Napoleon at Erfurt--At Paris--Arrives at Vittoria--Disposition of
the French and Spanish Armies--Successes of Soult--Passage of the
Somosierra--Surrender of Madrid--Sir John Moore's Campaign--his
Retreat--Battle of Coruna--Death of Moore--Napoleon leaves Spain.
Three Spanish armies, each unfortunately under an independent chief,
were at length in motion: their nominal strength was 130,000 men; in
reality they never exceeded 100,000. Had they been combined under an
able general, they might have assaulted the French army, now not
exceeding 60,000, with every likelihood of success; for the position
first taken up by King Joseph, after his retreat into the north, was
very defective; but the Spaniards chose their basis of operations so
absurdly, and were so dilatory afterwards, that Napoleon had time both
to rectify Joseph's blunders and to reinforce his legions effectually,
before they were able to achieve any considerable advantage.
Blake, who commanded on the west, extended his line from Burgos to
Bilboa; Palafox, on the east, lay between Zaragossa and Sanguessa;
Castanos, general of the central army, had his headquarters at Soria.
The three armies thus lay in a long and feeble crescent, of which the
horns were pushed towards the French frontier; while the enemy, resting
on three strong fortresses, remained on the defensive until the Emperor
should pour new forces through the passes of the Pyrenees. It was
expected that the English army in Portugal would forthwith advance, and
put themselves in communication either with Blake or with Castanos; and
had this junction occurred soon after the battle of Virniero, the result
might have been decisive: but Wellesley was recalled to London to bear
witness on the trial of Dalrymple; and Sir John Moore, who then assumed
the command, received neither such supplies as were necessary for any
great movement, nor any clear and authentic intelligence from the
authorities of Madrid, nor finally any distinct orders from his own
government--until the favourable moment had gone by. In effect,
Napoleon's gigantic reinforcements had begun to show themselves within
the Spanish frontier, a week before the English general was in a
condition to commence his march.
The Emperor, enraged at the first positive disgraces which had ever
befallen his arms, and foreseeing that unless the Spanish insurrection
were crushed ere the Patriots had time to form a regular government and
to organise their armies, the succours of England, and the growing
discontents of Germany, might invest the task with insurmountable
difficulties, determined to cross the Pyrenees in person, at the head of
a force capable of sweeping the whole Peninsula clear before him "at one
fell swoop." Hitherto no mention of the unfortunate occurrences in Spain
had been made in any public act of his government, or suffered to
transpire in any of the French journals. It was now necessary to break
this haughty silence. The Emperor announced accordingly that the
peasants of Spain had rebelled against their _King_; that treachery had
caused the ruin of one corps of his army; and that another had been
forced, by the English, to evacuate Portugal: demanding two new
conscriptions, each of 80,000 men--which were of course granted without
hesitation. Recruiting his camps on the German side, and in Italy, with
these new levies, he now ordered his veteran troops, to the amount of
200,000, including a vast and brilliant cavalry, and a large body of the
Imperial Guards, to be drafted from those frontiers, and marched through
France towards Spain. As these warlike columns passed through Paris,
Napoleon addressed to them one of those orations which never failed to
swell the resolution and pride of his soldiery on the eve of some great
enterprise. "Comrades," said he, "after triumphing on the banks of the
Danube and the Vistula, with rapid steps you have passed through
Germany. This day, without a moment of repose, I command you to traverse
France. Soldiers, I have need of you. The hideous presence of the
leopard contaminates the peninsula of Spain and Portugal. In terror he
must fly before you. Let us bear our triumphant eagles to the Pillars of
Hercules: there also we have injuries to avenge. Soldiers! you have
surpassed the renown of modern armies; but have you yet equalled the
glory of those Romans, who, in one and the same campaign, were
victorious on the Rhine, and the Euphrates, in Illyria and on the Tagus?
A long peace, a lasting prosperity, shall be the reward of your labours.
A real Frenchman could not, should not rest, until the seas are free and
open to all. Soldiers, what you have done, and what you are about to do,
for the happiness of the French people and for my glory, shall be
eternal in my heart!"
Having thus dismissed his troops on their way, Buonaparte himself
travelled rapidly to Erfurt, where he had invited the Emperor Alexander
to confer with him. It was most needful that before he went to Spain
himself, he should ascertain the safety of his empire on the other side;
and there was much in the state of Germany that might well give rise to
serious apprehensions. Austria was strengthening her military
establishment to a vast extent, and had, by a recent law, acquired the
means of drawing on her population unlimitedly, after the method of
Napoleon's own conscription code. She professed pacific intentions
towards France, and intimated that her preparations were designed for
the protection of her Turkish frontier; but the Emperor Francis
positively declined to acknowledge Joseph Buonaparte as King of Spain;
and this refusal was quite sufficient for Napoleon. In Prussia,
meantime, and indeed all over Germany, a spirit of deep and settled
enmity was manifesting itself in the shape of patriotic clubs (the chief
being called the _Tugend-bund_, or Alliance of Virtue), which included
the young and the daring of every class, and threatened, at no distant
period, to convulse the whole fabric of society with the one purpose of
clearing the national soil of its foreign oppressors. Napoleon affected
to deride, but secretly estimated at its true importance, the danger of
such associations, if permitted to take firm root among a people so
numerous, so enthusiastic, and so gallant. Lastly, there is every reason
to believe that, cordial as the Czar's friendship had seemed to be at
Tilsit, Buonaparte appreciated the unpopularity of his "continental
system" in Russia, and the power of the aristocracy there, far too
accurately, not to entertain some suspicion that Alexander himself might
be compelled to take the field against him, should England succeed in
persuading Austria and Germany to rise in arms during his own absence in
Spain. For these reasons he had requested the Czar's presence at Erfurt;
and this conference was apparently as satisfactory to either as that of
Tilsit had been. They addressed a joint letter to the King of England,
proposing once more a general peace; but as they both refused to
acknowledge any authority in Spain save that of King Joseph, the answer
was of course in the negative. Buonaparte, however, had obtained his
object when he thus exhibited the Czar and himself as firmly allied. He
perceived clearly that Austria was determined on another campaign; gave
orders for concentrating and increasing his own armies, accordingly,
both in Germany and Italy; and--trusting to the decision and rapidity of
his own movements, and the comparative slowness of his ancient
enemy--dared to judge that he might still bring matters to an issue in
Spain, before his presence should be absolutely necessary beyond the
Rhine.
On the 14th of October the conferences of Erfurt terminated; on the 24th
Napoleon was present at the opening of the Legislative Session in Paris;
two days after he left that capital, and reached Bayonne on the 3rd of
November, where he remained, directing the movements of the last columns
of his advancing army, until the morning of the 8th. He arrived at
Vittoria the same evening: the civil and military authorities met him at
the gates of the town, and would have conducted him to a house prepared
for his reception, but he leapt from his horse, entered the first inn
that he observed, and calling for maps and a detailed report of the
position of all the armies, French and Spanish, proceeded instantly to
draw up his plan for the prosecution of the war. Within two hours he had
completed his task. Soult, who had accompanied him from Paris, and whom
he ordered to take the command of Bessieres' corps, set off on the
instant, reached Briviesca, where its headquarters were, at daybreak on
the 9th, and within a few hours the whole machinery was once more in
motion.
Napoleon had, early in October, signified to Joseph that the French
cause in Spain, would always be favoured by acting on the offensive, and
his disapproval of the extent to which the King had retreated had not
been heard in vain. General Blake's army had already been brought to
action, and defeated disastrously by Moncey, at Espinosa; from which
point Blake had most injudiciously retreated towards Reynosa, instead
of Burgos, where another army, meant to support his right, had assembled
under the orders of the Count de Belvedere.
Soult now poured down his columns on the plains of Burgos. Belvedere was
defeated by him at Gomenal even more easily than Blake had been at
Espinosa. The latter, again defeated by the indefatigable Soult, at
Reynosa, was obliged to take refuge, with what hardly could be called
even the skeleton of an army, in the seaport of St. Ander. Thus the
whole of the Spanish left was dissipated; and the French right remained
at liberty to march onwards at their pleasure.
Palafox meanwhile had effected at length a junction with Castanos; and
the combined Spanish armies of the centre and the east awaited the
French attack, on the 22nd of November, at Tudela. The disaster here was
still more complete. Castanos and Palafox separated in the moment of
overthrow; the former escaping to Calatayud with the wreck of his
troops, while the latter made his way once more to Zaragossa.
Napoleon now saw the main way to Madrid open before him--except that
some forces were said to be posted at the strong defile of the
Somosierra, within ten miles of the capital; while Soult, continuing his
march by Carrion and Valladolid, could at once keep in check the
English, in case they were still so daring as to advance from Portugal,
and outflank the Somosierra, in case the mountains should be so defended
as to bar the Emperor's approach in that direction to Madrid. Palafox
was pursued, and soon shut up in Zaragossa by Lannes. That heroic city
on the east, the British army on the west, and Madrid in front, were the
only far-separated points on which any show of opposition was still to
be traced--from the frontiers of France to those of Portugal, from the
sea coast to the Tagus.
Napoleon, with his guards and the first division, marched towards
Madrid. His vanguard reached the foot of the Somosierra chain on the
30th of November, and found that a corps of 12,000 men had been
assembled for the defence of the pass, under General St. Juan. No
stronger position could well be fancied than that of the Spaniards: the
defile was narrow, and excessively steep, and the road completely swept
by sixteen pieces of artillery. At daybreak, on the 1st of December, the
French began their attempt to turn the flanks of St. Juan: three
battalions scattered themselves over the opposite sides of the defile,
and a warm skirmishing fire had begun. At this moment Buonaparte came
up. He rode into the mouth of the pass, surveyed the scene for an
instant, perceived that his infantry were making no progress, and at
once conceived the daring idea of causing his Polish lancers to charge
right up the causeway in face of the battery. The smoke of the
skirmishers on the hill-sides mingled with the thick fogs and vapours of
the morning, and under this veil the brave Krazinski led his troopers
impetuously up the ascent. The Spanish infantry fired as they passed
them, threw down their arms, abandoned their entrenchments, and fled.
The Poles speared the gunners, and took possession of the cannon. The
Spaniards continued their flight in such disorder that they were at last
fain to quit the road to Madrid, and escape in the direction, some of
Segovia, others of Talaveyra. On the morning of the 2nd, three divisions
of French cavalry made their appearance on the high ground to the
north-west of the capital.
During eight days the inhabitants had been preparing the means of
resistance. A local and military junta had been invested with authority
to conduct the defence. Six thousand regular troops were in the town,
and crowds of the citizens and of the peasantry of the adjoining country
were in arms along with them. The pavement had been taken up, the
streets barricadoed, the houses on the outskirts loopholed, and the
Retiro, a large but weak edifice, occupied by a strong garrison.
Terrible violence prevailed--many persons suspected of adhering to the
side of the French were assassinated; the bells of churches and convents
rung incessantly; ferocious bands paraded the streets day and night: and
at the moment when the enemy's cavalry appeared, the universal uproar
seemed to announce that he was about to find a new and a greater
Zaragossa in Madrid.
The town was summoned at noon; and the officer employed would have been
massacred by the mob but for the interference of the Spanish regulars.
Napoleon waited until his infantry and artillery came up in the evening,
and then the place was invested on one side. "The night was clear and
bright" (says Napier); "the French camp was silent and watchful; but the
noise of tumult was heard from every quarter of the city, as if some
mighty beast was struggling and howling in the toils." At midnight the
city was again summoned; and the answer being still defiance, the
batteries began to open. In the course of the day the Retiro was
stormed, and the immense palace of the Dukes of Medina Celi, which
commands one side of the town, seized also. Terror now began to prevail
within; and shortly after the city was summoned, for the third time, Don
Thomas Morla, the governor, came out to demand a suspension of arms.
Napoleon received him with anger, and rebuked him for the violation of
the capitulation at Baylen. "Injustice and bad faith," said he, "always
recoil on those who are guilty of them." Many an honester Spaniard was
obliged to listen in silence to such words from the negotiator of
Fontainebleau and Bayonne.
Morla was a coward, and there is no doubt a traitor also. On returning
to the town he urged the necessity of instantly capitulating; and most
of those in authority took a similar part, except Castellas, the
commander of the regular troops. The peasantry and citizens kept firing
on the French outposts during the night; but Castellas, perceiving that
the civil rulers were all against further resistance, withdrew his
troops and sixteen cannon in safety. At eight in the morning of the 4th,
Madrid surrendered. The Spaniards were disarmed, and the town filled
with the French army. Napoleon took up his residence at Chamartin, a
country house four miles off. In a few days tranquillity seemed
completely re-established. The French soldiery observed excellent
discipline: the shops were re-opened, and the theatres frequented as
usual. Such is in most cases the enthusiasm of a great city!
Napoleon now exercised all the rights of a conqueror. He issued edicts
abolishing the Inquisition, all feudal rights, and all particular
jurisdictions; regulating the number of monks; increasing, at the
expense of the monastic establishments, the stipends of the parochial
clergy; and proclaiming a general amnesty, with only _ten_ exceptions.
He received a deputation of the chief inhabitants, who came to signify
their desire to see Joseph among them again. His answer was, that Spain
was his own by right of conquest; that he could easily rule it by
viceroys; but that if they chose to assemble in their churches, priests
and people, and swear allegiance to Joseph, he was not indisposed to
listen to their request.
This was a secondary matter: meantime the Emperor was making his
dispositions for the completion of his conquest. His plan was to invade
forthwith Andalusia, Valencia and Galicia, by his lieutenants, and to
march in person to Lisbon. Nor was this vast plan beyond his means; for
he had at that moment 255,000 men, 50,000 horses, and 100 pieces of
field artillery, actually ready for immediate service in Spain: while
80,000 men and 100 cannon, besides, were in reserve, all on the south
side of the Pyrenees. To oppose this gigantic force there were a few
poor defeated corps of Spaniards, widely separated from each other, and
flying already before mere detachments: Seville, whose local junta had
once more assumed the nominal sovereignty, and guarded in front by a
feeble corps in the Sierra Morena; Valencia, without a regular garrison;
Zaragossa, closely invested, and resisting once more with heroic
determination; and the British army under Sir John Moore. The moment
Napoleon was informed that Moore had advanced into Spain, he abandoned
every other consideration, and resolved in person to march and overwhelm
him.
The English general had, as we have already seen, been prevented by
circumstances over which he could have no control, from commencing his
campaign so early as he desired, and as the situation of the Spanish
armies, whom he was meant to support, demanded. At length, however, he
put his troops, 20,000 in number, into motion, and advanced in the
direction of Salamanca; while a separate British corps of 13,000, under
Sir David Baird, recently landed at Coruna, had orders to march through
Galicia, and effect a junction with Moore either at Salamanca or
Valladolid. The object of the British was of course to support the
Spanish armies of Blake and Belvedere in their defence: but owing to the
delays and blundering intelligence already alluded to, these armies were
in a hopeless condition before Sir John Moore's march began.
The news of the decisive defeat of Castanos, at Tudela, satisfied Moore
that the original purpose of his march was now out of the question; but,
having at length effected a junction with Baird, he felt extreme
unwillingness to retreat without attempting something. He continued to
receive from Madrid the most solemn assurances that the resistance of
the capital would be desperate: and, with more generosity than prudence,
resolved to attack Soult, then posted behind the Carrion. In doing so he
fancied it possible that he should defeat an important branch of the
enemy's force, intercept the communications of the Emperor's left flank,
give Romana time to re-organise an army in Galicia, create a formidable
diversion in favour of the south of Spain, if not of Madrid--and, at
worst, secure for himself a safe retreat upon Coruna; from which port
his troops might be sent round without difficulty to Seville, to take
part in the defence of that part of the Peninsula which was yet unbroken
and the seat of the actual government.
But Buonaparte, hearing on the 20th of December of the advance of Moore,
instantly put himself at the head of 50,000 men, and marched with
incredible rapidity, with the view of intercepting his communications
with Portugal, and in short hemming him in between himself and Soult.
Moore no sooner heard that Napoleon was approaching, than he perceived
the necessity of an immediate retreat; and he commenced accordingly a
most calamitous one through the naked mountains of Galicia, in which his
troops maintained their character for bravery, rallying with zeal
whenever the French threatened their rear, but displayed a lamentable
want of discipline in all other part of their conduct. The weather was
tempestuous; the roads miserable; the commissariat utterly defective;
and the very notion of retreat broke the high spirits of the soldiery.
They ill-treated the inhabitants, drank whatever strong liquors they
could obtain, straggled from their ranks, and in short lost the
appearance of an army except when the trumpet warned them that they
might expect the French charge. Soult hung close on their rear until
they reached Coruna; and Moore perceived that it would be impossible to
embark without either a convention or a battle. He chose the braver
alternative. The French were repelled gallantly; and the British were
permitted to embark without further molestation. In the moment of
victory (January 16, 1809) Sir John Moore fell, mortally wounded by a
cannon-shot: his men buried him in his cloak; and the French, in
testimony of their admiration of his gallantry, erected a monument over
his remains.
Napoleon came up with the troops in pursuit of Moore at Benevente, on
the 29th of December, and enjoyed for a moment the spectacle of an
English army in full retreat. He saw that Moore was no longer worthy of
his own attention, and entrusted the consummation of his ruin to Soult.
It excited universal surprise that the Emperor did not immediately
return from Benevente to Madrid, to complete and consolidate his Spanish
conquest. He, however, proceeded, not towards Madrid, but Paris; and
this with his utmost speed,--riding on post-horses, on one occasion, not
less than seventy-five English miles in five hours and a half. The cause
of this sudden change of purpose, and extraordinary haste, was a
sufficient one; and it ere long transpired.