The
Battle of Salamanca saw an
AngloThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
-
HispanoSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
-
PortuguesePortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east...
army under the
Duke of WellingtonField Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, KP, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Anglo-Irish soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the nineteenth century....
defeat Marshal
Auguste MarmontAuguste Frédéric Louis Viesse de Marmont, 1st Duke of Ragusa was a French General, nobleman and Marshal of France.-Biography:...
's
FrenchFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
forces among the hills around
ArapilesArapiles is a village and municipality in the province of Salamanca, western Spain, part of the autonomous community of Castile-Leon. It is located 8 kilometres from the city of Salamanca and has a population of 466 people...
south of
SalamancaSalamanca is a city in western Spain, the capital of the province of Salamanca, which belongs to the autonomous community of Castile and Leon...
,
SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
on July 22 1812 during the
Peninsular WarThe Peninsular War was a contest between France and the allied powers of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars...
.
The battle was a succession of strokes in
oblique orderThe Oblique Order is a military tactic where an attacking army focuses its forces to attack a single enemy flank. The force commander concentrates the majority of his strength on one flank and uses the remainder to fix the enemy line. This allows a commander with weaker or equal forces to...
, initiated by the Portuguese cavalry brigade and
PakenhamSir Edward Michael Pakenham GCB , styled The Honourable from his birth until 1813, was a British politician and major general who was killed at the Battle of New Orleans....
's 3rd division, and continued by the British
heavy cavalryHeavy cavalry is a class of cavalry whose primary role was to engage in direct combat with enemy forces . Although their equipment differed greatly depending on the region and historical period, they were generally mounted on large powerful horses, and were often equipped with some form of scale,...
and the 4th, 5th and 6th divisions. The French left wing was routed.
By chance, both Marmont and his deputy commander General Bonet were wounded by shrapnel in the first few minutes of firing. The French command confusion may have been decisive in creating the opportunity, which Wellington successfully seized and exploited.
General Bertrand Clausel, third in seniority, assumed command and ordered a counterattack by the French reserve toward the depleted Allied center. It had some success but Wellington had sent his reinforcements to the centre, and they decided the fight in his favour.
The losses were 3,129 British, 6 Spanish and 2,038 Portuguese against about 13,000 French. As a consequence of Wellington's victory, his army was able to advance to and liberate
MadridMadrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. It is the third-most populous municipality in the European Union after Greater London and Berlin, and its metropolitan area is the third-most populous city by urban area in the European Union after Paris and London.The city is located on the river...
for two months, but then retreated back to Portugal. The French were forced to abandon Andalusia permanently, and the loss of Madrid irreparably damaged
King Joseph'salign=right|Joseph-Napoléon Bonaparte, King of Naples and Sicily, King of Spain and the Indies, Comte de Survilliers was the elder brother of Napoleon I of France, who made him King of Naples and Sicily and later King of Spain as Joseph I of Spain...
pro-French governmentAfrancesado was the term used to denote Spanish and Portuguese partisans of Enlightenment ideas, Liberalism, or the French Revolution, who were supporters of the French occupation of Iberia and of the First French Empire.-Origins:In Spain, the term afrancesado surfaced during the reign of Charles...
.
Background
The battle followed a frustrating period of six weeks for Wellington. His foray into central Spain in the spring of 1812 had been blocked by Marmont's army. As Wellington advanced, Marmont's strength grew as he received reinforcements. Wellington withdrew as the odds turned against him, with the armies often marching close together and Marmont repeatedly threatening Wellington's
supply lineMilitary supply chain management is a cross-functional approach to procuring, producing and delivering products and services. The broad management scope includes sub-suppliers, suppliers, internal information and funds flow.-Supply:...
. By this day, Wellington had finally decided to withdraw his army all the way back to Portugal. Suddenly, he observed that Marmont had made the tactical error of separating his left flank from his main body. (Wellington's reaction has been differently reported, with little emphasis that both he and Marmont had been looking for an opening for weeks.) He immediately ordered the major part of his army to attack the over-extended French left wing.
Forces
Marshal Marmont's 50,000-man Army of Portugal contained 8 infantry and 2 cavalry divisions, plus 78 artillery pieces. The infantry divisions were
Maximilien FoyMaximilien Sébastien Foy was a French military leader, statesman and writer.-Revolution:He was born in Ham, Somme, and educated in the military school of La Fere, and made sub-lieutenant of artillery in 1792. He was present at the battles of Valmy and Jemappes, and in 1793 obtained a company, as...
's 1st (4,900), Bertrand Clausel's 2nd (6,300), Claude Ferey's 3rd (5,400), Sarrut's 4th (5,000), Antoine Maucune's 5th (5,000),
Antoine BrenierAntoine-François Brenier de Montmorand served as a French general of division during the period of the First French Empire and became an officer of the Légion d'honneur.-Early career:...
's 6th (4,300), Jean Thomières's 7th (4,300) and Jean Bonet's 8th (6,400). Pierre Boyer led 1,500 dragoons and Curto commanded 1,900 light cavalry. Louis Tirlet directed 3,300 artillerymen and there were also 1,300 engineers, military police and wagon drivers.
Wellington's 48,500-man army included 8 infantry divisions and 2 independent brigades, 5 cavalry brigades and 54 cannons. The infantry divisions were Henry Campbell's 1st (6,200),
Edward PakenhamSir Edward Michael Pakenham GCB , styled The Honourable from his birth until 1813, was a British politician and major general who was killed at the Battle of New Orleans....
's 3rd (5,800), Lowry Cole's 4th (5,191),
James LeithGeneral Sir James Leith GCB commanded the 5th Division in the Duke of Wellington's Anglo-Portuguese army at several critical battles during the Peninsular War between 1810 and 1813.-Early career:...
's 5th (6,700),
Henry ClintonLieutenant-General Sir Henry Clinton, GCB, GCH was a British Army officer and a general officer during the Napoleonic Wars.He came from a family of soldiers...
's 6th (5,500),
John HopeJohn Hope, 4th Earl of Hopetoun PC , known as the Honourable John Hope from 1781 to 1809 and as the Lord Niddry from 1809 to 1816, was a Scottish soldier and politician....
's 7th (5,100) and
Charles AltenSir Charles Alten , Hanoverian and British soldier, son of Baron Alten, a member of an old Hanoverian family, entered the service of the elector as a page at the age of twelve.-Early career:...
's Light (3,500). Carlos D'España commanded a 3,400-man Spanish division, while Denis Pack (2,600) and Thomas Bradford (1,900) led Portuguese brigades.
Stapleton Cotton supervised the cavalry brigades. These included 1,000 British heavy dragoons led by John Le Marchant, 1,000 British light dragoons under
George AnsonGeneral Sir George Anson GCB knots commanded a British cavalry brigade under the Duke of Wellington during the Peninsular War and sat for many years as a Member of Parliament.-Early life:...
, 700 Anglo-German light horse under Victor Alten, 800 King's German Legion (KGL) heavy dragoons led by George Bock and 500 Portuguese dragoons under
Benjamin D'UrbanLieutenant-General Sir Benjamin d'Urban, GCB, KCH, KCTS was a British general and colonial administrator, who is best known for his frontier policy when he was the Governor in the Cape Colony .-Early career:...
. Hoylet Framingham commanded eight British (RHA: Ross, Bull, Macdonald; RA: Lawson, Gardiner, Greene, Douglas, May) and one Portuguese (Arriaga) six-gun artillery batteries.
Maneuvers
Early on July 22, Marmont's army was moving south, with its leading elements southeast of Salamanca. To the west, the Marshal could see Wellington's 7th Division deployed on a ridge. Spotting a dust cloud in the distance, Marmont surmised that most of the British army was in retreat and that he faced only a rearguard. He planned to move his French army south, then west to turn the British right flank.
Marmont was mistaken. Wellington actually had most of his divisions hidden behind the ridge. His 3rd and 5th Divisions would soon arrive from Salamanca. Wellington had planned to retreat if outflanked, but he was watching warily to see if Marmont made a blunder.
Marmont planned to move along an L-shaped ridge, with its angle near a steep height known as the Greater Arapile. That morning, the French occupied only the short, north-pointing part of the L. For his flanking move, Marmont sent his divisions marching west along the long side of the L. The Anglo-Allied army lay behind another L-shaped ridge, inside and parallel to the French L, and separated from it by a valley. Unseen by the French, Wellington assembled a powerful striking force along the long side of the British L.
As Marmont reached to the west, the French became strung out along the long side of the L. Thomières's division led the way, supported by Curto's cavalry. After that came Maucune, Brenier, and Clausel. Bonet, Sarrut, and Boyer were near the Greater Arapile. Foy and Ferey still held the short side of the L.
Wellington strikes
When the 3rd Division and D'Urban's brigade reached the top of the French L, they attacked Thomières. At the same time, Wellington launched the 5th and 4th Divisions, backed by the 7th and 6th Divisions, at the long side of the French L.
The 3rd Division came at the head of Thomières's division in two-deep line. Formed in columns, the French division was charged and routed by superior British tactics and firepower. Thomières was killed. Seeing British cavalry in the area, Maucune formed his division into squares. This was the standard formation to receive a mounted attack, but a poor one to defend against infantry. Deployed in two-deep line, Leith's 5th Division easily defeated Maucune in a musketry duel. As the French foot soldiers began falling back, Cotton hurled Le Marchant's brigade (5th Dragoon Guards, 3rd and 4th Dragoons) at them. Maucune's men were cut to pieces by the heavy cavalrymen's sabres. Many of the survivors surrendered.
Le Marchant hurriedly reformed his troopers and sent them at the next French division, which was winded from a rapid march. The heavy dragoons mauled Brenier's hastily formed first line, but Le Marchant pressed his luck too far. He was killed trying to break a French square in Brenier's second line. William Ponsonby succeeded to command of the brigade.
During this crisis, the French army lost its commander. As Pakenham's 3rd Division prepared to attack Thomières, Marmont finally woke up to his army's peril. He dashed for his horse, but was caught in a British shellburst which broke his arm and two ribs. His second-in-command, Bonet was wounded very soon after. Records conflict, Marmont claiming that he was wounded as his wing became overextended, and his incapacitation led to the error not being corrected before Wellington attacked. His enemies place his wounding during Wellington's attack. For somewhere between 20 minutes and over an hour, the Army of Portugal remained leaderless.
Cole's 4th Division attacked Bonet's division and Pack's Portuguese assaulted the Greater Arapile. With the help of a 40-gun battery firing from the Greater Arapile, both attacks were repulsed by the French.
Assuming command, general Bertrand Clausel did his best to salvage a bad situation. He committed Sarrut's division to shore up the wrecked left flank, and then launched a dangerous counterattack at Cole's 4th Division using his own and Bonet's divisions, supported by Boyer's dragoons. This attack brushed aside Cole's survivors and struck the 6th Division in Wellington's second line. Marshal William Beresford reacted promptly to this developing threat and immediately sent William Spry's Portuguese brigade of the 5th Division to engage the French infantry, while Wellington moved the 1st and 7th Divisions to assist. After bitter resistance, the divisions of Clausel and Bonet were defeated and the French army began to retreat.
As the rest of the French army streamed away, Ferey formed his division in a single three-deep line, with each flank covered by a battalion in square. Led by Clinton's victorious 6th Division, the British came up to this formation and were initially repulsed. After ordering his artillery to crossfire through the centre of the French line, Wellington ordered a second assault. This attack broke Ferey's division, killing its commander.
Foy's division covered the French retreat toward
Alba de TormesAlba de Tormes is a municipality in the province of Salamanca, western Spain, part of the autonomous community of Castile-Leon. The town is on the River Tormes upstream from the city of Salamanca. Alba gave its name to one of Spain's most important dukedoms. St Teresa of Ávila died at a convent...
where there was a bridge they could use to escape. Wellington, believing that the Alba de Tormes crossing was blocked by a Spanish battalion in a fortified castle, directed his pursuit along a different road. However, Maj-Gen D'Espana had withdrawn the unit without informing Wellington, so the French got away. The Army of Portugal suffered 7,000 killed and wounded and 7,000 captured. Besides Marmont's severe wounding, two divisional commanders were killed and another wounded. Half of the 5,214 Anglo-Allied losses came from the 4th and 6th Divisions. Cotton, Cole, and Leith were wounded.
Outcome
The battle established Wellington as an offensive general. It was said that Wellington "defeated an army of 40,000 men in 40 minutes." Six days after the battle, Foy wrote in his diary,
This battle is the most cleverly fought, the largest in scale, the most important in results, of any that the English have won in recent times. It brings up Lord Wellington's reputation almost to the level of that of MarlboroughThe Dukedom of Marlborough , is a hereditary title in the Peerage of England. The first holder of the title was John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough , the noted English general, and indeed an unqualified reference to the Duke of Marlborough in a historical text will almost certainly refer to...
. Up to this day we knew his prudence, his eye for choosing good positions, and the skill with which he used them. But at Salamanca he has shown himself a great and able master of manoeuvring. He kept his dispositions hidden nearly the whole day: he allowed us to develop our movement before he pronounced his own: he played a close game; he utilised the oblique order in the style of Frederick the Great.
The Battle of Salamanca was a damaging defeat to the French. As the French regrouped, the Anglo-Portuguese entered
MadridMadrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. It is the third-most populous municipality in the European Union after Greater London and Berlin, and its metropolitan area is the third-most populous city by urban area in the European Union after Paris and London.The city is located on the river...
on August 6 and began the
Siege of BurgosAt the Siege of Burgos, September 19 to October 21, 1812, the Anglo-Portuguese army led by General Marquess of Wellington failed to capture the castle of Burgos from its French garrison under the command of Brigadier General Jean Louis Dubreton.-Background:...
, before retreating all the way back to Portugal in the autumn when renewed French concentrations threatened to trap them.
The victory was flawed by the failure of Spanish troops to guard a crucial escape route over the bridge at
Alba de TormesAlba de Tormes is a municipality in the province of Salamanca, western Spain, part of the autonomous community of Castile-Leon. The town is on the River Tormes upstream from the city of Salamanca. Alba gave its name to one of Spain's most important dukedoms. St Teresa of Ávila died at a convent...
, possibly by a misunderstanding between Spanish and British commanders. The pursuit failed to destroy or to capture the fleeing French.
Action at Garcia Hernandez
The following day, Wellington's
King's German LegionThe King's German Legion was a British Army unit, made up of expatriate German personnel, 1803–1816, that had the distinction of being the only German force to fight without interruption against the French during the Napoleonic occupation of the German states.-History:When Napoleon imposed...
(KGL) heavy dragoons performed the astounding feat of "
breaking a squareAn infantry square is a combat formation an infantry unit formed in close order assumes when threatened with cavalry attack.-Very early history:...
" and overrunning a portion of the French rear guard in the
Battle of Garcia HernandezIn the Battle of Garcia Hernandez on July 23, 1812, two brigades of Anglo-German cavalry led by Major-General George Bock defeated 4,000 French infantry led by Major-General Maximilien Foy...
. Moreover, they accomplished this twice within a few minutes.
Imperial Eagle
The
Imperial EagleFrench Imperial Eagle refers to the figure of an eagle on a staff carried into battle as a standard by the Grande Armée of Napoleon I during the Napoleonic Wars....
of the French 62nd Line (Thomières) was captured by
LieutenantLieutenant is a military, naval, paramilitary, fire service, emergency medical services or police officer rank....
Pearce of the 2/44th East Essex Regiment, a part of
Lieutenant GeneralLieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....
Leith's 5th Division. Additionally, the Eagle of the 22nd Line regiment was found among a pile of French dead by a Portuguese
caçador.
Cultural References
The battle features in '
Sharpe's SwordSharpe's Sword is a historical novel by Bernard Cornwell and covers the summer campaign of 1812, and the Battle of Salamanca on July 22 1812...
' by
Bernard CornwellBernard Cornwell OBE is an English author of historical novels. He is best known for his novels about Napoleonic Wars rifleman Richard Sharpe which were adapted into a series of Sharpe television films.-Biography:...
, in which
Richard SharpeRichard Sharpe is the central character in Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe series of historical fiction stories. These formed the basis for an ITV television series wherein the eponymous character was played by Sean Bean....
helps Wellington bring the French to battle by feeding a known French spy
false informationDisinformation is false or inaccurate information that is spread deliberately. It is synonymous with and sometimes called Black propaganda. It may include the distribution of forged documents, manuscripts, and photographs, or spreading malicious rumors and fabricated intelligence...
.
Bernard Cornwell also duplicated Wellington's tactics, in this battle, in his re-telling of
Arthur'sKing Arthur is a legendary British leader who, according to medieval histories and romances, led the defense of Britain against the Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and his historical existence is debated...
victory at the
Battle of Mount BadonThe Battle of Mons Badonicus was a battle between a force of Britons and an Anglo-Saxon army, probably sometime between 490 and 517 AD. Though it is believed to have been a major political and military event, there is no certainty about its date or place...
, in
The Warlord ChroniclesThe Warlord Chronicles is a trilogy of books about Arthurian Britain written by Bernard Cornwell...
.
Further reading
- Beamish, N. Ludlow History of the King's German Legion Vol 2 (reprint) Naval and Military Press 1997 ISBN 0952201100
- Fletcher, Ian Salamanca 1812: Wellington Crushes Marmont Osprey Publishing, 1997, ISBN 1855326043
- Muir, Rory Salamanca, 1812 Yale University Press, 2001, ISBN 0300087195
- Young, Peter Wellington's masterpiece: The battle and campaign of Salamanca Allen and Unwin, 1972, ISBN 0049400371
External links