Chapter III :
Oh My Dear Arthur!
"The whole art of war consists of guessing at what is on the other side of the hill."
- Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington
Later historians would say and believed that the Coalition of British, Portuguese and Allied Spaniards almost achieved their needed victory in the southern theater but as we already know that their needed victory didn't came but the familiar feeling of defeat reeled in. Their supposed victory was supposed to be on the grasp and weighted on the brilliant mind of a British officer, Arthur Wellesley but as we go deeper on this chapter, we shall know what happened to this later great statesmen of Europe.
The War in the North
Arthur Wellesley had retreated up north after he suffered a minor defeat against Marshal Soult and the Governor of Portugal. Even though his army only suffered light casualties, he concluded that his army couldn't stay in the heavily defended south and so rode north to capture the major port City of Porto.
Ever since the execution of Bernardo Freire in early 1808, the city and the surrounding areas were very much still unstable with Portuguese guerillas attacking and harassing the occupying French and Spanish forces. When Wellesley and his forces neared Porto, a flurry of guerrilla fighters joined Wellesley's file and rank, almost doubling the size of his army. The governor of Porto, a Portuguese collaborator had faced numerous attempts to kill him and many in the city harassed the Garrison, severely demoralizing both the city and the Garrison.
Wellesley had heard of these actions and the effects it had on the city thanks to his new Portuguese allies and so he sent a negotiator to meet with the governor to if possible find an easy way to capture the defended city. The messenger met with the governor and he was given great terms like that his Garrison could peacefully leave the city but without their guns and the arrest of the governor himself. He obviously refused, thinking that he didn't want to be imprisoned but his actions backfired as word spread of the negotiations and the people rioted, forcing the governor and the Garrison on high alert and divided their attention, which helped Wellesley.
The Battles of Porto
The First Siege of Porto started with a bombardment of the city. The bombing itself was light but severely demoralizing the already low morale army of the garrison, a strategy in which Wellesley did deliberately so that both sides would have minimal casualties and the city's defenses would be unscathed as to preserve her for future sieges and use. The tactic proved a success as the week after, the garrison surrendered after they couped the governor and installed one of their own as the new governor of Porto. Wellesley proved that a stressed and endangered town would surrender easily as his troops only lost 34 men, mostly because of illness with the Portuguese garrison losing 200 soldiers while the city stood undamaged.
The soldiers were allowed either to go back home or to stay alongside Wellesley to defend the city, the garrison of 2,000 me stayed with Wellesley and they surprisingly brought their families back to Porto, a sign that many feared that the Portuguese would surrender. Arthur Wellesley and his forces would replenish in the city for three weeks but while they're were replenishing and capturing surrounding towns and villages, a Franco-Spanish force under the governor of Portugal, General Junot was marching to retake the city.
On 10th October 1808, General Junot and 40,000 French and Spanish forces reached Porto and was met with Wellesley's forces of 35,000 soldiers, excluding some in the countryside recruiting much needed Portuguese men for the upcoming defense of the north. Junot would sent a messenger, like what Wellesley had done a mere month ago, with the same terms plus the expulsion of the British army. Wellesley smelled mole after he read the message and he immediately inspected his army, both British and Portuguese weren't safe and he finally found the mole, three Portuguese men and a disguised Frenchman. They were sending messages to the British through a tunnel under the city which gave valuable Intel and the plans for the city. Wellesley reacted quickly by executing the traitors, hanged them and put them on the walls of the city to signal the French and quickly destroyed the tunnel and repaired what he could.
The Second Siege of Porto or the Battle of the Green Fields was a tough battle, not for the besieged British but for the sieging French as the British were well supplied thanks to the city's port and Wellesley preparing for a siege while the French faced fears of either an attack from the Coalition held North of Galicia or the Portuguese guerillas harassing them, which was getting more powerful and deadlier by the day.
The siege officially started only on October 15, five days after the ultimatum and or negotiations with the heavy bombardment of the city, with light casualties coming from Wellesley's Portuguese forces, mostly because that Wellesley stationed the Portuguese near the walls and so been the most bombarded by the French. What the French didn't know about was the massing of about 6,700 British and Portuguese soldiers and mere militias forming in the west under the command of Rowland Hill, Viscount Hill.
Rowland Hill, an early leader of the guerilla tactics
Hill had been the second in command of Wellesley in Portugal and was outside the city, recruiting and collecting supplies when the French arrived and so he stayed out with his 2,000 British soldiers and for almost a month recruiting the locals for his army. One day, Hill received a message from Wellesley commanding him to attack the French as to draw them far enough from the city for the British to retaliate and if possible defeat Junot's army. Hill then for a week mercilessly attack and butchered Junot's army and was deemed so deadly for he murdered more than 4,000 soldiers and destroyed tons of supplies. Junot, wanting to pacify the surrounding countryside and to murder Hill and his band of men, set out of his camp, only leaving a token force to continue the siege, Wellesley's plan had worked successfully.
Sir Rowland Hill Militiamen struck fear upon the French during the War and had effectively one of the first guerilla leaders
Wellesley, seeing that Junot had left the camp with most of his men, attacked the remaining forces on the bright moon of October 27 1808. He and a small cavalry detachment attacked head on against the tired and sleepy forces while a infantry division moved up from the rear east and surprised them, butchering almost to 2,000 French and Spanish soldiers and capturing almost 7,500 men.
In the east, Hill had made hell for Junot as he crossed into a forest and he was subsequently ambushed which resulted in a hundred dead men but still Hill wasn't captured and still he marched until Junot finally faced Sir Rowland Hill and his ragtag army in a green open field but the British was the one who led them into an open field and Hill knows this and so he made defenses such as a barricade out of wood to hold bullets piercing through, spikes to defend the front and he put mud near his position as to slow down Junot's army. Junot meanwhile was headstrong and thought that his superior numbers could win him this battle but he knew that it was entirely possible for a surprise attack from behind, so he marched his army ever closer to Hill but he made his army into a square position as to defend any side from attack.
But then Junot received a report, not about Wellesley but about a breach in the defense, that in the Eastern portion of the defenses lie open with minimal defenses and a more wide distance between troops. Junot saw this opportunity without hesitation and took a chunk of his right flank of troops which consisted of 6,000 men and hurried them into the Eastern portion of the battlefield. What Junot didn't thought that it was a ruse by Hill and masterminded by Wellesley himself to let open that guard as to let Wellesley have a better opening and by the time Junot had filled the opening, it was already too late as Hill already sent back his troops there.
The initial wave attack in the right flank was tough as Hill's forces had defended the area and by that the opposition had already faltered and the attack easily repulsed with heavy casualties.
Another wave attack happened in the right flank again but now with a heavy hand attacking the centre with Junot's full might and for a while this forced Hill to fall back but then a man lost to history rallied the rag tag army and forced Junot to fight the plain, inch by inch until he suffered to heavy losses and retreated but before he did, he destroyed most of the defenses, making Hill's position much more vulnerable than it was.
Both sides suffered heavy losses as Junot loss 6,000 men and an injured 15,000 while Hill lost 2,500 men and an injured 1,000. This initial numbers would say that Ruddard won the battle but it was he who lost as Hill had a very small force while Junot had enough for as many offenses as he needed.
Many would think that why didn't Junot send his cavalry into the fight? But it was obvious why... The plains were filled with mud and cavalry would be easily stuck and would be an easy target for Hill and so Junot and the French lost their advantage against the Militiamen.
Junot and Hill were both tired and so the attacks were subsided until the day after and Junot would make his biggest mistake yet, letting everyone sleep. It was argued that this sleep was needed for the more heavy handed battle tomorrow but for military historians it was his gravest mistake as Wellesley creeped his way into the fields in the middle of the night and so Junot would face a unexpected enemy the next morning.
Wellesley had secretly marched into the field without Junot even figuring it out and by morning's dawn the French would be woken by a horn and a stampede.
Wellesley woke up the sleeping French by a sound of the horn and a stampede but the French, most of them were already woken up an hour earlier but still they were surprised and hastily created the square formation again. The First March would be a deadly affair with both sides having severe damage but still Junot by a miracle would defend it successfully.
Junot then retaliated by stampeding the Militiamen with his cavalry which proved so successful that the Militiamen broke into two with Hill himself running to Wellesley while another pack ran east, only to be cut down by Junot's cavalry.
Wellesley and Junot then engaged in heavy cavalry combat with both sides charging each other, making the battle even more bloodier and Junot in his frustration would order that his cannon shoot both the cavalry and the British infantry, which resulted in both sides dying. This demoralised the French and by the time that the British began a third offensive, Junot would suffer to heavy of a damage and retreated east into Spain, a victory in the battlefield finally for the British.
The Battle of The Green Fields was the first major decisive victory for the British and served to further increase Arthur Wellesley's public popularity
The Rout of Galicia
Not long after the battle, on November 1st, Arthur Wellesley was ordered by the British Commander-in-chief in Spain and a friend of Wellesley, William Beresford to be sent to war torn Galicia to lead the Anglo-Portuguese defense of the land. Reluctantly, Wellesley agreed as he thought that Porto and Portugal needed him more and so he gave command to two men, Rowland Hill and Sir Hew Dalrymple but the former was sent home not long after Wellesley left as he was severely injured and so ordered back to Britain, leaving the army under the hands of the more incapable Dalrymple.
Wellesley and his much more reduced force of 14,000 men with the rest either dead or stationed in Porto. Wellesley arrived in A Coruña with the city being manned by Beresford himself and the surrounding borders being guarded by two generals, Carlos Leco, Viscount Laguna and Sir Harry Burrard, a former underling of Wellesley.
The Spanish and French forces had been pounding hard on Galicia as it was the last standing region left in Iberia still under the Coalition as the Spanish opposition in Cadiz had already fell alongside Gibraltar not too long ago. These armies were led by Infante Carlos and Marshal Joachim Murat as Marshal Soult had been focusing his armies in the South and Marshal Lannes was governing in Madrid.
Murat had been pushing into Galicia hard with Leco being the victim of most of his offensives as his army stormed their way from Salamanca with a vengeance and with the superiority of Murat's cavalry he easily pushed aside opposition from Leco while Ruddard was having trouble defending his side of the border near the Basque, where Infante Carlos was popular while the British was seen as Invaders and so faced heavy opposition but thanks to no real army to oppose them as Carlos was preoccupied but still he was facing difficulties and so Wellesley first went north to the Basque to commence an offensive with the aid of Ruddard's army.
Wellesley, unlike Ruddard would successfully repel most of the Basque rebels and would defeat a small force near the border, scoring another victory for the Coalition but as he ventured into the Basque, Infante Carlos, whom had heard of the victor on Porto would march his army north to meet him in battle.
The Coalition forces of 25,000 finally reached Bilbao by December 10th but they're opposed by an army under Infante Carlos of 35,000. Wellesley was surprised by the sudden arrival of Carlos as reports suggested that he was in Salamanca but those reports were true that he was in Salamanca but Carlos, upon hearing of his army's defeat near the Basque border and would with worrying speed marched his army tirelessly to Bilbao, a mere day before Wellesley arrived. This piece of Intel wasn't known to Wellesley but still he needed a way to force Carlos to a retreat or a possible capture and so he harassed the army by sending multiple waves of his cavalry into the Spanish columns which Wellesley thought shouldn't break them but because the Spanish army was tired, it almost broke them as the cavalry was deep enough for Carlos to meet a sword.
Carlos foolishly counter attacked head on and was easily repulsed and in retaliation, Wellesley sent his forces to rout the forces only for Carlos' forces to rout not into the city but into the beach.
In the beach, Carlos knew that Wellesley couldn't use his cavalry and so he easily repelled two charges of cavalry and an infantry charge by Wellesley but still the Spanish were tired and so Carlos needed another way to escape and he thought of one so daring but so dumb that it goes down into the history books, swimming to Bilbao.
Wellesley knew that Carlos couldn't fight forever and so charged again and again but every time failing except the last two where it broke not only the morale of the troops but slaughtered them, what Wellesley didn't know was that when night came, Carlos and his band of 10,000 men swam from the beaches into Bilbao successfully as Bilbao still had a working Spanish fleet and it wasn't docked and was put near the Prince as to rescue him as quickly as possible from the cold waters.
Wellesley reportedly laughed after hearing how the Spaniards had fled and by the time he encountered what remained of the Spanish army, an approximate 5,000 were still left either trying and failing to swim or given up already with 19,000 already swam and ran and the rest were killed.
Many would credit this battle as the most success that Wellesley had during the War of Iberia but in truth these were exaggerations as when you look deeper into it, you find out that it was a total coincidence as the Spanish army was tired, a well supplied British one and Wellesley didn't capture the city as her defence was stronger than expected but still in later history this battle would be a rallying cry for British patriotism and Beethoven would make even a song about this,
The Wellington's Victory or
The Battle Symphony later on to distance the song from the British.
As one victory was at hand, another was at a loss as the Portuguese under Leco was defeated by Murat and his army was steadily moving to A Coruña. Upon hearing the news, Wellesley marched his army back west but he feared that it was too late to arrive for battle but there was still one last hope in General William Beresford to knock out Murat's forces.
100 KM outside of A Coruña, Beresford and his Anglo-Portuguese army of 25,000 and was positioned in a hill had met against the forces of Marshal Joachim Murat and his 34,000 soldiers with 15,000 of them being cavalry.
Beresford was adamant in holding his position and refused to wedge every time Murat tried to breakthrough and the losses were particularly harsh on Murat, losing 3,000 men charging them. Beresford had quietly moved his army into the two sides in the night and by morning he had surprised Murat by attacking both his flanks and going down the mountain, overwhelming the French Marshal, ensuring a temporary victory for the Coalition.
The week after Beresford's victory, Wellesley arrived in A Coruña and with their combined forces set out to fight and ultimately repulse the French from Galicia. After almost a week of marching, Beresford & Wellesley found Murat and his army encamped near the river Anllóns, fashioning themselves a bridge and already place defenses, even a few cannons.
Both sides looked at each other and both encamped near each other, waiting for any reaction on both sides to wait for an attack but while waiting, both sides bombarded each other mercilessly.
On January 20th, 1809, Arthur Wellesley, William Beresford and 10 men was inspecting the front line when suddenly the French started bombarding the British position, including this particular area.
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"God Damn! How long until these Frogs stop their damn bombings!" Said an angry William Beresford.
"Have patience William.... These men don't have the balls to defeat us, British!" Arthur Wellesley said mockingly.
"I don't know exactly sir, but usually the French stop after half a minute but this is longer than usual" said one of Beresford's aides.
"No matter! We'll wait until...."
Boom! Boom! Boom!
No sound... Only one shout,
"HELP!"
Arthur Wellesley yelled as his friend lie dead.
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The death of William Beresford and the crippling of Arthur Wellesley severely demoralised the British, even if Wellesley was still capable of leading, his previous charisma was lacking thanks to his limp and was unable to walk without a cane ever again.
Murat, upon hearing from his spies that the British leadership was crippled, attacked without hesitation, destroying the British army and forcing a general retreat, without the body of William Beresford and Wellesley barely escaped. To point, this was the only major loss under Wellesley's leadership.
The Final Defeat
Sir Hew Dalrymple, the last Commander-in-chief of the British forces in Iberia
Wellesley was evacuated and brought home thanks to his incapability to lead and the need to rest and without a good leadership as the position was given to Sir Hew Dalrymple, an incapable Commander but an experienced bureaucrat. Murat with Infante Carlos then plunged themselves into Galicia with the Basque being easily won over and they reached A Coruña by February 15th where a resilient defense by Sir Harry Ruddard successfully defended the city for a week until Ruddard was stricken with illness and in his place Dalrymple took command and was horribly defeated, pushing the Coalition out of Spain.
In Porto, the last true bastion of the Coalition after the fall of Galicia, the commander, Carlos Leco after Dalrymple went up north. Leco then was besieged by the forces of Marshal Soult and Governor Junot but, lacking the cunning of Wellesley nor the resilience of Rowland Hill plus the port was blockaded by a Spanish fleet adding further questions about his chances. There was a brief battle where Leco gained the upper hand but he retreated after reports said that Murat was heading south and so on February 27 1809, Leco surrendered to Marshal Soult outside Porto with the condition that both his armies and himself return to their homes, which Soult agreed to.
And so Iberia has fallen into the hands of Napoleon
Wellesley after the war, he was held by his cane in which this picture is represented by the sword but still he was a popular war hero when he returned.
Arthur Wellesley went back home not in disgrace but with honors as he was the most successful war veteran of the War and he went back home into his Manor and for a few years lamented the loss of his friend Beresford and became a poet during his so called, "
The Years of Thought" and even made a gem stones of great poems, like the
Fallen Hero, Dear Friend and
The Final Victory.
He returned into the public eye when in 1818 he ran for parliament. The story of the Great Brit shall continue.
