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First Battle of Elvas - 1
Once again many thanks to Unknown for correcting my many grammatical and orthographic mistakes.
Rodrigo was thrilled.
The Spanish patrol had fallen into the trap, without suspecting what was about to happen to them.
Around the fifteen Spaniards, there were almost fifty men of the ordenanças, all of them armed. Some, like Rodrigo, had outdated muskets, others brought knifes, others had edged weapons, and he had even seen some men armed with bows.
"Pass the word for wait for my signal before attacking." he whispered to the man to his right.
He checked to ensure that everything was alright with the musket and took aim at the officer.
The man leading the cavalrymen was clearly an aristocrat. No officer on a soldier’s pay would be able to afford such a good horse and such much gold on the uniform.
The man was a peacock.
And the moment Rodrigo pulled the trigger he was a dead one.
Barely a second after the first shot was fired, the woods were covered with smoke, as more men pressed their triggers.
Not wanting to give time for the Spaniards to recover, the Portuguese ordenanças left their cover and charged with cold steel in their hands.
Fifteen men of the Hussares de Maria Luísa had entered the woods; not one left them.
"How much cavalry do they have?" asked Colonel Lecor.
"Their cavalry was being cut down by the ordenanças, according to some of the reports, and one of the companies reported to have killed some of them; from the description they gave of their weapons and uniforms, I dare say they brought at least one regiment of Hussars."
"And artillery?"
"Probably one battery of artillery but, given their numbers, I wouldn't put it past them to have brought more."
For a moment, Lecor turned his attention to the map in front of him and the pieces that represented the Spanish regiments. For now, he knew he had at least one division in front of him, but he had received intelligence that the Spanish had begun their offensive with two divisions.
So, where in hell was the other one, he thought to himself.
"Do you have any news as to where the other division might be?"
"No, sir." The captain seemed annoyed for not having found them. "If I may be so bold, sir, would you mind a suggestion?"
Lecor simply nodded and the captain began to move some of the pieces.
"We know, sir, that the Divisão Solano is moving towards Elvas. So wouldn't it be possible for them to be moving against Estremoz or Évora?"
"Yes, but they would leave us behind them and they would need more than two batteries to gun down the fortress."
"But, sir, what if they think that that is they need to capture the citadel?" Seeing that the senior officer wasn't following, he explained. "During the last war, they advanced without any opposition. Maybe they expect the same thing to happen again…"
"So they will think a simple show of force will bully us into surrender."
"Exactly, sir."
"Thank you, captain, for you toughs. You are dismissed."
The captain hadn't still left the room and Lecor's mind was already thinking about how to stop the Spanish.
He only had one brigade and cavalry regiment to face the enemy, made up of a mere three thousand infantry, supported by five hundred cavalry, and the enemy numbered some ten thousand, as far as he knew, and they had field artillery support; this was something he lacked and couldn't hope to get in time from Estremoz.
The situation wasn't perfect, Lecor knew that but, for an ambitious man like himself, a difficult situation could easily be turned into a chance to gain glory and rank, if he had the balls to gamble with an ambitious plan.
He began to plan, where he could stop their advance.
The Spanish general had taken the long route towards Elvas. He had crossed the Guadiana and, then, advanced towards Campo Maior. They could have crossed the Guadiana and, then, the Caga River, but that would force them to leave the artillery behind and, if what the captain said was true, they wanted to do a show of force, and artillery was usually more threatening than cavalry and infantry alone.
If he left now, he would be able to capture the crossing, and artillery could be brought from Elvas, but it would take at least a full day for the huge pieces to be brought into position. And there was always the other crossing, but the militias could probably take care of that; some guns could even be sent to aid them.
Lecor then noticed a problem in his plan.
He had forgotten about the other Spanish division.
Maybe it was that division that was moving from the other crossing, but if what the captain's idea was proven right: then the Spanish would be crossing into Portugal further south, leaving him to face one single division.
It was a gamble, but it was one he was willing to take.
He had expected an easy and calm advance towards Portugal, with little resistance facing his army.
How wrong he had been.
His regiment of Hussards had been almost wiped out by those bandits, or the men the Portuguese called ordenanças. He had even lost some of his guns because of the annoying little men.
And, now, four thousand Portuguese soldiers had dared, dared, to stop him from crossing into the other bank of the river.
Solano could order his men to cross further north or south, but he would be damned if he was going to allow those good for nothing Portuguese to stop him from conquering their country.
So, he had ordered his men to advance, with orders to crush and rout the Portuguese force.
The regiments he had selected had been the best in his division. The two Guards battalions he had included the famous Walloon Guards and the Andalusian Grenadiers.
This constituted three thousand soldiers of his Most Catholic Majesty's Army, against an equal number of Portuguese soldiers.
And they had failed.
They had been pushed back with huge casualties. The Portuguese had fired volley after volley of musket fire without taking a breath. Most of his soldiers had been unable to arrive to the other bank and, with the water almost to their arms, they had been unable to fire back against the blue-clothed infantry.
It had been a massacre. One shouldn't have happened, if only the Portuguese had just played their role and, after a couple of shots to save face, they had surrendered to him.
But, now, he was going to teach them.
The artillery was still on the road but, tomorrow, he was going to batter those idiots into oblivion.
Tomorrow, they would learn to fear their betters.
*****
First Battle of Elvas
(September 28 - 1 October, 1806)
(September 28 - 1 October, 1806)
Part One
Rodrigo was thrilled.
The Spanish patrol had fallen into the trap, without suspecting what was about to happen to them.
Around the fifteen Spaniards, there were almost fifty men of the ordenanças, all of them armed. Some, like Rodrigo, had outdated muskets, others brought knifes, others had edged weapons, and he had even seen some men armed with bows.
"Pass the word for wait for my signal before attacking." he whispered to the man to his right.
He checked to ensure that everything was alright with the musket and took aim at the officer.
The man leading the cavalrymen was clearly an aristocrat. No officer on a soldier’s pay would be able to afford such a good horse and such much gold on the uniform.
The man was a peacock.
And the moment Rodrigo pulled the trigger he was a dead one.
Barely a second after the first shot was fired, the woods were covered with smoke, as more men pressed their triggers.
Not wanting to give time for the Spaniards to recover, the Portuguese ordenanças left their cover and charged with cold steel in their hands.
Fifteen men of the Hussares de Maria Luísa had entered the woods; not one left them.
*****
"The Spanish are moving their men using this road here, sir." said the captain, before pointing at a road on the map. "From what we could gather, sir, the Spanish are moving some six to ten regiments of the line and at least two regiments of guards. Some reports even tell us that some of the supposed line regiments might actually be light infantry regiments, but we still haven't been able to ensure the veracity of the information.""How much cavalry do they have?" asked Colonel Lecor.
"Their cavalry was being cut down by the ordenanças, according to some of the reports, and one of the companies reported to have killed some of them; from the description they gave of their weapons and uniforms, I dare say they brought at least one regiment of Hussars."
"And artillery?"
"Probably one battery of artillery but, given their numbers, I wouldn't put it past them to have brought more."
For a moment, Lecor turned his attention to the map in front of him and the pieces that represented the Spanish regiments. For now, he knew he had at least one division in front of him, but he had received intelligence that the Spanish had begun their offensive with two divisions.
So, where in hell was the other one, he thought to himself.
"Do you have any news as to where the other division might be?"
"No, sir." The captain seemed annoyed for not having found them. "If I may be so bold, sir, would you mind a suggestion?"
Lecor simply nodded and the captain began to move some of the pieces.
"We know, sir, that the Divisão Solano is moving towards Elvas. So wouldn't it be possible for them to be moving against Estremoz or Évora?"
"Yes, but they would leave us behind them and they would need more than two batteries to gun down the fortress."
"But, sir, what if they think that that is they need to capture the citadel?" Seeing that the senior officer wasn't following, he explained. "During the last war, they advanced without any opposition. Maybe they expect the same thing to happen again…"
"So they will think a simple show of force will bully us into surrender."
"Exactly, sir."
"Thank you, captain, for you toughs. You are dismissed."
The captain hadn't still left the room and Lecor's mind was already thinking about how to stop the Spanish.
He only had one brigade and cavalry regiment to face the enemy, made up of a mere three thousand infantry, supported by five hundred cavalry, and the enemy numbered some ten thousand, as far as he knew, and they had field artillery support; this was something he lacked and couldn't hope to get in time from Estremoz.
The situation wasn't perfect, Lecor knew that but, for an ambitious man like himself, a difficult situation could easily be turned into a chance to gain glory and rank, if he had the balls to gamble with an ambitious plan.
He began to plan, where he could stop their advance.
The Spanish general had taken the long route towards Elvas. He had crossed the Guadiana and, then, advanced towards Campo Maior. They could have crossed the Guadiana and, then, the Caga River, but that would force them to leave the artillery behind and, if what the captain said was true, they wanted to do a show of force, and artillery was usually more threatening than cavalry and infantry alone.
If he left now, he would be able to capture the crossing, and artillery could be brought from Elvas, but it would take at least a full day for the huge pieces to be brought into position. And there was always the other crossing, but the militias could probably take care of that; some guns could even be sent to aid them.
Lecor then noticed a problem in his plan.
He had forgotten about the other Spanish division.
Maybe it was that division that was moving from the other crossing, but if what the captain's idea was proven right: then the Spanish would be crossing into Portugal further south, leaving him to face one single division.
It was a gamble, but it was one he was willing to take.
*****
Lieutenant General Francisco Solano y Ruyz, the Marquis del Socorro y de la Solana, was enraged.He had expected an easy and calm advance towards Portugal, with little resistance facing his army.
How wrong he had been.
His regiment of Hussards had been almost wiped out by those bandits, or the men the Portuguese called ordenanças. He had even lost some of his guns because of the annoying little men.
And, now, four thousand Portuguese soldiers had dared, dared, to stop him from crossing into the other bank of the river.
Solano could order his men to cross further north or south, but he would be damned if he was going to allow those good for nothing Portuguese to stop him from conquering their country.
So, he had ordered his men to advance, with orders to crush and rout the Portuguese force.
The regiments he had selected had been the best in his division. The two Guards battalions he had included the famous Walloon Guards and the Andalusian Grenadiers.
This constituted three thousand soldiers of his Most Catholic Majesty's Army, against an equal number of Portuguese soldiers.
And they had failed.
They had been pushed back with huge casualties. The Portuguese had fired volley after volley of musket fire without taking a breath. Most of his soldiers had been unable to arrive to the other bank and, with the water almost to their arms, they had been unable to fire back against the blue-clothed infantry.
It had been a massacre. One shouldn't have happened, if only the Portuguese had just played their role and, after a couple of shots to save face, they had surrendered to him.
But, now, he was going to teach them.
The artillery was still on the road but, tomorrow, he was going to batter those idiots into oblivion.
Tomorrow, they would learn to fear their betters.
- Karolus Rex
- Word Count: 1.2k