The difficulties of the campaign of August 1808 were increased by the insincerity and disunion of the Spaniards, the feebleness of the Portuguese support, and the extraordinary conduct of the English Government in sending General after General with conflicting instructions. The supersession of Sir Arthur Wellesley at a critical moment, uncalled for and undeserved, would have paralysed a less determined commander. To his resolution, his singleness of purpose, and his tact in dealing with the Portuguese authorities, is the fact due that, brief as the campaign was, it was marked by two brilliant engagements, and established already the military reputation of the English troops. The British army in Portugal, in 1808, was gathered from the four winds of heaven, without harmony either in instructions or management, and destitute of adequate equipment or supplies. The main body, which sailed from Cork, had been intended for South America; the contingent brought by Sir John Moore had been sent in the first instance to Sweden, on an errand rendered fruitless by the obstinacy of the Swedish monarch; and the rest of the army was gathered in instalments from Gibraltar, Madeira, and various parts of England. The annexed table, prepared from the embarkation returns, shows the method in which the Artillery portion of the army was collected:--at first destitute of horses, and, later, embarked with so much precipitation, that in many instances the horses died from long confinement on board ship; and in others it was found that animals had been hurriedly purchased, and embarked afflicted with fatal and infectious diseases, which spread rapidly among those which were healthy. The horses which were purchased in the country were small, and unfitted for Artillery work. The roads round Lisbon, and in the district traversed by Sir A. Wellesley’s force, were of the worst description; and Colonel Robe and his successor, Colonel Harding, wrote to the Board, expressing their thankfulness that, for the three brigades engaged at Roliça and Vimiera they had been able to procure _oxen_ to draw the guns, with horses as leaders! The remonstrances of Colonel Robe and his successors succeeded in procuring from England, as the annexed table will show, a suitable supply of horses as the year advanced; but the honours gained by the Corps had been earned before these arrived (_see_ p. 204). [Sidenote: Now 3 Battery, 2 Brigade, and 7 Battery, 17 Brigade.] In addition to the companies (Captain Geary’s and Captain Raynsford’s) which embarked with Colonel Robe to form part of Sir A. Wellesley’s force, 161 of the King’s German Artillery were also detailed. The services of this Corps during the Peninsular and Waterloo campaigns were of the highest order. The head-quarters of the Corps were at this time at Porchester, and the strength in 1808 was as follows:-- [Sidenote: Muster-Rolls of K. G. Artillery, 1808.]