Lieutenant General Sir Arthur Wellesley returned to the Peninsular
in 1809 convinced that the country could be held against the
French. His audacious crossing of the Duoro and speedy victory at
Oporto in May, followed by the deceptively easy ejection of Marshal
Soult's corps, confirmed this view, giving him the confidence to
plan a campaign with General Cuesta's Army of Extremadura to
advance on French-held Madrid via the Tagus Valley. From the outset
relations between the two allied generals were poor, not to mention
the divisions and enmity within the Spanish juntas and army.
Matters only got worse once Wellesley's army entered Spain, thanks
to a failure to provide supplies and missed opportunities. Finally,
the French army, with King Joseph at its head, marched to confront
the allies at Talavera. The fighting did not start well for the
British, who were taken by surprise and had to fight hard to
extricate themselves from trouble, before inexperienced staff
officers and commanders mis-deployed divisions and brigades, nearly
resulting in disaster for the Allies when Marshal Victor launched a
night attack. The Peninsular Army still had much to learn. The
following day, the French attacked again with the full force of a
Napoleonic army infantry, cavalry and artillery, but the two-deep
British line held and with their confidence shattered, the French
withdrew. It was a hard-fought victory for the British commander,
who was soon to be ennobled as the Duke of Wellington.
General
Imprint: |
Pen & Sword Military
|
Country of origin: |
United Kingdom |
Series: |
Peninsular War Battlefield Companion |
Release date: |
July 2023 |
Authors: |
Tim Saunders
|
Dimensions: |
234 x 156mm (L x W) |
Pages: |
272 |
ISBN-13: |
978-1-399-04003-7 |
Categories: |
Books
|
LSN: |
1-399-04003-0 |
Barcode: |
9781399040037 |
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