By 1812, Napoleon’s French Empire had a
quarter of a million troops stationed in Spain, bogged down in a war that seemed to have no
end. They faced a bitter struggle against the people
of Spain, who’d taken up arms in a guerrilla war… as well as the remnants of Spain’s
field armies… and an Anglo-Portuguese army under Lord Wellington. But French forces in Spain remained formidable,
and in firm control of the capital Madrid and most major cities. And the year began with another great French
victory, in the south… and a calamity for Spain. This video is sponsored by Audible, our favourite
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choice and 2 Audible originals from an ever-changing list Thanks to Audible for sponsoring this video. Spain and Portugal would become a graveyard
not just for young French conscripts… but for the reputation of some of France’s most
famous generals. General Junot… Marshal Soult… and Marshal Jourdan had all
tasted defeat. Marshal Masséna had been recalled in disgrace. Marshal Louis-Gabriel Suchet was the exception. French generals in Spain were notorious for
their looting. Soult, based in Andalucia, was probably the
worst, reckoned to have stolen one and half million francs’ worth of art from Spanish
monasteries and churches. As Governor of Aragon, Marshal Suchet behaved
very differently. He enforced strict discipline on his troops,
punishing any who tried to steal or extort money from the Spanish, while treating local
authorities with respect. He combined this hearts and minds strategy
with ruthless military action against the guerrillas… and was able to establish firm
control of Aragon. In June 1811, after a particularly bloody
assault, Suchet took the port of Tarragona, for which Napoleon rewarded him with his Marshal’s
baton. The Emperor then sent him reinforcements,
and ordered him to take Valencia. First he routed a much larger Spanish army
that attacked him at Saguntum, before he laid siege to Valencia. The city was packed with Spanish troops and
refugees, and to avoid starvation, General Blake surrendered Valencia on 8th January
1812. The French took 18,000 prisoners, including
23 generals, and nearly 500 guns. It was a devastating blow to the Spanish cause. But to reinforce Suchet, Napoleon had stripped
troops from other armies in Spain… and then withdrawn 25,000 of the best troops for his
imminent invasion of Russia. The result was that French forces in Spain
were now severely overstretched… just as Wellington prepared to strike. Spanish guerrillas kept Wellington well-informed
of French movements, and learning that the forces facing him in western Spain had been
much weakened, he decided to go on the offensive, to strike a blow before the French could concentrate
against him. On the day that Valencia fell, he laid siege
to Ciudad Rodrigo, on the Portuguese-Spanish frontier. Eager to take the city before Marshal Marmont
could march to its relief, he ordered an assault after just 10 days. It succeeded, though Major General Craufurd
of the Light Division was among 300 killed. Wellington then marched south, to besiege
the much more strongly defended city of Badajoz. An assault was made on the night of 6th April. The first wave attacking the main breach were
slaughtered… but what was supposed to be a diversionary attack on the city’s castle
with scaling ladders… succeeded, and the city soon fell. The storming of Badajoz cost the British 3,700
casualties. In the aftermath, survivors went on the rampage:
drinking, looting, and raping, and killing more than 100 Spanish civilians… before
British officers finally restored order. Wellington had secured the two main routes
between Spain and Portugal. Now he sent his most reliable subordinate,
General Hill, with a small Anglo-Portuguese force to destroy the bridge over the Tagus
at Almaraz. This was a vital link between Marmont’s
Army of Portugal and Soult’s Army of the South, as the next usable bridge was at Toledo,
90 miles east. The bridge was well guarded by forts and redoubts,
but Hill led a swift and daring assault. The French defences were taken by surprise,
the bridge itself and all the engineering equipment burned, for the cost of just 177
casualties. Wellington was now ready to begin his advance
into Spain. Spanish regular forces and guerrilla bands
began operations to tie down as many French troops as possible... While from the Bay of Biscay, Sir Home Popham’s
naval raiding force made diversionary attacks on French coastal targets. In four days, Wellington was at Salamanca,
as Marmont, outnumbered, withdrew behind the Douro River. But when reinforcements arrived, he crossed
the river again. For six days Marmont tried to march around
Wellington’s flank, but the British general matched him move for move, their two armies
marching in parallel, often within sight of each other. But on the seventh day, Marmont blundered. On the morning of 22nd July, Wellington’s
army occupied high ground four miles south of Salamanca. Marmont was not interested in a direct assault
– he still sought to outflank Wellington, threaten his line of retreat to Portugal,
and force him to fall back. Around 8am, the French won a dash for a hill
known as the Greater Arapil, which Marmont made his observation point. The French army began to swing round behind
him. Marmont had convinced himself that Wellington
was an overly cautious general, who would not risk attack. The hills hid most of Wellington’s army
from view… And when Marmont saw dust clouds to the west,
he assumed it was Wellington’s baggage train leaving Salamanca, beginning their retreat. But it was the British 3rd Division and a
Portuguese cavalry brigade, moving up to strengthen Wellington’s flank… Because he wasn’t planning a retreat…
he was about to attack. Around 2pm, Marmont ordered the five infantry
divisions waiting in the woods behind him to march west… to cut off Wellington’s
imagined retreat. General Maucune’s 5th Division, in the lead,
stopped to engage what was presumed to be the British rearguard, in the village of Los
Arapiles. General Thomières’ 7th Division continued
west, past it. Wellington watched as the French left flank
became increasingly strung out, and knew it was an opportunity too good to miss. He galloped three miles across country to
the 3rd Division, to give the crucial orders in person. Many of his staff officers struggled to keep
up. On arrival, he instructed the division’s
commander, his own brother-in-law Edward Pakenham, to attack ‘and drive everything before him.’ 3rd Division’s advance was hidden by low
hills until the last minute. Thomières’ division was caught completely
unawares, and shattered by the assault. Thomières himself was killed, half his division
killed or captured, the rest soon put to flight. At this crucial moment, Marshal Marmont was
hit by a British shell, and carried from the field seriously wounded. His second-in-command, General Bonnet, was
himself wounded an hour later, so command passed to General Clauzel. 45 minutes later the British 5th Division
attacked, supported by two Portuguese brigades, and General Le Marchant’s dragoons. The French saw the cavalry coming and formed
square, but were hit first by the British infantry, who unleashed a close-range volley
then charged with the bayonet. The French were routed and charged down by
Le Marchant’s cavalry. French 6th Division was caught up in the collapse. Le Marchant himself was shot from the saddle,
but his brigade had helped destroy eight French battalions and capture two eagles. Wellington’s echelon attack continued, as
Cole’s 4th Division advanced in the centre. But Pack’s Portuguese brigade was thrown
back from the Greater Arapil, and the whole division was soon falling back in disorder. Despite the devastation of his army’s left
flank, General Clauzel decided to launch an attack on the Lesser Arapil, the hinge of
Wellington’s position. If it could be taken, he might still snatch
victory from the jaws of defeat. But the French advance was met by fresh troops
of Clinton’s 6th Division, who poured volleys of musket fire into the French columns. They began to fall back. The French army had lost the will to fight
on, its soldiers streaming away into the woods behind them. General Ferrey’s 3rd Division mounted a
brave rearguard action, to buy the rest of the army time to escape. But it faced a hopeless task. It was soon outflanked by the British 5th
Division, and Ferrey himself was killed. Only General Foy’s 1st Division escaped
in good order. With darkness falling, and his army exhausted,
Wellington called off the pursuit. Wellington had smashed Marmont’s army, taking
7,000 prisoners and killing or wounding 6,000 more – a French casualty rate of 25%....
and more than double Wellington’s own losses. The next day, dragoons of the King’s German
Legion attacked the French rearguard… and achieved the almost unheard-of feat of charging
down a French infantry square, and taking another thousand prisoners. Wellington now decided to march on Madrid,
forcing King Joseph to abandon the capital, and retreat to Valencia to join up with Marshal
Suchet. On 12th August Wellington liberated the city,
to scenes of wild celebration. Soult, now at risk of being cut off in Andalucía,
abandoned the siege of Cadiz, which had dragged on for two and a half years… and marched
east to join Joseph and Suchet. The following month, Wellington marched north,
pushing the French back from Valladolid, and besieging the castle of Burgos. But his army lacked heavy guns, and the French
garrison fought bravely. As powerful French armies gathered to the
north… and south… Wellington himself was now in danger of being
trapped. He had no choice but to withdraw. Wellington’s retreat turned into a desperate
forced march through autumn rain. The supply system collapsed, and many starving
soldiers looted what food they could find from Spanish villages. Madrid was abandoned, and re-occupied by the
French on 1st November. Wellington was back where he’d started five
months before. But despite the campaign’s dismal conclusion,
his strike into Spain had led to the liberation of huge swathes of the country, and left the
French more overstretched than ever. Reinforced and resupplied, Wellington would
be back the next year, to deliver the final blow to Joseph’s Spanish kingdom. 1812 had seen the tide of war turn. And not just in Spain… Because 2,000 miles to the east, in Russia,
catastrophe had engulfed La Grande Armée... Thank you to all our Patreon supporters who’ve
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