A story featuring ‘our oldest ally’
Since I visited Portugal to research for Burke and the Lines of Torres Vedras, I’ve been a fan of the country and its long relationship with England. I’ve been quite irritated in the last few weeks to keep hearing that America is “our oldest ally”. Whether you think America is an unreliable partner or a valued friend, it’s simply not true that it’s our oldest ally. The Anglo-Portuguese Alliance was established by the Treaty of Windsor in 1386 and is the oldest alliance that is still in force by political bilateral agreement. In 2022, Britain and Portugal signed the UK-Portugal Joint Declaration on Bilateral Cooperation, thereby reinforcing the Anglo-Portuguese Alliance and confirming its status.
Lisbon
I took to social media last week to point this out. Most of my social media posts vanish without trace, but some people noticed this one and were even kind enough to express an interest in a book set in the context of the Anglo-Portuguese alliance.
As with most of my stories about James Burke, my hero’s adventures are entirely fictional, but the background is historically accurate. Burke is in Lisbon, hunting down French agents who might reveal the secret of the Lines of Torres Vedras. The lines were a series of interlinked forts and gun positions designed to stop any French advance on Lisbon. As one of the people who commented on my post said, “Those Lines, completely astounded and defeated the French in their invasion of Portugal.” The French, who had expected to capture Lisbon and spend the winter feeding off the allies’ food supplies, found themselves stuck in countryside which Wellington had turned into a desert. The British had conducted a ruthless scorched earth policy north of the lines, which was devastating for the French who relied on living off the land. With no food or shelter, French losses were considerable. Not only were the British able to spend the winter in comparative comfort, but Wellington’s scheme substantially reduced the effectiveness of French forces in the Peninsula without the tedious business of engaging them in battle. (Wellington was careful to avoid set-piece battles in the Peninsula unless he was very confident of winning.)
The plan would only work if the French were unaware of the existence of the Lines. If they knew that they faced an impregnable obstacle, they would retreat to Spain and spend the colder months in winter quarters.
The Lines extend over 30 miles from the Tagus to the Atlantic and by 1812 incorporated 152 redoubts armed with 534 guns. Yet the secret of the Lines was kept until the French fell into the trap.
We know that the French had spies active in Lisbon. At the very end of 1810 four spies fled Lisbon to join the French. This was the historical peg on which Burke’s adventures were hung.
You could not disguise the fact that so many forts were being built. The secret was kept because Colonel Fletcher (pictured), the engineer responsible for their construction, managed to conceal the way in which the forts fitted together, alongside changes to the landscape where roads were blocked, bridges were demolished, and rivers were widened. The result was impregnable. They certainly came as an unexpected shock to the French commander, Masséna when he first encountered them in October 1810. ‘Que diable,’ is supposed to have been his immediate response.
Colonel Fletcher features in the story, as does the British general, Beresford. Readers who have been following Burke since his first adventure, Burke in the Land of Silver, may remember him as the British commander in Buenos Aires.
I can strongly recommend a visit to the remains of the Lines, which have held up surprisingly well for over 200 years. You can read about them and see my own photographs on my blog HERE and HERE.
Burke and the Lines of Torres Vedras is available on Kindle at just £3.99 and in paperback.