A narrative of the peninsular war

5–6 July 1809

Battle of Wagram

CONDUCT OF THE CENTRAL JUNTA. 149

The result of the battle of Wagram having again re- stored peace to Germany, 100,000 men reinforced the French armies in Spain. Thus possessed of the means by which the character of the war in the Peninsula was once more destined to be varied, the Emperor Napoleon directed the invasion of Portugal, not, as had been the case on two former occasions, by one corps, but by an army composed of a large portion of his disposable force, commanded by an officer whose name was suffi- ciently conspicuous in the annals of the French Revolu- tionary army to carry with it an impression oqly inferior to that of Napoleon himself. But there existed another

27–28 July 1809

Battle of Talavera

CHAPTER IL

Alberche — Battle of Talavera — Twenty-ninth Regiment — False Alarm

BATTLE OF TALAVERA. 115

and eighty-six officers and soldiers, bivouacked for the night on the same spot as the preceding. Great firmness to grapple with responsibility, self-possession to rise above adverse circumstances, a vigorous mind to decide promptly and correctly, brave troops, and the good fortune of being indecisively and injudiciously opposed, brought Sir Arthur Wellesley through the battle of Talavera.

SITUATION OF THE ARMIES. 121

General Robert Crauford's brigade had preceded the army in the direction of Almaraz, to watch the passage of the river at that important place. Fortunately, the enemy had hitherto confined his movements to the right bank of the Tagus. Had he crossed part of his force at Almaraz previous to the arrival of the British, which was perfectly possible, the situation of Sir Arthur Wellesley must, of course, have become one of increased embarrassment ; but the moment he arrived at Deleytosa the safety of his army was beyond doubt: its retreat was no longer liable to obstruction. His situation at Talavera, upon the morning of the 3d of August, was one of incomparably greater dan- ger than that of Sir John Moore at Sahagun ; but, as has previously been stated, the merit of extrication must deservedly be given to his own great military talent, his firmness of determination, his clear insight into the real state of afiairs, both with regard to his allies, his enemy, the country in which he was committed, or his own nu* merical means; but all this must have been unavailing had he been opposed by generals of great military talent. The battle of Talavera proved what pretension Marshal Victor had to that character ; the Duke of Dalmatia was only great when acting under the immediate orders of Napoleon.

SITUATION OF THE ARMIES. 121

tained iDformation as to the real situation of Marshal Soult's army, the battle of Talavera ought uever to haye been fought. It is also certain, that the error thereby com- mitted was in a great measure remedied by the judicious arrangements of the British general, resulting from the knowledge of facts acquired subsequent to the action ; and that he was, four days after the victory, placed in a more critical situation than if Marshal Victor had not again ap- peared upon the Alberche after the afiair of Santa Olalla. Fifty thousand men, including above five thousand cavalry, with one hundred pieces of cannon, were in his rear. Nothing checked the return of the first corps, the King's Guards, or the division of General Dessolles. Thus far, to all appearance, the plan of the French Marshals had succeeded ; but they knew not how to carry into full effect their own designs; and their greater enemy escaped. Fortunately the genius of Napoleon was far distant!

22 July 1812

Battle of Salamanca

CHAPTER V.

— Fort San Vioeute in Flames— . Carried by Assault — Te Deum at SaUu manca— Advance of the Allies — Arrival on the Duero — Inactivity of the Armies — Nava del Rey.— Toro — General Picton — General Bon- net crosses the Duero ^ Duke of Ragusa advances— Affair at Castrajon — Retreat of the Allies — Fifth Division cannonaded — Affair in the Val- ley of Canizal — Cteneral Carrier taken — Movements of the Armies .. March in parallel Lines — Continued during the Day — The Armies se- parate — False Alarm — Salamanca .— Freudi Army crosses the Tormes -i- Thunder-Storm — Battle of Salamanca — Duke of Ragusa wounded -i- General Le Merchant killed —.Anxiety of the Spaniards — Rejoicings for the Victory— .Flight of the French Army — Hospitals at Valiadolid- Allies march to Madrid — Surrender of the Retiro- Triumphant Entry of Lord Wellington -. Consequences of the Battle of Salamanca — Route to Madrid ^ Entrance to Ouadarama — Madrid — Lord Wellington marches to besiege the Castle of Burgos — Situation of the French Armies — . Burgos — Death of Major Cocks — Colonel Jones wounded — Siege of Burgos raised — Duke of Dalmatia— Allied Army near Madrid .« Retreat from Burgos — Fifth Division —. General Alava — Allies retire from Madrid — i The Escorial — Allies cross the Guadarama — Pursued by Marshal Soult — Alva de Tormes — Salamanca — Attack on Alva—. General Howard *§ Brigade — Re(»nnoissance of the Tormes — French Armies cross the River — Allies in Position on the Field of Salamanca — Retreat — Sir Edward Paget taken — Ciudad Rodrigo .^Observations — Sierra de Gata — General Ballesteros — Cantonments of the Enemy . . 221

BATTLE OF SALAMANCA. 259

Thus, in the short space of less than one hour, the battle was decided ; the defeat of the French army became in- evitable. Other divisions and corps of troops participated in the glory of the day, suffered seriously, and nobly upheld the reputation they had previously acquired ; but the battle of Salamanca was in reality won by the 3d and 5th divisions. General Bradford's Portuguese brigade, the squadrons of the 14th dragoons, and the heavy cavalry. By the combined attacks of these troops, one-fourth of the French army was defeated, and driven in confusion on its centre : and ten thousand of the allies, regularly formed, flushed with success, and supported by a large body of cavalry, were on the flank of the enemy's army, every step they advanced adding to his discomfiture, driving him rapidly from height to height, and forcing back an addi- tional crowd of fugitives to annoy and confound their still undefeated comrades. It will easily be conceived that, in

GENERAL LE MERCHANT KILLED. 263

of his actions, and placed him deservedly beyond the reach of mistrust. Previous to the battle of Salamanca, there were persons highly talented^ and of i^ound military ac- quirement, that supposed the campaign might have been better conducted, and who murmured at the vacillating policy, which, without a blow, led back a brilliant army from the Duero to the Tormes. Salamanca put an end to all these dreams, and, by producing unlimited confidence, enabled the great commander of the allied army to become unshaken by reverses that circumstances, over which he had no control, subsequently rendered inevitable, and to carry with him the full tide of success only to be secured by that feeling, and made irresistible by that impression.

FLIGHT OF THE FRENCH ARMY. 265.

The whole night of the battle of Salamanca, the enemy's army continued its flight in the utmost possible confusion. No adequate arrangement to soften the effects of so unex- pected and rapid a discomfiture had been made ; nor were the circumstances of the war, the line of retreat over so considerable a river as the Tormes, or the probable chance of effecting it unobstructed, likely to produce order or self- possession in the French array ; — an army great under

21 June 1813

Battle of Vitoria

CHAPTER VII.

t of French Army after Battle of Vittoria — Equipagst captured

CHAPTER VIII.

of Society at Madrid — The Emperor Napoleon ooncludea an Armii. I — Informed of the Battle of Vittoria » Renewed Effurta in Spain Siege of San Sebaitian — Poaillan of the Alliei — Attacked by Mar- I Soult — Batllea of the Pyrenees — French Army repulsed — General mea — Siege or Sao Sebutian renewed — Storming of San Sebastian — Hure of Sen Sebution — Sir Richard Fletcher killed — Lou of the lailanta — The Town pillaged — Manhal Soult attackg Oeneral Freyre

SIR THOMAS GRAHAM. 371

Previously to passing the frontier, after the battle of Vittoria, the enemy placed General Cassan, with a nu- merous garrison, in the strong fortress of Pampeluna, which, on the arrival of the allies, became blockaded by the troops under Sir Rowland Hill.

CHAPTER VIII.

The battle of Vittoria had occasioned so great a change in public opinion, and the return of the French court was now believed to be so improbable, that many of the grandees, who had considered themselves in a species of exile at Cadiz, adopted the resolution of returning to the capital.