History of the War in Spain and Portugal, from 1807 to 1814, Page 140 |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
advanced guard allied army Almeida Andalusia arrived artillery attack Badajoz battle besieged Blake blockade brave breach Buonaparte Buonaparte's Busaco Cadiz campaign capitulation Catalonia cavalry CHIG Ciudad-Rodrigo column command corps defeated defended detached division Douro Duke enemy English army Estremadura evacuated favour fifteenth fire forced French army garrison governor Guadiana honour hundred infantry inhabitants intrenchments Junot La Romana Lefèvre Lisbon Lord Wel Lord Wellington Lordship loss Madrid manoeuvre manœuvres Marmont Marshal Ney Marshal Soult Marshal Suchet Massena ment MIC UNIV Mondego Mortier movement neighbourhood neral night obliged occupied officer Oporto peninsula Portugal Portuguese position possession prisoners rear guard reinforcements rendered resistance retreat road RSITY Salamanca Sebastiani sent Seville siege Sierra Morena Sir Arthur SITY sixteenth soldiers Spain Spaniards Spanish success superior surrender Tagus taken Talavera Tarragona tenth tion took town twenty thousand twenty-eighth twenty-ninth UNIV MIC UNIV UNIV Valentia victory whilst
Popular passages
Page 345 - So soon as that spare Cassius. He reads much; He is a great observer, and he looks Quite through the deeds of men: he loves no plays, As thou dost, Antony; he hears no music: Seldom he smiles, and smiles in such a sort As if he mock'd himself, and scorn'd his spirit That could be mov'd to smile at any thing.
Page 187 - ... by the Imperial soldiers on the occasion. Our losses were rated at more than four times their real amount ; and though no blame was attached by the enemy to our troops, the engineers were attacked with a severity that I have reason to think was unjust. One writer speaking on the subject says,— " But in spite of the valour of the assailants, they were repulsed ; because, contrary to the rules of the art, they had not taken the precaution of being masters of the ditch, in order to prevent the...
Page 256 - Portuguese troops, has taken the place, as it were, in the presence of two armies, amounting together to about eighty thousand men. In short, I think the capture of Badajoz a very extraordinary event" — (and he was right) — " and I should be much at a loss to account for it in a clear and distinct manner.
Page 350 - ... therefore, universally acknowledged as the author of his general's glory. The cavalry deployed on a field of battle with as much precision as on a parade ; and the infantry manoeuvred, under a most destructive fire, like Swiss soldiers. Soult superintended every thing ; he even carried his attention so far, as to be regularly on the spot when provisions were distributed, that he might be sure of their being good ; which attention gained him the esteem of the soldiers. He was equally fearless...
Page 256 - costs me eight engineers. I am not yet acquainted with the details of that fatal event. Never was there a place in a better state, better supplied, and better provided with the requisite number of troops. There is in that event a marked fatality.
Page 241 - It was effected in the depth of winter, with a rapidity for which Marmont was altogether unprepared. The following are extracts from his reports to Berthier : — " I had collected five divisions for the purpose of throwing supplies into Ciudad Rodrigo ; but this force is now inadequate to the object. I am, therefore, under the necessity of recalling two divisions from the army of the north. I shall then have above sixty thousand men, with whom I shall march CHAP. vu. against the «nemy. You may...
Page 256 - Never was there a place in a better state, better supplied, or better provided with the requisite number of troops. There is in that event a marked fatality. I confess my inability, to account for its inadequate defence. Very extensive works have been constructed.
Page 241 - On the sixteenth, the English batteries opened their fire at a great distance. On the nineteenth, the place was taken by storm, and fell into the power of the enemy. There is something so incomprehensible in this, that I allow myself no observation. I am not yet provided with the requisite information.
Page 350 - In the camp, as on the march, and in the field of battle, this division always preserved the greatest order, was never broken, and almost constantly gained the victory of the day. The troops of Marceau, Championet, Bernadotte, and other generals, were far from enjoying the same reputation, though their commanders were known to possess talents much superior to those of Lefevre. Soult was, therefore, universally acknowledged as the author of his general's glory. The cavalry deployed on a field of battle...
Page 350 - ... had seen Lefevre, and had heard him speak on military affairs, was astonished that a man so shallow should ever have acquired so great a reputation. His division was 15,000 strong; in case of attack it formed the van, and in a retreat, the...