Palumbo, Paolo Dust, Blood and Bravery

The Italians in Catalonia during the Peninsular War, 1808-1814

Volume 166 in the "From Reason to Revolution 17211815" series. The war waged by French-Italian troops in Catalonia was one of the most dramatic phases of the Peninsular War. It was a conflict where acts of heroism mingled with the disgrace of pillagea campaign in which the struggle for survival took precedence over ultimate victory. Among the campaigns fought by Italians alongside Napoleon, the war in Spain was undoubtedly the most arduous. In 1808, the *Corps dArmée des Pyrénées-Orientales* crossed the border to invade Catalonia. This force included a division composed entirely of regiments from the Kingdoms of Italy and Naples. The sudden occupation of Barcelona provoked the Catalans, who organized a merciless resistance against the invaders right outside the city walls. Before long, popular discontent escalated into a war without quarter. The Italian soldiers under General Giuseppe Lechi soon found themselves encircled and forced into unconventional warfare, a type of combat in which Catalan paramilitaries held a distinct advantage. The Italian division remained isolated; cut off from any link to France and lacking supplies, the soldiers were compelled to fight for survival by any means necessary. *Dust, Blood and Bravery* recounts the dramatic experiences of these soldiers as they waged a desperate struggle for survivala campaign marked by grueling marches, sudden ambushes, brutal looting, and long, agonizing sieges such as that of Girona. Drawing on the memoirs of Italian officers and numerous previously unpublished documents, *Dust, Blood and Bravery* reveals the brutality of a conflict between two peoples with much in common: the Italians and the Spanish.