Wellington could see, by his own eyes no less than by the map, for he rode along Marmont’s new front on the 23rd, that the French position gave good possibilities for a passage of the elbow of the Tormes at Huerta: wherefore he detached Bock’s brigade of German Dragoons to the south of the river, with orders to watch the roads debouching from the fords, and to act as a detaining force if any hostile cavalry crossed them. He also threw forward Alten’s hussars to Aldea Lengua, a village and ford half-way between Cabrerizos and Aldea Rubia, with the object of keeping a similar close watch on any attempt of Marmont’s to move north of the river. One brigade of the Light Division came forward to support Alten—the other was écheloned a little back, on hills above Aldea Lengua.
On the late evening of the 23rd Marmont sent a squadron or two across the Huerta fords, which turned back after running into Bock’s vedettes. This was merely an exploring party to test the practicability of the passage; but next morning, in a heavy fog, skirmishing fire and occasional reports of cannon told Wellington that some more important detachment was across the Tormes, and engaged with the Germans. The British head-quarters staff rode to the hill above Aldea Lengua, which commands a wide view over the south bank, and, when the morning vapours rolled up at 7 o’clock, saw Bock retiring across the rolling plain in very good order, pressed by a heavy force of all arms—two divisions of infantry headed by a light cavalry brigade with a horse artillery battery, which was doing some harm to the two dragoon regiments as they retired in alternate échelons across the slopes.
Fortunately there was excellent defensive fighting-ground south of the Tormes, in prolongation of the San Cristobal position north of it. The ravine and brook[442] called the Ribera de Pelagarcia with wooded heights above them, run in front of Santa Marta and its ford, for some miles southward from the Tormes. There was a similar line of high ground facing it, with the villages of Pelabravo and Calvarisa de Ariba on its top, which the French might occupy, but on passing down from them they would run against a formidable position. Along these hills, indeed, Wellington’s first line of defence was to be formed a month later, on the day of the battle of Salamanca. On seeing Bock’s careful retreat in progress, the Commander-in-Chief ordered Graham to cross the Tormes at Santa Marta with the 1st and 7th Divisions, and to occupy the ground in front of him. This was a short move, and easily accomplished while the French detachment was pushing the German dragoons slowly backward. The 4th and 5th Divisions moved down to the north bank of the Tormes, ready to follow if Marmont should support his advanced guard, by sending more men over the Huerta fords. Le Marchant’s heavy brigade crossed the river with a horse artillery battery, and went to reinforce Bock, whom the French could now only push in by bringing forward infantry. Their advance continued as far as the village of Calvarisa de Abaxo, and a little beyond, where the whole 9,000 or 10,000 men deployed, as if intending to attack Graham. But just as observers on the Aldea Lengua heights were beginning to think that serious fighting was probable[443], the whole fell back into column of march, and, retiring to Huerta covered by their chasseurs, recrossed the river.
The state of affairs at nightfall was just what it had been at dawn. Graham and Le Marchant went back to their old ground north of the river, and south of it cavalry alone was left—this time Alten’s brigade, for Bock’s had had a heavy day, and needed rest. So ended a spectacular but almost bloodless manœuvre—the German dragoons lost three killed and two wounded: the French light horse probably no more.
In a dispatch written the same night Marmont frankly owns that he was foiled by Wellington’s counter-move. This hitherto unpublished document is worth quoting. It is addressed to General Caffarelli, and runs as follows[444]. ‘The movement which I have made toward Salamanca has caused the enemy to suspend his attack on the forts of that town. [An error, as it was not the movement but the lack of ammunition which stopped the bombardment.] This consideration, and the way in which I found him posted to keep me off, and not least your assurance that your powerful reinforcements would reach me very soon, have determined me to suspend the attack which I was about to deliver against him. I stop here with the object of gaining time, and in the expectation of your arrival.’ From this it is clear that if Graham had not been found so well posted, in a position where he could readily be reinforced from San Cristobal, Marmont would have followed up his advanced guard with the rest of his army, and have struck at Salamanca from the South. But finding the ground on the left bank of the river just as unfavourable to him as that on the north, he gave up the game and retired. He risked a serious check, for Wellington might have ordered Graham to follow and attack the retreating divisions, who would have had great difficulty in recrossing the Tormes without loss, if they had been pursued and attacked while jammed at the fords. But Wellington was still in his defensive mood, and took no risks, contented to have foiled most effectively his enemy’s manœuvre.
On the 25th Marmont remained stationary, waiting for further advices from Caffarelli, which failed to come to hand. Nor did Wellington make any move, save that of sending orders that the siege of the forts was to be pressed as early and as vigorously as possible. The guns were back in their batteries, waiting for the ammunition which was yet to appear. All that could be done without shot was to push forward a trench along the bottom of the ravine between San Vincente and the other two forts, to cut off communication between them. The French fired fiercely at the workers, where they could look down into the ravine, and killed some of them. But there was much ‘dead ground’ which could not be reached from any point in the forts, and by dawn on the 26th the trench was far advanced, and a picket was lodged safely in it, close under the gorge of San Cayetano.
On the morning of the 26th the convoy of powder and shot from Almeida reached the front, and at three in the afternoon the besiegers recommenced their fire. This time no guns were placed in the original battery opposite the north front of San Vincente; the four 18-pounders all went into the right flank attack, and were concentrated on the gorge of San Cayetano. Four of the howitzers were placed in the left flank battery, near the College of Cuenca, and directed to fire red-hot shot into the roof and upper story of San Vincente. The field-guns in San Bernardo, aided by one howitzer, took up their old work of trying to keep down the fire of the forts.
The battering in of the gorge of San Cayetano made considerable progress, but the most effective work was that of the red-hot shot, which before night had set the tower of San Vincente and several points of its roof in flames. By heroic exertions the garrison succeeded in extinguishing them, but the besiegers’ fire was kept up all night, and from time to time new conflagrations burst out. The governor afterwards informed the British engineers that eighteen separate outbreaks were kept down within the twenty-four hours before his surrender[445]. The fort was very inflammable, owing to the immense amount of timber that had been used for casemating, traverses, barricades, and parapets, inside its walls. Still it was holding out at daybreak, though the garrison was nearly exhausted: the governor signalled to Marmont that he could not resist for more than three days—a sad over-estimate of his power, as was to be shown in a few hours. As a subsidiary aid to the work of the guns two mines were commenced, one from the ravine, destined to burrow under San Cayetano, the other from the cliff by the river, intended to reach La Merced. But neither was fated to be used, other means sufficing.
After four hours’ pounding on the morning of the 27th, the gorge of San Cayetano had been battered into a real and very practicable breach, while a new fire had broken out in San Vincente, larger than any one which had preceded it. It reached the main store of gabions and planks within the fort, and threatened the powder magazine. The garrison were evidently flinching from their guns, as the counter-fire from the place, hitherto very lively, began to flag, and the whole building was wrapped in smoke.
Thereupon Wellington ordered San Cayetano to be stormed for the second time. The column charged with the operation crept forward along the trench at the bottom of the ravine, fairly well covered till it had reached the spot immediately below the gorge of the fort. Just as the forlorn hope was about to start out of the trench, a white flag was shown from the breach. The captain commanding in San Cayetano asked for two hours’ truce, to enable him to communicate with his chief in San Vincente, promising to surrender at the end of that time. Wellington offered him five minutes to march out, if he wished to preserve his garrison’s lives and baggage. As the Frenchmen continued to haggle and argue, he was told to take down his white flag, as the assault was about to be delivered. When the stormers ran in, San Cayetano made practically no defence, though a few shots were fired, which caused six casualties in the assaulting column: the greater part of the garrison threw down their muskets and made no resistance.