William Beresford, 1st Viscount Beresford

William Beresford was an Anglo-Irish soldier and marshal in Portuguese service during the Peninsular War. He reorganised the Portuguese army and commanded allied forces in several major operations against Napoleon’s armies.

William Beresford, 1st Viscount Beresford also held the offices or ranks of Viscount Beresford, Baron Beresford, and Master-General of the Ordnance. William Beresford, 1st Viscount Beresford was born in London and died in Kilndown.

Adrian Goldsworthy’s Whose Business Is to Die places William Beresford at the head of the allied army during the 1811 campaign that culminates at Albuera. The fictional 106th Foot experiences the battle from inside a force whose commander must hold together British, Portuguese and Spanish troops, making Beresford’s command decisions part of the novel’s central question about whether a nominal victory can justify catastrophic losses.