English Battles and Sieges in the Peninsula.: Extracted from his 'Peninsula War'.Napier, William Francis Patrick
History
English Battles and Sieges in the Peninsula.: Extracted from his 'Peninsula War'.
Napier, William Francis Patrick
Peninsular War, 1807-1814
Morning came and both armies remained in their respective situations,
the wounded still covering the field of battle, the hostile lines still
menacing and dangerous. The greater number had fallen with the French,
the best soldiers with the allies, and Soult’s dark masses of cavalry
and artillery, covering all his front, seemed able alone to contend
again for victory. The right of the French appeared also to threaten
the Badajos road, and Beresford in gloom and doubt awaited another
attack; soon however the third brigade of the fourth division came up
from Jerumenha, and then the second division retook its old ground
between the Valverde and Badajos roads: on the 18th Soult retreated.
He left to English generosity several hundred men too deeply wounded
to be removed, but all those who could travel he had, in the night
of the 17th, sent by the royal road of Monasterio to Seville; and
now, protecting his movements with his horsemen and six battalions of
infantry, he filed his right on to the road of Solano. When this flank
march was completed, Latour Maubourg covered the rear with the heavy
dragoons, while Briché protected the march of the wounded men by the
royal road.
Beresford sent Hamilton to re-invest Badajos, and the whole of his
cavalry, supported by Alten’s Germans, after the French; but soon
Wellington, hurrying from the north, reached the field of battle and
directed him to follow the enemy cautiously in person, while the third
and seventh divisions, just come down from the Coa, completed the
reinvestment of the fortress.
Soult now took a permanent position at Llerena, to await the junction
of Drouet’s division and reinforcements from Andalusia, resolved to
contend again for Badajos. Meanwhile his cavalry advanced to Usagre
designing to scour the country beyond; but the only outlet from that
place was a bridge over a river with steep banks, which the French
general Bron passed rashly with two regiments and being charged by
General Lumley lost two hundred men. This terminated Beresford’s
operations. The miserable state to which the Regency had reduced the
Portuguese troops required his presence at Lisbon and General Hill
succeeded to his command.
RENEWED SIEGE OF BADAJOS. (May, 1811.)
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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