Fire Over the Rock: The Great Siege of Gibraltar, 1779–1783

By: James Falkner

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Synopsis: &“This book does a wonderful job in describing a portion of [the Rock of Gibraltar&’s] history during the Napoleonic Wars&” (The Past in Review). The great siege of Gibraltar was the longest recorded in the annals of the British army. Between 1779 and 1783, a small British force defended the Rock against the Spanish and the French who were determined take this strategically vital point guarding the entrance to the Mediterranean. The tenacity and endurance shown by the attackers and defenders alike, and the sheer ingenuity of the siege operations mounted by both sides, make the episode an epic of military history, and the story gives us a fascinating insight into the realities of siege warfare. In this, the first full study of the siege for over forty years, James Falkner draws on a wide range of contemporary sources to tell the exciting tale of a huge and complex operation.