He walked with despair
He screamed at the world
But no one seemed to care
In built in his mind
Puffs of smoke like time
Billowing through life
He sat once or twice
Catching his breath on the long march
He told himself
“As long as you can breathe
You’ve got a chance”
Godless mountains and desolate hills
Shadowed screams of blacks and blues
Cast out in the night – a cruel tempest
The men of the 33rd knew only pain
The peninsula retreat ensured their strain
By Sam Fawcett
The Retreat to Corunna (1808) was an horrendous affair during the Napoleonic Wars, where British, Spanish and Portuguese soldiers retreated through harsh weather conditions with little to no food for weeks until the reached the coast to board ships taking the survivors back to England. They had fought Napoleon’s armies in Spain, but only to be caught out by advancing too quickly, food and supplies could not reach them. As the weather became worse, full scale retreat was announced by Lieutenant general Sir John Moore. This culminated in the French re-taking Northern Spain and the temporary dominance of Napoleon in the Peninsula.
Parisian Poetry 