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In the autumn of 1807, French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte dominated Europe.
He had humbled Austria… and Prussia… and sealed an alliance with Russia.
Of the major powers, only Britain still defied him – safe from invasion thanks to its powerful
navy.
Napoleon had ordered all territory controlled by France or its allies to stop trading with
Britain – the so-called ‘Continental System’, or Blockade - designed to wreck Britain’s
economy and force its government to make peace.
But neutral Portugal had continued to trade with its historic ally, Britain… so Napoleon
sent an army under General Junot to occupy the country, and force it into line.
The invasion was supported by France’s ally, Spain… though privately, Napoleon held Spain’s
rulers in contempt:
The Bourbon royal family was decadent and corrupt;
The king and crown prince loathed each other, while the country was effectively run by chief
minister Manuel Godoy, the Queen’s lover.
Spain, Napoleon concluded, was backwards, militarily weak and incompetently governed,
and devised a plan to seize control of the country.
In the spring of 1808, under the pretext of guarding Spain against the British, French
troops took up strategic positions around the country.
The Spanish people saw the French military presence as the latest in a long line of humiliations
- and held chief minister Manuel Godoy responsible.
There were riots at the palace of Aranjuez; Godoy was nearly lynched.
Napoleon invited the Spanish royal family, and Godoy, to take refuge in the French city
of Bayonne, and sent Marshal Murat and 50,000 troops to restore order in Madrid.
But on 2nd May 1808, the people of Madrid rose up against Murat’s soldiers. It became
known as the Dos de Mayo Uprising, immortalised by the artist Francisco Goya.
This scene shows Mamelukes of Napoleon’s Imperial Guard attacked by the citizens of
Madrid.
100 soldiers were killed. The French responded ruthlessly, shooting down dozens in the streets,
and executing more than a hundred by firing squad.
Meanwhile in Bayonne, Napoleon forced King Carlos to abdicate, and bestowed the title
King of Spain on his own brother, Joseph.
That summer, as Napoleon forced a new, modernising constitution on Spain, and his brother Joseph
entered Madrid as its new king – the Spanish reacted with fury.
The French weren’t just arrogant foreigners trampling on their national honour – they
were godless atheists who, during the French Revolution, had rejected the Pope and Catholic
Church. Napoleon, priests warned the peasants, was the very Antichrist himself.
Revolts erupted across the country. The Spanish army was joined by militias and partisans,
who attacked French troops and killed collaborators.
French soldiers carried out savage reprisals.
No mercy was shown.
The countless atrocities horrified Francisco Goya, and led to his famous ‘Disasters of
War’ series.
At first it seemed the French would easily put down the revolt.
Girona, Valencia and Zaragosa were besieged by French troops… while the Spanish Army
of Galicia was routed by Marshal Bessières at the Battle of Medina del Rioseco.
But eight days later, as General Dupont and three French divisions withdrew from Cordoba,
slowed down by wagons piled high with loot, they were surrounded at Bailén by General
Castaños’s Army of Andalusia, and forced to surrender.
The Spanish took 18,000 French prisoners - about half of whom later died of starvation.
Bailén was a humiliation for France – her first major defeat since Napoleon became emperor.
France’s enemies across Europe were delighted… Napoleon was incandescent with fury.
The situation went from bad to worse.
The Portuguese joined the revolt, while fierce Spanish resistance forced the French to abandon
the sieges of Valencia, Girona and Zaragoza.
Spain’s new king, Joseph Bonaparte, was even forced to flee the capital.
The British assisted the revolt – which the Spanish now called a ‘war of independence’
- by shipping weapons to Spain using the Royal Navy.
On 1st August, a small British army commanded by Sir Arthur Wellesley landed in Portugal
to aid their revolt.
On 17th August, he beat a small French force at Roliça, then four days later, beat Junot’s
main army at the Battle of Vimeiro.
But Wellesley’s newly-arrived superior, Sir Hew Dalrymple, then agreed to repatriate
Junot and his army to France, with all their arms and plunder, using British ships.
In Britain, the generous terms were seen as a disgrace and scandal: a subsequent inquiry
exonerated Wellesley – the future Duke of Wellington - but Dalrymple never held command
again.
Napoleon decided the only way to sort out the situation in Spain… was to go there
himself.
He assembled 130,000 reinforcements, including many of his best troops… and, on 7th November,
led a second invasion of Spain.
Most Spanish troops were inexperienced, were often badly-equipped and led, and their armies
had no coherent strategy.
They were no match for the Grande Armée, which burst across the Ebro River, and inflicted
heavy defeats on the Spanish at Burgos and Tudela.
At Tudela, Marshal Lannes’ Third Corps avenged the defeat at Bailén by smashing the army
of General Castaños, sending it fleeing in two directions.
Napoleon pushed on rapidly.
North of Madrid, 8,000 Spanish held the mountain pass at Somosierra.
Napoleon, impatient to break through to the capital, ordered forward the Polish Light
Horse of the Guard.
In an attack of almost suicidal bravery, they charged the Spanish guns head-on and enabled
the French to take the pass.
Four days later, after Napoleon threatened to obliterate the city, Madrid opened its
gates to his army.
Unaware of the disaster engulfing Spanish forces… a 20,000 strong British army, commanded
by Sir John Moore, had just arrived in Salamanca after a 300-mile march from Lisbon... with
another smaller force en route from Coruña.
The British army was inexperienced, but in contrast to most Spanish forces, it was well-trained…
organised, and led.
As news reached Moore of the Spanish collapse, he nevertheless planned to divert French forces
by attacking Marshal Soult’s isolated Second Corps, and threatening Napoleon’s communications
to Burgos, and France.
At Sahagun, on 21st December, the British 15th Hussars advanced overnight through winter
frost, and made a dawn attack on a French cavalry brigade, routing it in one great charge.
But as Moore prepared a full-scale attack on Soult’s corps, he received news that
Napoleon was advancing rapidly towards him, with his main army, from Madrid.
While two French corps under Marshal Lannes began a second, bloody siege of Zaragoza,
Napoleon saw a chance to get to grips with the British at last.
Intending to trap Moore between his own forces and Soult’s Second Corps, he force-marched
his troops over the icy Guadarrama Pass in the midst of a blizzard.
Moore, facing odds of more than two to one, immediately ordered a retreat, planning to
march 250 miles to the coast where his army could be evacuated by the Royal Navy.
For both sides, the race to the sea was an exhausting slog through mountains, mud and
bitter cold.
Many fell by the wayside, as British discipline collapsed, leading to looting and drunkenness…
Except among the rearguard, which fought several, skilful delaying actions and kept the French
at bay.
Soldiers of Britain’s elite 95th Rifles were prominent in these skirmishes. This specialised
light infantry regiment wore green uniforms for better concealment, and were one of the
few units on any side armed with rifles. Unlike the standard smoothbore musket, rifles had
spiral grooves in the barrel that spun the bullet as it was fired, making them slower
to load… but much more accurate.
In one legendary incident during Moore’s retreat, at Cacabelos, Rifleman Tom Plunkett
picked out and shot dead a French general at 400 yards – some say further.
Thanks to the skill of the rearguard, and the desperate pace of the retreat, the British
kept one step ahead of the French.
On New Year’s Eve, Napoleon received grave news from Paris – rumours of plots, and
Austria mobilising once more for war.
The Emperor immediately left for France, taking many of his best troops with him… and entrusted
Marshal Soult and Second Corps with finishing off the British.
The pursuit continued, but on 11th January 1809, Moore’s ragged army reached Coruña.
For Sir John Moore’s exhausted army the Spanish port meant supplies, rest and the
prospect of rescue.
But few ships were there to meet them on the 11th.
Fortunately, the British had been able to blow up bridges behind them to delay Marshal
Soult’s advance… and three days later, on 14th January, the naval transports arrived,
allowing Moore to begin embarking his cavalry and artillery.
But the very next day, Soult’s army appeared on the hills south of Coruña, taking up positions
on the heights of Peñasquedo, where he sited his main battery of cannon.
Half of Moore’s army deployed in a defensive line two miles south of the city, with two
divisions held back to protect his right flank.
Both armies were roughly 16,000 strong.
The French had 4 regiments of dragoons, while the British cavalry was already aboard ship.
But the broken terrain of walls, hedges and olive trees made the battlefield ill-suited
to cavalry.
Soult’s plan was to attack the British right flank, and trap Moore’s army against the
sea.
Around 2pm the French artillery opened fire. Then Mermet’s infantry division advanced,
supported by Lahoussaye’s dragoons on his left.
Moore had been unsure if Soult would attack, and had just ordered Paget’s division to
begin embarkation.
Now he hurriedly cancelled that order, ordering Paget instead to bring up his men to reinforce
his open flank, and Fraser’s division to take up position on the heights of Santa Margarita.
The French advanced through hedges and over walls, with heavy firing from skirmishers
on both sides.
Then the British counterattacked.
The 42nd Highlanders and 50th Foot charged into the village of Elviña, and drove the
French out.
But in confused fighting… they, in turn, were soon pushed back to their own lines.
Sir John Moore was close to the front line, observing developments, urging on officers
and men.
But as he ordered up the Guards brigade to reinforce the line, he was hit in the shoulder
by a cannonball. He remained conscious, but it was obvious the wound was fatal, and he
was carried back to the city.
Soult sent forward Merle’s division to support the attack on Elviña
Scottish general Sir John Hope had taken over command of the British army from the dying
Moore, and he ordered forward two battalions of infantry to meet the French attack.
Now Paget’s division, led by skirmishers of the 95th Rifles, arrived to shore up the
British right flank.
The terrain was so bad for horses that French dragoons choose to dismount and fight on foot…
but were slowly pushed back by the British.
Paget’s advance threatened the flank of Mermet’s attack on Elviña, and he too was
forced to withdraw...
while an attack on the right by Delaborde’s infantry secured a foothold in the village
of Piedralonga, but got bogged down in heavy skirmishing.
Around 6pm, dusk fell, and firing died out across the battlefield.
News that the British line had held reached Moore shortly before he died in Coruña, around
8pm.
That night, the British lit campfires and posted sentries, then silently withdrew to
Coruña, to begin embarkation.
The next morning the French found the enemy positions abandoned. But they were slow to
take advantage.
It wasn’t until noon that they were able to bring up six cannon, and get them into
position overlooking the bay of Coruña.
The British had almost completed their evacuation by the time the French guns opened fire. In
a hurried departure, a few British transports ran aground and two were set on fire… but
overall losses were light.
A small Spanish garrison held Coruña, waiting until the British fleet had escaped to sea…
before surrendering.
Whether Moore’s retreat to Coruña was a British disaster, or miraculous escape, is
still debated.
And, did he abandon Spain in its hour of need, or draw off Napoleon’s main force, buying
time for others?
Either way, Britain’s only army had been saved… and would return to fight another
day…
While Napoleon now faced the prospect of a long war on the Iberian Peninsula, and renewed
conflict with Austria… a war on two fronts that would challenge his empire like never
before.
Napoleon had blundered in Spain. But it was years before the scale of his mistake was
evident.
Then, he would say:
“I embarked pretty badly on this affair, I admit it.
The immorality showed too obviously, the injustice was too cynical… the whole of it remains
very ugly.”
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Thanks to the YouTube channel HistoryMarche for the battlemap and animation sequences,
and to the 95th Rifles re-enactment society for the use of their photo.
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