OPERATIONS IN SPAIN.
As soon as Lord Wellington had captured Badajoz he endeavoured to put the place into a state of defence. His lordship, however, had but little time to attend to this important measure. Marmont was at this time making himself strong in the north, and was blockading both the Spanish fortress of Ciudad Rodrigo and the fortress of Almeida. Leaving General Hill in the south, therefore, his lordship, on the 13th of April moved the main body of his army back to the north. Marmont now retreated to Salamanca, hoping to effect a junction with Soult; but he was prevented from this step by the capture of the strong forts which the French had erected at Almaraz on the Tagus, and which were captured by General Hill. At length, on the 13th of June, Lord Wellington broke up from his cantonments between the Coa and the Agueda with about 40,000 men, leaving General Hill near Almaraz with 12,000 more. As his lordship advanced into Spain, he received reports that Marmont was about to be re-enforced by a division consisting of nearly seven thousand men. Marmont already counted 40,000 infantry, 3000 artillery, and 4000 cavalry, so that he already had a decided superiority in numbers. Still Wellington pursued his march, and the whole of his army arrived upon the Val Musa rivulet, about six miles from Salamanca, on the 16th of June. Some of the cavalry and infantry of the enemy lay in front of the town of Salamanca; but they were driven in by the British, and Marmont evacuated the town in the night, leaving a garrison of some eight hundred men, in forts constructed on the rains of colleges and convents, which commanded the bridge that crosses the river Tormes. The allies, however, forded the river in places above and below the bridge, and on the 17th entered the town. Marmont made some efforts to relieve the forts which were now invested; but they were all taken by the 27th, and he then took up a strong position on the northern bank of the Duero. He was followed by Wellington, who took up a line on the southern bank of that river directly opposite to his opponent. Early in July Marmont was re-enforced by the expected division, and on the 11th of that month he threw two divisions across the Duero at Toro, when Wellington moved his army to the left to concentrate it on the Guareha, an affluent of the Duero. Marmont now ascended the northern bank of the river with his whole army, and again crossed over to the southern bank of the Duero, and assembled at Nava del Bey. He succeeded in re-establishing his communications with King Joseph and the army of the centre, which was advancing from Madrid to join him. The two armies remained on the opposite banks of the Guarena till the 20th of July, on which day they moved towards the Tormes in parallel lines. They crossed the Tormes on the following day; the allied army passing by the bridge of Salamanca, and the French by the fords higher up the river. The hostile troops were still facing each other, and both armies were still near Salamanca. In the course of the night Lord Wellington was informed that Marmont was about to be joined by the cavalry and horse-artillery of the north. No time was to be lost, and his lordship determined, if circumstances should not permit him to attack Marmont on the morrow, he would then move towards Ciudad Rodrigo. The morning of the morrow was spent in anxious suspense by the allies, birt the enemy gave no indication of his design to commence battle till noon, when some confusion was observed in his ranks. After a great variety of skilful manouvres on both sides, Marmont, inspired with the hope of destroying at one blow the whole English army, extended his line in order to enclose his allies within the position which they had taken up. This was an error of which Wellington immediately took advantage. Nearly the whole of his army was brought opposite to the enemy’s left, and an attack was commenced upon that wing. Three divisions, under Generals Leith, Cole, and Cotton, charged in front, while General Pakenham formed another across the enemy’s flank. This movement decided the victory. The left wing first, then the centre, and finally the right wing were defeated, and as the evening closed the whole force of the enemy was in total rout. The first great blow was given to the power of the French in Spain. In this battle the French lost three generals slain, and Marmont, Bonnet, and Clausel were wounded. Their total loss in killed and wounded was very great, and they left 7000 prisoners, eleven guns, and two eagles in the hands of the conquerors. The loss of the allies was also great, nearly 5000 being slain and wounded: among the slain was General Le Marchant, and among the wounded Generals Beresford, Leith, Cole, Spry, and Cotton; The pursuit of the enemy was renewed next day beyond the Tormes, when the British troops succeeded in capturing three brigades. In the course of the day Marmont was joined by a corps of 1200 cavalry from the army of the north, which covered the retreat of the centre as it hastened toward Valladolid. The pursuit was continued on the 24th, and the enemy was driven from Valladolid towards Burgos. Lord Wellington reached Valladolid the eighth day after the battle, and here he gave over the pursuit in order to make another important movement. On the day after the battle of Salamanca King Joseph had marched from the Escurial with 20,000 men, for the purpose of joining Marmont. On arriving at Arevalo he heard of Marmont’s defeat, and he then marched off by the right to Segovia, to attempt a diversion in favour of Clausel, who was now leading the retreating army. Lord Wellington therefore quitted Valladolid, recrossed the Duero, and marched against King Joseph, leaving a force on the Duero under General Paget to watch Clausel. King Joseph now retreated towards Madrid, whither he was followed by Lord Wellington, and from whence he was driven by his lordship. The British forces entered Madrid on the 12th of August, and was received with enthusiastic acclamations. Joseph fled to the left bank of the Tagus to rally his army between Aranjuez and Toledo, leaving a garrison in the Retiro palace. The troops found in the Retiro, however, were made prisoners of war on the 14th of August, so that Lord Wellington had complete possession of the Spanish capital. He appointed Don Carlos de Espaha Governor of Madrid, and the new constitution which the Cortes had made at Cadiz was proclaimed with great exultation. The air resounded with the shouts of “Long live the Duke of Ciudad Rodrigo! long live Wellington!” Subsequently a deputation waited upon his lordship with a congratulatory address, to which he wisely replied: “The events of the war are in the hands of Providence.”
In consequence of the capture of Madrid Soult raised the blockade of Cadiz, abandoned the whole of Western Andalusia, and concentrated his forces in Grenada. His retreat to Grenada was very disastrous: his army suffered greatly from the attacks of the allied force of the English and Spanish, the occasional attacks of the armed peasantry, and from the excessive heat and famine. In the meantime General Hill advanced from the Guadiana to the Tagus, and connected his operations with those of Wellington. On his approach, Joseph Buonaparte abandoned the line of the Tagus, and fell back to Almanza in Murcia, that he might preserve the line of communication with Soult in Granada, and Suchet on the borders of Valencia and Catalonia. By the close of August General Hill occupied all the places on the south of Madrid, and which occupation enabled him to cover the right of the allied army. These successes, however, were far from completing the recovery of Spain, and the situation of Lord Wellington in the Spanish capital was yet very critical. So ineffective was the aid which the natives afforded, and so great the military power which yet remained to be subdued, that a triumphant result was still uncertain. In a little time, indeed, Lord Wellington saw himself menaced by the three armies of the south, the centre, and the north, and he was compelled to retreat from Madrid. Before he commenced his retreat he made an attempt to capture Burgos: an attempt which failed chiefly from want of the requisite means of success. Lord Wellington now moved towards the Duero, and marched upon Salamanca, where he hoped to establish himself; but Soult having united his forces with those of Souham, which had advanced from Burgos, obliged him to continue his retreat. He effected his retreat in a masterly manner, before an army of 90,000 men, against which he could only oppose about 50,000, and on the 24th of November, he fixed his head-quarters at Freynada, on the Portuguese frontier. King Joseph now returned once more to Madrid, while Soult, who took the chief command of the combined French armies, established his head-quarters at Toledo, with his right wing resting on Salamanca. A great outcry was raised against Lord Wellington in England, on account of this retreat; but, fortunately, ministers were satisfied with the explanation of his motives, and resolved to send him all the assistance in their power. His lordship employed the winter months in rendering his army more effective, that he might in the ensuing campaign enter on a more decisive and extended course of operations. For this purpose he proceeded to Cadiz, to make arrangements for the co-operation of the Spanish armies, when it was settled that 50,000 troops should be placed at his disposal. This was full proof that the Cortes still placed confidence in him. They augured, indeed, that under the direction of so great a leader, those troops would pitch their tents on the banks of the Seine. The president remarked, “It would not be the first time that the Spanish lions had there trampled on the old fleur-de-lys of France.”