Chapter 48: Towards the Penins - 6
Chapter 48<ol start="8"><li> Towards the Penins 6</li></ol>
The first resistance Arthur Wellesleys corps encountered from Madrid was at Fort Retiro, which guarded the entrance of Retiro. The city of Retiro, which had been designated as an intermediate supply point for the Allied forces since the beginning of the operation, was also located on the way to Burgos. It was a key point that had to be upied by the Allied forces. Arthur Wellesley besieged Fort Retiro without any gap, and sent a messenger to the French garrison officers guarding the fort, urging them to surrender.
Even after the promised time, they havent hung a white g. Their will to fight seems sufficient. We should order the artillery to fire
Hmm lets wait a few more days. In case we hear good news.
The staff officers stepped down because they could not defy Wellesleys authority even though they were frustrated, thinking that they were wasting time. But exactly four hourster, a white g was hung at the top of Fort Retiro. When the officers asked him what the hell happened, Wellesley replied with a calm voice.
When we ousted Joseph Bonaparte from Madrid, the defenders and the regiments of guards fled in various directions.
In any countrys army, they was a system to regroup the soldiers who were defeated to the rear positions. Wellesley remembered the situation when Joseph Bonaparte fled to Valencia, where Louis-Gabriel Suchets corps was located, leaving the throne empty.
It was no coincidence that his eyes were on Retiro from the beginning.
They must have gathered the defeated soldiers to expand the size of their army, but unfortunately, it seems that it was difficult to ept the given circumstances.
As guerri units belonging to the Spanish Resistance were constantly harassing the supply routes in the rear, the French armys food and supplies situation in the penins was not very good. In such a situation, the bnce between the number of soldiers and the amount of war materials was broken because a small number of defeated soldiers were taken in to defend as well.
In fact, when the British soldiers opened the doors of the warehouses and supply centers of Fort Retiro and looked at the situation inside, they found that military food such as dry bread, biscuits, salt meat, and dried pasta werepletely exhausted. The French officers tried to survive by eating even rats, but when the soldiers anger exploded, they had no choice but to raise a white g.
The officers admired Arthur Wellesleys insight, as he was delighted, looking around Fort Retiro. Inside the fortress, there were about 20,000 muskets and about 100 artillery cannons that the French could not retrieve. And there were more than 2,000 prisoners are a bonus. He made such a huge achievement without even fighting properly. Arthur Wellesley said that this was a pleasant start before going up against Napoleon.
It was only natural that the morale of the Allied Forces soared.
Generals and officiers were yelling If you disrupt the military, you will be punished strictly ording to the military rules, but the atmosphere of excitement did not disappear easily among the soldiers of the coalition who were staying at Fort Retiro.
Its pathetic that the Allied soldiers, regardless of their rank, are already acting as if theyve won the war. We cant even recognize our red coats among the rest of the soldiers! They must be the most ridiculous army in British history.
Colonel Tin, a lieutenant to Major General Rond Hill, spoke in an ferocious voice and condemned thexity of his own soldiers. Rond Hill agreed with him a hundred times. Rond Hill thought that the only thing the British soldiers had that wasckingpared to the French was their beards, but now it seemed necessary to add one more thing.
It was the mental strength and self-control of each soldier.
It feels like theyre under some kind of weird spell. Everyone has been over-excited since they heard that Napoleon wasing in person. They werent supposed to react like this
Some soldiers were very confident in dealing with Napoleons troops. Some others were overwhelmed by Napoleons reputation, and were trembling with fear. This phenomenon was intensified after they easily captured Fort Retiro that was guarded by the French. Rond Hill looked very anxiously at the different attitudes of the soldiers. He addressed his concerns to hismander, Arthur Wellesley.
I dont think that will be a problem.
Wellesley looked indifferent.
Its impossible for anymander to haveplete control over each soldiers psychology. We need to respect their freedom of decision making. However, as long as military discipline is not disturbed!
In other words, forcibly controlling the soldiers mental would backfire in this situation. Wellesley, who had been tightening the discipline of the military with strict rules, was trying to ease the tension now that he was preparing for a huge battle.
Rnd Hill calmed down after hearing Wellesleys assurance. That was right. If Arthur Wellesley said it was all right, then it was all right. The faith of the allied soldiers in him had reached this level. The internal disturbance subsided and the story spread among the soldiers.
Soldiers regarded this as Arthur Wellesleys confidence in winning. As a result, the unity of the coalition became stronger.
Having spent two days in Retiro, where they had time to rest and recover their fighting spirit, the Allies began to march north again, leaving behind troops to guard their captives and the fortress. The Allied forces, waving gs of the three nations, arrived in front of Fort Burgos on September 30, 1812.
Wellesleys corps set up a camp in the town of Renuncio, about 3.5 miles from Fort Burgos.
The current situation is very clear. On the map showing Burgos and the surrounding area, there were models of soldiers with red gs and blue gs lined up. The red soldiers were thebined Portuguese, Spanish and British forces. The blue soldiers represented the French army.
I was able to confirm today that the final destination of the army led by the French Emperor is here in Burgos. ording to the intelligence, their scheduled arrival date is about 15 days from now.
The Marquis of Wellington, Arthur Wellesley, pushed the blue soldiers south with his baton. The blue soldiers were pointing their guns at Fort Burgos. The buzz of the officers grew. A Spanish officer asked a question.
Nabot held a ceremony in Paris on September 15. And there are about 650 miles between this ce and Paris. It is impossible for the French troops to arrive so soon unless they are marching more than 20 miles a day.
Surprisingly, they are marching so fast, Colonel. Its like looking at the French army from 10 years ago.
..!!
Napoleons strategy for wars and battles wasrgely divided into two types depending on the battlefield situation, conditions, and timeline.
The first was mobile warfare, to advance faster than the enemy based on extraordinary mobility, take an advantageous position, and destroy the enemy with the fire superiority of concentrated troops inbat. The second was siege and annihtion warfare, to organizerge corps covering enemy troops and attack from all directions with an overwhelming number of soldiers.
These two strategies led Napoleon to be the incarnation of war.
However, there were conditions for aplete mobile warfare. He needed skilled soldiers and veterans, with strong physical strength, a lot of practical experience, and high loyalty. The continued war left no skilled soldiers in the French army, therefore Napoleon could hardly use the first strategy anymore.
From then on, Napoleon became too obsessed withrge armies, numerical superiority, and annihtion warfare, and the climax was the Russian expedition. Arthur Wellesley had called the expeditionary forces the height of inefficiency. But Napoleon was also a war genius.
That inefficient army brought Russia to its knees. Napoleon returned with a brilliant victory, and was now using the mobile warfare of the first years. This had great implications for the Allied officers.
Arthur Wellesley raised one corner of his mouth.
It seems that the news Ive been hearing from Paristely was not in vain. The French Emperor seems to have undergone a lot of emotional changes.
At Wellesleysments, officers from the three countries nodded and agreed. If the leader of an enemy country suddenly becamepetent as if he had be someone else, it was not good news for them. But at a time when the war on the Iberian Penins was still raging, it was good news that the enemy troops were reduced. Arthur Wellesley was amander capable of making Napoleon deeply regret his choice.
Weve discussed it once before when we stayed in Retiro, but lets look at it again.
It was Lieutenant General William Stewart, 11] the son of the Earl of Galloway and the chief of staff of the Allied forces, who spoke. He moved the red soldiers to create a picture of the siege of the Burgos fortress guarded by blue soldiers. He also took the map of the terrain outside of Burgos so that all officers gathered in the barracks could understand.
At a nce, there were rugged mountains and hills lined up.
If we take Fort Burgos, we can use the nearby ridges to form a second line of Torres Vedras. If things go like this, even the French Emperor, who is called the genius of war, will have to turn back.
Its undoubtedly the best oue at this point.
Thats right. But if we cant take the fort before the Emperors army gets here, we will have to step down. I rmend here to be the next battlefield, as I think its the best ce.
Lieutenant General Stewarts finger was pointed at the Anzn River.
It was time for Arthur Wellesleys troops to advance to Burgos, after taking Fort Retiro. About 330 miles northeast of them, the Iberian expeditionary forces were resting in modest quarters. Even though everyone was asleep, Napoleon Bonaparte, themander-in-chief of the expedition, was not sleeping.
He was quietly writing something on a piece of paper, sitting with a torch in a dark tent at night.
This war will require more sophisticated and sharper strategy than ever before, and the ability tomunicate organically between the corps and themanders long-term and constructive sight.
The Iberian Penins was more special than any other battlefield Napoleon had ever experienced. And it wasplicated. That was why his side had to fight in a special andplicated way. And Napoleon was well aware that this way would create controversy and debates not only in France but also throughout Europe.
If its for victory, Ill do whatever it takes. I dont know how future history will judge me First, I must win this hellish war.
Three letters written by Napoleon himself went into a drawer. The recipients names were revealed on the sealed letters.
<i>Colonel Jean-Louis Dubreton Marshal Louis-Gabriel Suchet Marshal Andr Massna</i>
TL notes
[1] William Stewart