Swallowing Portugal Will Settle My Spanish Bellyache

by Geoffrey Watson

  Cockburn tried to sound sympathetic. I think it is not that they have no interest, Joshua. Anything that hurts the French is of interest. It is just that every time they meet the French, they get beat. They must have a few good commanders, but their whole system just keeps on throwing up high born deadwood at the very top and that gives the rank and file no confidence in the abilities of their leaders.

  If it should help, I have had word of some sort of Anglo-Spanish force being gathered together to march from here and Tarifa to attack Victor in the rear at the same time as a sortie is mounted from Cadiz. Admiralty has asked me to evacuate the strongholds that Hamish captured, to make five hundred marines available to take part.

  Unfortunately, it does not help with your present problem as the Spanish say they can’t get enough men together for another five or six weeks. I suspect it shall be mid February at the earliest before it happens; if it happens at all.”

  Welbeloved snorted; derisive and contemptuous at the same time. “We had nearly ten good years together, Charles and some very creditable successes. Yew were always in command, but yew never rejected my advice when it came to landing parties and soldiering.

  If this is truly to be a joint venture, my advice is to have as little to do with it as possible, unless Wellington has chosen the British commander, unless that commander is in overall command and unless he controls at least ten thousand British soldiers. Victor has up to twenty thousand men around Cadiz if Soult hasn’t stolen some of them. Even Wellington shall not risk a face to face battle with even numbers, unless he’s chosen the ground on which to fight.”

  “Unfortunately, Joshua, I get my orders from the Admiralty or from the Commander-in-Chief here. I can only do what they tell me to do, most of the time.”

  Welbeloved snorted again, but this time with genuine amusement. “One thing I always admired was yor skill when interpreting the orders yew received. I do seem to recollect that at Acre, yew did almost the opposite of what Sidney Smith wanted yew to do and then convinced him that it was, in fact, what he had wanted all along.”

  “Oh, come now, Joshua, John Guest here will bear me out that the commodore never ordered us not to do what we did. He was only too pleased to claim the credit and the prize money afterwards.”

  Guest nodded sagely, with a smug grin on his face. He had learned quickly in those days and had been the first to scour the orders for all the things that they did not say must be done.

  Hamish MacKay put his glass of claret down carefully on the table. “At the risk of trying tae teach my elders and betters how tae eat ship’s biscuit, anything that is nae going tae happen for six weeks isnae likely tae bother Soult. According tae the local partisans, he’s been gathering his forces since before Christmas.

  All the men that Sebastiani should have had besieging our strongholds are now camped around Seville and the twenty thousand besieging Cadiz hae been cut tae fifteen thousand. It can only be surmise about where he’s taking this army, but I’m wagering that Napoleon shall hae been encouraging him tae dae something tae help Masséna. Whatever he decides, he can only march north-west and soon.”

  Welbeloved looked at Cockburn, his close friend for the last ten years. “Do yew know, Charles, I’ve watched yew over the years as yew’ve drawn many men under yor influence and guided them with yor ideals into commands of their own.

  Hamish has been my right hand since our time in Palestine. I think I’ve taught him much of what he knows but not all, because he’s starting to teach me a thing or two and he’s ten years younger than I am. The only consolation I have left is that I am much better looking.”

  Cockburn and Guest looked from one to the other and Cockburn spoke for both of them. “In all honesty, Joshua, I feel you should look elsewhere for your consolation.”

  Welbeloved beamed and turned to MacKay, who was muttering under his breath. “I do still have a sense of the ridiculous, Hamish, that was denied to yew in yor Presbyterian youth and that yor wife tells me yew do yor best to hide, even now. That apart, I do not believe I have anything more I can teach yew.

  I agree entirely with yor assessment, but have been unable to think of any solution other than taking the Hornets to Seville and creating as much mayhem as possible in the hope of delaying any schemes Soult may have hatched. That and appealing to the remnants of the Spanish army in the mountains to the north of the town to come and help us.”

  MacKay grimaced. “You dae blether on about me without any justification, Sir, but what I was considering was almost exactly what you hae just said, except that I think that Soult shall hae left already. He’ll hae taken enough of the garrison tae make it feasible for our lads tae blockade all the roads in and out of the town.

  I warrant we could disrupt their cosy life enough tae make Soult send one of his divisions back tae rescue them.

  We shan’t get a lot of help for something this big from the local guerrilleros, as they are nae well organised as yet. The French hae only been here for nine months. Algy Chumley is therefore gone looking for any remnants of a Spanish army that he can talk intae joining us.”

  Guest opened his mouth for the first time, having been content merely to feed it and listen attentively up to now. “We can find up to four hundred marines to support you, Sir Joshua, if the Commodore agrees. Most of them have been trained in musketry by your own men and could give a good account of themselves in action.”

  There was a short, slightly embarrassed, silence for a few seconds, then Welbeloved turned him down as gently as he could. “Everywhere in Andalucia, John, the French can bring together five thousand or more soldiers if they have to. The Hornets can fight on their own terms and withdraw when overmatched. Marines cannot do that. They have bright red uniforms and they are on foot. Even ten times the number yew have offered shall be of no avail as the Frogs can always amass more, and they have guns and cavalry available as well.

  Hamish has proposed the only scheme likely to work and if the Dons can be persuaded to come down from the mountains, they are quite capable of scuttling back into the hills, once they’ve given the French a fright.”

  ***

  Two days later, the Hornets settled themselves across all the roads leading into Seville. It was by no means a close investment. The river Guadalquivir was a problem, as Welbeloved had to take A and B Companies to cover the north and west banks. MacKay had the area south and east of the city, the responsibility of C and D Companies. It was probably the more perilous of the two positions, as traffic between Seville and Marshal Victor’s siege of Cadiz to the south, was considerably greater than that on the road that Marshal Soult had departed along in the direction of Badajoz, Olivenza and northwest towards Portugal and Lisbon.

  On the first day they intercepted many convoys of wagons and large quantities of supplies going into Seville. The French were using requisitioned wagons for collecting the impositions they had made on the villages and towns around Seville.

  MacKay collected far more, as much of the produce was being redirected south to feed Victor’s army around Cadiz. Any Spanish drivers were sent straight back to their villages with wagon and contents. The food would be welcome as the strain of having to support the invading armies was already causing semi-starvation in many areas.

  The first day had produced no resistance. The convoys had needed few armed escorts and such as they were had no desire to argue with the greater numbers of their captors. They were disarmed and held for departure with the Hornets’ own wagon train to their camp at Ronda. They would then be passed on to Gibraltar and captivity.

  Both Welbeloved and MacKay had blocked the roads first thing in the morning and both had calculated that they could expect some reaction after dawn on the day following. The obvious first step should be questing cavalry patrols and the Hornets were in position, waiting for them at first light.

  It was possible that Soult had taken most of the cavalry with him and left few behind in the garrison. Maybe the military governor considered the missing
convoys to be as the result of partisan activity. Whatever the reason, only a single squadron of chasseurs was sent to investigate. One troop went over the bridge towards Welbeloved. The other three went south. All were ambushed, either killed or captured, with just one or two from each troop allowed to escape to carry the news back to Seville and provoke alarm and confusion.

  The Hornets continued to stop all traffic moving towards the town for the rest of the day. Nothing was leaving and that indicated that they were aware of the blockade. They also started the first batch of prisoners: drivers, guards and chasseurs, on their way back to Ronda and Gibraltar.

  By midday, the garrison ought to have realised the seriousness of their problem. Survivors of the chasseurs would have had time to gallop back by then; perhaps ten men from a squadron of over a hundred.

  It was the size of the problem that would have puzzled them. The fleeing chasseurs could have been of little help. Their squadron was destroyed and to excuse themselves they would be inclined to exaggerate the numbers that had sent them running. It was an enigma. If the enemy was here in substantial numbers, why was he sitting ten miles out instead of investing the city closely?

  They really could not afford to send out insufficient men to deal with each roadblock. Then again, if they sent out too many they stood the chance that a sudden masive thrust from an unexpected direction could penetrate into the heart of the city.

  The logic of the situation was obvious. They had to commit men to defend the bridge over the Guadalquivir against any attack from the northwest and send a thousand or so men and what little cavalry they had to clear the roads to the south.

  If they came up against more troops than they could handle, they would have enough men to beat an orderly retreat into the city and they could use the time to send a couple of troops of light cavalry across the river. They could make a break to the north and go and inform Soult that his headquarters was under serious attack.

  That, at least, was Welbeloved’s best guess at what the French would do. He sent B Company back across the river at night to reinforce MacKay.

  With only A Company left to cover the north, he suspended his blockade. He wanted to make sure that the messengers that he hoped would be sent to Soult got safely through his lines.

  He moved 3 and 4 Platoons closer to the bridge over the river to observe everything that left the town for the west and north. Where the river curved round to the east, Captain Cholmondeley took 1 and 2 Platoons along the northern bank. The winter rains ensured that there were only two crossings within twenty-five miles that could be used by cavalry and each location would be watched by one of the platoons.

  South of Seville, the French were moving out of the town before dawn. Light and heavy infantry led the way until it got light when three squadrons of chasseurs took over and probed southward along all three roads leading south to Cadiz, southeast towards the Mediterranean and eastwards in the direction of Granada.

  The original cavalry patrol had been treated so roughly that the commander of the force was feeling quite unsure about what numbers were facing him. Being cautious and disinclined to split his infantry, he directed them in columns down the main route to Cadiz, sending a squadron of chasseurs ahead in extended order to protect his flanks from surprise.

  The other two cavalry squadrons each moved warily along the other two roads, also in open order, looking to attract the attention of whatever forces might be sitting astride them. Their intention was to keep them occupied and deter them from concentrating against the infantry.

  Within half an hour of the French settling down to this order of march, the look-outs that MacKay had concealed within a mile of the town had reported back. He now knew that three or four companies of voltigeurs and five or six companies of line infantry, with a couple of six-pounders, were following close behind a screen of chasseurs on the Cadiz road. He also knew that the other two roads had only a squadron of chasseurs each. That would have to be a task for D Company.

  He called Captain Tonks over. “We hae about a thousand Frogs wi’ a hundred chasseurs and twa guns coming down the Cadiz road, Percy. Shall you take your lads and discourage the twa squadrons of chasseurs moving down the other twa roads? It’s open country round both roads, but the odds are only twa tae one. Come over and lend a hand here if you can see them off quickly.”

  Addenbrooke and Davison watched D Company canter away. Captain Addenbrooke and B Company had been riding most of the night but seemed no worse for only two hours sleep before dawn.

  “Ye’ve heard what we’re facing, Gentlemen. We’re nae in high country now and I can only be thankful that Sir Joshua was thoughtful enough tae hae you join us, Captain. We’d hae been thin on the ground else.

  Now, let’s be getting a move on. As I told Tonks, it is nae very hilly here and the best position on the Cadiz road is only an hour away frae the Frogs. It’s nae perfect but I wager it shall serve. We’ll hae half an hour tae settle in if we leave now.”

  As far as MacKay was concerned, this was the least hilly part of the whole of Spain and the road to Cadiz ran in the valley of the Guadalquivir, skirting the area of flood plain that would not dry out until Spring.

  He led the Hornets directly toward a small knoll, quite steep up to its two hundred foot summit and off to one side of the road. There was open, but broken ground for half a mile to a belt of willows and osiers bounding the winter swamp and securing the right flank. The far side of the knoll was thick scrub and trees, unsuitable for passage and criss-crossed with gullies and water-filled, deep holes.

  The ground between the knoll and the swamp was good farm land with the occasional stand of fruit or olive trees and the road was lined at varying distances with dark-leaved cork oaks.

  Two platoons took possession of the knoll and the other six spread out in a thin skirmish line as far as the swamp willows. They made themselves comfortable, each concealed wherever they found convenient, but all of them about a hundred yards back from a small stream; more of a drainage ditch that was quite full; that meandered across their front from the knoll to the marsh.

  MacKay watched from the top of the knoll with Addenbrooke and Davison, until the first of the infantry came in sight, following in column behind the extended line of probing cavalry.

  “There you see them, Gentlemen! Four companies of voltigeurs in column with half as many again of line infantry following on. Your twa platoons on the knoll, Paul, are all riflemen and can engage the chasseurs at twa hundred yards. Everyone else can join in after that, when targets present themselves.

  I wager that the voltigeurs shall spread intae skirmish order as soon as we fire on the cavalry. You’ll hae the contest that you’ve all been hoping for, but I’ll nae be happy if you let many of them get beyond that ditch.

  The heavy infantry shall only see your smoke and I shall be on record as saying that they’ll come on in column up the road in the same old way and all for lack of a target tae aim at. Feel free tae pepper their flank if you’ve dealt with the voltigeurs by then.

  Off you gae then and keep an eye open for the guns they’ve brought. They shall likely aim at the knoll for lack of any other targets they can see.”

  The two captains hurried away. Davison paused to pass on the instructions to his men on the slope. MacKay peered through his small telescope at the chasseurs to see if anyone noticed the two men descending, but they were far too experienced and had kept the curve of the hill between themselves and the enemy.

  Nobody appeared to be in any hurry. The leisurely walking pace of the chasseurs enabled them to study the ground before them and maintain a good quarter mile gap between them and the column of voltigeurs. Then they all halted briefly.

  A scattering of faint popping sounds could be heard in the far distance, to the left of the line of march. It reassured the French that there was an enemy somewhere ahead of them and the advance continued, warily on the part of the cavalry and doggedly on the part of the infantry, who were relying on the horsemen to
flush out their quarry.

  Four hundred yards away along the road, the French squadron commander had halted to indulge in a thorough survey of the knoll. It was only a small hill, a veritable pimple compared with the vast majority of Spanish mountains, but it was an obvious defensive position and merited a lengthy scrutiny with his small glass.

  Satisfied that there were no brightly coloured uniforms to be seen, he signalled for his entourage to catch up with the line of horsemen that had almost reached the two hundred yard mark. MacKay had hoped that all the primary targets would be in range at the same time and here was the French commander shifting the scenery before the curtains had rolled back and a shot had been fired.

  He yelled loudly enough for the men on the knoll to hear and hoped that it would not carry to the French. “Wait for my first shot!!”

  His sights were lined up on the chest of the trotting commander and he shot him from his saddle at the very moment he reined back to a walk, twenty yards past his two hundred yard mark.

  The volley from the knoll that followed knocked out the entire command party on the road and a dozen more riding within range of the hill.

  The clouds of powder smoke told the French that the knoll was the strong point that had to be captured. Other things were also evident immediately. It was not ground on which the cavalry could hope to succeed. Horses struggling up the slope would be targets that could not be missed. Infantry would have to be used to take it, but the knoll was seemingly isolated, with no sign of any supporting troops.

  The chasseurs were leaderless. Only the troop commanders were left and their instinct was to take their men around the back of the knoll to trap the defenders until the infantry could come up.

  Their instinctive movement was misjudged. It brought them within range of the hidden line of Hornets; a whole squadron moving across their front in bunches instead of the previously extended line.

  The resulting clouds of smoke all across the plain told the infantry where their enemy was waiting, but very little about their numbers. On the other hand, less than a dozen chasseurs fled back to safety and it ought to have demonstrated to the rest of the French that the plain in front of them was more perilous than they could believe.