Part 9

Lord Wellington placed his army on the ground marked out for it in the course of the 8th, 9th, and 10th of October. The lines, as they have been termed, extended from Alhandra to the mouth of the Zizandra; the whole distance may be computed at about twenty-five miles from right to left. The term of lines was but little applicable to them; the defences procured by art were confined to closed redoubts placed upon the most essential points, and calculated to resist, although the enemy’s troops might have established themselves in their rear. They were thus enabled to protect the formation of the army upon any point attacked, before the enemy could bring cannon in operation with the troops which he might have pushed forward between them.

These forts were occupied, (with very few exceptions), not by the regular army destined to act in the field, but by the militia, of which that of Lisbon formed a part, mixed up with a certain number of troops of the line. Their defence was thus intrusted to a description of force, capable of the service imposed upon it, but which would have been of trifling assistance in a field of battle. Each redoubt was provisioned for a certain time, and was supplied with the ammunition, _&c._, necessary for its protracted defence. The post of Alhandra, which formed the right of the whole position, was strong by nature, and was, besides, fortified by several redoubts; its defence was assisted by the gun-boats in the Tagus. The corps under the orders of Lieutenant General Hill occupied this part of the position. It defended the great approach to Lisbon, and its possession was of the greatest importance. Lieutenant General Hill communicated by his left, which was placed on the ground at the back of Arruda, on the Sierra de Monte Agraça, with the corps of the centre, which occupied the heights above Sobral. These heights, over which passed the second great road to Lisbon, having been fortified as much as the nature of the ground would admit, formed the principal point of defence on this part of the line. From this place towards the left, and in the vicinity of Ribaldiera, there were several passes into the main position, all of which were fortified; and the principal force of the army was concentrated in rear of them. The next points of importance were Runa and Undesquiera, supported by the line of heights in their rear; they were upon the road leading from Sobral to Torres Vedras, and were of the most essential consequence, since they commanded the only pass to the latter place within the Monte Junto; an advantage important to the strength of the whole position, and which never could with safety be abandoned. These posts were well fortified; were occupied by a considerable corps, and supported by the force under Major General Picton at Torres Vedras.

It is necessary to give some description of Monte Junto, which has just been mentioned; for, although it was without the position, yet it was one of the main features which contributed to its general strength. This mountain runs directly north from Runa, for a distance of twelve or fourteen miles; there are no great roads or communications leading over it; the valley to the eastward, which divides it from Sobral, is impassable; it prevents, therefore, all military communication for an army from that town to Torres Vedras (excepting that stated as being occupied,) but round its northern point, and thus requiring a march of at least two days. The difficulty of passing across this mountain was so great that two corps separated by it could have carried no assistance to each other, if either had been attacked. There were therefore two portions of the British position, one that might be assailed from the east of Monte Junto, the other, (of which Torres Vedras was the right, and the sea at the mouth of the Zizandra the left) which might be attacked from the west. Lord Wellington’s communication from one to the other of these branches of his whole position was perfectly safe and easy; and in a few hours the greater part of his troops could be transported to the defence of either; whereas the direct contrary was the case, as has been shewn, with the enemy. This formed one of the main features of the strength of the lines.

Torres Vedras and the ground about it was strongly fortified; forts were continued, at intervals, to the sea; and, although this part of the position was never menaced, yet it was occupied by garrisons, and was prepared to resist any attack that should be made upon it.

In rear of this line of positions was a second, extending from the back of Alverca to Bucellas, thence along the Sierra di Serves and the Sierra di Barca to Montachique, from whence by the park wall of Mafra to the rear of Gradel, and along the line of heights to the mouth of the St. Lorenzo. Betwixt these two lines of positions, there were strong works at Enxara di Cavalhieros, at Carasquiera, and Mattacores, covering the communication between them. To the south, and on the other side of the Tagus, the heights which commanded the town and anchorage of Lisbon were also fortified, and a corps of 10,000 men, partly marines from the fleet, were destined to defend them; they extended from Almada to the fort called Bugia, opposite Fort St. Julian’s. These last defences were carried into effect with a view to resisting any force the enemy might bring through the Alemtejo against the capital, which at one time was menaced by the corps under Marshal Mortier, then assembled on the frontier of that province.

Massena arrived with the 6th and 8th corps of his army at Sobral on the 10th, 11th, and 12th of October. The 2d corps followed Lieutenant General Hill upon Alhandra. These troops were considerably fatigued with the forced marches they had in vain been making to come up with Lord Wellington’s army; the rain which had fallen since the 8th instant had rendered the roads extremely bad, particularly about Sobral; so that the men, and particularly the horses, were almost exhausted when they arrived in front of our positions.

Massena occupied himself the first days with reconnoitring the ground on which Lord Wellington had placed his army; the task was difficult; it was so concealed behind the hills that a very small part of it could be discovered; enough, however, was perceptible to convince him that an attack was no easy undertaking. Lord Wellington occupied a redoubt at the foot of the great height above Sobral; the French established one at a short distance, and opposite to it. After several reconnoitres, Massena determined to carry the British redoubt. The troops which occupied it were commanded by Colonel the Honourable H. Cadogan, of the 73d Regiment. Massena placed himself on a hill to see the success of his first operation against our lines. He was disappointed, his chosen troops were repulsed, and in sight of both armies the French redoubt was carried and maintained. From this moment no event of any consequence took place for a considerable length of time. Skirmishes in the rear of the French army, and particularly from the village of Ramalhal, where the brigade of British cavalry under Major General De Grey was posted, were almost the only military events which took place. These were chiefly brought about by parties of the French, who, in search of provisions, were continually met by Lord Wellington’s patroles, and in which a number of prisoners were taken.

It is of consequence here to take a general view of the situation in which the French army was placed. Massena, when he entered Portugal, commanded a force of 72,000 effective men. The plan of operations he adopted was to break in at once upon Lord Wellington’s defences; to pursue him till he forced him to a battle; to allow no circumstances to arrest this decision, and finish thus at one blow the campaign intrusted to his conduct. In pursuance of his system, he marched, with all the corps of his army concentrated, into the heart of Portugal, taking his line direct upon Coimbra, at which place, by turning Lord Wellington’s left, he hoped to have arrived almost without resistance. In effecting this movement, he left no garrisons behind him; he occupied no posts to secure even his communication with Spain, or to ensure him any supplies or protection from the rear of his army. Such considerations were all sacrificed to preserve his greater numerical force for the battle by which he hoped at once to decide the fate of Portugal. The first interruption to this arrangement of the campaign, was the assembling of the whole British army at Busaco, and the subsequent defeat of the French. On the day on which this took place, Massena’s communication with Spain was cut off by a force of Portuguese militia, upon the frontiers near Pinhel and Celorico. He determined, however, to continue his original movement; and, hoping to conceal his march through the Sierra of Caramula, expected again to turn Lord Wellington, and fight a battle to advantage in the open country, between Busaco and Coimbra. These hopes were frustrated. Perceiving the difficulties into which the enemy was plunging, Lord Wellington retired through Coimbra, and abandoned to him that deserted town and country. Arrived at this point, Marshal Massena must have begun to feel the difficulties of his situation. He was encumbered with 5,000 wounded from the battle of Busaco; he was without the security of any supply of provisions, in the midst of a most inimical and exasperated population; he was without the means of communicating with Spain. If he remained where he was, the boasted conquest of Portugal in a campaign was at an end; the difficulties to which he must have exposed himself, by the extension of his army to procure provisions, must also have had weight with him; and the uncertainty as to our real object in so rapid a retreat, must have induced him to expect some great result from the bolder measure of pursuing the allied army. In conformity to this feeling, without leaving any protection for his rear, or even for his wounded, Marshal Massena conducted his army to Sobral. His progress here was totally arrested.

The strength of the position occupied by us was such, as, with the recollection of Busaco fresh upon him, Massena dared not attack; he was, therefore, reduced at once to the defensive; his mighty vengeance was conducted harmless to this unpromising position.

The first news, which must have been unpleasant to Marshal Massena, was the capture of Coimbra, with all the French wounded, by a corps of Portuguese militia, under Colonel Trant. The loss of the troops was not alone to be lamented in this case; it brought with it the disastrous conviction, that the French army was insulated on the ground on which it stood; no line of communication, no extent of country in subjection, from which to draw resources, remained to it. Wherever a Frenchman stood, for the moment, he commanded and desolated the spot; removed from it, all was in hostility against him. The march of the French, through Portugal to the lines, was most singular. The troops seldom saw an inhabitant; they could procure no guides; deserters from them, or prisoners, could never state the towns or villages from whence they came, though, in some instances, they had been weeks in the same places; they had seen no native to instruct them in their names. In this state of things, the French army began early to suffer from privations of every sort; its foraging parties were scouring the country in the rear, and upon their success depended chiefly the provisioning of the troops. The fatigue and sickness, consequent on this mode of living, were considerable. The French soldiers were generally bivouacked along the line they occupied, which, without shelter in the rainy season, increased the misery of their situation. By these causes, their army gradually diminished; while, on the contrary, that under Lord Wellington, excellently provided with all that was necessary, and mostly under cover in the villages within the position, was gaining strength and improving in discipline every day. The Spanish corps, under the orders of the Marquis of Romana, had joined the allied army from the frontiers of Estremadura; so that the force at this time, (the end of October and beginning of November) within the lines, was considerably greater than that of the enemy. Under these circumstances, Lord Wellington saw there was an opportunity of attacking Massena with advantage. The problem, whether it were wise to do so or not, engaged his most serious attention. He was persuaded, that if he attacked, he could secure a victory; to attempt it he was induced by every personal consideration; the glory which would have accrued to him in success would at that time have been immense; in England the word of Buonaparte, that his eagles should be planted on the towers of Lisbon, was generally looked upon as a decree which no talent or ability could avert; to have learnt at such a time that our army had defeated the boasted instruments Of this prophesying emperor, would have carried the man who executed such a plan to the pinnacle of greatness. Yet this inducement, as well as the anxious wish of the whole army to attack, had no effect. Lord Wellington was persuaded that the sounder line of conduct was to wait with patience, and in safety, the mischief, which he was satisfied would be brought upon the enemy by want and sickness, and by the continual hostility of the natives. He therefore decided steadily to pursue that plan; he was ever watchful to profit by any advantage which should be afforded; but unless a decided one was given him, he determined to remain on the defensive.

About the beginning of November, Massena found his sick so fast increasing, and his means of obtaining provisions so much diminished, that he was obliged to detach General La Borde’s division of the 6th corps, to form a garrison at Santarem for the protection of an hospital, as well as to assist the foraging parties in that quarter. Lord Wellington made a corresponding movement to prevent the passage of the Tagus, by detaching Major General Fane with a brigade of cavalry into the Alemtejo to assemble opposite to La Borde. In this situation the armies remained in perfect tranquillity till the 15th in the morning, when it was found that during the night the whole French army had retreated. This movement had been carried into effect in such silence, that no suspicion of it had been entertained.

It was the great triumph of Lord Wellington’s skill and foresight, that, without exposing a single man in action, he had since the 10th of October retained at first a superior army in inactivity before him; he had seen it diminish in numbers every day; and, in the end, without its having effected a single purpose, he had obliged it to retire, oppressed with fatigue and sickness. Towards reducing the country it occupied, it had not made the slightest progress; the provisions of the British army were drawn from the northern provinces in its rear; Coimbra continued occupied by the Portuguese militia; Abrantes by the Portuguese garrison; so that it may truly be described as commanding only the ground on which it stood.

The state of Lisbon during the period when the enemy was hardly twenty miles distant from it, deserves to be mentioned. Massena had expected that his near approach would have caused tumult and a revolution; but far from this, as a proof of the extraordinary confidence entertained of Lord Wellington, no town was ever in more perfect quiet; there never appeared in it the slightest symptom of fear or apprehension. The ordinary occupations were continued, although the enemy was but a single march from it. Yet total ruin was known to await the town, if Massena, by succeeding against the allied army, forced an entry into it. The apprehension of such a catastrophe was, however, at no time entertained; implicit reliance on the skill of their chief, and the bravery of the troops, was the universal sentiment of the Portuguese.

The persons whose property had been surrendered to be laid waste by the enemy, shewed the same feelings; the poor peasants, who had abandoned every thing they possessed, were alike persuaded that all was done for the best; and in the whole country there was not a dissenting voice in giving unlimited confidence to Lord Wellington.

As soon as the retreat of the enemy was known, the allied army was put in motion to follow him; his movement was, however, so rapid, that he was not overtaken till within a few miles of Santarem. The rear guard was pushed over the bridge in front of that place, where it took up a strong and formidable position.

Lord Wellington had not pursued the enemy with the whole of his force; suspecting, that it might, in the first instance, be the intention of Massena to move round Monte Junto, he retained Major General Picton’s division in its position at Torres Vedras; he afterwards detached Lieutenant General Hill with the corps under his orders across the Tagus at Valada, with a view of communicating with Abrantes, which it might be the intention of the French to attack, and also to protect the Alemtejo from any offensive operation.

The rest of the army was brought opposite to Santarem. Lord Wellington having received a report from Major General Fane, that the baggage of the French army was retiring towards Thomar, conceived that Massena was altogether falling back; with this idea he determined to attack what appeared to be his rear guard, which was placed upon a small river, the Rio Mayor. A disposition with this view was made; a part of Brigadier General Pack’s brigade was to have passed, supported by a detachment of cavalry, on the right of the French position, about a mile beyond it; Sir William Erskine’s brigade, supported by the Guards, was to have stormed the bridge; while Major General Crawford, with the light division, was to have attacked the enemy’s left, and along the Tagus to have menaced the rear of his advanced position. The rain, which had been very heavy during the preceding days, had, however, so much swelled the river where Brigadier General Pack was to have passed, that it was found impracticable; the enemy also appearing in considerable force, the operation was given up; Lord Wellington still determining to adhere to his defensive system, and deciding rather to fall back again upon his lines than seek the French army, or give it an opportunity of meeting him upon any thing like equal terms.

Massena continued the succeeding days to strengthen his position at Santarem; Lord Wellington retained only his light division in front of it, and placed the rest of his army in echellons to the rear. The head-quarters were placed at Cartaxo; Sir Brent Spencer, with the Guards and Major General Cameron’s brigade, in the same place; Lieutenant General Cole’s division at Azambujo; Major General Leith’s at Alcoentre; Major General A. Campbell’s at Alemquer; Major General Picton’s at Torres Vedras, and the Spaniards at Villa-Franca. Massena threw a bridge over the Zezere at its confluence with the Tagus, as if with the intention of passing a corps for the siege of Abrantes; he was contented, however, with reconnoitring that place, which he never after molested. He placed his army in cantonments stretching as far back as Thomar, Torres Novas, and Alcanede; and in this situation, protected by the position at Santarem, remained in quiet, apparently awaiting reinforcements and orders how to proceed. Lord Wellington saw this with perfect indifference; he was persuaded that the more the enemy was reinforced the greater would be his suffering, and the less the general advantage to his cause in the Peninsula. He determined, therefore, to undertake no operation to prevent it, nor any other which could either cause him risk, or could draw him from his general system of defensive measures.

From this period, the 12th of November 1810, to the 4th of March, 1811, both armies retained their respective positions; the only events of any importance, were the arrival of the 9th corps of 10,000 men, commanded by General Cte. Erlon, which was placed by Massena to protect his right at Leyria; and the junction of 5,000 men, who were brought by General Foy upon his return from Paris, where he had been sent by Massena, soon after his arrival opposite our lines, to render an account of the operations of the French army, and of its situation. Buonaparte received the relation of these events with much indifference; and observed upon the excuses General Foy was directed to make, for the loss of the battle of Busaco, “Ah bah! les Anglais de tout temps ont battu les Français.”

General Gardane, in attempting to carry a corps of 3,000 men to join Massena, was driven back by some Portuguese militia. General Claparede posted himself, with a corps of 8,000 men, in the environs of Guarda; from whence he had several actions with the irregulars in that part of the country, by whom the communication of the French army with Spain had been totally cut off.

During the whole of this period, the French subsisted solely on the plunder of the country they occupied. The irregular manner in which this mode of obtaining supplies was conducted, led to the perpetration of the most revolting atrocities. Torture inflicted upon the inhabitants, to extract from them the secret of their depôts of provisions and property, was one of the expedients most common to the French soldiery. The murder of the peasantry seemed to be committed without remorse; the capture of the women was converted often into a source of profit. Nothing more revolting to the mind of civilized man can be produced, than the list of horrors committed during this lamentable period.

Buonaparte directed Massena to continue his occupation of Portugal, till he could operate with Marshals Mortier and Soult, (to whom he had given orders to advance into the Alemtejo,) and thence combine their movements for an attack on Lord Wellington. In conformity with these views, Marshal Mortier arrived in the beginning of January in Spanish Estremadura; he soon after captured Olivenza, and laid siege to Badajos. Lord Wellington, upon the first notice of these movements, had detached the Spanish corps which had joined him in the lines, to reinforce the corps of General Mendizabel, which was already destined to the protection of these places; he, at the same time, strongly recommended that officer not to fight a battle, but, by taking up a defensive position, (which he pointed out to him,) to give every assistance to the defence of Badajos, and the other fortresses in that quarter.

Unfortunately for Spain, for the interests of the allies, and for those persons who, acquainted with the Marquis of Romana, loved and cherished him for the virtues which adorned his character, he had expired in the beginning of January at Cartaxo; less able hands were now intrusted with the army he had commanded. On the 19th of January, General Mendizabel was attacked in a position close to Badajos by the French army which was besieging it, and totally defeated. Mortier, from that moment, pushed on without interruption the operations of the siege. The place surrendered on the 11th of March, notwithstanding the governor was informed by telegraph that a strong corps of the allied army was coming to his relief, and that Massena was already on his retreat from Santarem. It is a fact worthy of remark, that, in the articles of capitulation for this place, it was stipulated that the garrison should march out by the breach; but when this came to be examined; it was found so far from practicable, that it was necessary to employ some time to make it fit for the passage of the troops. The garrison was stronger than the corps which besieged it; so that taking all the circumstances into consideration, the giving up this important fortress was as extraordinary as it was disastrous.