The third army under Del Parque, in the Morena about twelve thousand.
The first army of reserve under the Conde d’Abispal, in Andalusia, about fifteen thousand.
The fourth army, under Castaños, which included the Spanish divisions in Estremadura, Julian Sanchez’ Partida and the Gallicians under Giron, the Asturians under Porlier and Barceña, together with the Partidas of Longa and Mina, likewise belonged to this army and were mustered amongst its divisions. This army was computed at forty thousand men, to which may be added the minor bands and volunteers in various parts.
Lastly there was the noble Anglo-Portuguese army which now furnished more than seventy thousand fighting men, with ninety pieces of artillery; and the real difference between the French and the allies was greater than the apparent difference. The French returns included officers, sergeants, drummers, artillery-men, engineers, and waggoners, whereas the allies’ numbers were all sabres and bayonets. Moreover this statement of the French number was on the 15th of March, and as there were drafts made by Napoleon after that period, and as Clauzel and Foy’s losses, and the reserves at Bayonne must be deducted, it would be probably more correct to assume that the whole number of sabres and bayonets in June, was not more than one hundred and sixty thousand, of which one hundred and ten thousand were on the northern line of invasion.
The campaign of 1812 had taught the English general the strength of the French lines of defence, especially on the Duero, which they had since entrenched in different parts, and most of the bridges over it, he had himself destroyed in his retreat. But for many reasons it was not advisable to operate in the central provinces of Spain. The country there was exhausted, the lines of supply would be longer and more exposed, the army further removed from the sea, the Gallicians could not be easily brought down to co-operate, the services of the northern Partidas would not be so advantageous, and the ultimate result would be less decisive than operations against the great line of communication with France; wherefore against the northern provinces he had early resolved to direct his attack and had well considered how to evade those lines which he could scarcely hope to force.
All the enemy’s defences on the Lower Duero could be turned by a movement on the right, across the Upper Tormes, and from thence skirting the mountains towards the Upper Duero; but that line although most consonant to the rules of art, because the army would thus be kept in one mass, led through a very difficult and wasted country, the direct aid of the Gallicians must have been dispensed with, and moreover it was there the French looked for the allies. Hence Wellington resolved not to operate by his right, and with great skill and dexterity, he had by the disposition of his troops in winter-quarters, by false reports and false movements masked his real intentions. For the gathering of the Partidas in the valley of the Tagus, the demonstrations made in Estremadura and La Mancha by Penne Villemur, Morillo and Del Parque’s army, together with the presence of Hill at Coria, that general’s hold of the passes of Bejar, and the magazines formed there, all intimated a design of moving either by the valley of the Tagus or by the district of Avila; and the great magazines collected at Celerico, Viseu, Penamacor, Almeida, and Ciudad Rodrigo, in no manner belied the other indications. But half the army widely cantoned in the interior of Portugal, apparently for the sake of subsistence or health, was really so placed as to be in the direction of the true line of operations which was by the left through the Tras os Montes.
Wellington’s plan was to pass the Duero, within the Portuguese frontier, with a part of his army; to ascend the right bank of that river towards Zamora, and then crossing the Esla, to unite with the Gallician forces, while the remainder of the army, advancing from the Agueda, forced the passage of the Tormes. By this great movement, which he hoped to effect so suddenly that the king would not have time to concentrate the French armies in opposition, the front of the allies would be changed to their right, the Duero and the Pisuerga would be turned, and the enemy forced in confusion over the Carion. Then with his powerful army well in hand the English general could march in advance without fear, strong enough to fight and strong enough to turn the right flank of any position which the French might take up; and with this advantage also, that at each step he would gain additional help by the junction of the irregular Spanish forces until he gave his hand to the insurgents in Biscay, and every port opened would furnish him a new dépôt and magazines.
But in executing this movement the army would necessarily be divided into three separate divisions each too weak to beat the whole French force singly; the march of the centre division by the Tras os Montes, upon the nice execution of which the concentration of the whole depended, would be through an extremely difficult and mountainous country, and there were three great rivers to pass. The operation was therefore one of extreme delicacy requiring nice and extensive arrangements; yet there was not much danger to be apprehended from failure; because as each separate corps had a strong country to retire upon, the probable extent of the mischief would only be the loss of time, and the disadvantage of pursuing other operations when the harvest being ripe the French could easily keep in masses. The secret then was to hide the true plan as long as possible, to gain some marches for the centre corps, and by all means to keep the French so scattered and occupied by minor combinations, that they should be unable to assemble in time to profit from their central positions. Now the bridge equipage being prepared at Abrantes in the interior of Portugal was unknown, and gave no intimation of the real design, for the bullocks which drew it came with cars from Spain to Lamego and from thence went down to Abrantes; the free navigation of the Douro up to the Agueda was more conducive to a movement by the right, and it furnished abundance of large boats wherewith to pass that river without creating any suspicion from their presence; the wide cantonments of the allies permitted various changes of quarters under the pretence of sickness, and the troops thus gradually closed upon the Douro, within the Portuguese frontier, unobserved of the enemy who was likewise deceived by many reports purposely spread abroad. The menacing head which Hill, and the Spaniards in southern Estremadura and Andalusia, carried towards the valley of the Tagus and towards the Avila district, also contributed to draw the enemy’s attention away from the true point of danger; but more than all other things the vigorous excitement of the insurrection in the north occupied the French, scattered their forces, and rendered the success of the English general’s plan nearly certain.
1813. Neither did lord Wellington fail to give ample employment to Suchet’s forces, for his wings were spread for a long flight even to the Pyrennees, and he had no desire to find that marshal’s army joined with the other French forces on the Ebro. The lynx eyes of Napoleon had scanned this point of war also, and both the king and Clauzel had received orders to establish the shortest and most certain line of correspondence possible with Suchet, because the emperor’s plan contemplated the arrival of the army of Aragon in the north, but Wellington furnished a task for it elsewhere. Sir John Murray as we have seen, had just repulsed the French at Castalla, and general Frere’s cavalry had joined the Andalusian reserve under Abispal, but Elio with the third army remained near Alicant and Wellington destined Del Parque’s army to join him. This with the Anglo-Sicilian army made more than fifty thousand men, including the divisions of Duran, Villa Campa, the Empecinado, and other partizans always lying on Suchet’s right flank and rear. Now with such a force, or even half this number of good troops, the simplest plan would have been to turn Suchet’s right flank and bring him to action with his back to the sea; but the Spanish armies were not efficient for such work and Wellington’s instructions were adapted to the actual circumstances. To win the open part of the kingdom, to obtain a permanent footing on the coast beyond the Ebro, and to force the enemy from the lower line of that river by acting in conjunction with the Catalans, these were the three objects which Wellington proposed to reach and in the following manner. Murray was to sail against Taragona, to save it Suchet would have to weaken his army in Valencia; Elio and Del Parque might then seize that kingdom. If Taragona fell, good. If the French proved too strong, Murray could return instantly by sea, and secure possession of the country gained by the Spanish generals. These last were however to remain strictly on the defensive until Murray’s operations drew Suchet away, for they were not able to fight alone, and above all things it was necessary to avoid a defeat which would leave the French general free to move to the aid of the king.
The force necessary to attack Taragona Wellington judged at ten thousand, and if Murray could not embark that number there was another mode of operating. Some Spanish divisions, to go by sea, were then to reinforce Copons in Catalonia and enable him to hold the country between Taragona, Tortoza, and Lerida; meanwhile Murray and Elio were to advance against Suchet in front, and Del Parque in conjunction with the Portuguese troops to turn his right flank by Requeña; and this operation was to be repeated until the allies communicated with Copons by their left, the partizans advancing in proportion and cutting off all communication with the northern parts of Spain. Thus in either case Suchet would be kept away from the Upper Ebro, and there was no reason to expect any interruption from that quarter.