The Peninsular Wars (2) Flashcards
What were the lines of Torres Vedras?
- A year prior Wellington ordered construction of a network of 20-30 miles of formidable defence North of Lisbon
Who constructed the lines of Torres Vedras?
- Colonel Richard Fletcher commanded the Royal Engineers
- Use of Portuguese labour supervised by 150 British soldiers and 18 engineers
What were the 3 defensive rings of the lines of Torres Vedras?
1) 26 mile Northern most line which ran from the Atlantic to the River Tagus, with linked forts and earthworks covering the pass through to Lisbon
2) A stronger line was built behind the first, the RN protected The Atlantic flank and gunboats on the Tagus
3) Line was used to protect the army if they were pushed back and had to escape by sea
What system of communication was used and how were refugees looked after in the lines of Torres Vedras?
- Semaphore System allowed for messages to be flagged from the Atlantic to the Tagus in 7 minutes
- Behind the lines 500 square miles of defence and safety for 200,000 Portuguese refugees which gained supplies from British ships
Who manned the lines of Torres Vedras?
- 25,000 Portuguese militia, 11,000 Ordenanza, 8,000 Spanish and 2,500 British artilrrymen and marines
- Wellington had an army of 60,000 to fight the French when needed
When did Massena finally withdraw from the lines, how did Wellington isolate him and his army?
- Mid-November finally withdrew 30 miles to positions stretching between Santarem and Rio Maior to be protected by earthworks and marshes
- Massena was isolated as the Portuguese militia and ordenanza prevented his communication with Spain
Why did Wellington make no effort to attack after Massena retreated from the lines of Torres Vedras?
- Wellington knew starvation and disease would do more damage so he did not attack during the winter
- Feb 1811, over 500 French were dying each week, March Massena retreated back to Spain
- Massena lost 20,000-30,000 men and masses of equipment, except Almeida Portugal was now free
Where did Wellington and Beresford go in 1811?
- Beresford was sent with 20,000 men to deal with Soult in the south and recapture Badajoz
- Wellington with 35,000 troops besieged Almeida
When did allies repel an attack on Fuentes de Onoro and what was the result of this?
- 3rd May 1811
- Massena attacked two days later but was made to retreat due to them lacking ammunition
- French forces escaped in Almeida but Massena was not replaced by Marshal Marmont
How was Beresford doing in the South besieging Badajoz?
Beresford besieged Badajoz and Soult set out with 24,000 men to fight back
When did Beresford encounter Soult in Albuera? What happened?
- Both armies met on the 16th May 1811
- Soult outmanoeuvred the British but the 3700 British held up 7800 French infantry, carnage continued in a packed two acres of mud
- After the British broke through Soult lost 8000 men and the British suffered 5936 casualties
Why was Beresford replaced despite pushing back the French so successfully at Albuera? What happened at Badajoz after the British victory?
- Wellington could not afford another victory where the British lose so many people
- Beresford was not given independent command and Hill took over the south
- French reinforcements caused allies to leave Badajoz
In 1812 why did Wellington want to capture Cuidad Rodrigo and Badajoz?
- They were the northern and southern gateways into Spain
What happened at Wellingtons besiege of Cuidad Rodrigo? (The British were very brutal in this)
- Early January 1812, Wellington besieged by making two breaches in the fortress walls with his guns
- Night of 19-20 January his men captured the town in 2 hours, drinking, looting and raping
- Both French and British lost around 500 men but the British took 500 French troops as prisoner
When did Wellington reach Badajoz and why did he have to capture it quickly?
- Reached the fortress (it had better defence than Cuidad Rodrigo) in mid-March
- He needed to take it quickly as Marmont was threatening Cuidad Rodrigo
What happened at Wellingtons taking over of Badajoz?
- 6th April 1812 the walls of the town were breached in three places
- British attackers lost nearly 5000 men but managed to capture Badajoz
- Wellington then moved north to stop Marmonts advance at Cuidad Rodrigo
Why did Wellington look to move on Salamanca?
- French forces were weakened in Spain due to Napoleons campaign against Russia in 1812
- 230,000 French troops remained in Spain but were holding down the country
- This allowed Wellington to move to Salamanca with both sides having around 48,500 men
What happened at the Battle of Salamanca?
- Both armies marched and counter marched till on the 22nd July Wellington struck Marmonts over extended army
- The British cavalry spearheaded the French causing them to lose 14,000 and flee
- The British only lost 5214
When did Wellington enter Madrid and where did he continue advancing?
- Entered Madrid on the 12th August 1812
- He continued northwards reaching Burgos in mid-September
Was Wellington successful in getting Burgos?
- The defences were stronger than he expected, he retreated on 21st October
- He managed to join forces with Hill at Salamanca early November but was threatened by the French big army the entire way there
After failing to get Burgos where did Wellington continue his retreat?
- Continued retreating till Almeida and his army was wet, fatigued, hungry and were harassed by enemy cavalry
- Morale improved when the British troops improved when equipment arrived with reinforcements
After Burgos what made it likely the French would not receive reinforcements?
- Napoleon suffered disasters in Russia, losing tens of thousands men on the retreat from Moscow
Where did Wellingtons army of 80,000 advance to go for the Pyrenees?
- May 1813 they advanced 300 miles in less than 30 days through parts of Spain that were not fit for large armies
- Spanish guerrillas ensured Wellington knew about French whereabouts
When was the Battle of Vitoria and what was the result?
- 21st June 1813 Wellington attacked Joseph Bonapartes army of 66,000
- The French lost 8000 men, 3000 convoy wagons, carriages and carts
- Lost all but 2/153 guns
