The war of the Peninsula and the invasion of Russia were the great
sources of Napoleon’s overthrow. Having summarily dethroned Ferdinand
VII. of Spain, he placed the crown of that kingdom upon the head of his
elder brother Joseph. But the Spaniards resisted this transfer from
Bourbon to Bonaparte, and having taken the field, with enthusiasm, they
defeated and captured a French army, commanded by General Dupont, and
drove King Joseph beyond the Ebro. Napoleon then left Paris, (October,
1808,) and placed himself at the head of two hundred thousand men, to
crush all opposition in Spain.
In the meantime, the Spaniards had vested the management of their
affairs in a central or supreme junta, stationed at their recovered
capital of Madrid. The determined spirit of opposition to French
interference continued as strong as ever; but the power to act in
concert, or maintain well directed efforts in a common cause, already
appeared doubtful. The Supreme Junta found it difficult, sometimes
impossible, to enforce obedience on their generals; and the provincial
juntas were too apt to act independently, and assert their own right to
separate command. The English government, at the same time, though
promising aid, and making large preparations to afford it, yet
continually procrastinated; and when Napoleon invaded the country, the
native forces alone were in the field. Three armies had been formed, all
intended to co-operate, and amounting to about one hundred thousand men,
but, unfortunately, all under independent generals. Blake commanded the
army on the western frontier, which extended from Burgos to Bilbao.
General Romana, who commanded one of the auxiliary divisions of Spanish
soldiers in the French service, had dexterously contrived to escape from
the Island of Funen, and had been landed in Spain, with ten thousand
men, by British ships. His corps was attached to that of General Blake.
The head-quarters of the central army under Castanos, were at Soria;
those on the eastern side, under Palafox, extended between Saragossa and
Sanguesa. The Spanish armies were therefore arranged in the form of a
long and weak crescent, the horns of which advanced towards France. The
fortresses in the north of Spain were all in the possession of the
French, and strongly garrisoned.
Napoleon was at Bayonne on the 3d of November, and by the 8th, he had
directed the movements of the last columns of his advancing army across
the frontier: on the same evening, he arrived at Vittoria, where Joseph
held his court. The civil and military authorities met him at the gates,
and prepared to conduct him with pomp to the house prepared for his
reception; but he leaped off his horse, entered the first inn he
observed, and called for maps and detailed reports of the position of
the armies. In two hours, he had arranged the plan of the campaign; and
by daybreak on the 9th, Soult took the command of Bessieres’s corps, and
began to push forward his columns upon the plains of Burgos, against an
auxiliary corps, under the Count de Belvidere, designed to support the
right flank of Blake’s army. Belvidere was completely defeated at
Gomenal; one of his battalions, composed entirely of students from
Salamanca and Leon, refused to fly, and fell in their ranks. Blake was
then routed at Espinosa, by General Victor, and again at Reynosa, by
Soult, whence the wreck of his army fled in disorder, and took refuge in
Santander. Nearly the whole of Romana’s corps perished in the cliffs of
Espinosa, after the battle. Palafox and Castanos had, mean time, united
their forces, and waited the attack of the French under Lannes, at
Tudela, on the 22d of November. The Spaniards were on this occasion,
also, utterly defeated, with the loss of four thousand killed, and three
thousand prisoners. Castanos fled, after the action, in the direction of
Calatayud; and Palafox once more threw himself and the remains of his
troops into Saragossa, where he was immediately invested closely by
Lannes.
The road to Madrid was now open to Napoleon. He advanced at the head of
his guards and the first division of the army, and reached the strong
pass of the Somosierra Chain, about ten miles distant from the city, on
the 30th of November. The way lies through a very steep and narrow
defile, and twelve thousand men, with sixteen pieces of cannon, which
completely swept the road, were strongly posted to dispute his passage.
On the 1st of December, the French began the attack at daybreak, with an
attempt to turn the flanks of the Spaniards. Napoleon rode into the
mouth of the pass, and surveyed the scene. His infantry were straggling
along the sides of the defiles, and making no efficient progress; but
the smoke of the sharp skirmishing fire, mingling with the morning fog,
was curling up the rocks, and almost hid the combatants from view. Under
this veil, he ordered the Polish lancers of the guard to charge up the
road in face of the artillery. They obeyed with impetuous courage. The
Spanish infantry, panic struck, fired, threw down their arms, and fled:
the Poles dashing onward, seized the cannon in an instant. The whole of
the Spanish force fled.
On the 2d of December, the French soldiers celebrated the anniversary of
the coronation of King Joseph under the walls of Madrid. The city had
been prepared for defence. A strong, but irregular force were in array
within the gates. The pavement had been taken up to form barricades; the
houses on the out-skirts loop-holed; and a spirit of desperate
resolution, similar to that which had immortalized the people of
Saragossa, was displayed. The French officer sent to summon the town,
narrowly escaped being torn to pieces by the mob. The Emperor then made
his dispositions for attack, and long after the camp-fires of his troops
had encircled Madrid with flame, and scared the darkness of the night,
the work of investure proceeded. The French were in high spirits. Their
invincible Emperor was with them, and they had the greatest contempt for
the Spaniards. About midnight, Napoleon again summoned the city to
surrender; but an answer of defiance was returned; and then,
dispositions were made for storming. There was but little sleep that
night among besieged or besiegers. The clangor of arms, “the dreadful
note of preparation,” resounded on the air until the dawn, when the
Emperor was on horseback to direct operations. The Retiro and the palace
of the Duke of Medina Celi were stormed, and as terror began to fill the
breasts of the citizens, Napoleon again summoned the authorities to
surrender. The governor came out to the French, and said he desired a
suspension of arms, but was afraid of openly talking of surrender.
Napoleon, wishing to avert the horrors of assault, gave a little longer
time to the distracted city, whence there issued, throughout the night,
“a sound,” says Napier, with vivid force, “as if some mighty beast was
struggling and howling in the toils.” At eight or nine in the morning of
the 4th of December, the gates were opened to the conqueror, and the
French took possession of Madrid.
Joseph was now restored to his authority in the capital. Corunna
followed, and the English were driven out of Spain. Napoleon then
returned to Paris. But the subjection of the Spaniards was not complete,
and was destined never to be completed by his arms. His ablest
lieutenants, although successful for a time, were at length overthrown
by the British and Spaniards, under Wellington, and the contest proved
but an exhausting struggle, in which were developed the influences which
brought the imperial throne to the dust.
[Illustration]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration]