Chapter III

Claros and Rovira attack Bascara and spread dismay along the
French frontier--Two Spanish officers pass the Ter and enter
Gerona with succours--Alvarez remonstrates with the junta of
Catalonia--Bad conduct of the latter--Blake advances to the aid
of the city--Pestilence there affects the French army--St. Cyr’s
firmness--Blake’s timid operations--O’Donnel fights Souham, but
without success--St. Cyr takes a position of battle--Garcia
Conde forces the French lines and introduces a convoy into
Gerona--Blake retires--Siege resumed--Garcia Conde comes out of
the city--Ridiculous error of the French--Conde forces the French
lines and escapes--Assault on Gerona fails--Blake advances a
second time--Sends another convoy under the command of O’Donnel
to the city--O’Donnel with the head of the convoy succeeds,
the remainder is cut off--Blake’s incapacity--He retires--St.
Cyr goes to Perpignan--Augereau takes the command of the
siege--O’Donnel breaks through the French lines--Blake advances a
third time--Is beaten by Souham--Pino takes Hostalrich--Admiral
Martin intercepts a French squadron--Captain Hallowell destroys a
convoy in Rosas-bay--Distress in Gerona--Alvarez is seized with
delirium, and the city surrenders--Observations 31

CHAPTER IV.

Plot at Seville against the Supreme Junta defeated by lord
Wellesley--Junta propose a new form of government--Opposed by
Romana--Junta announce the convocation of the national Cortez,
but endeavour to deceive the people--A Spanish army assembled in
the Morena under Eguia--Bassecour sends cavalry to reinforce Del
Parque, who concentrates the Spanish army of the left at Ciudad
Rodrigo--He is joined by the Gallician divisions--Santocildes
occupies Astorga--French endeavour to surprise him, but are
repulsed--Ballasteros quits the Asturias and marching by Astorga
attempts to storm Zamora--Enters Portugal--Del Parque demands the
aid of the Portuguese army--Sir A. Wellesley refuses, giving his
reason in detail--Del Parque’s operations--Battle of Tamames--Del
Parque occupies Salamanca, but hearing that French troops were
assembling at Valladolid retires to Bejar 55

CHAPTER V.

Areizaga takes the command of Equia’s army and is ordered to
advance against Madrid--Folly of the Supreme Junta--Operations in
La Mancha--Combat of Dos Barrios--Cavalry combat of Ocaña--Battle
of Ocaña--Destruction of the Spanish army 67

CHAPTER VI.

King Joseph’s return to Madrid--Del Parque’s operations--Battle
of Alba de Tormes--Dispersion of the Spanish troops--Their
great sufferings and patience--The Supreme Junta treat sir
A. Wellesley’s counsels with contempt--He breaks up from the
Guadiana and moves to the Mondego--Vindication of his conduct for
having remained so long on the Guadiana--French remain torpid
about Madrid--Observations 86

BOOK X.

CHAPTER I.

Joseph prepares to invade Andalusia--Distracted state of
affairs in that province--Military position and resources
described--Invasion of Andalusia--Passes of the Morena forced
by the French--Foolish deceit of the Supreme Junta--Tumult in
Seville--Supreme Junta dissolved--Junta of Seville re-assembles,
but disperses immediately after--The French take Jaen--Sebastiani
enters Grenada--King Joseph enters Cordoba and afterwards
marches against Seville--Albuquerque’s march to Cadiz--Seville
surrenders--Insurrection at Malaga put down by Sebastiani--Victor
invests Cadiz--Faction in that city--Mortier marches against
Badajos--The visconde de Gand flies to Ayamonte--Inhospitable
conduct of the bishop of Algarve 101

CHAPTER II.

Operations in Navarre, Aragon, and Valencia--Pursuit of
the student Mina--Suchet’s preparations--His incursion
against Valencia--Returns to Aragon--Difficulty of the
war in Catalonia--Operations of the seventh corps--French
detachments surprised at Mollet and San Perpetua--Augereau
enters Barcelona--Sends Duhesme to France--Returns to
Gerona--O’Donnel rallies the Spanish army near Centellas--Combat
of Vich--Spaniards make vain efforts to raise the blockade of
Hostalrich--Augereau again advances to Barcelona--Sends two
divisions to Reus--Occupies Manreza and Villa Franca--French
troops defeated at Villa Franca and Esparaguera--Swartz abandons
Manreza--Is defeated at Savadel--Colonel Villatte communicates
with the third corps by Falcet--Severolli retreats from Reus to
Villa Franca--Is harassed on the march--Augereau’s unskilful
conduct--Hostalrich falls--Gallant exploit of the governor,
Julian Estrada--Cruelty of Augereau 124

CHAPTER III.

Suchet marches against Lerida--Description of that
fortress--Suchet marches to Tarega--O’Donnel advances from
Taragona--Suchet returns to Balaguer--Combat of Margalef--Siege
of Lerida--The city stormed--Suchet drives the inhabitants into
the citadel and thus forces it to surrender 144

CHAPTER IV.

Reflections on that act--Lazan enters Alcanitz, but is driven out
by the French--Colonel Petit taken with a convoy by Villa Campa,
and assassinated after the action--Siege of Mequinenza--Fall
of that place--Morella taken--Suchet prepares to enter
Catalonia--Strength and resources of that province 158

CHAPTER V.

Operations in Andalusia--Blockade of Cadiz--Dissentions in
that city--Regency formed--Albuquerque sent to England--Dies
there--Regency consent to admit British troops--General Colin
Campbell obtains leave to put a garrison in Ceuta, and to destroy
the Spanish lines at San Roque--General William Stewart arrives
at Cadiz--Seizes Matagorda--Tempest destroys many vessels--Mr.
Henry Wellesley and general Graham arrive at Cadiz--Apathy of
the Spaniards--Gallant defence of Matagorda--Heroic conduct of a
sergeant’s wife--General Campbell sends a detachment to occupy
Tarifa--French prisoners cut the cables of the prison-hulks,
and drift during a tempest--General Lacey’s expedition to the
Ronda--His bad conduct--Returns to Cadiz--Reflections on the
state of affairs 169

CHAPTER VI.

Continuation of the operations in Andalusia--Description of
the Spanish and Portuguese lines of position south of the
Tagus--Situation of the armies in Estremadura--Complex operations
in that province--Soult’s policy 188

CHAPTER VII.

Situation of the armies north of the Tagus--Operations in Old
Castile and the Asturias--Ney menaces Ciudad Rodrigo--Loison
repulsed from Astorga--Kellerman chases Carrera from the
Gata mountains--Obscurity of the French projects--Siege of
Astorga--Mahi driven into Gallicia--Spaniards defeated at
Mombouey--Ney concentrates the sixth corps at Salamanca--The
ninth corps and the imperial guards enter Spain--Massena
assumes the command of the army of Portugal and of the
northern provinces--Ney commences the first siege of Ciudad
Rodrigo--Julian Sanchez breaks out of the town--Massena
arrives and alters the plan of attack--Daring action of three
French soldiers--Place surrenders--Andreas Herrasti--His fine
conduct--Reflections upon the Spanish character 201

BOOK XI.

CHAPTER I.

Lord Wellington’s policy--Change of administration in
England--Duel between lord Castlereagh and Mr. Canning--Lord
Wellesley joins the new ministry--Debates in Parliament--Factious
violence on both sides--Lord Wellington’s sagacity and firmness
vindicated--His views for the defence of Portugal--Ministers
accede to his demands--Grandeur of Napoleon’s designs against the
Peninsula--Lord Wellington enters into fresh explanation with the
English ministers--Discusses the state of the war--Similarity
of his views with those of sir John Moore--His reasons for not
advancing into Spain explained and vindicated 215