The Peninsular War (1807/08-1814) Flashcards
What started the Peninsular War?
Napoleon believed blocking Br trade was the way to defeat Britain
= issued a degree banning all European nations from trading w Br
(the Continental System)
How did European nations respond to Napoleon’s continental system?
many hated it & many ignored it at various points
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Portugal (Br’s oldest ally) openly refused to comply
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France & Spain invaded Portugal (P royal family fled to Br)
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Napoleon turned on Spain & placed his brother on the throne
When did Britain first get involved in the Peninsular War?
answered appeals for Br help against Napoleon
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1st August 1808 Lieutenant General Sir Arthur Wellesley landed with a force of 14,000 men in Portugal
When was the Battle of Vimeiro?
21st August 1808
What happened during Battle of Vimeiro?
- Junot (Fr command) attacked Wellesley’s small force at Vimeiro Hill
- J had a poor opinion of the Br & launched a head on attack (bad idea)
- Fr columns attacked Br lines & were thrown back by devastating firepower
- the French lost 13/23 guns
- Br cavalry pursued BUT went out of control & were thrown into confusion
(set the pattern for many battles to follow - Br win, line vs. column, unreliable Br cav)
What was/happened at the Convention of Cintra?
- W had been in command of & won Battle of V
- BUT his senior = 64 yr old Sir Hew Dalrymple refused to let him follow up his victory & instead organised CofC
= allowed all of J’s army to sail back to France, w all of their loot & weapons, on Br ships!!!
- the men were called back to Br to explain themselves & Sir John Moore was left in command
What was Moore’s Retreat to Corunna?
- N decided to go to Spain/Portugal himself & brought 200,000 men with him
- N smashed Spa forces & Moore who was marching into Spain w only 23,000 men
- Moore was forced to retreat towards the Port of Corunna
- supplies were short, conditions awful, hounded/chased the whole way by the Fr
- 16th/17th January 1809 Moore fought a desperate rear-guard action at Corunna
- the Br army escaped by sea but Moore died heroically
- w the Br sent packing N returned to Fr (he would never come back & instead left the rest of the war to various other french marshals)
When did Wellesley return to Portugal?
April 1809 an exonerated Wellesley returned to Portugal & took command over all Br & Portugese forces
What was Wellesley’s victory just prior to the Battle of Talavera?
12th May defeated the French at Oporto
- allowed him to enter Spain & combine his forces w a Sp army under General Cuesta
W had a good chance to attack but the Sp refused to fight on a Sunday
When was the Battle of Talevera & who won?
27th & 28th July 1809
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Wellesley defeated a Fr amy under King Joseph Bonaparte & Marshal Victor
How did the Spanish perform during the Battle of Talavera?
- early on in the battle the Fr cavalry launched a probing attack on the Spanish
- the Spanish fired a volley while the Fr were still way, way out of range
- frightened by their own muskets 4 battalions of Sp ran away
- around 2,000 fled the field & looted Br baggage on their way
How did the British fare during the Battle of Talavera?
- at one point in the battle some Br units perused (chase after) too far & were sent back into confusion
- W popped up at exactly the right moment & ordered in another unit to plug the gap
- disciplined Br vollies again proved devastating
- at one point the 23rd Light Dragoond went out of control & charged off to be mauled by Fr cavalry (again shows unreliable Br cav)
What were the Br losses after the Battle of Talavera?
- grass fires raged after the battle which sadly killed many of the wounded
- Talavera was a costly victory = Br casualtird totalled 5,500 men (25% of the force!)
What happened to Wellesley after the Battle of Talavera?
Wellesley was made Viscount Wellington of Talavera as a well done
What did W do after the Battle of Talavera?
retreated back into Portugal
- he left 1,500 Br wounded in Cuesta’s care after the battle, C abandoned them
What did W do in Portugal after Talavera?
W ordered Sir Richard Fletcher, Royal Engineers (who was overseeing the construction) to build vast defences around Lisbon
- these became known as the lines of Torres Vedras
What did W do in September 1809?
W defeated French Marshal Massena at the Battle of Bussaco & then retreated behind the Line of Torres Vedras
(Bussaco = great example of reverse slope tactic - Br troops appeared from nowhere!)
What did Massena do in response to W retreating to the LTV?
obvious that Massena couldn’t break through so sat there & did nothing
- his army started to die from disease & starvation
- Massena retreated
When were the Battles of Fuentes de Onoro & Albuera?
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who won?
1811 - Fuentes de Onoro & Albuera
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Wellington
= disgraced Massena was replaced w Marshal Marmont
What famously happened during the Battle of Albuera?
Colonel William Inglis of the 57th Foot was wounded - could be heard throughout the battle calmly repeating
“Die hard 57th, die hard!”
nickname = the “Die-Hards”
What famously happened during the Battle of Fuentes de Onoro?
7th Division found itself cut off & needed to retreat
- the Light Division & the Br Cav went in to rescue it
- fought a textbook fighting retreat
- showed how excellent the Br army was
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when W sent in the 88th & 74th into the village brutal hand to hand fighting took place
When was the siege of Ciudad Rodrigo?
+ siege of Badajoz?
January 1812
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April 1812
What were CR & B?
border fortresses that W had to lay siege to to continue his advance into Spain
Which battle was a blood bath?
Badajoz in particular was a blood bath
- the Br lost 4800 men & Badajoz only fell to a divisionary attack on the other side of town (from the 88th)
even the next day the Br couldn’t climb up the breech & that’s with no one defending it!
