of Pamplona, Holmes has shown how the man buried in Saint Paul’s Cathedral was made. This isn't a complete biography of Wellington, and would recommend further reads such as Elizabeth Longford or Rory Muir to top up the knowledge. In summary, read this book! Great subject matter and very well written.
December 11, 2012
Finally got around to finishing this last night. A well researched, well written biography of Wellington, someone I knew of only through Joyce studies and the eponymous Beef, as well as a window into the political/military complex of the British Empire at its height. Wellington participated in establishing suzerainty over India, ejected the French from Spain, defeated Napolean at Waterloo, and later, as Prime Minister, brokered Irish voting rights into law. The little details are what make the book worth the bother: Wellington's numerous love affairs, sleeping on table tops after victories, intimidating would-be assassins with his horsemanship, and of course his legendary conduct under battle.
One particular point should be studied: Wellington the master of counterinsurgency. Wellington studied the local languages of countries where he served, studied their customs, had a direct rapport with foreign soldiers and strove to maintain the wellbeing of the civilians in conquered areas by providing them food and supplies in a culturally sensitive manner. I like to think of the British Empire as savage and indifferent. But this little glimpse into Wellington's life shows a man whose understanding of the total consequences of strategy is something sorely lacking in our imperial pursuits.
One particular point should be studied: Wellington the master of counterinsurgency. Wellington studied the local languages of countries where he served, studied their customs, had a direct rapport with foreign soldiers and strove to maintain the wellbeing of the civilians in conquered areas by providing them food and supplies in a culturally sensitive manner. I like to think of the British Empire as savage and indifferent. But this little glimpse into Wellington's life shows a man whose understanding of the total consequences of strategy is something sorely lacking in our imperial pursuits.
June 8, 2016
While some readers hoping for a more complex account of Wellington's life may be somewhat disappointed with this book, I think it is a great starting point for those interested in the life of the 'Iron Duke'. I also recommend watching the documentary alongside this book because they make great components together if you ask me.
Holmes gives an insightful account into the career of Arthur Wellesley exploring not just his victories but also the lessons he had to learn during his experience in the military. I'm also not the biggest fan of politics but the section dealing with Wellington's political career was quite fascinating, especially since he is often considered to be the worst British prime minister in history. Quite ironic for the man considered to be the greatest British Napoleonic Wars leader after Admiral Nelson.
In conclusion watch the documentary, get the book, and see what you think from there. I can understand why it won't appeal to everyone but I remember this being one of the first books that got me into military history and my fascination hasn't changed since.
Holmes gives an insightful account into the career of Arthur Wellesley exploring not just his victories but also the lessons he had to learn during his experience in the military. I'm also not the biggest fan of politics but the section dealing with Wellington's political career was quite fascinating, especially since he is often considered to be the worst British prime minister in history. Quite ironic for the man considered to be the greatest British Napoleonic Wars leader after Admiral Nelson.
In conclusion watch the documentary, get the book, and see what you think from there. I can understand why it won't appeal to everyone but I remember this being one of the first books that got me into military history and my fascination hasn't changed since.
June 18, 2025
This largely positive biography of the Duke of Wellington is informative, enjoyable and accessible, and like all of Dr. Holmes' writing, it proceeds in a brisk and orderly fashion. He has a deep admiration and affection for his subject, commenting that, "I was the sort of boy who had heroes, and long before I ever dreamt of becoming a military historian, the Duke of Wellington was firmly established in my personal pantheon. He seemed to have every virtue; he never lost a major battle, made war on soldiers, not civilians, understood grubby logistics just as well as the rather more dashing tactics, and set the seal on his military career by defeating Napoleon, the towering genius of his age…I admired the duke’s iron sense of duty…He was brave, showing physical courage on a dozen battlefields, and moral courage throughout a long political career." He was also a master of the sharp, often cutting, aphorism, and I found myself smiling several times at one of the Duke’s witty and piercing remarks.
That said, this is no shallow hagiography, as Dr. Holmes goes on to say that, "But as I grew older and looked harder at the evidence, there were an awful lot of cracks in the ducal portrait. Wellington was not invincible…[his] reprimands were scathing and not always just…He was also something of a snob, preferring talent with a title to talent without. He often privately expressed contempt for his allies…A strong thread of harshness ran through his character." To this, I would add his disastrous showing as a husband and father, and his seemingly complete emotional absence from his family. The cruelty of this is compounded by the fact that he had a mistress whom he loved dearly, and was natural with and fond of children who weren't his own. These are deep and quite distasteful personal flaws, and who could help but be moved by his son's anguish at inheriting his father’s title: "They will announce the Duke Wellington, and instead of him I will walk in."
Whatever his shortcomings, there is no doubt about the Duke's achievements as both a general and (perhaps more questionably) as a politician. On the former, Dr. Holmes concludes that, "His military achievements were founded on eighteenth-century qualities of order, discipline, regularity, and a regard for place and precedent: here he was more Jomini with his linearity and slide rule, than Clausewitz with his conviction that 'violence and passion' lay at the heart of war." On the latter, he insightfully points out that, "The eighteenth century also formed his political views: he was an oligarch, not a democrat. The French Revolution inspired his hatred of the mob, his experience in Spain reinforced it, and throughout his life he 'held popularity in great contempt'."
While I have always had more interest in Wellington's military achievements (no doubt sparked by a youth spent reading Sharpe novels!), his political career is particularly fascinating. Wellington's later years were a time of intense social upheaval and unrest, and are arguably the period when Britain was closest to violent revolution. Despite his austere and rigid conservatism, Wellington’s humanity, wisdom and pragmatism shine throug,h and this is a part of his life I am particularly interested in reading about in more detail.
Dr. Holmes' concluding remarks on his subject are well-founded as he observes that, "Wellington's death marked the passing of an age. He was born when the countryside dominated the town, industry bowed to agriculture, and Britain ruled North America. He was buried, amidst the smoke of busy railways and an accomplished industrial revolution, in a nation which ruled the centre of the greatest empire the world has ever seen, and had begun the long ascent to parliamentary democracy. He ranks, with the Duke of Marlborough, as one of the two greatest generals Britain has ever produced. It is no accident that both based their success on mastery of logistics, and both were principally commanders within coalitions, always obliged to blend the military with the political, as much strategists as tacticians."
He helpfully explains the ongoing significance of Wellington when he comments that, "While Wellington’s story may not precisely be one of rags to riches, it is certainly one of obscurity to fame, and of a confident maturity confounding the scanty hopes of youth…I was again struck by the sheer scale of the man. Whatever we may think of him, he did bestride the Britain of his age like the proverbial colossus…Wellington may not always have been good: but he was unquestionably great… For most of his life Wellington was as stern with himself as he was with others: he is easy to admire, harder, perhaps, to like…I admire his courage and his determination, his modesty and his honesty. He was built on a grand scale, and I see little sign of such figures in our own landscape: he was indeed a great man."
I like and appreciate the approach to our heroes that Dr Holmes has struck in this book. A particular hero of mine, and someone I have read more about than any other historical figure, is Robert Falcon Scott. In reading this biography of Wellington, I was left with a similar impression of a man who is towering, yet flawed and brittle. That portrayal of authentic humanity is something I find endlessly fascinating, and good biographies like this one reinforce the effort to understand what made someone tick and what they were really like. It would have been nice to have Dr. Holmes provide a more detailed treatment of Wellington's development as a soldier and politician with more analysis on what shaped him, but nonetheless, this is a well-written and enjoyable primer and has sparked my interest in finding out more about the Iron Duke.
That said, this is no shallow hagiography, as Dr. Holmes goes on to say that, "But as I grew older and looked harder at the evidence, there were an awful lot of cracks in the ducal portrait. Wellington was not invincible…[his] reprimands were scathing and not always just…He was also something of a snob, preferring talent with a title to talent without. He often privately expressed contempt for his allies…A strong thread of harshness ran through his character." To this, I would add his disastrous showing as a husband and father, and his seemingly complete emotional absence from his family. The cruelty of this is compounded by the fact that he had a mistress whom he loved dearly, and was natural with and fond of children who weren't his own. These are deep and quite distasteful personal flaws, and who could help but be moved by his son's anguish at inheriting his father’s title: "They will announce the Duke Wellington, and instead of him I will walk in."
Whatever his shortcomings, there is no doubt about the Duke's achievements as both a general and (perhaps more questionably) as a politician. On the former, Dr. Holmes concludes that, "His military achievements were founded on eighteenth-century qualities of order, discipline, regularity, and a regard for place and precedent: here he was more Jomini with his linearity and slide rule, than Clausewitz with his conviction that 'violence and passion' lay at the heart of war." On the latter, he insightfully points out that, "The eighteenth century also formed his political views: he was an oligarch, not a democrat. The French Revolution inspired his hatred of the mob, his experience in Spain reinforced it, and throughout his life he 'held popularity in great contempt'."
While I have always had more interest in Wellington's military achievements (no doubt sparked by a youth spent reading Sharpe novels!), his political career is particularly fascinating. Wellington's later years were a time of intense social upheaval and unrest, and are arguably the period when Britain was closest to violent revolution. Despite his austere and rigid conservatism, Wellington’s humanity, wisdom and pragmatism shine throug,h and this is a part of his life I am particularly interested in reading about in more detail.
Dr. Holmes' concluding remarks on his subject are well-founded as he observes that, "Wellington's death marked the passing of an age. He was born when the countryside dominated the town, industry bowed to agriculture, and Britain ruled North America. He was buried, amidst the smoke of busy railways and an accomplished industrial revolution, in a nation which ruled the centre of the greatest empire the world has ever seen, and had begun the long ascent to parliamentary democracy. He ranks, with the Duke of Marlborough, as one of the two greatest generals Britain has ever produced. It is no accident that both based their success on mastery of logistics, and both were principally commanders within coalitions, always obliged to blend the military with the political, as much strategists as tacticians."
He helpfully explains the ongoing significance of Wellington when he comments that, "While Wellington’s story may not precisely be one of rags to riches, it is certainly one of obscurity to fame, and of a confident maturity confounding the scanty hopes of youth…I was again struck by the sheer scale of the man. Whatever we may think of him, he did bestride the Britain of his age like the proverbial colossus…Wellington may not always have been good: but he was unquestionably great… For most of his life Wellington was as stern with himself as he was with others: he is easy to admire, harder, perhaps, to like…I admire his courage and his determination, his modesty and his honesty. He was built on a grand scale, and I see little sign of such figures in our own landscape: he was indeed a great man."
I like and appreciate the approach to our heroes that Dr Holmes has struck in this book. A particular hero of mine, and someone I have read more about than any other historical figure, is Robert Falcon Scott. In reading this biography of Wellington, I was left with a similar impression of a man who is towering, yet flawed and brittle. That portrayal of authentic humanity is something I find endlessly fascinating, and good biographies like this one reinforce the effort to understand what made someone tick and what they were really like. It would have been nice to have Dr. Holmes provide a more detailed treatment of Wellington's development as a soldier and politician with more analysis on what shaped him, but nonetheless, this is a well-written and enjoyable primer and has sparked my interest in finding out more about the Iron Duke.
September 20, 2018
Mr Holmes outshines us all in typical fashion with his profound insight into the life and story of arguably one of Englands finest generals, Arthur Wellesley the 1st Duke of Wellington.
What becomes apparent as one reads the book is the exceedingly competent level of detail to which the author conducted his research. So much so that he physically retraced the steps of the great man himself, from the imposing bastions of India to the battlefields of the peninsular campaign.
This book is an important stepping stone into this area of history whereby an individual can acquire a base level before carrying on amassing knowledge at a deeper level.
To any historian and dare i say patriotic Englishman, this is a must read.
What becomes apparent as one reads the book is the exceedingly competent level of detail to which the author conducted his research. So much so that he physically retraced the steps of the great man himself, from the imposing bastions of India to the battlefields of the peninsular campaign.
This book is an important stepping stone into this area of history whereby an individual can acquire a base level before carrying on amassing knowledge at a deeper level.
To any historian and dare i say patriotic Englishman, this is a must read.
November 19, 2025
A good primer on the life of Wellington and his key achievements. A bit thin on his early life but broad cover of his military and political achievements. Given the span of his life and the massive changes in society through his different leadership roles I think Holmes could have given a bit more social context to things like the impact of the Corn Laws and what drove the Chartist movement but at least he sets up Wellington for further reading. Given I live in the shadow of his country estate in Stratfield Saye I’d like to study more.
April 16, 2019
really an excellent book, and what a fascinating person!
February 7, 2024
Pufffff, un libro muy pesado de leer, el autor es historiador militar, y el libro parece más una sucesión de batallas que una biografía. No parece un libro, sino un anal o una recolección de hechos.
July 14, 2014
Wellington, The Iron Duke provides a brief summation of the life of Wellington. I was probably expecting a lot more, particularly after recently reading John Sugden's two volume biography of Nelson. Although, the book covers all the major periods of Wellington's life, i.e. his early years, time in India, the Peninsular Wars, Waterloo and his later political life, I definitely came away wishing for much more and for a more comprehensive treatment. I also found the structure of the book a bit disconcerting with each major period of Wellington in a long chapter, with no logical breaks. Since the book is not extremely long, these chapters are not long but they seem to go on and on with minimal structure.
I am definitely going to be looking for a better and far more comprehensive biography of the Iron Duke. The majority of the books I read come from our local regional library and I was quite surprised to find that there are a significant number of books about Napoleon, but this is the only book available about the Wellington. I find that a bit ironic.
Not my favorite biography, but it did provide a foundation about the Duke of Wellington.
I am definitely going to be looking for a better and far more comprehensive biography of the Iron Duke. The majority of the books I read come from our local regional library and I was quite surprised to find that there are a significant number of books about Napoleon, but this is the only book available about the Wellington. I find that a bit ironic.
Not my favorite biography, but it did provide a foundation about the Duke of Wellington.
March 4, 2014
This is a serviceable biography of Wellington and accomplishes what it sets out to do—be an accessible introduction to Wellington’s life and times. Holmes is certainly an able scholar and researcher, and his prose is very readable. I was occasionally disappointed that he was not more opinionated than he was. He is at his best and most entertaining when he interjects his own voice and delivers some penetrating analysis, often with a clever turn of phrase. This style was of course his trademark in his BBC documentaries. I often thought he was holding back here in print more than he would like. One major shortcoming of the Kindle version, which is what I read, is the lack of maps, timelines, or any other aids. Kindle version is text only. Found myself going to the online atlases at West Point and doing Google searches to supplement the text. I assume the print version has maps so if you can get a hard copy, read that instead of the ebook.
October 15, 2008
A brief-ish account of Wellington's career. Holmes in a military historian so he tends to be rather more concerned with battle plans than Wellington's political or private life. Nonetheless he writes with a good balance of detail, summary and anecdote, often deferring to more detailed accounts. Occasionally I got a little lost in Holmes terminology (what is the difference between say Light Dragoons and Riflemen) but overall it's an enjoyable read. However Holmes fails to get inside the mind of the man - a difficult target for sure, but to have not attempted it is a failing.
March 11, 2024
There is no doubt about it, Richard Holmes was a splendid writer and has written a splendid book.
Having read some works on the Napoleonic Wars I was unprepared to have the preconcieved nuances of my views on Wellington to be quite so challenged. I had carried the simplistic and certainly conventional thought that the Duke was really just an rather efficient logistician, who fought his war largely by calculating the odds and through exceptional organisation - all rather dull. At a personal level, it wasn't so much his affairs but the offhand treatment of his wife which one found a little challenging. Finally, reading about his political life, I had also found his "high" Tory views somewhat constricted. In short, I thought him a very able general, although a somewhat unlikeable individual.
However, in 300 or so pages, Mr. Holmes has caused me to go back to my book shelves once again and reconsider my somewhat naive views. There are a number of thoughts I took away from this book, but perhaps the most worthy of consideration may be the following:
1) Wellington clearly was more than a great general in the context of the Penisular; He has to be considered a great general for the ages. It is said that he was a defensive, unimaginative and somewhat uninspirational leader - none of this can be true in the context of his outstanding military achievements in both India and the Penisular. Mr. Holmes does well to bring out the strengths which made him the genius he was and hopefully this goes some way to correcting two centuries of negative propaganda around his generalship. I particularly like Mr. Holmes' even-handed approach when dealing with controversies, particularly Badajoz (where it seems apparent he lost control of his troops) and Waterloo (where he was conflicted with national imperatives and the need to support his allies).
2) Touching on his personal life, I am glad Mr. Holmes did not feel the need to go into prurient details, but it was evident that Wellington had an unhappy marriage. How he coped with this seems to have at least involved discretion but what I think brought his humanity to the fore was his observations following his wife's death. Sadly, it also seems clear that his relationships with his children seemed somewhat poor - perhaps, to paraphrase Douro, because they all hard a terrifically hard act to follow. Beyond his family though, there does seem to be strong evidence that he was in fact warm hearted and generous behind the public facade.
3) As to his politics he comes across as man of the times working in a framework of principles, but at least did have the flexibility of mind to shift his position on various issues. His political career was not stellar in any real sense, but I think it hard to see his goverment service as anything but a good man trying, by his lights, to do what was right for the country and his monarch.
In short, no review of mine can do justice to this excellent biography, but I just would have liked to thank Mr. Holmes for vividly showing the Duke to be a much more complex, gifited, humane, interesting and, (dare I say it since Holmes himself may not have agreed), likeable man than I had previously understood to be the case.
Having read some works on the Napoleonic Wars I was unprepared to have the preconcieved nuances of my views on Wellington to be quite so challenged. I had carried the simplistic and certainly conventional thought that the Duke was really just an rather efficient logistician, who fought his war largely by calculating the odds and through exceptional organisation - all rather dull. At a personal level, it wasn't so much his affairs but the offhand treatment of his wife which one found a little challenging. Finally, reading about his political life, I had also found his "high" Tory views somewhat constricted. In short, I thought him a very able general, although a somewhat unlikeable individual.
However, in 300 or so pages, Mr. Holmes has caused me to go back to my book shelves once again and reconsider my somewhat naive views. There are a number of thoughts I took away from this book, but perhaps the most worthy of consideration may be the following:
1) Wellington clearly was more than a great general in the context of the Penisular; He has to be considered a great general for the ages. It is said that he was a defensive, unimaginative and somewhat uninspirational leader - none of this can be true in the context of his outstanding military achievements in both India and the Penisular. Mr. Holmes does well to bring out the strengths which made him the genius he was and hopefully this goes some way to correcting two centuries of negative propaganda around his generalship. I particularly like Mr. Holmes' even-handed approach when dealing with controversies, particularly Badajoz (where it seems apparent he lost control of his troops) and Waterloo (where he was conflicted with national imperatives and the need to support his allies).
2) Touching on his personal life, I am glad Mr. Holmes did not feel the need to go into prurient details, but it was evident that Wellington had an unhappy marriage. How he coped with this seems to have at least involved discretion but what I think brought his humanity to the fore was his observations following his wife's death. Sadly, it also seems clear that his relationships with his children seemed somewhat poor - perhaps, to paraphrase Douro, because they all hard a terrifically hard act to follow. Beyond his family though, there does seem to be strong evidence that he was in fact warm hearted and generous behind the public facade.
3) As to his politics he comes across as man of the times working in a framework of principles, but at least did have the flexibility of mind to shift his position on various issues. His political career was not stellar in any real sense, but I think it hard to see his goverment service as anything but a good man trying, by his lights, to do what was right for the country and his monarch.
In short, no review of mine can do justice to this excellent biography, but I just would have liked to thank Mr. Holmes for vividly showing the Duke to be a much more complex, gifited, humane, interesting and, (dare I say it since Holmes himself may not have agreed), likeable man than I had previously understood to be the case.
August 30, 2017
A decent read, covers most of the aspects of the life and career of one of Britain’s best known Generals - undefeated in battle and someone who carved out many of the victories that made Britain the dominant power in the world.
I am not familiar with Holmes’ other works, this seems to be the work of a military historian. The book contains fairly decent descriptions of all the major battles of Wellington’s career. I was particularly interested in the Battle of Assaye where the British IndianArmy (primarily the Madras regiments) beat the Maratha Confederacy as well as the Battle of Seringapatam where the Tiger of Mysore - Tipu Sultan was defeated and killed.
Quick aside - I loved the line in the book which describes them finding the body of Tipu. “The Tiger of Mysore had snarled defiantly to the end” - Not too often that a decent non-fiction book gets to use such prose without trivialising or lionising the subject at hand.
It then goes on into the Peninsular campaign and finally to the battle of Waterloo. For all the symbolism of the battle - noteworthy that Wellington almost lost it. Had it not been for the Prussian armies that reorganised, resupplied, rerouted itself and engaged the French, Waterloo would have had a different end.
Curious fact - the KGL - The King’s German Legion - a Hanoverian regiment that would distinguish itself many times was comprised of German soldiers. They were not always on opposing sides.
Some of the publications of Sun Tzu’s Art of War often include examples of Wellington. One of the ones that I remember was regarding the Laying of Plans and how they ought to be flexible. The Duke tells his second-in-command that he cannot reveal his plans has Napolean hadn’t revealed his plans to him. Holmes gives a different idea. He says that Wellington fiercely guarded his plans and shared them with no one at all. He was always in the thick of the action, directing the various flanks and columns and corps. But the downside was the risk. The army would be in chaos had he been shot and killed.
The last part of the book describes his years in politics and his stint as Prime Minister navigating through the fickle vicissitudes of public favour in those tumultuous times with the nature of government evolving and democracy going through its painful birth. In some ways Wellington cuts a Patton-esque figure: saying that thing that enrages a lot of people. Curious; perhaps a thing that is part of the personality of a “man-of-action”.
A thing to note however, is that the book was written as a companion volume to a TV Series on Wellington. I am sure some of the colour is lost if the reader hasn’t watched any of the TV shows.
I am not familiar with Holmes’ other works, this seems to be the work of a military historian. The book contains fairly decent descriptions of all the major battles of Wellington’s career. I was particularly interested in the Battle of Assaye where the British IndianArmy (primarily the Madras regiments) beat the Maratha Confederacy as well as the Battle of Seringapatam where the Tiger of Mysore - Tipu Sultan was defeated and killed.
Quick aside - I loved the line in the book which describes them finding the body of Tipu. “The Tiger of Mysore had snarled defiantly to the end” - Not too often that a decent non-fiction book gets to use such prose without trivialising or lionising the subject at hand.
It then goes on into the Peninsular campaign and finally to the battle of Waterloo. For all the symbolism of the battle - noteworthy that Wellington almost lost it. Had it not been for the Prussian armies that reorganised, resupplied, rerouted itself and engaged the French, Waterloo would have had a different end.
Curious fact - the KGL - The King’s German Legion - a Hanoverian regiment that would distinguish itself many times was comprised of German soldiers. They were not always on opposing sides.
Some of the publications of Sun Tzu’s Art of War often include examples of Wellington. One of the ones that I remember was regarding the Laying of Plans and how they ought to be flexible. The Duke tells his second-in-command that he cannot reveal his plans has Napolean hadn’t revealed his plans to him. Holmes gives a different idea. He says that Wellington fiercely guarded his plans and shared them with no one at all. He was always in the thick of the action, directing the various flanks and columns and corps. But the downside was the risk. The army would be in chaos had he been shot and killed.
The last part of the book describes his years in politics and his stint as Prime Minister navigating through the fickle vicissitudes of public favour in those tumultuous times with the nature of government evolving and democracy going through its painful birth. In some ways Wellington cuts a Patton-esque figure: saying that thing that enrages a lot of people. Curious; perhaps a thing that is part of the personality of a “man-of-action”.
A thing to note however, is that the book was written as a companion volume to a TV Series on Wellington. I am sure some of the colour is lost if the reader hasn’t watched any of the TV shows.
August 30, 2022
I would given 3.5 stars if I could, but unfortunately Goodreads's 5-star system doesn't support sufficient granularity. Anyhow...
After coming across the Duke of Wellington in various other circumstances (e.g. many things regarding Napoleon, then in the TV show Victoria, then in a book about William Bankes (Obelisk and the Englishman), I finally decided to read a book about the Duke.
I am glad that I read this book and finally have a better understanding of his background and military career, some details about the Battle of Waterloo, and the Duke's later role in politics, there were a few aspects of the book I didn't like:
1) The odd moments when the author would unexpectedly switch into first person and, for instance, discuss his travels near the site of a battlefield. The final paragraph of the book unfortunately is in first person and has very odd concepts, such as how the Duke would gesture with a hat if the author and the Duke were to meet in the afterlife.
2) An uneven pace: there was lots of detail about, for instance, the Duke's role in the Peninsula War (Portugal and Spain), e.g. paragraphs if not a chapter about one battle or campaign, but then the last periods of his life were rushed through (e.g. 1834 - 1852 are covered in a few pages), and before one knows it, the Duke is dying.
3) A bit of hero worship, i.e. the author extols him extensively at times, best exemplified by the final sentence of the book: "He [the Duke] was built on a grand scale, and I see little sign of such figures in our own landscape: he was indeed a great man."
After coming across the Duke of Wellington in various other circumstances (e.g. many things regarding Napoleon, then in the TV show Victoria, then in a book about William Bankes (Obelisk and the Englishman), I finally decided to read a book about the Duke.
I am glad that I read this book and finally have a better understanding of his background and military career, some details about the Battle of Waterloo, and the Duke's later role in politics, there were a few aspects of the book I didn't like:
1) The odd moments when the author would unexpectedly switch into first person and, for instance, discuss his travels near the site of a battlefield. The final paragraph of the book unfortunately is in first person and has very odd concepts, such as how the Duke would gesture with a hat if the author and the Duke were to meet in the afterlife.
2) An uneven pace: there was lots of detail about, for instance, the Duke's role in the Peninsula War (Portugal and Spain), e.g. paragraphs if not a chapter about one battle or campaign, but then the last periods of his life were rushed through (e.g. 1834 - 1852 are covered in a few pages), and before one knows it, the Duke is dying.
3) A bit of hero worship, i.e. the author extols him extensively at times, best exemplified by the final sentence of the book: "He [the Duke] was built on a grand scale, and I see little sign of such figures in our own landscape: he was indeed a great man."
January 31, 2024
This is likely the best biography for the neophyte Wellington enthusiast (me) well written but not overwhelming in detail or very long. Some but not a great deal about his early life and family, the main focus is on the Duke's fighting career--where he finds himself and recognizes his abilities-- in India, then on to the major battles of the Peninsular Wars and, of course, lastly, Waterloo. His 'afterlife' is more or less summarized with longer pauses on the high moments (such as Catholic Emancipation for Ireland--very much his achievement). Wellington was a master of the pithy remark and Holmes sprinkles these throughout. Bits and bobs about his social life, his marriage, almost nothing about his relationship to his own two sons . . . The ending of the biography was very moving as Holmes himself comes forward to say that the more he learned of the man the more he admired him. That isn't always the case, many biographers end up disillusioned. I am utterly captivated and fascinated by the man -- one of a rare breed who rise to meet a need, have no lust for power over others, and retain a sense of balance throughout his life. I can't wait to learn more. ****
May 3, 2021
Clarification 4.5
This is an excellent summary of the old Duke's life and military and political adventures. The writing is lucid and well written, a little light on detail at times given the book's short length, but I rarely felt like the detail was so lacking so as to make the book difficult to follow, quite unlike some short history's I've read.
Thanks to this book my reading list has extended by some margin so cheers to the author for his magnanimity - my back truly will break from the weight of my reading list (though in all seriousness I love it when authors mention books they like; indeed with this book and the previous one I read, I've been checking out the bibliography and sources section rather heavily - god bless my job).
This is an excellent summary of the old Duke's life and military and political adventures. The writing is lucid and well written, a little light on detail at times given the book's short length, but I rarely felt like the detail was so lacking so as to make the book difficult to follow, quite unlike some short history's I've read.
Thanks to this book my reading list has extended by some margin so cheers to the author for his magnanimity - my back truly will break from the weight of my reading list (though in all seriousness I love it when authors mention books they like; indeed with this book and the previous one I read, I've been checking out the bibliography and sources section rather heavily - god bless my job).
March 6, 2019
A concise account of Arthur Wellesley's life, with particular attention paid to his time on the battlefield. One of the main drawbacks of the book are the battle maps, which contain no information on troop positions or movements, only the geographic terrain. I was hoping there would be more information as to why the Iron Duke changed the spelling of his name from Wesley to Wellesley. The book devotes little more than a sentence to this, mentioning the date of the change but not the motive other than family reasons, which I had to look up elsewhere.
March 1, 2024
It's true this is a slightly briefer biography on Wellington I don't think that's a bad thing, it delivers for what it is, a great start or general audience biography, not super long or over detailed, filled in a few patches I didn't know about especially very early and late life, I'd recommend this to anyone interested in the era or the person as a good jumping off point on Wellington and the Peninsula War.
July 21, 2024
This rating of three stars may be a little harsh because I throughly enjoyed reading this book and learning more about this incredible individual - the Duke of Wellington. I wanted more, particularly some greater insight into the geopolitical impact of Waterloo and what might have happened if Napoleon had prevailed. The writer, who does acknowledge this himself, was enamoured of the subject and may have missed an opportunity to produce something of major academic significance. A great read - but more of an entree than a main course.
November 22, 2025
Short, concise biography on the Duke of Wellington, one of Britain's greatest soldiers and the famous vanquisher of Napoleon. Strengths of this work include readability, but at times, you would have liked to have more detail, such as the chapter that covers Salamanca and Vitoria. The Waterloo section was quite good, however.
November 24, 2018
This was an informative book written by a military historian and therefore inevitably concentrating more on Wellington's campaigns. I actually preferred Elizabeth Longford's more detailed biography which I read many years ago as a sixth form student.
April 19, 2019
Say what you will about the costs of peerage, nobility, etc but acknowledge that someone who starts at the bottom, on the outside and rises to the top (literally) is a singularity. For this reason alone Holmes’ work on Wellington is worth reading.
November 18, 2024
Very fitting that I should finish this book on the 18 November, the day of his funeral. What an impressive person he was and this short biography hits it just right - Holmes is a fanstastic writer and I recommend this for anyone seeking to know more about Wellington and his period.
July 12, 2017
A good overview of his career, covering in just enough detail for the casual reader.
July 19, 2018
Considering the persona of Wellington and his life, this was although well researched but not that clearly written biography (I feel as eg. A.Roberts books flow better and go into more detail).
December 20, 2018
An expanded Wikipedia page of a book., but a well written one at that.
November 19, 2019
Jaunty, well worth reading. Richard Holmes brings history to life with a soldiers voice, a historians pedantry for detail and a puckish sense of humour to keep the story rolling.
April 10, 2020
I have read and re-read this book from cover to cover many times. It's a permanent fixture on my bookshelf.
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