017 



WELLINGTON, DUKE OF. 



WELLINGTON, DUKE OF. 



618 



the Cth of Marcb, leaving one division <m the Agueda, Lord Wellington 

 marched the remainder of his army to the south. On the 16th the army 

 crossed the Guadiana, and Baclajoz was immediately invested, while 

 several divisions advanced to Llerena and Merida to cover the siege. 

 On the 25th, the Picurina, an advanced post, separated from the body 

 of the place by the small river Ilivillaa, was taken by storm, and on 

 the 26th two breaching batteries opened their fire on the town. In 

 the meantime Soulfc was collecting his disposable force at Seville for 

 the relief of the place, and Marmont, in order to effect a diversion, 

 entered Portugal by Sabugal and Penamacor, and ravaged the country 

 east of the Serra de Estrella. Lord Wellington accelerated the opera- 

 tions of the siege. On the 6th of April, three breaches having become 

 practicable, orders were given for the assault in the evening. The 

 various divisions passed the glacis under a tremendous fire from the 

 garrison, which greatly thinned their ranks; and they descended into 

 the ditch, and ascended the breaches, but here they found obstacles 

 which appeared insuperable. Planks studded with iron spikes, like 

 harrows, and chevaux-de-frise formed of sword-blades, effectually 

 stopped the way, and the ramparts and neigbouring buildings were 

 occupied by light infantry, which showered their volleys upon the 

 assailants. Shells, hand-grenades, every kind of burning composition, 

 and missiles of every sort, were hurled at them. At last Lord Wel- 

 lington ordered them to withdraw just as a report came that General 

 Picton's division had taken the castle by escalade, and soon aftewards 

 General Walker's brigade also entered the town by escalade on the 

 side of the Oliveuga Gate. The other divisions then formed again for 

 the attack of the breaches, when all resistance ceased. The French 

 governor, General Philippon, with a few hundred men, escaped across 

 the Guadiaua to Fort St. Christoval, where he surrendered the follow- 

 ing morning. Great excesses and outrages were committed by the 

 soldiers during the remainder of the night, until severe measures on 

 the part of Lord Wellington restored order. The loss of the Allies 

 was much more severe than at Ciudad Rodrigo, amounting to 72 officers 

 and 963 men killed : and 306 officers and 3480 men wounded. " When 

 the extent of the night's havoc," says Napier, " was made known to 

 Lord Wellington, the firmness of his nature gave way for a moment, 

 and the pride of conquest yielded to a passionate burst of grief for the 

 loss of his gallant soldiers." 



Soult collected his army at Villafranca, between Llerena and Merida, 

 on the 8th, when, hearing of the fall of Badajoz, he retired before day- 

 light next day towards Seville, pursued by the British cavalry, which 

 made a successful attack on his rear-guard at Villa Garcia. 



On the 13th of April Lord Wellington moved the main body of his 

 army back to the north, leaving General Hill south of the Tagus. 

 Marmont, on hearing of this, gave up the blockade of Almeida and 

 Ciudad Rodrigo, aud withdrew to Salamanca. Lord Wellington's 

 head-quarters were again at Guinaldo, between the Coa and the 

 Agueda, where they remained till the middle of June, nothing of 

 importance occurring in that quarter during the interval. In the south 

 however General Hill took and destroyed, in the month of May, the 

 forts which the French had constructed at Almaraz on the Tagus, 

 where they had a bridge of boats to secure the communication between 

 the Armies of the North and South. 



On the 13th of June Lord Wellington, having completed his pre- 

 parations for an advance iuto Spain, broke up from his cantonmemts 

 with about 40,000 men, leaving General Hill on the Tagus, near 

 Almaraz, with about 12,000 more. On the 17th he appeared before 

 Salamanca. Marmont retired on his approach, and left about 800 

 men in some forts constructed on the ruins of convents, which com- 

 manded the bridge across the river Tormes. The allied army forded 

 the river and entered the town, to the great joy of the inhabitants. 

 "They have now been suffering for more than three years, during 

 which time the French, among other acts of violence and oppi'essiou, 

 have destroyed 13 out of 25 convents, aud 22 of 25 colleges, which 

 existed in this celebrated seat of learning." ('Dispatches,' ix. p. 239.) 

 The forts were immediately invested, while Marmont's army retired 

 to Toro on the Douro, and the British advance took up a position at 

 St. Cristoval, a few miles in front of Salamanca. An attempt was 

 made to carry the forts by escalade, which failed, and Major-General 

 Bowes and 120 men fell in the attack. On the 20th Marmont moved 

 forward again, and, arriving in front of the position of St. Cristoval, 

 made a demonstration with his cavalry in the plain, but it ended 

 merely in a skirmish. He made other demonstrations and movements 

 in the following days for the purpose of relieving the forts, but was 

 baffled by the watchfulness of the British general, until on the 27th 

 the forts within Salamanca were taken or surrendered. 



Marmont again retired to the Douro in the beginning of July, and 

 took up a strong position on high ground along the northern bank of 

 the Douro, his centre being at Tordesillas. The British and Portu- 

 guese allied army took up a line on the left or southern bank of the 

 river, facing the enemy. A great deal of manoeuvring, marching, and 

 counter-marching, and changing of front, followed on the part of 

 Marmont, during which the French marshal was reinforced by Bonet's 

 division from Asturias, which had effected a difficult march over the 

 mountains, having been harassed and pressed by the Spaniards from 

 Galicia under Mahy and Porlier. On the 16th of July Marmont threw 

 two of his divisions across the Douro at Toro, when Lord Wellington 

 moved his army to the left, to concentrate it on the Guarefia, an 



affluent of the Douro from the south. On the night of the 16th the 

 French, recrossiug the Douro at Toro, ascended the northern bank of 

 the river with their whole army to Tordesillas, when they again 

 crossed over to the southern bank, and by a forced march assembled 

 at Nava del Rey on the 17th. On the 18th they attempted to cut off 

 the right of the British army, consisting of the 4th and light divisions, 

 but were repulsed by several charges of the British and Hanoverian 

 cavalry, as well as of the British and Portuguese infantry. By his 

 manoeuvres however Marmont succeeded in establishing his communi- 

 cation with King Joseph and the army of the centre, which was 

 advancing from Madrid to join him. In the mean time the two armies 

 of Marmont and Wellington were in line on the opposite banks of the 

 Guarena. More manoeuvring took place on the part of Marmont, who, 

 on the 20th, crossed the Guarefia on the right of the Allies, and 

 advanced towards the Tormes by Babilafuente and Villamusa. Lord 

 Wellington followed closely the enemy's movements durinjr part of 

 that day's march, and the two hostile armies moved in parallel lines 

 within half cannon-shot of each other in the finest order; and as the 

 nature of the ground gave either party a temporary advantage the 

 artillery opened fire, but no actual collision took place, though both 

 armies were ready to form in line of battle. Lord Wellington, in his 

 dispatch to Earl Bathurst dated the following day, July 21, observes 

 as follows : " The enemy's object hitherto has been to cut off my 

 communication with Salamanca and Ciudad Rodrigo, the want of 

 which he knows would distress us very materially. The wheat-hawest 

 has not yet been reaped in Castile, and even if we had money we 

 could not now procure anything from the country, unless we should 

 follow the example of the French, and lay waste whole districts in 

 order to procure a scanty subsistence of unripe wheat for the troops. 

 It would answer no purpose to attempt to retaliate upon the enemy, 

 even if it were practicable. The French armies in Spain have never 

 had any secure communication beyond the ground which they occupy; 

 and, provided the enemy opposed to them is not too strong for them, 

 they are indifferent in respect to the quarter from which their ope- 

 rations are directed, or on which side they cany them on. The army 

 of Portugal has been surrounded for tha last six weeks, and scarcely 

 even a letter reaches its commander; but the system of organised 

 rapine and plunder, and the extraordinary discipline so long estab- 

 lished in the French armies, enable it to subsist at the expense of the 

 total ruin of the country in which it has been placed, and I am not 

 ceitain that Marshal Marmont has not now at his command a greater 

 quantity of provisions and supplies of every description than we have. 



I have invariably been of opinion that, unless forced to 



fight a battle, it is better that one should not be fought by the allied 

 army unless under such favourable circumstances as that there would 

 be reason to hope that the allied army would be able to maintain the 

 field, while that of the enemy should not. Your lordship will have 

 seen by the returns of the two armies that we have no superiority of 

 numbers even over that single army immediately opposed to us; 

 indeed I believe that the French army is of the two the strongest, and 

 it is certainly equipped with a profusion of artillery double ours in 

 number, and of larger calibres. It cannot therefore be attacked in a 

 chosen position without considerable loss on our side. To this cir- 

 cumstance add, that I am quite certain that Marmont's army is to bo 

 joined by the King's, which will be 10,000 or 12,000 men, with a large 

 proportion of cavalry, and that troops are still expected from the 

 army of the north, and some are ordered from that of the south; and 

 it will be seen that I ought to consider it almost impossible to remain 

 in Castile after an action, the circumstances of which should not have 

 been so advantageous as to have left the allied army in a situation of 

 comparative strength while that of the enemy should have been much 

 weakened. I have therefore determined to cross the Tormes if the 

 enemy should ; to cover Salamanca as long as I can, and above all not 

 to give up our communication with Ciudad Rodrigo ; and not to fight 

 an action unless under very advantageous circumstances, or it should 

 become absolutely necessary." (' Dispatches,' ix. pp. 296-98.) 



On the 21st both hostile armies crossed the Tormes the Allies by 

 the bridge of Salamanca, and Marmont's higher up the river by the 

 fords between Huerta and Alba de Tormes. Lord Wellington placed 

 his troops in a position, the left of which rested on the left or southern 

 bank of the river, and the right on one of two steep hills which from 

 their similarity and contiguity are called the Dos Arapiles. On the 

 morning of the 22nd some sharp skirmishing took place, and the 

 French succeeded in gaining possession of the more distant Arapiles, 

 by which they had it in their power to annoy aud perhaps turn the 

 right of the British, Marmont's plan being evidently to cut them off 

 from Ciudad Rodrigo. This obliged Lord Wellington to extend his 

 right to a height behind the village of Arapiles, occupying the village 

 itself with the light infantry. After a variety of evolutions and move- 

 ments on the part of Marmont, which lasted till two o'clock in the 

 afternoon, the French commander, under cover of a very heavy can- 

 nonade, " extended his left, and moved forward his troops apparently 

 with au intention to embrace, by the position of his troops and by his 

 fire, our post on that of the Two Arapiles which we possessed, and 

 from thence to attack and break our line, or at all events to render 

 difficult any movement of ours to our right. The extension of his line 

 to his left however, and its advance upon our right, notwithstanding 

 that his troops still occupied very strong ground, and his position was 



