Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
The Peninsular Wars (1808-1814):
Napoleon moved French troops through Spain to invade Portugal. After feeding more than
100,000 troops into Spain under the pretext of supporting the invasion, Napoleon deposed the
existing Spanish monarch in April 1808 in order to place his own brother Joseph on the throne.
Although the ensuing Spanish uprising can hardly have come as a surprise to Napoleon, he
failed to see that the revolt could never be completely suppressed.
Britain now had a new ally in Spain and in August 1808 landed an expeditionary force under the
command of Lt.-Gen. Sir Arthur Wellesley at the mouth of the Mondego river in Portugal. Moving
south towards Lisbon, Wellesley defeated Delaborde at Roliça on 17th August before turning
to the mouth of the Maceira river to protect the landing of reinforcements. On 21st August,
Wellesley's position around Vimeiro Hill was attacked from the east by Junot. The Battle of
Vimeiro was the first occasion on which Napoleonic offensive tactics combining skirmishers,
columns and supporting artillery fire failed against the British infantry line and Wellesley's
defensive skills. Wellesley's victory was still sufficient to persuade the French to evacuate
Portugal as part of a controversial agreement which became known as the Convention of Sintra.
In April 1809 Wellesley, freed from criticism over the Convention of Sintra, returned to Portugal
and assumed command of all British-Portuguese forces. Immediately, he implemented three
VERY
IMP.
innovations in army organization: the infantry was for the first time divided into autonomous
divisions, each infantry brigade was provided with at least one company of riflemen, and -
to mutual benefit - one battalion of Portuguese infantry was placed in each of five British
brigades.
After defeating Soult at Porto on 12th May, Wellesley crossed the border into Spain, joined
forces with the Spanish general Cuesta, and marched eastwards. On 27th-28th July, French
armies under Joseph attacked the allies north of Talavera. The British-Portuguese lines held
throughout the Battle of Talavera, finally compelling Joseph to abandon the battlefield. The
victory had, however, been costly and, with Soult threatening to cut the road to Portugal,
Wellesley was forced to fall back.
The latter months of 1809 saw the beginning of construction work on the Lines of Torres
Vedras, a deep defensive system protecting Lisbon.
Despite being repulsed on 27th September 1810 in his attacks against Wellington's position on
the ridge at Buçaco, Masséna was able to force Wellington to seek safety behind the Lines of
Torres Vedras. Masséna had no chance of breaking through with the forces at his disposal, and a
stand-off ensued until a lack of supplies and the imminent arrival of British reinforcements in
the spring of 1811 led Masséna to fall back.
Counter-attacks at Fuentes de Oñoro on 3rd and 5th May 1811 were repulsed after desperate
struggles in the streets of the village. Masséna, having failed to re-take Portugal, was replaced
by Marmont. The turning point of the war had been reached.
On 8th January 1812 Wellington began to advance through Spain. Ciudad Rodrigo fell on
19th January. Wellington's ability to push on eastwards in the face of an enemy that was
The Peninsular Wars (1808-1814):
Napoleon moved French troops through Spain to invade Portugal. After feeding more than
100,000 troops into Spain under the pretext of supporting the invasion, Napoleon deposed the
existing Spanish monarch in April 1808 in order to place his own brother Joseph on the throne.
Although the ensuing Spanish uprising can hardly have come as a surprise to Napoleon, he
failed to see that the revolt could never be completely suppressed.
Britain now had a new ally in Spain and in August 1808 landed an expeditionary force under the
command of Lt.-Gen. Sir Arthur Wellesley at the mouth of the Mondego river in Portugal. Moving
south towards Lisbon, Wellesley defeated Delaborde at Roliça on 17th August before turning
to the mouth of the Maceira river to protect the landing of reinforcements. On 21st August,
Wellesley's position around Vimeiro Hill was attacked from the east by Junot. The Battle of
Vimeiro was the first occasion on which Napoleonic offensive tactics combining skirmishers,
columns and supporting artillery fire failed against the British infantry line and Wellesley's
defensive skills. Wellesley's victory was still sufficient to persuade the French to evacuate
Portugal as part of a controversial agreement which became known as the Convention of Sintra.
In April 1809 Wellesley, freed from criticism over the Convention of Sintra, returned to Portugal
and assumed command of all British-Portuguese forces. Immediately, he implemented three
VERY
IMP.
innovations in army organization: the infantry was for the first time divided into autonomous
divisions, each infantry brigade was provided with at least one company of riflemen, and -
to mutual benefit - one battalion of Portuguese infantry was placed in each of five British
brigades.
After defeating Soult at Porto on 12th May, Wellesley crossed the border into Spain, joined
forces with the Spanish general Cuesta, and marched eastwards. On 27th-28th July, French
armies under Joseph attacked the allies north of Talavera. The British-Portuguese lines held
throughout the Battle of Talavera, finally compelling Joseph to abandon the battlefield. The
victory had, however, been costly and, with Soult threatening to cut the road to Portugal,
Wellesley was forced to fall back.
The latter months of 1809 saw the beginning of construction work on the Lines of Torres
Vedras, a deep defensive system protecting Lisbon.
Despite being repulsed on 27th September 1810 in his attacks against Wellington's position on
the ridge at Buçaco, Masséna was able to force Wellington to seek safety behind the Lines of
Torres Vedras. Masséna had no chance of breaking through with the forces at his disposal, and a
stand-off ensued until a lack of supplies and the imminent arrival of British reinforcements in
the spring of 1811 led Masséna to fall back.
Counter-attacks at Fuentes de Oñoro on 3rd and 5th May 1811 were repulsed after desperate
struggles in the streets of the village. Masséna, having failed to re-take Portugal, was replaced
by Marmont. The turning point of the war had been reached.
On 8th January 1812 Wellington began to advance through Spain. Ciudad Rodrigo fell on
19th January. Wellington's ability to push on eastwards in the face of an enemy that was
