Sharpe's Gold

Richard Sharpe and the battle of Almeida, August 1810

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One year after the events of Sharpe's Eagle, Captain Richard Sharpe and the British army in the Iberian Peninsula under Lord Wellesley are outnumbered by the French and out of money and supplies. A desperate gambit is undertaken by the good Lord General: some brave person must go behind the French lines to secure a treasure trove of Spanish gold. Why? It's secret.

Of course our favorite tough guy, Sharpe, gets the impossible assignment. As usual, along the way there is intrigue, fighting, romance, and betrayal. Not necessarily in that order. Spanish Partisans are not terribly keen on the idea of the British taking the treasure for their own use (even if it means the British efforts against the invading French will continue). Of course the numerous French, including new armies sent into Spain just recently to force the British into the sea once and for all, aren't interested in British success of any kind.

Sharpe and Harper, et al put their backs into it and, despite some very close calls, manage to emerge victorious. The gold is put to use building Wellesley's secret superweapon earthworks, the Lines of Torres Vedras. These amazing defensive structures were built to protect an possibly retreating British force by slowing the French advance toward Lisbon.

From Wikipedia:

After his troubling Spanish experience at the Battle of Talavera, Wellington realised that, being outnumbered by the French forces, he might need to retreat to Portugal and possibly evacuate the peninsula, so decided to strengthen the proposed evacuation area around the fort at Oeiras e São Julião da Barra Portugal. He used a report of Colonel Vincent, ordered by Junot in 1807, describing the excellent defensive capacities in the region nearby Lisbon.