How does Bernard Cornwell use imagery in Sharpe's Battle: Richard Sharpe and the Battle of Fuentes de Onoro, May 1811?

In Chapter Ten, which details the last battle, Cornwell pulls out all stops and describes the pure agony of hand to hand combat. His descriptions of the sights, sounds, and smells brings the battlefield alive in excruciating detail. His imagery is detailed and intense. There is nice contrast between the passion of close, face to face fighting, one could almost say brawling, in the village to the precise, cool headed movement of the squares of the Light Division coming north. It's an interesting look at the difference between the two types of fighting. One can imagine the soldiers snarling like animals in the village and the quiet, imperturbable comments such as good job there, lads, in the retreat of the Light Division.