A history of the Peninsular War, Vol. 3, Sep. 1809-Dec. 1810 : $b Ocaña, Cadiz, Bussaco, Torres VedrasOman, Charles
History
A history of the Peninsular War, Vol. 3, Sep. 1809-Dec. 1810 : $b Ocaña, Cadiz, Bussaco, Torres Vedras
Oman, Charles
Peninsular War, 1807-1814
Areizaga had sent it an order to cross the ravine
and attack the French right, when he saw his army beginning to break
up. Then, a few minutes later, he sent another order bidding it close
to the right and cover the retreat. After this the Commander-in-Chief
descended from his tower, mounted his horse, and fled. Zayas
carried out the second order, moved to the right, and found himself
encompassed by masses of fugitives from Giron’s, Castejon’s, and
Lacy’s broken divisions, mixed with French cavalry. He sustained,
with great credit to himself and his troops, a rearguard action for
some miles, till near the village of Dos Barrios, where his line was
broken and his men at last mixed with the rest of the fugitives[102].
[102] The only detailed accounts of the Spanish movements that
I have discovered are the divisional reports of Lacy and Zayas,
both in the Foreign Office archives at the Record Office.
Areizaga’s dispatch is so vague as to be nearly useless.
[Illustration: BATTLE OF OCAÑA. Nov. 19, 1809.]
The whole routed multitude now streamed wildly over the plain, with
the French cavalry in hot pursuit. Thousands of prisoners were
taken, and the chase only ended with nightfall. The fugitives headed
straight for the Sierra Morena, and reached it with a rapidity even
greater than that which they had used in their outward march a
fortnight before. Victor’s cavalry arrived in time to take up the
pursuit next morning: they had on their way to the field captured the
whole of the trains of the Spanish army, on the road from Noblejas
to Ocaña. The losses of Areizaga’s army were appalling; about 4,000
killed and wounded and 14,000 prisoners. Thirty flags and fifty out
of the sixty guns had been captured. When the wrecks of the army had
been rallied in the passes, three weeks after the battle, only some
21,000 infantry[103] and 3,000 horse were reported as present. The
divisions of Lacy, Jacomé, and Zerain had practically disappeared,
and the others had lost from a third to a half of their numbers. The
condition of the cavalry was peculiarly disgraceful; as it had never
stood to fight, its losses represent not prisoners, for the most
part, but mere runaways who never returned to their standards. The
French had lost about 90 officers and 1,900 men, nearly all in the
divisions of Leval, Werlé, and Girard[104]. The cavalry, which had
delivered the great stroke and won the battle, suffered very little.
Mortier had been slightly wounded, Leval and Girard severely.
[103] Viz. Zayas, Vigodet, and Castejon, about 4,000 men each,
Copons 3,000, Giron 2,500, remains of the other three divisions
about 3,500. From the returns in the Madrid War Office.
[104] Martinien’s lists of officers killed and wounded show that
the German division lost 19 officers, the Polish division 23,
Girard’s division 28--in all 70 out of the total of 94 officers
hit in the whole army.
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