The Frontier Sea

Most of the great powers contested the lands around the Adriatic Sea during the Napoleonic Wars. While never a major theatre of operations, the Adriatic was part of the overall strategy of most of the combatants. It played an essential role by influencing alliances and diverting troops and ships, which all contributed to the defeat of Napoleon. The Napoleonic Wars was also a period of significant change, with the French and British intervening in a region that had long been a battleground reserved for the Austrian, Russian and Ottoman empires. This book examines the Adriatic campaigns, including those rarely mentioned in the history of the period, and the armies, navies and personalities that fought in the region between 1797 and 1815. Austrian, French, Russian, British, and their foreign regiments fought up and down the coast, sometimes with or against local leaders like Peter I of Montenegro and Ali Pasha of Ioannina. Many commanders were far from home, with orders taking weeks to reach them. This meant even junior officers could take military and diplomatic decisions usually reserved for more senior officers. This is a story of strategy and small wars with many colourful personalities playing their part in a fascinating, if violent, tale against the backdrop of the frontier sea.