Three friends in England have continued to give me help of the most invaluable kind. Mr. C. T. Atkinson, Fellow of Exeter College, has looked through the whole of my proofs, and furnished me with innumerable notes, which enabled me to add to the accuracy of my narrative. He has also written me an appendix, [No. XIV], concerning the English troops which in 1812 operated on the East coast of Spain—and the others which formed the garrisons of Gibraltar, Cadiz, and Tarifa. The Hon. John Fortescue, the historian of the British army, has not only answered at length my queries on many obscure problems, but has lent me the file of his transcripts of French dispatches for 1812, a good many of which, and those of high importance, were unknown to me. They were especially valuable for Soult’s operations. Our narratives of the campaigns of 1812 will appear almost simultaneously, and I think it will be found that all our main opinions are in agreement. Major J. H. Leslie, R.A., has once more contributed to this volume an ‘[Artillery Appendix]’ on the same lines as those for 1810 and 1811 in vols. III and IV. His researches have always proved exhaustive and invaluable for the history of his old Corps.
Lastly, the compiler of the Index, a task executed this summer under very trying conditions, must receive, for the fifth time, my heartfelt thanks for her labour of love.
As in previous volumes, the critic may find some slight discrepancies between the figures given with regard to strengths of regiments or losses in action in the text and in the Appendices. This results from the fact that many official documents contain incorrect arithmetic, which was only discovered by the indefatigable proof-readers of the Clarendon Press, who have tested all the figures, and found not infrequent (if minute) errors. The text was printed off before the Appendices were finally dealt with: where the numbers differ those in the Appendices are, of course, to be preferred. But the worst discrepancies do not get beyond units and tens.
C. OMAN.
Oxford:
July 27, 1914.
Note.—When every page of the text, appendices, and index of this volume has been printed off, and the final proofs of the preface are passing through my hands, comes the news that Great Britain is most unexpectedly involved in a war to which there can be no parallel named save the struggle that ended just a hundred years ago. May her strength be used as effectively against military despotism in the twentieth as it was in the nineteenth century.
Aug. 5, 1914.
CONTENTS
| SECTION XXX | ||
| Suchet’s Conquest of Valencia, September 1811-January 1812 | ||
| CHAPTER | PAGE | |
| [I.] | The Invasion of Valencia. Siege of Saguntum. September-October 1811 | [1] |
| [II.] | The Battle of Saguntum. October 25, 1811 | [26] |
| [III.] | The Capture of Valencia and of Blake’s Army. November 1811-January 1812 | [47] |
| [IV.] | Suchet’s Conquest of Valencia: Side-issues and Consequences. January-March 1812 | [76] |
| SECTION XXXI | ||
| Minor Campaigns of the Winter of 1811-12 | ||
| [I.] | Catalonia and Aragon | [90] |
| [II.] | Operations of Soult in Andalusia: the Siege of Tarifa, December 1811-January 1812 | [106] |
| [III.] | Politics at Cadiz and elsewhere | [136] |
| SECTION XXXII | ||
| Wellington’s First Campaign of 1812. January-April | ||
| [I.] | The Capture of Ciudad Rodrigo. January 8th-19th, 1812 | [157] |
| [II.] | The Consequences of the Fall of Ciudad Rodrigo. January-March 1812 | [187] |
| [III.] | The Siege of Badajoz. March-April 1812 | [217] |
| [IV.] | The Storm of Badajoz. April 6, 1812 | [244] |
| [V.] | Operations of Soult and Marmont during the Siege of Badajoz. March-April 1812 | [265] |
| SECTION XXXIII | ||
| The Salamanca Campaign. May-August 1812 | ||
| [I.] | King Joseph as Commander-in-Chief | [297] |
| [II.] | The Bridge of Almaraz. May 19, 1812 | [315] |
| [III.] | Wellington’s Advance into Leon. June 13-19, 1812 | [335] |
| [IV.] | The Salamanca Forts. Ten Days of Manœuvres, June 20-30, 1812 | [359] |
| [V.] | Marmont takes the Offensive. July 1812 | [383] |
| [VI.] | The Battle of Salamanca, July 22, 1812. The Early Stages | [418] |
| [VII.] | The Battle of Salamanca: the Main Engagement | [446] |
| [VIII.] | The Consequences of Salamanca. Garcia Hernandez | [475] |
| [IX.] | The Pursuit of King Joseph. Majalahonda. Wellington at Madrid | [504] |
| [X.] | Affairs in the South. June-August 1812. Soult, Hill, and Ballasteros | [519] |
| [XI.] | The Two Diversions: (1) Operations in the North: Sir Home Popham and Caffarelli. (2) Operations in the East: Suchet, Joseph O’Donnell, and Maitland. June-August 1812 | [548] |
| [XII.] | Wellington Returns to the Douro. August 31, 1812. Finis | [576] |
| APPENDICES | ||
| [I.] | Suchet’s Army in Valencia. Morning-state of Oct. 1, 1811 | [583] |
| [II.] | Strength of Blake’s Army at the Battle of Saguntum, Oct. 25, 1811 | [584] |
| [III.] | Suchet’s Army at the Siege of Valencia. Morning-state of Dec. 31, 1811 | [585] |
| [IV.] | Surrender-Roll of Blake’s Army at Valencia, Jan. 9, 1812 | [586] |
| [V.] | French and Anglo-Spanish Troops employed at the Siege of Tarifa, Dec. 1811-Jan. 1812 | [586] |
| [VI.] | Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo: (1) Strength of the Garrison; (2) British Losses during the Siege | [587] |
| [VII.] | Note on some Points of Controversy regarding the Storm of Ciudad Rodrigo | [589] |
| [VIII.] | The French ‘Army of the South.’ Return of March 1, 1812 | [590] |
| [IX.] | Siege of Badajoz: (1) Strength of the Garrison; (2) British Losses at the Storm | [593] |
| [X.] | Wellington’s Army at Salamanca. Strength and Losses | [595] |
| [XI.] | Marmont’s Army at Salamanca. Strength and Losses | [600] |
| [XII.] | British Losses at the Combats of Castrejon and Castrillo, July 18, 1812 | [607] |
| [XIII.] | Spanish Troops on the East Coast of Spain in the Spring of 1812: (1) Morning-state of March 1; (2) Joseph O’Donnell’s Strength and Losses at Castalla | [608] |
| [XIV.] | British Forces on the East Coast of Spain in 1812. A note by Mr. C. T. Atkinson | [609] |
| [XV.] | The Scovell Ciphers | [611] |
| [XVI.] | The British Artillery in the Peninsula, 1812. By Major John Leslie, R.A. | [619] |
| [INDEX] | [623] | |