PUBLIC FEELING IN ENGLAND.

311

1810.

desultory, and ill-judged operations,-for hasty CHAP. X. advance and precipitate retreat-for profuse expenditure of blood and money in pursuit of " British objects,”—objects indeed, generally so truly British that no other government on earth would have thought them worth the expense and hazard of pursuit.

Thus the blunders and incapacity of the ministry had in a great measure lost them the confidence of the country. Even their warmer partisans-those who exonerated the men, did not venture to vindicate their measures. The gov

ernment had to encounter a strong and vehement opposition both in Parliament and in the country. The policy of withdrawing our army from the Peninsula,-of husbanding the resources of England, till time and circumstances should be more favourable for their efficacious exertion, found many advocates among the greatest and most enlightened statesmen of whom England could boast.

But party spirit was abroad in its violence; and the doctrine of opposition, though generally salutary, was scarcely applicable to the crisis at which England had arrived. At all events it was carried too far. Pertinacity on one side had gene

312

REINFORCEMENTS CROSS THE PYRENEES.

1810.

May.

CHAP. X. rated exaggeration on the other. Prudence is not a popular virtue; and the tame doctrine of temporary inaction, though supported by a considerable body of the nation, was but little in harmony with the pugnacious appetite of the majority. The Whigs were distrusted and disliked; and many who condemned the ministry, were still anxious to retain them in power. In Parliament a trial of strength took place on the debate on the Walcheren Expedition, and the Tories triumphed. The government, aware of the necessity of retrieving the disgrace of former failures, determined to prosecute the war with increased vigour. At the expense of nearly a million sterling, the Portuguese subsidiary force was augmented to thirty thousand men, and all the troops immediately disposable were sent out to augment the army of Lord Wellington.

In the meanwhile, strong reinforcements had crossed the Pyrenees, and the French at this period had a force in Spain, of not less than three hundred thousand men, distributed over the whole surface of the country; Gallicia, Valencia, and Murcia, being the only provinces which remained free. Had even half of this force been concentrated, there was nothing in

STATE OF THE FRENCH ARMY.

313

1810.

May.

the Peninsula which could oppose its progress; CHAP. X. but the nature of the warfare waged by the Spaniards, required its subdivision into numerous small bodies, to maintain the subjection of the conquered provinces, and to scatter the irregular bands which occupied the mountain strongholds, and rarely suffered an opportunity of successful action to escape. These objects were not to be accomplished without heavy and continual losses. The animosity of the people was working in silence the destruction of the invaders; and Napoleon, in a country which his leaders had represented as conquered, beheld his armies gradually melting, and his efforts rendered nugatory, by the silent operation of causes which he could neither mitigate nor control.

But the most prominent and immediate obstacle to the success of his projects, was the presence of a British force in the Peninsula. Till the "Leopard should have been driven into the sea," a large army in Spain was required to watch its movements. The force thus employed could lend no aid towards the general object of extending and securing the submission of the people to French authority. Its efforts were necessarily directed to one sin

VOL. II.

314

MOVEMENTS OF LORD WELLINGTON.

CHAP. X. gle and paramount object; and till that had been accomplished, it was for all other purposes entirely useless.

1810.

May.

De

Lord Wellington, therefore, at once perceived that the force at his disposal was not strong enough for offensive operations; and he knew, besides, that the loss attendant even on a victory, might be ruinous in its consequences. termined to abandon the Peninsula only in the last extremity, he waited therefore the approach of the enemy, prepared to take advantage of every circumstance which might contribute to his security, and enable him to baffle the powerful efforts of a superior enemy.

In the beginning of May, Lord Wellington was apprized of some movements in the French army, which indicated their intention of advancing against Ciudad Rodrigo. He accordingly moved towards the frontier, establishing his head-quarters at Celorico, and his divisions at Pinhel, Alverca, Guarda, Trancoso, and along the valley of the Mondego, as far as Cea; and on the opposite bank of that river, at Fornos, Mangualde, and Vizeu. The corps of Sir Rowland Hill remained in the neighbourhood of Abrantes, to check any operation on the part

PREPARATIONS FOR INVADING PORTUGAL.

315

of Regnier. In this position Lord Wellington CHAP. X, determined to watch the movements, and await

the approach of the enemy.

During the long period of tranquillity which had elapsed, both parties had been engaged in great and important preparations. Under command of Massena, perhaps the most celebrated of the great captains of Napoleon, a powerful army was assembling for the invasion of Portugal. It consisted of the corps of Marshals Ney and Junot, and of General Regnier; while the corps of Mortier threatened an advance on the frontier of Alentejo. Besides these, General Montiniere was at Valladolid, with nine thousand infantry and four regiments of cavalry; and to give still greater importance to this imposing demon

1810. May.

* At this period a change took place in the organization of the French armies. The first, fourth, and fifth corps, which had invaded Andalusia, formed the army of the south, and was commanded by Soult, having under him Victor, Sebastiani, and Mortier.

The army of the centre, under the immediate orders of Joseph, was composed of the Royal Guard, of several corps which had been raised in his service, and of the French garrisons within the district allotted for its occupation.

The army of Portugal consisted of the second, sixth, and eighth corps, under the command of Massena.