Napoleon's Stolen Army

This is the story of a Spanish army, commanded by the Marqués de La Romana, which was sent to Denmark by Napoleon in 1807, whilst France and Spain were allies bound by the Treaty of San Ildefonso, signed in 1796. When relations between the two countries broke down in May 1808 they were soon at war with each other, and La Romana´s host became, in effect, a captive army in the hands of the French. When Spain looked to forge an alliance with Britain against her erstwhile ally, they found the British government only too eager to help. The Royal Navy's dominant presence in the Baltic provided a ready opportunity to seal the new alliance and, once the political groundwork had been laid, plans for a daring rescue of the entrapped Spaniards by Vice Admiral Keats' squadron were drawn up.