Peninsular War

1801 map of Spain and Portugal

The Peninsular War (1808-1814) was the major theatre of war between Britain and Napoleonic France after was declared with Napoleon in 1803 after the Peace of Amiens. As London Life is set in 1811, with current threads taking place in May, this page will only go up to the Battle of Albuera (16th May 1811) news of which which was not reported in London until the end of May

Please note that this article can only constitute a very brief introduction to the events and battles of the Peninsular War. For those who wish to look deeper into this fascinating part of British history, there are numerous works available, some of which are listed at the end of this article. This article is therefore a work in progress. Article by Sharpie

Background

In 1807, France and Spain were still allies, although somewhat reluctantly so on the part of Spain, and armies of both nations occupied Portugal which was a British ally. In November 1807, the Portuguese royal family fled to Brazil, then a part of the Portuguese empire. In 1808, Napoleon set his brother on the Spanish throne, deposing and imprisoning the Spanish king Charles IV, and the Crown Prince, Ferdinand. This led directly to the uprising of the 'Dos de Mayo', the Second of May.

The Peninsular War itself consisted mainly of pitched battles between the British and French armies, and a guerilla warfare conducted by Spanish irregulars – it was this that introduced the term 'guerilla warfare' to the English language. This 'little war' (a translation of the Spanish word guerilla) was so effective that by 1813, a single French officer carrying a despatch had to be accompanied by a whole cavalry squadron for his own protection, whereas the British Exploring Officers could ride alone and unaccompanied in full uniform, even behind enemy lines. (They wore uniform so that they would not be shot as spies in the event of capture by the French.)

The first British forces arrived in Portugal in August of 1808 with Sir Arthur Wellesley in command. On the British march north, the first clash between armies occurred, between a detachment of the 95th Rifles and French pickets at Brilos. The battles of Roliça, on the 17th of August, and Vimeiro, mere days later on the 21st, while British victories, led to the controversial Convention of Cintra. The Convention allowed the defeated French army of Portugal under Marshal Jean-Andoche Junot to return to France aboard ships of the Royal Navy, with all of their arms, baggage, and personal belongings.

Public reception of the Convention was decidedly negative and a military inquiry into the whole affair reluctantly approved and accepted the Convention’s articles. This same inquiry required the three generals responsible for the Convention to be in London, leaving the British army in Portugal in the capable hands of Sir John Moore. Moore took the army into Spain, making it as far as Madrid before being forced to retreat back to Portugal. The infamous Retreat was made through a harsh Spanish winter and ended with the British making their last stand with their backs to the sea at Corunna. The pursuing French were held off long enough for the British army to be evacuated by the Royal Navy.

Sir Arthur Wellesley returned to Portugal in the spring of 1809. The first battle of the renewed Peninsular campaign was fought at Oporto as the British marched north from Lisbon, as they had done the previous year. The British advance continued until July when the army reached Talavera de la Reyna in Spain. On the 27th and 28th July, the French made repeated attacks on the allied lines, but were repulsed each time. The British losses were 'very large indeed', numbering more than 5,400 officers and men killed, wounded, and missing. By contrast, the French suffered more than 7,000 casualties - many of these were wounded men unable to escape the grass fires on the Cerro de Medellin.

However, despite the battle being a victory for the British, Wellesley was forced to retreat back into Portugal as his Spanish allies did not produce the much-needed supplies they had promised, and without which his army could not press home the advantage they had gained.

Battle of Rolica, 17th August 1808

The Battle of Rolica was the first major clash between British and French forces in the Iberian Peninsula. The British were commanded by General Sir Arthur Wellesley, and the French were under the command of General Henri Delaborde. Although it was a British victory, the French retired from the field of battle in good order and were not pursued by the British victors.

At the beginning of the battle, the French occupied a position nor'nor'west of the Portuguese village of Rolica. Wellesley, whose forces outnumbered the French by 3:1, attempted a double outflanking manoeuvre, sending Colonel Trant to the west and a stronger force to the east under the command of Generals Ferguson and Bowes. This larger force was accompanied by six guns. Wellesley remained in the centre, distracting the French with a show of noise. Wellesley tried this manoeuvre twice, but the French fell back each time, ending up south and east of the village at the top of a steep hill.

At this point, the 29th under the command of Colonel Lake dashed up a gully, which mistake cost Lake and most of the 29th their lives, but prompted a relief attack by the British. The British made three attacks, all of which were repulsed by the French, while Delaborde was hoping for reinforcements to arrive. By the end of the afternoon, Wellesley had gained the summit of the hill, and Ferguson arrived with his troops from the east, having succeeded in his outflanking manoeuvre.

General Delaborde began to withdraw in good order, supported by his cavalry. However, discipline eventually gave way and the French broke and ran. The British did not have cavalry present in order to pursue and the French eventually reached Montachique, near Torres Vedras.

Battle of Vimeiro, 21st August 1808

After the Battle of Rolica, Wellesley had established a position near Vimeiro. Holding the village plus some ridges to the west, he covered a beachhead at Maceira Bay. As most of his forces had arrived by the 20th August, Wellesley planned to march on Lisbon. The core of his army was formed of eight infantry brigades, which could act independently, as well as 240 mounted men of the 20th Light Dragoons under Colonel Taylor. Wellesley had about 20,000 men under his command, facing 14,000 French under the overall command of General Junot, who organised them into two infantry divisions, each formed of two brigades, and a cavalry division. Junot also had 2100 men in reserve, formed by taking the grenadiers from each of his infantry battalions. In addition, the French had 23 cannon.

Wellesley began by placing two divisions, under Fane and Anstruther, in front of the village of Vimeiro, with Acland's division in support. To begin with, the five remaining divisions only held the western ridge. Junot initially planned to send three of his four infantry brigades to capture the village while his remaining brigade and some of his cavalry were to capture an empty ridge to the north-east. Wellesley detected this manoeuvre and sent three divisions, under Nightingall, Fergusson and Bowes, to take the ridge first. Once Junot realised that the ridge was occupied by British troops, he detached one of the three brigades from the attack on the village in order to aid in the outflanking manoeuvre to take the ridge. Rather than delay the attack on the village until the outflanking manoeuvre was complete, he launched his attack immediately.

Thomeiere's brigade of 21, 000 men, supported by three cannon, approached the British position. The first company was in a formation 40 men wide and three deep, and the rest of the brigade formed behind it, giving a 'column' of 40 men wide by about 48 deep, which could quickly deploy into line to oppose the two-deep British line. This column was screened, as was usual with the French, by skirmishers.

Fane deployed his own skirmishers to counter the French light troops. The four companies he deployed were Riflemen of the 95th and 5/60th, armed with the Baker rifle. These riflemen outnumbered and outfought the French skirmishers, who fell back to the safety of the column, which then blundered into the 50th (West Kent) Regiment, of 945 men formed in a line two men deep. Several companies of the 50th wheeled inwards towards the flanks of the French column in order to use their fire to best effect. Unable to deploy into line and return fire effectively, the French column broke and fled.

A similar fate overtook Charlot's brigade, which was in a very narrow column when it came in contact with Anstruther's brigade which had been hidden behind a crest of the hill, and was taken in the flank by a second battalion before it could deploy. Unable to return fire, Charlot's men likewise broke and fled.

Seeing that the battle was going against him, Junot then committed his grenadiers to the fray. The first two battalions of grenadiers attacked the same area as the previous two columns and were repulsed. The second two battalions of grenadiers went to the right and succeeded in breaking through to the village before succumbing to a counter-attack by Anstruther and Acland. The men of the 20th Light Dragoons fell on the retreating French grenadiers and routed them, although their success led them to charge too far and they were themselves routed in turn by Margaron's division of French cavalry, who killed about a quarter of the British Light Dragoons including Colonel Taylor.

Solignac' brigade attacked the north-eastern ridge as Brenier's men had got lost in the hills on the way there. They formed up three battalions abreast, but each battalion was still only one company wide and eight companies deep, and waited too long before forming into a three-deep line, if they had intended to do so, as they marched into Fergusson's and Nightingall's brigades, which were already in line two-deep. Unable to return fire, Solignac's men also broke and fled.

Brenier's men followed the sounds of the battle and came up four battalions abreast, surprising two British battalions which had let their guard down after defeating Solignac's brigade. The French pressed on until they met the 29th Regiment, formed in line, and stopped. The other two regiments quickly rallied beside their comrades of the 29th and Brenier's brigade were soon routed.

Wellesley had been superseded during the battle by Harry Burrard, who had decided to let him keep command while the fighting was still ongoing, only taking command once the battle was clearly won. Wellesley pressed him to take advantage of the British victory and pursue the defeated French but Burrard dithered and refused to do so.

The Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro, 3rd-5th May 1811

An ox cart of the type used to transport the wounded. The solid wheels were fixed to the axle which rotated, producing a piercing squeal

The battle of Fuentes de Oñoro was an affair that lasted three days, from the 3rd to the 5th of May, 1811. The French, under the command of Marshal Masséna, opened the battle by advancing on the village of Fuentes de Oñoro itself. This force was comprised of ten battalions of infantry, yet it was not strong enough to capture the entire village. In fact, it was pushed back by a stiff British counter-attack made by only three battalions. The village was the scene of fighting all day. The French made several attempts to capture the village but they were frustrated by a 'most gallant' defence overseen by Lieutenant Colonel Williams of the 60th Rifles.

Both sides spent the following day sorting out their lines, collecting their wounded and dead, and in Masséna's case, laying plans for a fresh attack on the 5th. The French opened their attack shortly after dawn, carrying the village of Posobello at point of bayonet and pressing an assault against the right side of the British line. A charge was made by the Spanish guerrillas, under the command of Julian Sanchez, and was thoroughly routed. In the village of Fuentes de Oñoro itself, the fighting see-sawed back and forth much as it had on the 3rd. "Every street, and every angle of a street, were the different theatres for the combatants; inch by inch was gained and lost in turn... our Highlanders lay dead in heaps, while the other regiments, though less remarkable in dress, were scarcely less so in the numbers of their slain."

Fuentes de Oñoro was in French hands by midday. The battle had been raging for many hours and the British situation was desperate. Lieutenant Colonel Wallace of the 88th Foot was ordered to take his regiment forward to relieve the battered Highlanders and Riflemen. With cool purpose, the Connaught Rangers advanced with bayonets fixed and drove the French from the village. Within two hours, the fighting had subsided. Grattan observed that "towards evening the firing ceased altogether, and it was a gratifying sight to behold the soldiers of both armies, who but a few hours before were massacreing[sic] each other, mutually assisting to remove the wounded to their respective sides of the river." He gives the total loss to both armies as 8,000 men but this is an overestimation. The British suffered a little more than 1,500 wounded and killed, while the figures for French losses vary between 2,100 and 4,500.

Further Reading

Web Links

Peninsular War - Wikipedia Napoleon Guide: Battles of the Peninsular War Battle of Rolica - Wikipedia Battle of Vimeiro - Wikipedia

Books

Fletcher, I. Galloping at Everything: The British Cavalry in the Peninsular War and at Waterloo: A Reappraisal, Spellmount, 1999

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