The Prussia of The South - A Portuguese TL
The british conscript american sailors, the Portuguese conscript EVERYONE that gets unlucky enough to cause any "problem" (real or fake).
On the Frenchies that's a secret
.
A World on Fire - 3
For those confused the First Part of the World in Flames was focus on the problems between the Peninsular Allies and the Second Part was to show that the French are trying to manipulate the Americans against the Allies. Also the US is already beginning to become pissed with the UK conscripting his sailors and with the Portuguese conscripting his citizens to the Army.
Credit to Unknown for Editing the Text.
Up until Eylau, the Emperor had managed countless decisive victories at relatively low costs in terms of French lives, with Austerlitz being his bloodiest battle, with the cost of nine thousand French casualties. Then at Eylau the Emperor only managed to gain a stalemate, or as some claim a defeat, at the cost of almost thirty thousand French casualties, a third of his army, while the Russian-Prussian forces managed to keep their army intact and, had it not been the brave sacrifice of the French cavalrymen that allowed Davout to deploy his forces, the French army could had been forced to leave the field in defeat.
The Battle of EylauAfter the battle, the Emperor proclaimed that Eylau had been a great victory and forced all the papers in French-occupied Europe to say as much while, at the same time, he blamed Marshal Bernadotte for the loss of life by claiming that he had failed to join the battle line, ignoring the fact that the orders that he had sent to the French marshal had been captured by Cossacks.
This also showed a change in the Emperor's mentality.
Up until then, the Emperor had seen himself as brilliant, but had not seen himself as infallible. It was at Eylau that the custom of blaming his generals for his failures began and it was also there that he began to believe that the fake reports he sent back to France were true.
The French Empire had thought that the Iberian nations of Portugal and Spain would fall as fast as a card castle the moment he advanced against them. We proved him wrong.
Spain, while divided by several entities that claimed control, saw it' people rise up against the French invaders, and their allies. For each French soldier killed or wounded in battle the guerrilleros, called that way because, while they were fighting one little war, the guerrilla would take care of another four.
It was this combination of Spanish guerrillas and Portuguese Ordenanças that allowed the Peninsular allies, Great Britain, Portugal-Brazil, and the juntas of Seville and Galicia, to contain and, eventually, defeat the French forces.
Thanks to these irregulars, the peninsular allies managed to halt Soult's advance, forcing the French marshal to stop his march against Lisbon and to turn back to Spain to quell the revolt. With Soult retreating, de Beaharnais had no other option other than to retreat from Merida.
These actions, while not having any direct effect on the outcome of the War of the Fourth Coalition, would ensure the safety of Portugal in 1807 and would, over time, become the seed that would drain the forces of the French Army.
Their attempts to make peace with France ended in nothing and only served to increase the European hostility against Great Britain, especially since it gave the appearance that Great Britain only managed to gather soldiers to send against other countries’ colonies while, in Europe, they would only fight "to the last Austrian".
The only thing that they managed to achieve was the Slave Trade Act of 1807 which, while commendable because it was a declaration of war against the slave trade, only served to annoy the Portuguese-Brazilian elites that made fortunes with the African Slave trade, so it can be said that their greatest achievement came at the wrong time.
After their failed attempt to achieve Catholic emancipation, the Ministry of all the Talents felt and was replaced by the Second Portland Ministry.
The Duke of Portland, William Cavendish, will forever be known for leading GB in the darkest part of the Napoleonic Wars and for creating the seeds that would allow the comeback against Napoleon Bonaparte.
While Grenville had been forced to send an Army to the peninsula, he had always been against direct British intervention in the war and, after the untimely death of Sir John Moore, he managed to appoint one of the most useless generals that Great Britain ever had, Sir Hew Whitefoord Dalrymple, who had been acting governor of Gibraltar.
When the Portland administration achieved power, Sir Hew was removed from the command of the British forces in the peninsula, with the official reason being that he was needed in London but, in reality, he had become an embarrassment for Great Britain because of some remarks he had made about Ciudad Rodrigo, as it was known at the time, in front of the future Marshal-General of Portugal, Luís Castro, whose son had died while his forces conquered the fortress city. To replace him the Portland Administration recalled Sir John Stuart from Sicily and appointed him as commander, with Sir Arthur Wellesley as second-in-command.
Sir John Stuart on the Left and Sir Arthur Wellesley on the Right
The reasons for the American War can be traced back to the beginning of the Peninsular War.
Up until that time, the British Empire had been constantly pressing American citizens into service and, after 1807, with the passing of the Slave Trade Act of 1807 (the Congress would, a year later, approve of a similar act), British warships would use the act as an excuse to board American ships and, in reality, they were not looking for slaves but, rather, for experienced hands.
This constant pressing of sailors would become one of the main causes of the war.
Another cause was the Portuguese laws of conscription.
Originally created in 1802 to strengthen the manpower reserves available to the army, by making every male between the ages of 16 and 45 subject to serve in the army in case of armed conflicts, they were expanded in 1804 with the Penal Battalion law, which allowed foreigners that had been sent to Portuguese prisons to serve in the penal battalions as their sentence.
The third, and final part, was the Foreigner Conscript law of 1806. The original text stated that, in the case of armed conflict between the Kingdom of Portugal and the Algarves, or its colonies, against a foreign nation, the Army and Naval forces of the kingdom had the right to conscript foreign nationals accused of breaking Portuguese law and would force them to serve in special Regiments (the Foreign Legion would get the army recruits and the Brigade of Naval Fusiliers would create two companies to absorb those that preferred to serve in the navy). One element of the law made it legal to conscript foreign nationals that had only been accused of breaking Portuguese law, making it legal to conscript people for any reason, given that there was no need to prove if the accused was guilty or not.
With the law of 1807, many American sailors that had ended up drunk in Portuguese ports usually woke up in some Army prison and were accused of having committed a felony, without any evidence to support the accusation, and were given the option of hanging or joining the Foreign Legion.
This abuse of international law by these two nations made the President of the United States present several complaints against Lisbon and London but, given the small size of the US forces, both naval and land-based, especially when compared against those of the two allied empires, the Americans were forced to back down from their complaints.
Credit to Unknown for Editing the Text.
*****
World on Flames
Part Three
"Countless deaths and wounded, that's what Napoleon really won at Eylau."
"The Emperor is becoming drunk with blood and power and France is the one that's going to pay the bill."
The two quotes above, the first made by Fouché and the second by Metternich, are the best quotes to describe the year of 1807. It also shows that European powers begin to notice a change in the behavior of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte.Part Three
"Countless deaths and wounded, that's what Napoleon really won at Eylau."
"The Emperor is becoming drunk with blood and power and France is the one that's going to pay the bill."
Up until Eylau, the Emperor had managed countless decisive victories at relatively low costs in terms of French lives, with Austerlitz being his bloodiest battle, with the cost of nine thousand French casualties. Then at Eylau the Emperor only managed to gain a stalemate, or as some claim a defeat, at the cost of almost thirty thousand French casualties, a third of his army, while the Russian-Prussian forces managed to keep their army intact and, had it not been the brave sacrifice of the French cavalrymen that allowed Davout to deploy his forces, the French army could had been forced to leave the field in defeat.
The Battle of Eylau
This also showed a change in the Emperor's mentality.
Up until then, the Emperor had seen himself as brilliant, but had not seen himself as infallible. It was at Eylau that the custom of blaming his generals for his failures began and it was also there that he began to believe that the fake reports he sent back to France were true.
"La Guerre de la Quatrième Coalition" by Philippe Dufort, Université de Caen Normandie.
The French Empire had thought that the Iberian nations of Portugal and Spain would fall as fast as a card castle the moment he advanced against them. We proved him wrong.
Spain, while divided by several entities that claimed control, saw it' people rise up against the French invaders, and their allies. For each French soldier killed or wounded in battle the guerrilleros, called that way because, while they were fighting one little war, the guerrilla would take care of another four.
It was this combination of Spanish guerrillas and Portuguese Ordenanças that allowed the Peninsular allies, Great Britain, Portugal-Brazil, and the juntas of Seville and Galicia, to contain and, eventually, defeat the French forces.
(...)
Their greatest achievement at the beginning of the invasion, in May of 1807, would be to delay the French columns of Eugène de Beauharnais while the British-Portuguese forces fought against Marshal Soult at Castelo Branco and the Uprising of Madrid.Thanks to these irregulars, the peninsular allies managed to halt Soult's advance, forcing the French marshal to stop his march against Lisbon and to turn back to Spain to quell the revolt. With Soult retreating, de Beaharnais had no other option other than to retreat from Merida.
These actions, while not having any direct effect on the outcome of the War of the Fourth Coalition, would ensure the safety of Portugal in 1807 and would, over time, become the seed that would drain the forces of the French Army.
"O Papel das Guerrillas e dos Ordenanças na Guerra Peninsular" by Jorge Macedo Perreira, Universidade de Historia e Arqueologia do Porto.
Their attempts to make peace with France ended in nothing and only served to increase the European hostility against Great Britain, especially since it gave the appearance that Great Britain only managed to gather soldiers to send against other countries’ colonies while, in Europe, they would only fight "to the last Austrian".
The only thing that they managed to achieve was the Slave Trade Act of 1807 which, while commendable because it was a declaration of war against the slave trade, only served to annoy the Portuguese-Brazilian elites that made fortunes with the African Slave trade, so it can be said that their greatest achievement came at the wrong time.
After their failed attempt to achieve Catholic emancipation, the Ministry of all the Talents felt and was replaced by the Second Portland Ministry.
The Duke of Portland, William Cavendish, will forever be known for leading GB in the darkest part of the Napoleonic Wars and for creating the seeds that would allow the comeback against Napoleon Bonaparte.
While Grenville had been forced to send an Army to the peninsula, he had always been against direct British intervention in the war and, after the untimely death of Sir John Moore, he managed to appoint one of the most useless generals that Great Britain ever had, Sir Hew Whitefoord Dalrymple, who had been acting governor of Gibraltar.
When the Portland administration achieved power, Sir Hew was removed from the command of the British forces in the peninsula, with the official reason being that he was needed in London but, in reality, he had become an embarrassment for Great Britain because of some remarks he had made about Ciudad Rodrigo, as it was known at the time, in front of the future Marshal-General of Portugal, Luís Castro, whose son had died while his forces conquered the fortress city. To replace him the Portland Administration recalled Sir John Stuart from Sicily and appointed him as commander, with Sir Arthur Wellesley as second-in-command.
Sir John Stuart on the Left and Sir Arthur Wellesley on the Right
"Analysis of the British Ministries and their effects on the outcome of the Napoleonic Wars", by William Faulkner, University of Edinburgh.
The reasons for the American War can be traced back to the beginning of the Peninsular War.
Up until that time, the British Empire had been constantly pressing American citizens into service and, after 1807, with the passing of the Slave Trade Act of 1807 (the Congress would, a year later, approve of a similar act), British warships would use the act as an excuse to board American ships and, in reality, they were not looking for slaves but, rather, for experienced hands.
This constant pressing of sailors would become one of the main causes of the war.
Another cause was the Portuguese laws of conscription.
Originally created in 1802 to strengthen the manpower reserves available to the army, by making every male between the ages of 16 and 45 subject to serve in the army in case of armed conflicts, they were expanded in 1804 with the Penal Battalion law, which allowed foreigners that had been sent to Portuguese prisons to serve in the penal battalions as their sentence.
The third, and final part, was the Foreigner Conscript law of 1806. The original text stated that, in the case of armed conflict between the Kingdom of Portugal and the Algarves, or its colonies, against a foreign nation, the Army and Naval forces of the kingdom had the right to conscript foreign nationals accused of breaking Portuguese law and would force them to serve in special Regiments (the Foreign Legion would get the army recruits and the Brigade of Naval Fusiliers would create two companies to absorb those that preferred to serve in the navy). One element of the law made it legal to conscript foreign nationals that had only been accused of breaking Portuguese law, making it legal to conscript people for any reason, given that there was no need to prove if the accused was guilty or not.
With the law of 1807, many American sailors that had ended up drunk in Portuguese ports usually woke up in some Army prison and were accused of having committed a felony, without any evidence to support the accusation, and were given the option of hanging or joining the Foreign Legion.
This abuse of international law by these two nations made the President of the United States present several complaints against Lisbon and London but, given the small size of the US forces, both naval and land-based, especially when compared against those of the two allied empires, the Americans were forced to back down from their complaints.
"The American War: Origins and Causes" by Frederick de Holst, Boston University.
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Blood on Iberia - 1
Credit to Unknown for Editing the Text.
On Galicia, the newly formed Ejército de Galicia – or Army of Galicia - a paper force of some forty thousand regulars [1], under General Blake, begun to consolidate their hold on northern Spain. In early May, Blake had deployed garrisons in Benavente, Leon, Tordesillas, Valladolid, and Zamora, forcing the existing Spanish forces in those cities to join the Junta of Galicia against France. These movements allowed Blake to ensure the safety of Galicia from any force advancing from the east and also allowed him to put under his protection the cities of Leon, Valladolid, and Zamora, winning political support and legitimacy for the Junta.
While the Army of Galicia was making these movements, the Portuguese Exército do Norte – or Army of the North - left his winter bases in Moncorvo and, on May 12th, crossed the Douro, beginning an advance towards Tamames. On the 15th, the 6th Cavalry Regiment, the Chaves Dragoons, approached the city and demanded that the Spanish garrison leave the city and marched north to join Blake.
The Spanish refused and, on the 17th, when the rest of the Army arrived, General Castro sent an ultimatum to the defenders of Tamames: either they surrender and, then, march north to Blake, or he would bombard the city.
The Spanish colonel in charge delayed his answer, saying that he didn't have enough power to surrender the city and asked to send an envoy to Madrid to ask permission to surrender. Castro refused the request and ordered his artillery to prepare to fire against the city.
On the 19th, Tamames surrendered, and his garrison was sent north under guard, towards the column Blake had sent to secure Zamora. They were allowed to keep their flags, but were forced to leave all of their weapons behind.
With Tamames secured and with two militia battalions coming from Braganza to act as a garrison, Castro ordered an advance towards Salamanca.
While the Spanish-Portuguese forces secured northern Spain, the British Expeditionary Force, which had wintered in Corunna, was shipped to Lisbon.
They arrived at the Portuguese capital on the day Tamames surrendered to Castro and were joined on the 21st by Sir John Stuart. After a week of rest and preparation, the BEF left Lisbon and marched towards Elvas, where the Exército do Alentejo – or Army of Alentejo - was making preparations to face the advancing French armies, who were supported by some Spanish units that had sided with them. Accompanying the BEF were the battalions of the Foreign Legion that would go further south to support the Second and Third Line units to stop the advance of Beauharnais army.
At this point, the allies’ plan was to secure as much as they could in northern Spain and to try to delay or stop the French forces in prepared positions on the Guadiana and the Caya. When the French Marshal, Soult, found out about this, he ordered his army to march directly to Salvatierra from Madrid and, from there, to Castelo Branco. This movement had the advantage of catching the Anglo-Portuguese forces unprepared, but would force Soult to leave his artillery behind for the rugged terrain and bad roads of that area would make it impossible to for the artillery to follow the army.
Leaving a small garrison in Madrid that was supported by some Spanish battalions loyal to the puppet Junta of Madrid, Soult's army, numbering thirty thousand infantry, most of them green conscripts, and just two thousand cavalry, begun the 430-kilometer march from Madrid to Castelo Branco.
From his base of Ciudad Real, Beauharnais had tried to force General Castaños [2] into battle, but the Spanish general had always refused and had kept on retreating to behind the mountain terrain of Andalucia. With Castaños out of his reach, Beauharnais began an advance following the Guadiana, while leaving a strong detachment in Ciudad Real to protect it from any advances Castaños might attempt under the command of General MacDonald. The force that leaves Ciudad Real numbered some eighteen thousand Italian soldiers, supported by fifteen hundred Polish and Catalonian cavalrymen and four batteries of artillery, numbering twenty-four guns.
[1] Of those 44,000 men, most of them lacked good gear and training and most of the cavalry lacked bots and horses. Of Blake's army, only some ten thousand were battle-ready.
[2] - Francisco Javier Castaños Aragorri Urioste y Olavide, took command of the Army of the South, the greatest Spanish force in the peninsula, with a paper force of almost sixty thousand men. In reality, Castaños commanded little more than a force of half that size had suffered from lack of good horses and cannons, so his decision to retreat to Baylen was to try to resupply his army with whatever gear the junta of Seville had available. As will be shown in the next chapters, his decision would prove vital to the Spanish war effort during the first years of the Peninsular War.
*****
Blood on Iberia
Part One
Part One
Chapter 5 - Early movements
The Peninsular Campaign of 1807 can be divided into two and, even, according to some, three smaller campaigns. These were the Leonese-Galician Campaign, which is sometimes divided into Leonese and Galician Campaigns and the Alentejo Campaign.
On Galicia, the newly formed Ejército de Galicia – or Army of Galicia - a paper force of some forty thousand regulars [1], under General Blake, begun to consolidate their hold on northern Spain. In early May, Blake had deployed garrisons in Benavente, Leon, Tordesillas, Valladolid, and Zamora, forcing the existing Spanish forces in those cities to join the Junta of Galicia against France. These movements allowed Blake to ensure the safety of Galicia from any force advancing from the east and also allowed him to put under his protection the cities of Leon, Valladolid, and Zamora, winning political support and legitimacy for the Junta.
While the Army of Galicia was making these movements, the Portuguese Exército do Norte – or Army of the North - left his winter bases in Moncorvo and, on May 12th, crossed the Douro, beginning an advance towards Tamames. On the 15th, the 6th Cavalry Regiment, the Chaves Dragoons, approached the city and demanded that the Spanish garrison leave the city and marched north to join Blake.
The Spanish refused and, on the 17th, when the rest of the Army arrived, General Castro sent an ultimatum to the defenders of Tamames: either they surrender and, then, march north to Blake, or he would bombard the city.
The Spanish colonel in charge delayed his answer, saying that he didn't have enough power to surrender the city and asked to send an envoy to Madrid to ask permission to surrender. Castro refused the request and ordered his artillery to prepare to fire against the city.
On the 19th, Tamames surrendered, and his garrison was sent north under guard, towards the column Blake had sent to secure Zamora. They were allowed to keep their flags, but were forced to leave all of their weapons behind.
With Tamames secured and with two militia battalions coming from Braganza to act as a garrison, Castro ordered an advance towards Salamanca.
While the Spanish-Portuguese forces secured northern Spain, the British Expeditionary Force, which had wintered in Corunna, was shipped to Lisbon.
They arrived at the Portuguese capital on the day Tamames surrendered to Castro and were joined on the 21st by Sir John Stuart. After a week of rest and preparation, the BEF left Lisbon and marched towards Elvas, where the Exército do Alentejo – or Army of Alentejo - was making preparations to face the advancing French armies, who were supported by some Spanish units that had sided with them. Accompanying the BEF were the battalions of the Foreign Legion that would go further south to support the Second and Third Line units to stop the advance of Beauharnais army.
At this point, the allies’ plan was to secure as much as they could in northern Spain and to try to delay or stop the French forces in prepared positions on the Guadiana and the Caya. When the French Marshal, Soult, found out about this, he ordered his army to march directly to Salvatierra from Madrid and, from there, to Castelo Branco. This movement had the advantage of catching the Anglo-Portuguese forces unprepared, but would force Soult to leave his artillery behind for the rugged terrain and bad roads of that area would make it impossible to for the artillery to follow the army.
Leaving a small garrison in Madrid that was supported by some Spanish battalions loyal to the puppet Junta of Madrid, Soult's army, numbering thirty thousand infantry, most of them green conscripts, and just two thousand cavalry, begun the 430-kilometer march from Madrid to Castelo Branco.
From his base of Ciudad Real, Beauharnais had tried to force General Castaños [2] into battle, but the Spanish general had always refused and had kept on retreating to behind the mountain terrain of Andalucia. With Castaños out of his reach, Beauharnais began an advance following the Guadiana, while leaving a strong detachment in Ciudad Real to protect it from any advances Castaños might attempt under the command of General MacDonald. The force that leaves Ciudad Real numbered some eighteen thousand Italian soldiers, supported by fifteen hundred Polish and Catalonian cavalrymen and four batteries of artillery, numbering twenty-four guns.
[1] Of those 44,000 men, most of them lacked good gear and training and most of the cavalry lacked bots and horses. Of Blake's army, only some ten thousand were battle-ready.
[2] - Francisco Javier Castaños Aragorri Urioste y Olavide, took command of the Army of the South, the greatest Spanish force in the peninsula, with a paper force of almost sixty thousand men. In reality, Castaños commanded little more than a force of half that size had suffered from lack of good horses and cannons, so his decision to retreat to Baylen was to try to resupply his army with whatever gear the junta of Seville had available. As will be shown in the next chapters, his decision would prove vital to the Spanish war effort during the first years of the Peninsular War.
Peninsular Campaign of 1807 by William M. Brody, Marshall University.
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Map
To allow an easier understanding of the campaing movements here is the map I am using.
Remember that the only good roads to bring artillery from Spain to Portugal passed throw Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajoz, who controls those two fortresses controls the only good roads to artillery.
Remember that the only good roads to bring artillery from Spain to Portugal passed throw Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajoz, who controls those two fortresses controls the only good roads to artillery.
It is a very well done timeline, congratulations. I like timelines about Portugal, and hope this one continues strong.
Thanks mate
yes its excellent. keep it up
Thank you all for your support.
The next part Blood on Iberia - Part Two, should be done today and on a side note I changed Beauharnais base in World on Flames - Part Three, from Albuquerque to Merida, because I just noticed that Albuquerque would be too far north to operate against Elvas and would be a very bad terrain for an army.
Also on another side note, the Portuguese cavalry regiments were all made off Dragoons. Their name was Cavalry Regiment Nº, but they were all Dragoons because of the bad terrain the Peninsula has to heavy cavalry and because our horses, the Lusitanos, aren't big enough to heavy cavalry but are extremely agile and have amazingly good nerves.
I just realized that I had failed to point this out earlier.
The next part Blood on Iberia - Part Two, should be done today and on a side note I changed Beauharnais base in World on Flames - Part Three, from Albuquerque to Merida, because I just noticed that Albuquerque would be too far north to operate against Elvas and would be a very bad terrain for an army.
Also on another side note, the Portuguese cavalry regiments were all made off Dragoons. Their name was Cavalry Regiment Nº, but they were all Dragoons because of the bad terrain the Peninsula has to heavy cavalry and because our horses, the Lusitanos, aren't big enough to heavy cavalry but are extremely agile and have amazingly good nerves.
I just realized that I had failed to point this out earlier.
Blood on Iberia - 2
Credit to Unknown for Editing the Text.
The French movements completely confused the Anglo-Portuguese forces.
Beauharnais’ movements put his army more to the north than the Portuguese Army Information Services, or AIS, for short, had anticipated, and Soult's movements completely surprised the AIS.
With its information services completely on the dark there were some talks about dissolving that department of the War Ministry, with some officers saying that each army should take care of its own information gathering. The AIS managed to survive this attempt to dissolve them, but was forced to place several of their officers and sources under the command of the Army commanders. The AIS stopped being an information bureau, the first of its kind, and moved to coordinate the information each Army received.
Having been caught on the dark, the Anglo-Portuguese force redeployed in Niza, leaving the first division of the British Expeditionary Force in Elvas under Sir Arthur Wellesley, supported by the Foreign Legion and the Militia and Ordenança forces of the area. The overall command of this mixed force was left to General Wellesley, but the Foreign Legion was allowed a mixed degree of autonomy.
While the remaining fifty-eight thousand Anglo-Portuguese forces, made up of some twenty thousand British soldiers, including the King's German Legion and thirty-eight thousand Portuguese, marched to Niza, the commanders of both armies, Sir John Stuart and General of Artillery Henrique Pinheiro, met at Abrantes.
There, the two generals discussed who would have overall command of the combined armies. Stuart had expected to be appointed as commander, but General Pinheiro had both more men and a bigger rank than Stuart [1] and, as such, demanded to have command of the British forces. In the end, a compromise was found, with Marshal-General von der Goltz being appointed supreme commander but, given the Marshal's age and health making it impossible for him to take direct command, both forces were made independent from each other.
While the Anglo-Portuguese fought over who commanded the armies, the French forces continued their advance.
Beauharnais’ cavalry vanguard reached Meddelin on June 5th. The garrison, loyal to Madrid, allowed them to enter the city and gave the French access to their supplies. When the rest of the army arrived two days later, the garrison made the same offer to them. But, while the Spanish garrison might have supported and helped the French column, the countryside began to rise against them.
Prince Beauharnais, having served during Napoleon's campaigns in Italy, remembered the problems the people had given the French soldiers when they were given a free hand to pillage the countryside, with the French forces being forced to quell several uprisings in Como, Varese, and Milan, among other places.
With his small force, Beauharnais was determined to avoid such uprisings and had given orders that the men were to pay for all of their food and that pillage was forbidden but, despite his orders, his men continued living off the land and ignored Beauharnais’ commands.
Because of this, it took his forces a full week to reach Merida, which gave the Foreign Legion enough time to reach the village of Albuera, making it a base from which they could raid the French supply train.
With the Foreign Legion in Albuera, the 1st Division of the BEF in Elvas, and with several groups of Spanish partisans waiting for an opening to move against him Beauharnais was forced to wait in Merida for an opening.
Some letters found in Merida and attributed to Beauharnais indicate that he was extremely annoyed at having to stop his advance. He blamed his own soldiers and Soult for that and it appears that he believed that, if the pillaging hadn't occurred, the garrison of Badajoz might have sided with Madrid instead of going for the junta of Seville.
Without Badajoz, he wrote, I have no choice but to stop my advance. With the English in Elvas and the Portuguese in Albuera, any attack on Badajoz would be compromised from the beginning.
Ignoring the fact that Beauharnais had been forced to stop his advance, Soult kept his men on their march from Madrid to Salvatierra. The bad roads and the inexperience of his men made the advance much slower than what the Marshal had expected, but most historians agree that the twenty-eight days the French took to make the march was close to a miracle.
When he crossed the river Alagon on June 24th, the Anglo-Portuguese forces near Niza still had no idea where his army was. It was only when his men captured Salvatierra on the 27th that Stuart and Pinheiro found where Soult's forces were.
In Salvatierra, Soult captured five six-pounder guns, a couple of Howitzers, and ammunition for both. Two thousand musket cartridges were also captured.
Having been caught off guard, the Anglo-Portuguese forces rushed towards Castelo Branco in a desperate attempt to stop the French from reaching the city; it was also where large amounts of army supplies were guarded. It was vital that the French didn't get those supplies for, without them, the Anglo-Portuguese forces would be forced to abandon the Castelo Branco area.
As both armies marched towards Castelo Branco, events on the other side of Europe would overshadow the first clash between the Anglo-Portuguese forces and the French Army.
[1] - General of Artillery, General de Artilharia, was one of the three special General ranks that were behind the rank of Marshal. The modern equivalent would be full General. In comparison Stuart was only a Lieutenant-general.
*****
Blood on Iberia
Part Two
Chapter 5 - Early movements
Blood on Iberia
Part Two
Chapter 5 - Early movements
The French movements completely confused the Anglo-Portuguese forces.
Beauharnais’ movements put his army more to the north than the Portuguese Army Information Services, or AIS, for short, had anticipated, and Soult's movements completely surprised the AIS.
With its information services completely on the dark there were some talks about dissolving that department of the War Ministry, with some officers saying that each army should take care of its own information gathering. The AIS managed to survive this attempt to dissolve them, but was forced to place several of their officers and sources under the command of the Army commanders. The AIS stopped being an information bureau, the first of its kind, and moved to coordinate the information each Army received.
Having been caught on the dark, the Anglo-Portuguese force redeployed in Niza, leaving the first division of the British Expeditionary Force in Elvas under Sir Arthur Wellesley, supported by the Foreign Legion and the Militia and Ordenança forces of the area. The overall command of this mixed force was left to General Wellesley, but the Foreign Legion was allowed a mixed degree of autonomy.
While the remaining fifty-eight thousand Anglo-Portuguese forces, made up of some twenty thousand British soldiers, including the King's German Legion and thirty-eight thousand Portuguese, marched to Niza, the commanders of both armies, Sir John Stuart and General of Artillery Henrique Pinheiro, met at Abrantes.
There, the two generals discussed who would have overall command of the combined armies. Stuart had expected to be appointed as commander, but General Pinheiro had both more men and a bigger rank than Stuart [1] and, as such, demanded to have command of the British forces. In the end, a compromise was found, with Marshal-General von der Goltz being appointed supreme commander but, given the Marshal's age and health making it impossible for him to take direct command, both forces were made independent from each other.
While the Anglo-Portuguese fought over who commanded the armies, the French forces continued their advance.
Beauharnais’ cavalry vanguard reached Meddelin on June 5th. The garrison, loyal to Madrid, allowed them to enter the city and gave the French access to their supplies. When the rest of the army arrived two days later, the garrison made the same offer to them. But, while the Spanish garrison might have supported and helped the French column, the countryside began to rise against them.
Prince Beauharnais, having served during Napoleon's campaigns in Italy, remembered the problems the people had given the French soldiers when they were given a free hand to pillage the countryside, with the French forces being forced to quell several uprisings in Como, Varese, and Milan, among other places.
With his small force, Beauharnais was determined to avoid such uprisings and had given orders that the men were to pay for all of their food and that pillage was forbidden but, despite his orders, his men continued living off the land and ignored Beauharnais’ commands.
Because of this, it took his forces a full week to reach Merida, which gave the Foreign Legion enough time to reach the village of Albuera, making it a base from which they could raid the French supply train.
With the Foreign Legion in Albuera, the 1st Division of the BEF in Elvas, and with several groups of Spanish partisans waiting for an opening to move against him Beauharnais was forced to wait in Merida for an opening.
Some letters found in Merida and attributed to Beauharnais indicate that he was extremely annoyed at having to stop his advance. He blamed his own soldiers and Soult for that and it appears that he believed that, if the pillaging hadn't occurred, the garrison of Badajoz might have sided with Madrid instead of going for the junta of Seville.
Without Badajoz, he wrote, I have no choice but to stop my advance. With the English in Elvas and the Portuguese in Albuera, any attack on Badajoz would be compromised from the beginning.
Ignoring the fact that Beauharnais had been forced to stop his advance, Soult kept his men on their march from Madrid to Salvatierra. The bad roads and the inexperience of his men made the advance much slower than what the Marshal had expected, but most historians agree that the twenty-eight days the French took to make the march was close to a miracle.
When he crossed the river Alagon on June 24th, the Anglo-Portuguese forces near Niza still had no idea where his army was. It was only when his men captured Salvatierra on the 27th that Stuart and Pinheiro found where Soult's forces were.
In Salvatierra, Soult captured five six-pounder guns, a couple of Howitzers, and ammunition for both. Two thousand musket cartridges were also captured.
Having been caught off guard, the Anglo-Portuguese forces rushed towards Castelo Branco in a desperate attempt to stop the French from reaching the city; it was also where large amounts of army supplies were guarded. It was vital that the French didn't get those supplies for, without them, the Anglo-Portuguese forces would be forced to abandon the Castelo Branco area.
As both armies marched towards Castelo Branco, events on the other side of Europe would overshadow the first clash between the Anglo-Portuguese forces and the French Army.
[1] - General of Artillery, General de Artilharia, was one of the three special General ranks that were behind the rank of Marshal. The modern equivalent would be full General. In comparison Stuart was only a Lieutenant-general.
Peninsular Campaign of 1807 by William M. Brody, Marshall University.
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Quick info on the next Updates.
Because of RL, I don't have any idea to when will I be able to write the next update. If everything goes well, this week the next part of Blood on Iberia will be ready.
If things go ok, only next week.
If things go bad, then only on middle June will I have time to spare to write the next part.
Also I deleted the naval engagement part on the World on Fire - Part One. I recently bought a book on the naval engagements of the Portuguese navy and I decided to remove that part, to give space to a new side plot with a focus on Macau and the Chinese pirates on those waters.
Because of RL, I don't have any idea to when will I be able to write the next update. If everything goes well, this week the next part of Blood on Iberia will be ready.
If things go ok, only next week.
If things go bad, then only on middle June will I have time to spare to write the next part.
Also I deleted the naval engagement part on the World on Fire - Part One. I recently bought a book on the naval engagements of the Portuguese navy and I decided to remove that part, to give space to a new side plot with a focus on Macau and the Chinese pirates on those waters.
You don't need to apologize for setbacks. Some patience is always required in these things. And hey, at least you'll never be as bad as GRRM with update delays.
You don't need to apologize for setbacks. Some patience is always required in these things. And hey, at least you'll never be as bad as GRRM with update delays.
I wish they were only setbacks they are something much worst, called...
...BIOCHEMISTRY EXAMS.
Mate, you have my permission to cyber bitchslap me if I ever go full GRRM.
IT'S ALIVE !!!
Just a quick bump to the top to inform the guys that follow the TL that the short hiatus (thanks for that UTAD) is officially over.
Now don't go expecting daily updates, but I will update very soon and I got some new ideas for the TL
!!!Just a quick bump to the top to inform the guys that follow the TL that the short hiatus (thanks for that UTAD) is officially over.
Now don't go expecting daily updates, but I will update very soon and I got some new ideas for the TL
Selim III, Luís do Rego Barreto will appear. Reason? Selim might be a bit obvious but I will work him in a way that the OE will be interesting and not predictable (I hope). On General Barreto, well he was born on the same city I was and died on the city I'm now studding, he will have some interesting actions on the future .
Also be prepare for some Asian flavor (those damned Chinese pirates) and the American story side will begin to show the implications of a bigger distrust between the US and GB, but the best part of that Arc will only become after the end of the Napoleonic Wars.
.Also be prepare for some Asian flavor (those damned Chinese pirates) and the American story side will begin to show the implications of a bigger distrust between the US and GB, but the best part of that Arc will only become after the end of the Napoleonic Wars
.
Battle of Castelo Branco
Well this took a while to finish, but I had to look for a new apartment with a couple of friends for our next year at uny, had to move the things from my old apartment and then my grandfather got sick.
Under normal circumstances the last reason wouldn't trouble much, he pretends to be sick 99% of the time, but this time he really got sick and I had to drive him off to god knows how many doctors. I had even to take him to a neurologist only for the man to give him some vitamins. Two hours drive just for some vitamins -.- .
I will now pass to two-three updates a week to compensate the lack of updates.
This is just a quick update to get the inspiration back on.
The battle of Castelo Branco was a dreadful affair.
Over three thousand Anglo-Portuguese soldiers ended either dead or wounded with the French loosing some four to five thousand.
While the seven to eight thousand figure might not compare with the casualty rate of the future battles of the Napoleonic Wars, with the Battle of the Nations still holding the record of the most bloody day during the Napoleonic Wars with almost forty thousand casualties, it was still a bloody awakening for what was to come.
The battle was fought some twenty miles to the east of the site where the dry bank of the river Ponsul served as a natural trench.
Records of the battle show his chaotic nature.
The original allied plan was to fight the french some 3 miles to the east of the river, where they could use the topography and the forest to their advantage, while forcing the French to fight on the open plain. The plan was shattered by the marching speed that Soult had imposed on his troops.
The Anglo-Portuguese vanguard, made of the 11th Cavalry Regiment and the 1st Regiment of Dragons of the KGL, under the command of the Hanoverian Brigadier-General Otto von Bock reached the river bank on the night of the 14th. Thinking the French further way, than they really where, General von Bock decided to make camp on the left side of the river, because the hills and dense forest on the right side would be bad ground for his cavalry. During the post battle inquiry General von Bock further explained that having reached the Ponsul at night he had decided to not occupy the hills because of the rocky riverbed that would make passing at day light a hard task and an impossible one at night.
Either way his decision would mark the place where the battle would happen.
At 6am of the 15th the French vanguard, the 29th and the 30th Dragons, lead by Colonel Jean-Francois Dupre where spotted by a couple of German pickets that had been stationed on the right bank.
For his credit, General von Bock, tried to gain the high ground, using the 11th has improvised light infantry to snipe the french and to give cover to the KGL that tried to cross to the other side.
But they failed.
Dupre managed to mount a successful defense of the high ground and had it not been for the tenacity and bravery of one of the Squadrons of the KGL their counter attack might had been able to gain the riverbed for them.
The noise of the skirmish attracted the two armies.
The infantry vanguards reached the fighting almost three hours after the first encounters, and were immediately deployed, with the officers ignoring the soldiers weariness, and what had begun as a small skirmish soon become a full battle.
Two hundred years latter there is still much confusion of what really append.
As stated before the battle was a chaotic affair, with the battalions reaching the battle at a piecemeal pace and with neither one of the three commanding generals having any idea of who many men they were facing.
What is clear is that soon enough the battle turned into a fierce and sour fighting for the control of the riverbed, the only place where either side could cross, but not even one of the opposing sides captured the river could the soldiers stop fighting. With the hills on both sides of the river, the riverbed soon became a death trap, with cannons firing deadly rains of shot and canister.
No record can really pass on the horrible experience both sides suffered.
In the end the battle was decided by whom had more shot and powder for they cannons, and after just four hours Soults guns were running low.
The French Marshal tried one last attack, reorganizing whatever battalions he could find to act as a battering ram while the artillery fired their last shots. He himself lead this desperate assault.
Five times the french managed to gain the riverbed, but each time Anglo-Portuguese lead forced them out with growing casualties.
In the end Soult is forced to order his men to stop all attacks and moves his army back to the hills where the forest provides them with cover from the artillery fire.
On the other side the Anglo-Portuguese forces cheer as the French retreat but their success doesn't last long.
The riverbed and banks had covered in corpses and wounded. The land that once the water claimed as his own, now his now claimed, in turn, by the blood of the death.
On the next day the two sides agree on a cease fire to tend to wounded and bury the dead.
Two days latter the French retreat back to Spain.
The Battle of Castelo Branco ends in victory, but it's cost and brutality opened the path that would characterize the Peninsular War.
Under normal circumstances the last reason wouldn't trouble much, he pretends to be sick 99% of the time, but this time he really got sick and I had to drive him off to god knows how many doctors. I had even to take him to a neurologist only for the man to give him some vitamins. Two hours drive just for some vitamins -.- .
I will now pass to two-three updates a week to compensate the lack of updates.
This is just a quick update to get the inspiration back on.
*****
Battle of Castelo Branco
15th of July
15th of July
The battle of Castelo Branco was a dreadful affair.
Over three thousand Anglo-Portuguese soldiers ended either dead or wounded with the French loosing some four to five thousand.
While the seven to eight thousand figure might not compare with the casualty rate of the future battles of the Napoleonic Wars, with the Battle of the Nations still holding the record of the most bloody day during the Napoleonic Wars with almost forty thousand casualties, it was still a bloody awakening for what was to come.
The battle was fought some twenty miles to the east of the site where the dry bank of the river Ponsul served as a natural trench.
Records of the battle show his chaotic nature.
The original allied plan was to fight the french some 3 miles to the east of the river, where they could use the topography and the forest to their advantage, while forcing the French to fight on the open plain. The plan was shattered by the marching speed that Soult had imposed on his troops.
The Anglo-Portuguese vanguard, made of the 11th Cavalry Regiment and the 1st Regiment of Dragons of the KGL, under the command of the Hanoverian Brigadier-General Otto von Bock reached the river bank on the night of the 14th. Thinking the French further way, than they really where, General von Bock decided to make camp on the left side of the river, because the hills and dense forest on the right side would be bad ground for his cavalry. During the post battle inquiry General von Bock further explained that having reached the Ponsul at night he had decided to not occupy the hills because of the rocky riverbed that would make passing at day light a hard task and an impossible one at night.
Either way his decision would mark the place where the battle would happen.
At 6am of the 15th the French vanguard, the 29th and the 30th Dragons, lead by Colonel Jean-Francois Dupre where spotted by a couple of German pickets that had been stationed on the right bank.
For his credit, General von Bock, tried to gain the high ground, using the 11th has improvised light infantry to snipe the french and to give cover to the KGL that tried to cross to the other side.
But they failed.
Dupre managed to mount a successful defense of the high ground and had it not been for the tenacity and bravery of one of the Squadrons of the KGL their counter attack might had been able to gain the riverbed for them.
The noise of the skirmish attracted the two armies.
The infantry vanguards reached the fighting almost three hours after the first encounters, and were immediately deployed, with the officers ignoring the soldiers weariness, and what had begun as a small skirmish soon become a full battle.
Two hundred years latter there is still much confusion of what really append.
As stated before the battle was a chaotic affair, with the battalions reaching the battle at a piecemeal pace and with neither one of the three commanding generals having any idea of who many men they were facing.
What is clear is that soon enough the battle turned into a fierce and sour fighting for the control of the riverbed, the only place where either side could cross, but not even one of the opposing sides captured the river could the soldiers stop fighting. With the hills on both sides of the river, the riverbed soon became a death trap, with cannons firing deadly rains of shot and canister.
No record can really pass on the horrible experience both sides suffered.
In the end the battle was decided by whom had more shot and powder for they cannons, and after just four hours Soults guns were running low.
The French Marshal tried one last attack, reorganizing whatever battalions he could find to act as a battering ram while the artillery fired their last shots. He himself lead this desperate assault.
Five times the french managed to gain the riverbed, but each time Anglo-Portuguese lead forced them out with growing casualties.
In the end Soult is forced to order his men to stop all attacks and moves his army back to the hills where the forest provides them with cover from the artillery fire.
On the other side the Anglo-Portuguese forces cheer as the French retreat but their success doesn't last long.
The riverbed and banks had covered in corpses and wounded. The land that once the water claimed as his own, now his now claimed, in turn, by the blood of the death.
On the next day the two sides agree on a cease fire to tend to wounded and bury the dead.
Two days latter the French retreat back to Spain.
The Battle of Castelo Branco ends in victory, but it's cost and brutality opened the path that would characterize the Peninsular War.