History of the war in the Peninsula and in the south of France from the year 1807 to the year 1814, vol. 3

by William Francis Patrick Napier

After examining the enemy’s position for a short time, lord Wellington first directed the light division, now commanded by sir William Erskine, to attack the wooded slopes covering Ney’s right: in less than an hour these orders were executed. The fifty-second, the ninety-fifth, and the caçadores, assisted by a company of the forty-third, carried the ascent and cleared the woods, and their skirmishers even advanced on to the open plain; but the French battalions, supported by four guns, immediately opened a heavy rolling fire, and at the same moment, colonel Ferriere, of the third French hussars, charged and took fourteen prisoners. This officer, during the whole campaign, had never failed to break in upon the skirmishers in the most critical moments; sometimes with a squadron, sometimes with only a few men; he was, however, sure to be found in the right place, and was continually proving how much may be done, even in the most rugged mountains, by a small body of good cavalry.

Erskine’s line, consisting of five battalions of infantry and six guns, being now formed in such a manner that it outflanked the French right, tending towards the ford of the Redinha, was reinforced with two regiments of dragoons; meanwhile Picton seized the wooded heights protecting the French left, and thus Ney’s position was laid bare. Nevertheless, that marshal observing that lord Wellington, deceived as to his real numbers, was bringing the mass of the allied troops into line; far from retreating, even charged Picton’s skirmishers, and continued to hold his ground with an astonishing confidence if we consider his position; for the third division was nearer to the village and bridge than his right, and there were already cavalry and guns enough on the plain to overwhelm him. In this posture both sides remained for about an hour, when, three shots were fired from the British centre as a signal for a forward movement, and a most splendid spectacle of war was exhibited. The woods seemed alive with troops; and in a few moments thirty thousand men, forming three gorgeous lines of battle, were stretched across the plain; but bending on a gentle curve, and moving majestically onwards, while horsemen and guns, springing forward simultaneously from the centre and from the left wing, charged under a general volley from the French battalions: the latter were instantly hidden by the smoke, and when that cleared away no enemy was to be seen.

Ney keenly watching the progress of this grand formation, had opposed Picton’s foremost skirmishers with his left, and, at the same moment, withdrew the rest of his people with such rapidity, that he gained the village ere the cavalry could touch him: the utmost efforts of Picton’s skirmishers and of the horse-artillery scarcely enabled them to gall the hindmost of the French left with their fire. One howitzer was, indeed, dismounted close to the bridge, but the village of Redinha was in flames; and the marshal wishing to confirm the courage of his soldiers at the commencement of the retreat, in person superintended the carrying it off: this he effected, yet with the loss of fifteen or twenty men, and with great danger to himself, for the British guns were thundering on his rear, and the light troops of the third division, chasing like heated blood hounds, passed the river almost at the same time with the French. The reserves of the latter cannonaded the bridge from the heights beyond, but a fresh disposition of attack being made by lord Wellington, while the third division continued to press the left, Ney fell back upon the main body, then at Condeixa, ten miles in the rear.

The British had twelve officers and two hundred men killed and wounded in this combat, and the enemy lost as many; but he might have been utterly destroyed; for there is no doubt, that the duke of Elchingen remained a quarter of an hour too long upon his first position, and that, deceived by the skilful arrangement of his reserve, lord Wellington paid him too much respect. Yet the extraordinary facility and precision with which the English general handled so large a force, was a warning to the French commander, and produced a palpable effect upon the after operations.

On the 13th, the allies renewed the pursuit, and before ten o’clock discovered the French army, the second corps which was at Espinhal excepted, in order of battle. The crisis of Massena’s retreat had arrived, the defiles of Condeixa, leading upon Coimbra, were behind him; those of Miranda de Corvo, leading to the Puente de Murcella, were on his left; and in the fork of these two roads Ney was seated on a strong range of heights covered by a marsh, his position being only to be approached by the highway leading through a deep hollow against his right. Trees were felled to obstruct the passage; a palisado was constructed across the hollow; breast-works were thrown up on each side, and Massena expected to stop the pursuit, while Montbrun seized Coimbra: for he designed to pass the Mondego, and either capture Oporto or maintain a position between the Douro and the Mondego, until the operations of Soult should draw the British away; or until the advance of Bessieres with the army of the north, should enable himself again to act offensively. Hitherto the French general had appeared the abler tactician, but now his adversary assumed the superiority.

When at Thomar lord Wellington had sent Baccellar orders to look to the security of Oporto, and had directed Wilson and Trant also to abandon the Mondego and the Vouga the moment the fords were passable, retiring across the Douro; breaking up the roads as they retreated, and taking care to remove or to destroy all boats and means of transport. Now, Wilson was in march for the Vouga, but Trant having destroyed an arch of the Coimbra bridge on the city side, and placed guards at the fords as far as Figueras, resolved to oppose the enemy’s passage; for the sound of guns had reached his outposts, the river was rising, and he felt assured that the allied army was close upon the heels of the enemy.

As early as the evening of the 11th, the French appeared at the suburb of Santa Clara, and a small party of their dragoons actually forded the Mondego at Pereiras that day: on the 12th, some French officers examined the bridge of Coimbra, but a cannon-shot from the other side wounded one of them, and a general skirmish took place along the banks of the river, during which a party attempting to feel their way along the bridge, were scattered by a round of grape. The fords were, however, actually practicable for cavalry, and there were not more than two or three hundred militia and a few guns at the bridge; for Baccellar had obliged Trant to withdraw the greatest part of his force on the 11th; nevertheless the latter opposed the enemy with the remainder, and it would appear that the French imagined the reinforcement, which reached Lisbon the 2d of March, had been sent by sea to the Mondego and Campagne des Français en Portugal.was in Coimbra. This was an error. Coimbra was saved by the same man and the same militia that had captured it during the advance.

Montbrun sent his report to Massena early on the 13th, and the latter too readily crediting his opinion of Trant’s strength, relinquished the idea of passing the Mondego, and determined to retire by the Puente de Murcella: but to ensure the power of changing his front, and to secure his communication with Reynier and Loison, he had carried Clausel’s division to Fonte Coberta, a village about five miles on his left; situated at the point where the Anciao road falls into that leading to Murcella. There Loison rejoined him, and being thus pivotted on the Anciao Sierra, and covering the line of communication with the second corps while Ney held Condeixa, he considered his position secure. His baggage was, however, observed filing off by the Murcella road when the allies first came upon Ney, and lord Wellington instantly comprehending the state of affairs, as instantly detached the third division by a very difficult path over the Sierra de Anciao to turn the enemy’s left.

For some time all appeared quiet in the French lines. Massena, in repairing to Fonte Coberta, had left Ney orders, it is said, to fire Condeixa at a certain hour when all the divisions were simultaneously to concentrate at Casal Nova, in a second position, perpendicular to the first, and covering the road to Puente Murcella. But towards three o’clock Picton was descried winding round the bluff end of a mountain, about eight miles distant, and as he was already beyond the French left, instant confusion pervaded their camp: a thick smoke arose from Condeixa, the columns were seen hurrying towards Casal Nova; and the British immediately pushed forward. The felled trees and other obstacles impeded their advance at first, and a number of fires, simultaneously kindled, covered the retreating troops with smoke, while the flames of Condeixa stopped the artillery, hence the skirmishers and some cavalry only could close with the rear of the enemy, but so rapidly, as to penetrate between the division at Fonte Coberta and the rest of the French; and it is affirmed that the prince of Esling, who was on the road, only escaped capture by taking the feathers out of his hat and riding through some of the light troops.