“Of course, ample evidence can be found to support the case for military inadequacy. When the British went to war with France in 1793 they did not secure their first clear victory in a significant land battle until 1801, and that was in Egypt against an isolated and demoralized enemy. The next did not come until 1806, in southern Italy, in a minor battle which was followed by a British evacuation. The big interventions in Flanders in 1793-95 and 1799 ended ignominiously with British withdrawals… Even in the Peninsular War, Wellington's early victories were followed by reversals and retreats, and only from May 1813 did a self-sustaining sequence of advances unfold.” -Collins, Bruce. War and Empire: The Expansion of Britain, 1790-1830. Longman, 2010. p. 17.