Chapter 80:
13. Golden War 4
Asphyxia. Thisword wasthe besttoexpress theterriblefeelingsthat themembers of theSpanish resistance werefeeling now.
TheFrench armys strategy andmovementwere so differentfrom thepast. They were no longerunchingrecklessoffensives against the coalitionforces, norwere they robbed anddefeatedbythe resistance. Theytook over the Spanish territory andsimply sat there.
Theycracked down the insideand stabilizedit, instigatedthe people to dividethem, and ruthlesslywipedout the hiddeninsurgents.
The more pressure the Frenchwere putting, themore difficultitwas for theresistance to find the supplies to usefor guerri operations.
Inthe past, theycouldhave been obtained fromthe Spanishpeople or the Alliedforces, butwith thevicious divisionsand spread of therevolutionary spiritthat Francehad conducted, the resistancecouldnolonger trust the contaminated locals.
Eventually, they had to getsuppliesfrom theAllies, andthe French could notignore it.
Asifstable supplies wereuneptable, theFrench werevery persistentlyharassing the resistance, attackingand crushing their supply lines.
If we go on like this, were going to sit down and die!
Spanish Resistance Commander Juan MartnDezwrotedirectlytothe Allies to ovee thesituation.
If you want us to holdour breath even if itsa weak one, wedesperatelyneed youtosend us warsuppliesassoon as possible.
TheAllies, whoknew thevalueofthe Spanishresistance, did not turn ablindeye to his demand.
FranciscodaSilveira, Count of Amarante and CommanderofPortugals Royal Army, volunteered to take on the heavy duty of providing supplies to theresistance.
Ourgoal is nottofightthe French, but to givehope andcourage to ourades.
Ofcourse, to provide supplies to the resistance forces in theterritoriesupiedbythe French, they hadtocontact them and infiltrate the enemys lines, which wasa considerablerisk.
The Count of Amarante, daring to takerisksanyway, hadprepareda surprise infiltrationthrough theins of La Mancha.
Who would dare to openly cross theins of La Mancha, the heart of the Iberian Penins? Therefore, there wasnobolder operation to piercethe enemyslinesthan this.
CountofAmaranteled acorpsofabout12,000 troops to thenorth. Right behind them werecartsand wagons carrying wheat, rice, corn, salted beef, beans, oats, andwar supplies suchasmuskets, rifles, ammunition, lightweight cannons, shells, gunpowder, etc.
The French didnot evendreamofthe Allies passing throughthe ins of La Mancha, insteadofgoingbysea throughportssuch as Almera andMurcia.
The troops of theCountofAmarantewere able to quicklyrun to their target areas, simply defeating their enemies along the way, who were greatlysurprised. In fact, this operation wasonthe verge of sess.
It would be over as longasthey could deliver anew spark to the dying Spanish resistanceand thengoback. Itwouldhave been possible, if it wasnot for theintrusion of the Spanish Fox, Louis-Gabriel Suchet.
Africas vulgardishwashersand coachmen of Estrs countryside have gathered here! Givea gift of resttothosewho wanttomeet PhilipII and Joo IV in the underworld!
The Spanish ResistanceArmy andthe Count of Amarantestroops responded well to the suddenappearance of Suchets Corps, showing their skills.
From the beginning, however, it was impossible for theresistance andcoalition forces to ovee Suchets troops, which had artilleryonthe highground and were fully prepared.
CountofAmaranteand Brigadier General Alberio(of the resistance forces) were able to savemany soldiers by quickly ordering themtostep down, butcouldnot protectthe supplies thatthe Allies hadbeen struggling to bring.
Youve done agreatjob bringing these all theway here! Well keepyour tribute safeand use it well for thenext battle! Hahahaha!
At the taunt of Louis-Gabriel Suchet, officersofthe Allies andresistance forceshad to holdback. And thisincidentbecame afatalblow to theresistance whowas alreadyina tight spot.
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France hadfosteredand utilized rgenumber of spiesposed of locals to gain intelligence anddivide the enemy forces.
Because of them, the Spanish resistancewas facing a great threat that it had never experienced before, and hadnow to worry about its ownsurvivalwithout receivingsuppliesfrom theAllies. However, thesame possibility also existedontheirside.
Couldnt theyuse the same cards as the Frenchagainst them? Thenumber of Spanishpeople who were hostiletoFrance was still, and far greater thanthe pro-French.
They werewilling at anytime to sell information about the Frenchmovementtothe coalition or theresistance.
If France hadmade localsbe spies, theAllies could alsorun intelligence units of citizens in theupiedterritories.
On a bigger scale, this would help to amplifythe volume anduracyofinformatioing to the Allies.
TheSpanish resistance was also still alive, although it wasstruggling forsurvival, which allowedthe Allies to maintain their front lines without retreatingeven further.
However, knowing information about theenemyinadvance didnot always have apositiveeffect.
Lasttime, wereceiveda letterofprotest from 10 DowningStreet (theBritish Prime Ministers residence), but this time, itsthe Provisional GovernmentofSeville?
Itistrue that the delegation fromSeville hasarrived Coincidentally, people on the Westminster side arrivedaround the same time.
The armyslife is very eventful!
This is the one whether we want to go to war or not. Tsk tsk
Thankstothis, Commander Arthur Wellesleywas forced to leave hispost urgently duringa military meeting. This was whythe officers who were attending themeeting clicked their tonguesand looked displeased. Thecrisis had subsided acrossthe penins, sotherewas alot of fusshere andthere.
Well, I understand thatSeville is nervous, too. We didnt know thatNabotwas inciting the Spanish people in such aheinous way.
Theresnoequaltothis reincarnation of the true devil! In theentire history! I will never forgetthat damn Corsican yer!
Haa!
Eachofthe Allied generals ventedtheirangerorsighed to clear their minds. Thenews that France hadestablishedits own administrative entities andwas ruling the upied Spanish territories had left the Provisional Government of Sevilledumbfounded.
ThestoryofKing Fernando VII, the king of Spain, running wildand smashing all kinds of furniturewas alreadya widespread rumor among the Alliedforces.
FernandoVII and other members of the Spanish cabwere much moreangryand afraid of Franceencroachingonthe empty Spanishadministrativevacuum thanhundredsofthousands of their people being ughtered.
It was because theyknew. The Spanishterritoriesthat were now under Frenchcontrol were thoughtfully polluted by theideasofrevolution andfreedom, and evenifthe war ended andthey were returned to Spain, they would never return to their formerstate.
Dontwehave to stop the demiseofthe resistancebyany means necessary? When we were withthem, weused to call themabunchofelephants suckingmoneyand gunpowder, but to be honest, onlythe resistanceforces could swaythe Frenchs rear.
The reasonwhy we can maintain thefrontline despite theck of coalition troopsisbecause there areinsurgents andmilitiasinthe territories upied by the French. We cant losethem. Weneed to make suretoprovide them withsupplies.
Officersfrom Spain andPortugalwanted to protectthe resistancebyall means. British officers, on theotherhand, were skeptical.
Thereisnoclearway to helpthem. Rightnow, were in a hurry to maintain the front line of the penins.
The Frenchbastardsare not usually sneaky people. But theyre cuttingall the connections between us and theresistance.
Tobreakthis crisis, the Count of Amarante himself led thecorpsand marchedinto theins of La Mancha Of course, as we all know, theCounts majestic operationfailed.
The operationled by the Count of Amarante wascarried outwith thorough information control. Thefact that the enemy waspreparing for it in advance was evidence that there wereFrench spies inside thecoalition and resistance forces.
All theAllied officers at the meeting looked dark. A lot of supplies from the coalitionhad beensent to feed and support the Spanish resistance.
Nevertheless, Arthur Wellesleyand the other British, Portuguese, Spanish generals, andeven theBritish politicians were not questioning support for theresistance, because they admitted thatits existence wasnecessary.
When thesituation turned unfavorable, the Allies gave up their upied territories and retreatedbehind the Lines of TorresVedras, as they always did.
Their move was aimed at preventing the Frenchfrom attacking, including Napoleon, through this defensive front while they werecatchingtheirbreath.
However, the French army, which wasmarchingasiftowipe outthe entire Iberian Penins, stopped advancing. And then it startedtoconciliate andstabilize its control overthe upied territories.
Itwas as if the Frenchwere notinterested in anyotherarea of thepenins other thanthe one they werecurrently upying. They were using all sorts of tactics to exterminate the Spanish resistanceand militias.
Theirstrategyseeded in making themembers of theProvisionalGovernment of Seville, British, Portuguese politicians and themediabeyond the straitmore hasty andanxious than the soldiers on thepenins. Allthat ledtothe presentday.
At times likethis, I just wanttogoout and fight hard.
An impatienmander fights a hundredtimesand loses ahundred times. Dontsay stupid things, kid.
Bullshit! Butisntittrue! Astime goes by, theenemyisonly getting stronger and less vulnerable! The Frenchhave dispersedtheirforces to ruleover that vastupiedarea. This maybeourstchance!
Although we have ignoredour Spanishfriends, itisundeniable that their assistanceallowed us to bring thewar here
Opinions were alsodivided among generals andofficerswithin the coalition. It meant thattherewas no clear answer to ovee thecurrent situation. Thatwas why theAlliedmandwas evenmore unsettled.
The Commander isingin!
Arthur Wellesley, Marquis of Wellington, walkedinto theforeign officeofFort Santino, an outpost of the Lines of TorresVedras, where themeeting wasbeingheld. The officers did notknow what he had heard, but his poker face remained the same.
Today the delegation of the Provisional Government of Sevillehas spoken to us. His MajestyFernandoVII recognizesthe hardwork of thesoldiersand asksustoreturn to the front line of September 1812 as soonaspossible.
Wellesley spoke calmly, but theofficerswho knewaboutFernandoVIIspersonalitycouldimagine howagitatedhemust have beenwhen askingthis.
Also, a final notice from Prime Minister Robert Jenkinsonand Westminster Parliamenthas arrived, asking us to break through thatbloody Santiago-Almera line beforeAprnd turntothe offensive. So, our troopscantcontinuewith thedefensive strategy.
Grunts pouredout fromall overthe ce. Some generals expressed strongdissatisfaction withthe Prime Minister and theParliament, who did notrespect thejudgmentofthe field at all. Wellesley calmed them downwith hisquietcharisma.
The new warwith theUnited States hasaddedtothe kingdoms financialburden. Theleaders of both partiesinWestminsterand His Majesty agreed to send fleets andtroops to protectthe kingdoms territoryinthe New World andapprovedadditional budgetspending. And so theoppositeaction is
A cut in the budgetfor the Alliedforces in the Peninsr War.
Oh, my God, damn it! Are theyreally going to handover thewholeIberia to Nabot!?
Disappointedsoldiersspat outcurses. They could no longer bepensated forall the hard workthey hadhad in their servicehere fornearly fiveyears.
Nowitwaspletelyinvain. But the Portuguese and Spanish officers wereeven more shocked. Withoutthe helpofthe British, how could they surviveagainst those ferociousFrench?
Infact, itwas liketelling them to surrender. All kinds of negative emotions spring up, but among themArthur Wellesley smiled.
You havetolisten to people until theend. TheWestminsterParliament hasclearly passeda budgetcut for thetroops currently operatinginEurope. Butitisnot our Army thatisincludedinthe cuts.
S-Sir! Well, then!
Thatsright. The targetbeingcut is the kingdomsnavalstrength. And a big part of the support thatwas put into it willberedirected to form an additionrmy force that willjoin us here.
!!
A wave of silence swept the military meeting. Soon after, theofficerswho cametotheirsenses let outharshcheers.
That wasright. Britainhad dered thatitwouldabandon itscurrent strategy andmore aggressivelyengage in the waragainst France.