The British Army and The Peninsula Wars, 1808-1815 Flashcards
How did the Peninsula Wars start?
- 1806 Berlin Decrees and 1807 Tilsit Treaty = Napoleon launched his ‘continental system’
–> forbade trade with Britain in an effort to cripple the British economy - Portugal continued to trade with Britain
–> Napoleon ordered Junot to invade Portugal - early 1808, French troops went to Spain to ‘help Junot’
- April 1808, Spanish King and his son were ‘persuaded’ to abdicate
–> Joseph Bonaparte (Napoleon’s brother) becames the King of Spain - June 1808, Juntas (local councils) were set up by the Spanish to organise troops, rebellion spread through Spain
- British redirected 9,000 troops about to set sail from Cork to Venezuela to the Iberian Peninsula
–> 12th July 1808, troops left Cork under Wellesley who sailed ahead on a fast frigate
What happened when the British went to the Iberian Peninsula?
- 1st Aug 1808, Wellesley’s troops disembarked at Mondego Bay after Spanish refused help
- 5,000 more troops sent from Gibraltar and 15,000 from Britain
- Duke of York decided that such a large army should be commanded by someone more senior than Wellesley
–> sent Sir Hew Dalrymple (overall command), Sir Harry Burred (2nd in command) and Sir John Moore
How did Wellesley react to senior commanders being sent to take his place at the beginning of the Peninsula wars?
Wanted to make an impression before the arrival of the commanders
–> 10th Aug 1808, Wellesley went to Lisbon with troops
(Junot only controlled Lisbon and its immediate environs)
- 17th Aug 1808, Battle of Rolica
–> Junot only had 15,000 troops available to fight as others had to protect Lisbon and Spanish border
= British victory
What happened after the Battle of Rolica?
- Wellesley continued south
- reinforced by 4,000 men at Maceira
- 20th Aug 1808, Burred arrived but decided to sleep aboard ship
- same night Wellesley was told that Junot was advancing with 14,000 men
- 21st Aug 1808, Battle of Vemeiro
–> Wellesley used reverse slope tactic
–> French retreated by the time Burrard arrived
–> further French attacks achieved nothing = battle over in 3 hrs
= British win
–> 2,000 French deaths VS 720 British deaths
What happened after the Battle of Vemeiro?
- Burrard stopped Wellesley from pursuing the French in their retreat
- 22nd Aug 1808, Dalrymple arrived and seconded Burrard’s decision
- 30th Aug 1808, Convention of Cintra signed
–> peace treaty, British agreed to transport 24,000 French troops home
–> outraged the British public
–> Burrard and Dalrymple never given command again
What was the situation like in Sept/Oct of 1808?
- the French were still occupying Spain
–> Sir John Moore ordered to cooperate with Spanish to get rid of French; he has 350,000 troops - Wellesley in Britain
Why did Moore end up ‘dillydallying’ in northern Spain?
- Oct 1808, Moore left 10,000 sick and wounded soldiers in Lisbon and marched into Spain
- Sir David Baird had landed in Corunna with 10,000 men
–> Baird and Moore planned to meet at Salamanca - Nov 1808, Moore reached Salamanca BUT Napoleon had crossed into Spain with an army of 200,000 (Spanish cannot hold them back)
–> Moore wanted to retreat to Portugal, but was pressured not to by British Ambassador in Spain
–> while deliberating, Napoleon captured Madrid, so too late to march on it
–> Moore decided to go to Burgos; huge gamble in the hope that Napoleon would pull back and buy the Spanish time - 20th Dec 1808, Baird and Moore met at Mayorga
–> 23rd Dec 1808, forced to retreat to Corunna (Napoleon going North) - Napoleon left Spain; leaving Soult to pursue Moore
What happened once Moore and Baird’s troops retreated to Corunna?
- 11th Jan 1809, Moore reached Corunna
–> low morale and low number of general supplies, BUT presence of the 95th rifles - 15th Jan 1809, troop transport arrived and sick/wounded troops were evacuated
- 16th Jan 1809, Battle of Corunna (Moore VS Soult)
–> both sides roughly 15,000 men with 800 deaths
–> Moore died in battle
–> further 7,000 British men were lost in retreat
= French win
–> 26,000 British troops escaped and French did not yet attack Portugal
What was the situation in spring of 1809?
- 10,000 British troops were still in Portugal
- April 1809, Wellesley given command of British troops in the Iberian Peninsula
–> was granted 20,000 more troops and and more Portuguese under Beresford - Soult had attacked Portugal from the north with 20,000 troops and captured Oporto
- Marshall Victor threatened Portugal from the east with 40,000 men
- April 1809, British Army lacked equipment, especially boots
- French troops in Spain could not be reinforced due to fighting in Austria
How did Wellesley deal with the situation in Portugal in the spring of 1809?
- dealt with north (Soult in Oporto) first
–> left 12,000 soldiers in Lisbon and set off with 16,000 British and 2,400 Portuguese - 12th May 1809, 600 British troops crossed the Duoro river in wine barges = Battle of Oporto
–> Soult was asleep, when he was told he thought they were Swiss bathers (red uniforms)
–> Portuguese civilians helped British troops cross the river
–> British occupied seminary building and French retreated
= British win
What happened after the Battle of Oporto?
- July 1809, Wellesley’s 2,000 troops crossed over into Spain, supported by 34,000 Spanish troops under Cuesta
–> planned to take on Victor (threat from the east) at Talavera
–> poor Spanish discipline caused delays and allowed the French to reinforce their troops - 27th July 1809, Battle of Talavera
–> 2,000 Spanish soldiers fled from fear
–> Victor tried to attack at night but was driven back by Rowland Hill/’the daddy’
–> Victor launched offensive next day, but forced to retreat after 2 days of fighting
= British win
–> Wellesley lost a quarter/5,400 of his men and French lost 7,300
What happened after the Battle of Talavera?
- Cuesta wanted to push on to Madrid but Wellesley refused
- Aug 1809, Wellesley became Viscount Wellington
- Nov 1809, 2 Spanish armies were crushed by the French
- Dec 1809, British troops retreated to Portugal
–> Beresford trained the Portuguese troops under his control to a higher standard throughout the winter
What was the situation in early 1810?
- Jan/Feb 1810, the French captured Seville
–> the Supreme Junta fled Cadiz - May 1810, French forces under Massena besieged Cuidad Rodrigo (Fortress near Portugal)
- -> July 1810, Cuidad Rodrigo surrendered to the French
- 28th Aug 1810, Almeida surrendered to the French
- Wellesley prepared for a further retreat by telling Portuguese authorities to enact a scorched earth policy and use ‘Ordenanza’ (Portuguese home guard)
What happened in late 1810?
- Sept 1810, Massena’s 65,000 men advanced towards Coimbra
- 27th Sept 1810, Wellington took a strong position on Bucaco Ridge, blocking the main road = Battle of Bucaco
= British victory - on the next day, Massena marched around Wellington’s army
–> forced Wellington to retreat to Lisbon; Massena hoped he would then advance south and force the British to leave by sea
–> instead he reached the lines of Torres Vedras in Oct 1810
What were the lines of Torres Vedras?
a network of defences north of Lisbon
- construction ordered by Wellesley, carried out by the Royal Engineers under Fletcher, used Portuguese labour
- 3 defensive rings of linked forts and earthworks
- used semaphore system (Navy system of flags for signalling)
- manned by 25,000 Portuguese militiamen, 11,000 Ordenanza, 8,000 Spanish troops, 2,500 British artillery men and marines
–> Wellington’s men were deployed behind the lines, ready to fight off the French
