FIGHTING NAPOLEON'S EMPIRE. The Napoleonic wars - A truly worldwide conflict. When Joseph Anderson joined the British Army to fight the French he little realised that his service would find him in action across the globe. The rarely reported expedition to southern Italy found him with his regiment - the 78th - engaged in the brilliant action at Maida. Next came Egypt and the investment of Rosetta. Protracted war in the Iberian Peninsula required many regiments and the 78th was one of them. After some of his greatest challenges he then travelled across the Atlantic to the West Indies. This book recounts Anderson's experiences in an unusual and varied sequence of campaigns and battles from the Napoleonic period and includes a brief history of each of them to provide historical context.