Chapter XXIII: Section XXXIII: Chapter V (2)

This move brought on very sharp fighting: the turning movement of the French dragoons was promptly met by Victor Alten’s brigade [14th Light Dragoons, 1st Hussars K.G.L.], whose squadrons had been watching the lower fords of the Guarena all day. Alten allowed the hostile cavalry to cross the river and come up the slope, and then charged suddenly, in échelon of squadrons, the left squadron of the 1st Hussars K.G.L. leading[485]. The enemy had only begun to deploy when he was attacked, Alten’s advance having been too rapid for him. The two French regiments (15th and 25th Dragoons) were, after a stiff fight, completely routed and driven downhill with great loss, till they finally found refuge behind a half-battery and an infantry battalion which formed their supports. General Carrié, commanding the two regiments, was taken prisoner by a German hussar, having got cut off from his men in the flight. The French lost in all 8 officers and more than 150 men, of whom 94 were prisoners--mostly wounded. How sharp the clash was may be seen from the fact that Alten’s victorious brigade had not much fewer casualties--the 14th Light Dragoons lost 75 killed and wounded, the German hussars 60[486]. But no doubt some of these losses were suffered not in the cavalry combat, but a little later in the day, when Alten charged the French infantry[487].

[485] Brotherton of the 14th L.D. says with the _right_ échelon
advanced (Hamilton’s _History of the 14th_, p. 107), but I fancy
that the German Hussars’ version that the _left_ échelon led is
correct, as the right squadron of their regiment would have been
in the middle of the brigade, not on a flank. See narrative in
Schwertfeger, i. pp. 368-9.

[486] These are the official returns. The regimental histories
give only 45 and 56 respectively.

Martinien’s lists show six casualties in officers in the two
French regiments, and two more were taken prisoners, General
Carrié and a lieutenant of the 25th Dragoons.

[487] Brotherton says that the first two squadrons which charged
the French dragoons made no impression, and that it was the
impact of the third, led by himself, which broke them.

While this lively fight was in progress on the flank, Brennier’s division had crossed the Guarena in a mass, and on a very short front, apparently in three columns of regiments, battalion behind battalion. They were ascending the lower slopes below Cole’s position, when Wellington, who was present here in person, suddenly took the offensive against them, sending W. Anson’s brigade (3/27th and 1/40th) against them in line, with Stubbs’s Portuguese (11th and 23rd regiments) supporting, in columns of quarter distance. The French division halted, apparently with the intention of deploying--but there was no time for this. The line of Anson’s brigade enveloped both the hostile flanks with its superior frontage, and opened fire: after a short resistance the French gave way in great disorder, and streamed down to the Guarena. As they fled Alten let loose part of his brigade against their flank: the horsemen rode in deep among the fugitives, and cut off 6 officers and 240 men as prisoners. Clausel had to bring up a regiment of his own division to cover the broken troops as they repassed the river; it suffered severely from Cole’s artillery, losing 6 officers killed and wounded, and many men[488].

[488] This was the 25th Léger.

The attempt to take liberties with Wellington’s army, when it had assumed the defensive on favourable ground, had thus failed in the most lamentable style, and with very heavy loss--at least 700 men had been killed, wounded, or taken in Marmont’s army that day, and all but a few scores belonged to the four infantry and two cavalry regiments which Clausel sent to attack the heights by Castrillo[489]. The corresponding British loss that day was 525, including about 50 stragglers taken prisoners during the retreat from the Trabancos to the Guarena, because they had fallen behind their regiments--foot-sore infantry, or troopers whose horses had been shot. The cavalry, which had so successfully covered the long march across the open, had a certain amount of casualties, but the only units that had suffered heavily were the four regiments--horse and foot--that dealt with Clausel’s attack, who lost 276 men between them.

[489] The exact figures, save for officers, are as usual missing.
But Martinien’s invaluable lists show that of 41 French officers
killed, wounded, or taken that day, 35 belonged to the four
infantry regiments (17th and 25th Léger, 22nd and 65th Line) and
the two cavalry regiments (15th and 25th Dragoons) which fought
at Castrillo.

Wellington must have felt much disappointment at seeing Clausel’s offensive move at Castrillo unsupported by the rest of the French divisions, who were lining the farther bank of the Guarena parallel with the whole of his front. But Marmont, unlike his venturesome subordinate, nourished no illusions about the advisability of attacking a British army in position. He made no move in the afternoon; in his memoirs he points out that the infantry was absolutely exhausted, having been continuously on the march for three days and one night.

This day had been a disappointing one for the French marshal also. He had failed to cut off Wellington’s two detached divisions, so that all the advantage which he had obtained by his marches and countermarches between Toro and Tordesillas was now exhausted. The allied army had succeeded in concentrating, and was now drawn up in his front, covering Salamanca and its own line of communications in a very tenable position. Napier truly remarks that, since the attempt to isolate and destroy Cotton’s detachment had miscarried, Marmont had gained no more by his elaborate feint and forced marches than he would have obtained by continuing his original advance across Toro bridge on the 16th. He had got the whole Anglo-Portuguese army arrayed in a defensive position in front of him, on the line of the Guarena, instead of somewhere in the neighbourhood of Fuente Sauco, a few miles farther east.

On the morning of the 19th July it seemed as if a new deadlock was to bring the campaign to a standstill, for the two armies continued to face each other across the Guarena, Wellington hoping rather than expecting to be attacked, Marmont looking in vain for a weak point between Castrillo and Vallesa, where it would be worth while to try a forward thrust. While he was reconnoitring, his weary infantry got a much-needed rest. At about four o’clock in the afternoon, however, the whole French army was seen falling into column, and presently edged off southward till it lay between Tarazona and Cantalapiedra. Wellington thereupon made a corresponding movement, evacuating Castrillo to the north, and extending his line of battle beyond Vallesa to the south. There was a little distant cannonading across the valley of the Guarena, and some of the shells set fire to the vast fields of ripe wheat which covered the whole country-side in this region. The conflagration went rolling on for a long way across the plain, leaving a trail of smoke behind.

The situation on this evening had nothing decisive about it. It was clear that neither side intended to fight save at an advantage. Marmont had shown himself more cautious than had been expected. Wellington had at this moment every motive for risking nothing, unless the enemy proved more obliging than he had shown himself hitherto. He had reasons for self-restraint at this moment of which his adversary knew nothing. The first was that he was aware (from intercepted dispatches) of King Joseph’s intention to march from Madrid to join the Army of Portugal: with a possible 15,000 men about to appear on his flank, he must look to the future with care. The second was that he had received a few days before the untoward news that Lord William Bentinck’s long-promised expedition to Catalonia might not ever take place. The Commander-in-Chief in Sicily wrote that he had found new opportunities in Italy, which it might be his duty to seize. His troops had been embarked, but they were not to be expected for the present off the coast of Spain. This was a disheartening piece of intelligence: Wellington had been told to count upon this support both by Bentinck himself and by the Home Government. If it should fail, Marshal Suchet, left undisturbed by this diversion, might send considerable reinforcements to Madrid[490].

[490] For dismay expressed by Wellington at this news see
dispatches to Henry Wellesley dated Rueda, July 15, and to Lord
Bathurst (_Dispatches_, ix. pp. 285 and 287).

As a matter of fact he did not--being, like Soult, a general of much too self-centred a type of mind to help a neighbour if he could avoid it. Only one regiment of the Valencian army ever got to Madrid, and that came too late for King Joseph’s purpose. But so far as Wellington could guess on July 19, it was quite possible that Suchet might find 10,000 men, to add to the disposable 15,000 of the Army of the Centre.

There was also the possibility that D’Erlon, obeying the orders which King Joseph kept sending to him, might make up his mind to cross the Guadiana and Tagus, and come north by Arzobispo and Madrid. If so, Hill was to make a parallel march by Alcantara, and would certainly arrive many days before D’Erlon. This was a mere possibility; there were good reasons for holding that Soult might forbid any such move; and till D’Erlon started northward, Hill must remain behind to contain him. The problem was not pressing: it could not develop for many days[491].

[491] See Wellington to Hill, _Dispatches_, ix. p. 290.

On the other hand there was news that the Galicians were at last on the move. Santocildes had been prevailed upon to leave a smaller force to besiege Astorga, and had come down with a second division to join Cabrera at Benavente. This force, advancing up the Douro valley, would find absolutely no enemy in front of it, and must obviously disturb Marmont’s operations, since it might be at the gates of Valladolid, his base and storehouse, in a few days. He would then be forced to detach a division or so to save his dépôts, and he could not spare even a brigade if he wished to continue on the offensive. Certain intelligence that there was not a Frenchman left behind on the Douro, save the trifling garrisons of Toro, Zamora, and Tordesillas, had been brought in by General D’Urban. That officer, after conducting a very daring exploration round the rear of Marmont’s army, almost to the gates of Valladolid, had recrossed the Douro by Wellington’s orders at the ford of Fresno de Ribera, and fell in upon the left flank of the allied army near Fuente Sauco on July 18th[492]. For the rest of the campaign his 700 sabres were at Wellington’s disposal[493]. His report showed that Marmont’s rear was absolutely undefended, and that the Galicians could march up the Douro, if desired, without finding any opponents: it would be perfectly possible for them to cut all Marmont’s communications with Valladolid and Burgos, without being in any danger unless the Marshal detached men against them.

[492] Not July 17th, as Napier says. D’Urban’s diary proves that
he recrossed the Douro on the 18th.

[493] He left one squadron near Zamora, to serve as covering
cavalry for Silveira’s militia, who remained waiting for
Santocildes’s advance, which they were to observe and support.
His force was therefore reduced to 700 men.

The 20th of July proved to be a most interesting day of manœuvring, but still brought no decisive results. Early in the morning the whole French army was seen in march, with its head pointing southward, continuing the movement that it had begun on the previous day. Marmont had made up his mind to proceed with the hitherto unsuccessful scheme for turning his adversary’s right wing[494], in the hope of either cutting him off from his communication with Salamanca, or of catching him with his army strung out on too long a line from continuous and rapid movement. The character of this day’s march differed from that of the 19th, because the single well-marked Guarena valley ceased after a time to separate the two hostile armies. That little river is formed by three tributaries which meet at and above the village of El Olmo: each of them is a paltry brook, and their courses lie along trifling irregularities of the broad tableland from which they descend. It is only after their junction that they flow in a deep well-marked valley, and form a real military obstacle. Of the three brooks, that which keeps the name of Guarena lies most to the east: up its right bank and towards its source Marmont’s march was directed. Wellington’s parallel movement southward, on the other hand, was directed along the left bank of the Poreda, the middle brook of the three. Between them there was at first a narrow triangular plateau, on which neither party trespassed save with cavalry scouts.

[494] He adds in his _Mémoires_, iv. pp. 251-2, that if he had
not succeeded in getting ahead of Wellington’s van, he had a
counter-project of trying to get round his rear, but the British
marched so exactly parallel with him that he got no chance of
this.

After a few miles of marching Marmont ordered his advanced guard to cross the Guarena, which they could do with ease, no British being near, save a few cavalry vedettes. He then turned the head of his column south-westward, instead of keeping to his original direction due south. Having crossed the Guarena he came in sight of the British column marching on the other side of the Poreda brook from Vallesa. The movements of the two armies tended to converge, the point on which both were moving being the village of Cantalpino. It seemed likely that the heads of the marching columns must collide, and that a combat, if not a general action, would ensue. Each army was marching in an order that could be converted into a battle line by simply facing the men to right or to left respectively. Wellington had his troops in three parallel columns, the first one, that nearest to the French, being composed of the 1st, 4th, 5th, and Light Divisions, the second, which would have formed the supporting line if the army had fronted and gone into action, contained the 6th and 7th and Pack’s and Bradford’s brigades: the 3rd Division and España’s Spaniards formed a reserve, moving farthest from the enemy. The light cavalry were marching ahead of the column, the heavy cavalry and D’Urban’s Portuguese brought up their rear. Marmont was clearly seen to be moving in a similar formation, of two columns each composed of four infantry divisions, with Curto’s _chasseurs_ ahead, and Boyer’s dragoons at the tail of the line of march[495].

[495] Marmont describes the formation (_Mémoires_, iv. p. 252) as
‘gauche en tête, par peloton, à distance entière: les deux lignes
pouvaient être formées en un instant par _à droite en bataille_.’

The day was warm but clouded, so that the sun did not shine with full July strength, or the long march which both armies carried out would have been brought to an end by exhaustion at a much earlier hour than was actually the case. As the long morning wore on, the two hostile forces gradually grew closer to each other, owing to the new westward turn which Marmont had given to his van. At last they were within long artillery range; but for some time no shot was fired, neither party being willing to take the responsibility of attacking an enemy in perfect order and well closed up for battle. Either general could have brought on a fight, by simply fronting to flank, in ten minutes; but neither did so. Marmont remarks in his _Mémoires_ that in his long military service he never, before or after, saw such a magnificent spectacle as this parallel march of two bodies of over 40,000 men each, at such close quarters. Both sides kept the most admirable order, no gaps occurred in either line, nor was the country one that offered advantage to either: it was very nearly flat, and the depression of the Poreda brook became at last so slight and invisible that it was crossed without being noticed. The ground, however, on which the French were moving was a little higher than that on which the allies marched[496].

[496] There is an excellent description of the parallel march in
Leith Hay, ii. pp. 38-40, as well as in Napier.

The converging lines of advance at last almost touched each other at the village of Cantalpino: the light cavalry and the 1st Division, at the head of Wellington’s front (or eastern) column of march had just passed through it, when Marmont halted several batteries on a roll of the ground a few hundred yards off, and began to shell the leading battalions of the 4th Division, which was following closely behind the 1st. Wellington ordered Cole not to halt and reply, nor to attack, but to avoid the village and the French fire by a slight westerly turn, to which the other divisions conformed, both those in the first and those in the second line[497]. This amounted to the refusing of battle, and many officers wondered that the challenge of Marmont had been refused: for the army was in perfect order for fighting, and in excellent spirits. But Wellington was taking no risks that day.

[497] This swerve and its consequence are best stated in Vere’s
_Marches of the 4th Division_, p. 30.

The slight swerve from the direct southerly direction at Cantalpino made by the allied army, distinctly helped Marmont’s plan for turning its right, since by drawing back from its original line of movement it allowed the enemy to push still farther westward than his original line of march had indicated. This meant that he was gradually getting south of Wellington’s vanguard, and would, if not checked, ultimately arrive at the Tormes river, near the fords of Huerta, from which he would have been edged off, if both armies had continued in their original direction. During the early afternoon the parallel move continued, with a little skirmishing between cavalry vedettes, and an occasional outbreak of artillery fire, but no further developments. The baggage in the English rear began to trail behind somewhat, owing to the long continuance of the forced marching, and D’Urban’s Portuguese, who shepherded the stragglers, had great difficulty in keeping them on the move. A few score sick and foot-sore men, and some exhausted sumpter-beasts, fell behind altogether, and were abandoned to the French[498].

[498] Marmont says that if he had possessed a superior cavalry
he could have made great captures, but he dared attempt nothing
for want of sufficient numbers: he alleges that he took 300
stragglers--certainly an exaggeration as the British returns show
very few ‘missing.’ _Mémoires_, iv. p. 233.

Late in the afternoon the armies fell further apart, and all save the outlying vedettes lost sight of each other. This was due to the fact that Wellington had made up his mind to settle down for the night on the heights of Cabeza Vellosa and Aldea Rubia, where Marmont had taken up his position a month before, when he retired from before San Cristobal. This was good fighting-ground, on which it was improbable that the French would dare to deliver an attack. The 6th Division and Alten’s cavalry brigade were detached to the rear, and occupied Aldea Lengua and its fords.

This had been a most fatiguing day--the British army had marched, practically in battle formation, not less than four Spanish leagues, the French, by an extraordinary effort, more than five. When the camp-fires were lighted up at night, it was seen that the leading divisions of the enemy were as far south as Babila Fuente, quite close to the Tormes and the fords of Huerta: the main body lay about Villaruela, opposite the British bivouacs at Aldea Rubia and Cabeza Vellosa. An untoward incident terminated an unsatisfactory day: D’Urban’s Portuguese horse coming in very late from their duty of covering the baggage-train, were mistaken for prowling French cavalry by the 3rd Division, and shelled by its battery, with some little loss of men and horses. The mistake was caused by a certain similarity in their uniform to that of French dragoons--the tall helmets with crests being worn by no other allied troops[499].

[499] The heavy cavalry in the British army were still wearing
the old cocked hat, the new-pattern helmet with crest was not
served out till 1813. The light dragoons were still wearing the
black-japanned leather headdress with the low fur crest: in 1813
they got shakos, much too like those of French _chasseurs_.

The net result of the long parallel march of July 20th was that Marmont had practically turned Wellington’s extreme right, and was in a position to cross the Upper Tormes, if he should choose, in prolongation of his previous movement. The allied army was still covering Salamanca, and could do so for one day more, if the marching continued: but after that limit of time it would be forced either to fight or to abandon Salamanca, the main trophy of its earlier campaign. There remained the chance of falling upon Marmont’s rear, when his army should be occupied in crossing the Tormes, and forcing him to fight with his forces divided by the river. If this offensive move were not taken, and the parallel march were allowed to continue, the next day would see the armies both across the Tormes, in the position where Graham and Marmont had demonstrated against each other on June 24th. Wellington could not, however, begin his southward move till he was certain that the enemy was about to continue his manœuvre on the same plan as that of the last two days. If he started too early, Marmont might attack the San Cristobal position when it was only held by a rearguard, and capture Salamanca. Till an appreciable fraction of the French were seen passing the Tormes it was necessary to wait.

It appeared to Wellington that his adversary’s most probable move would be the passage of the Tormes by the fords at and just above Huerta. That he would abandon his previous tactics, and attack the British army, was inconsistent with the caution that he had hitherto displayed. That he would continue his march southward, and cross the river higher up, was unlikely; for the obvious passage in this direction, by the bridge of Alba de Tormes, was commanded by the castle of that town, which had been for some time occupied by a battalion detached from Carlos de España’s division. Wellington looked upon this route as completely barred to the French: he was unaware that the Spanish general had withdrawn his detachment without orders on the preceding afternoon. This astonishing move of his subordinate was made all the worse by the fact that he never informed his chief that he had taken upon himself to remove the battalion. Indeed Wellington only heard of its disappearance on the 23rd, when it was too late to remedy the fault. He acted on the 21st and 22nd as if Alba de Tormes were securely held. It would appear that Carlos de España thought the castle too weak to be held by a small force, and moved his men, in order to secure them from being cut off from the main army, as they clearly might be when the French had reached Babila Fuente. But the importance of his misplaced act was not to emerge till after the battle of Salamanca had been fought.

At dawn on the 21st Wellington withdrew his whole army on to the San Cristobal position[500], and waited for further developments, having the fords of Aldea Lengua and Santa Marta conveniently close if Marmont should be seen crossing the Tormes. This indeed was the move to which the Marshal committed himself. Having discovered at an early hour that Alba de Tormes was empty, and that there was no allied force observing the river bank below it, he began to cross in two columns, one at the fords of Huerta, the other three miles higher up-stream at the ford of La Encina. Lest Wellington should sally out upon his rear, when the greater part of his army had got beyond the Tormes, he left a covering force of two divisions in position between Babila Fuente and Huerta. This, as the day wore on, he finally reduced to one division[501] and some artillery. As long as this detachment remained opposite him, Wellington could not be sure that the French might not attack him on both sides of the Tormes.

[500] Napier says that this move was made on the night of the
20th, under cover of the smoke of the already-lighted camp-fires
of the army. This is contradicted by Vere’s journal of march of
the 4th Division, by Leith Hay’s Journal [’at daylight we marched
to the Heights of San Cristoval’], by Tomkinson’s diary, and
D’Urban, Geo. Simonds, and many others who speak of the move as
being early on the 21st.

[501] This was the division of Sarrut.

The defile of the French army across the fords naturally took a long time, and Wellington was able to allow his weary infantry some hours of much-needed rest in the morning. Only cavalry was sent forward at once, to form a screen in front of the hostile force that was gradually accumulating on the near side of the fords. In the afternoon, however, when the greater part of the French were over the water, nearly the whole allied army received orders to cross the Tormes, and occupy the heights to the south of it. It moved practically in battle order, in two lines, of which the front passed by the ford of Cabrerizos, the second by that of Santa Marta. Only a reserve, now consisting of the 3rd Division and D’Urban’s Portuguese horse, remained on the north side of the river near Cabrerizos, to contain the French force which was still visible at dusk on the slopes by Babila Fuente. Till this detachment had disappeared, Wellington was obliged to leave a corresponding proportion of his men to contain it, lest the enemy might try a dash at Salamanca by the north bank. Marmont made no such attempt, and in the morning it was obvious that this rearguard was following the rest of his army across the Tormes.

During the night the French advanced cavalry were holding Calvarisa de Ariba on their left and Machacon on their right: the infantry were bivouacked in a concentrated position in the wooded country south of those villages. The British cavalry screen held Calvarisa de Abaxo[502], Pelabravo, and the height of Nuestra Señora de la Peña, close in to the corresponding front line of the enemy’s vedettes. The infantry were encamped in two lines behind the Ribera de Pelagarcia, the ravine, which runs north from Nuestra Señora de la Peña to the Tormes, between Santa Marta and Cabrerizos. This was Graham’s old position of June 24th, and excellent for defence. The right was on well-marked high ground, the centre was covered by woods. Only the left, near Santa Marta, was on lower slopes.

[502] That the British cavalry were still at dawn so far forward
as Calvarisa de Abaxo is shown by Tomkinson’s diary (p. 185),
the best possible authority for light cavalry matters. The 4th
Division camped in the wood just west of Nuestra Señora de la
Peña (Vere, p. 31), the 5th on high ground in rear of Calvarisa
de Ariba (Leith Hay, p. 45), the 7th a little farther south, also
in woody ground (diary of Wheeler of the 51st).

About an hour after nightfall the hills where French and English lay opposite each other were visited by an appalling tempest. ‘The rain fell in torrents accompanied by vivid flashes of lightning, and succeeded by instantaneous peals of thunder:’ writes one annalist: ‘a more violent crash of the elements has seldom been witnessed: its effects were soon apparent. Le Marchands brigade of cavalry had halted to our left: the men, dismounted, were either seated or lying on the ground, holding their horses’ bridles. Alarmed by the thunder, the beasts started with a sudden violence, and many of them breaking loose galloped across the country in all directions. The frightened horses, in a state of wildness, passing by without riders, added to the awful effect of the tempest[503].’ The 5th Dragoon Guards suffered most by the stampede--eighteen men were hurt, and thirty-one horses were not to be found. Another diarist speaks of the splendid effect of the lightning reflected on the musket-barrels of belated infantry columns, which were just marching to their camping-ground. Before midnight the storm had passed over--the later hours of sleep were undisturbed, and next morning a brilliant sun rose into a cloudless sky[504]. The last day of manœuvring was begun, and the battle which both sides had so long avoided was at last to come.

[503] Leith Hay, ii. p. 46.

[504] Diary of Green of the 68th, p. 98.