Combat

Most of the novel is devoted to combat. The early sections of the novel show Sharpe being promoted for his successful prosecution of combat and show Sharpe training green recruits in artillery firing practice. The middle section of the novel describes Sharpe executing a ransom mission, a rescue mission, and leading an assault on a complex fortified strong point. Surrounding Sharpe's actions is a general backdrop of military combat involving nearly every other character in the novel. After the British defeat the rag-tag army of Pot-au-Feu, the novel moves into the second major phase of combat when the massive French forces arrive on the scene. The entire second half of the novel deals with the resulting French assault and the British forces' successful defense of the castle. Sharpe uses a variety of combat methods to achieve success. On one occasion he uses a highly-coordinated escalating assault to rescue...