Spain should invade portugal

The original Spanish plan was to take Almeida and then to advance towards the Alentejo and Lisbon, but after the Marquis of Sarria had been appointed commander-in-chief he decided to begin by an attack in the north with Porto as its aim. This would deal a hard blow to the British, who had large commercial interests in Porto, and would also be agreeable to Elisabeth of Parma , the Queen Mother, who was still very much a power behind the Spanish throne and wished to spare the position of her daughter Mariana Victoria , the Queen Consort of Portugal.

In any case there was no point in antagonising the Portuguese unduly, and if they were not attacked in their capital they might be readier to give in. The attack on Porto came to a standstill, because the Spanish did not realize the difficulties of the country to be traversed. A further delay was caused by the fact that the main body of Spanish troops at Zamora , intended for Almeida, were held up by the flooded River Esla, a northern tributary of the Douro , which they could not cross until a pontoon-bridge had been laid across it.

France also sent some 12, men, but this force was decimated by disease and never used on the field, because their relations with the Spaniards were difficult. This delay gave the British the time to bring over five regiments under John Campbell, 4th Earl of Loudoun from the occupied island of Belle-Ile off the coast of France. They arrived in Lisbon in the third week of July.

It was decided that the Earl of Loudoun would be second-in-command and that the German Wilhelm, Count of Schaumburg-Lippe would take over the command from the sick Baron Tyrawley. Lippe had decided he would relieve the pressure on Almeida and Porto by organizing a counter-attack. They cleared the neighbourhood of the Spanish troops, taking a number of prisoners including a Spanish general and returned with a ransom of a year's taxes paid in corn.

This victory raised Portuguese morale and Burgoyne was given a large diamond and the Spanish Colours captured. On November 24 the Count of Aranda informed Lippe that peace preliminaries had been signed, emissaries were exchanged and an armistice agreed. The British and Portuguese had success by adroit marches and counter-marches, so that the Spaniards, although hugely superior in numbers, were always confronted by defenders in a good position and never dared to risk an all-out attack.

Three days later, Badajoz was besieged once more, this time by Wellington who had marched from Almeida. Had he possessed an adequate siege train and experienced military engineers, Wellington could probably have captured Badajoz fairly quickly. But his two assaults against the town's forts on 6 and 9 June were beaten back.

Soon after, as French reinforcements approached, he was forced to abandon the siege. In early , before the French could concentrate enough relief troops, Wellington attacked the border fortresses of Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajoz. Success at each would open up the northern and southern routes into Spain.

On 8 January , he laid siege to Ciudad Rodrigo. By 19 January, his guns had opened up two gaps in the town's defences. That night, the 3rd Division attacked one breach, while the Light Division assaulted the other. The 3rd Division suffered heavily from a huge mine explosion. But the Light Division forced its way into the town, while other troops succeeded in scaling the walls elsewhere.

Attacked from all sides, the French surrendered. After a lengthy bombardment to breach Badajoz's thick walls, an attack by escalade scaling the walls on ladders was launched on 6 April Angered at the heavy losses they had suffered, the troops broke into houses and stores consuming alcohol and then going on a rampage of rape and pillage. Threatening their officers and ignoring their commands to desist, the soldiers massacred hundreds of civilians.

It took three days before they were brought to order. Having secured the Portuguese-Spanish frontier, Wellington advanced further into Spain. The victory was one of Wellington's finest, proving that he was more than just a good defensive general.

But it inflicted around 14, casualties on Marmont's 50,strong force. Following the victory, Wellington was able to liberate Madrid 12 August before moving north to besiege Burgos. However, they still had enough troops in north and eastern Spain to launch a major counter-offensive. Threatened with encirclement, Wellington was obliged to abandon the Siege of Burgos in October and retreat back into Portugal once again.

In , Wellington advanced again, with , British, Spanish and Portuguese soldiers. While the French lived off the land - a policy which angered the Spanish and strengthened support for the guerrillas - Wellington tried to ensure that his troops were properly supplied, and always insisted on paying for what he took from the locals.

Despite this, plundering remained a constant disciplinary issue in his army. After quickly taking Burgos on 21 June , Wellington caught up with the French at Vitoria and defeated them in an enveloping attack. About 5, French soldiers were killed or wounded and 3, taken prisoner.

Joseph Bonaparte himself narrowly escaped capture. The victory at Vitoria effectively ended French control in Spain. It also encouraged the Austrians to re-join the coalition against Napoleon. Weakened French armies were now slowly forced back across central Europe towards the borders of France by the combined Russian, Austrian, Swedish and Prussian forces. Napoleon was again forced to withdraw soldiers from the Peninsula to help shore up his crumbling position east of the Rhine.

Soult abandoned the offensive on 30 July and withdrew toward France, having failed to relieve either garrison. Wellington took San Sebastian in September after a two-month siege. The town was subsequently ransacked, and many civilians killed. Finally, the French garrison of Pamplona was starved into submission in October Unable to get sufficient support from a weakened Napoleon, Marshal Soult led his exhausted and demoralised forces in a withdrawal across the Pyrenees and back into France, fighting battles at the Bidassoa 7 October , Nivelle 10 November and the Nive December.

Meanwhile, having won the decisive Battle of Leipzig October , the Allies were now advancing through the German states. But they now abandoned him. Three separate Allied armies then invaded northern and eastern France in December and January That same month, Wellington resumed his offensive into southern France, defeating Marshal Soult at Orthes 27 February before capturing Toulouse on 10 April. Two days later, Wellington received the news that Paris had fallen to the Allies and that Napoleon had abdicated.

He was later exiled to the island of Elba. On June 21, , Spain declares war on Great Britain, creating a de facto alliance with the Americans. Britain had established control of Tobruk after routing the Italians in But the Germans attempted Live TV.

This Day In History. History Vault. United States Constitution. Westward Expansion. Art, Literature, and Film History. Instead of adopting reticence, Argenton passionately exhorted his interrogator to join the cause and to direct his corps against Napoleon while he willingly elaborated on the details of his plot.

Argenton then obliged with the names of two colonels. In the confusion that ensued, Argenton, seemingly by collusion with a former colleague, escaped from captivity on May 13 and made his way back to Porto and British lines. Recognized and arrested on June 28, the former conspirator was tried by a military court on December 21, , condemned to death, and executed on the Plaine de Grenelle west of Paris.

During his trial and numerous questionings, Argenton frequently contradicted himself or denied his previous admissions of guilt to Soult in Porto. But no witness, evidence, or logic ever materialized to provide substance for his accusations. Historians have concluded that the French invasion of Portugal in was fated for failure from the outset for reasons that have already been elaborated or implied. Thus the heavy losses during the retreat of 4, casualties, many artillery, much equipment, and considerable treasure could be attributed to the intrigues, plots, and conspiracies that had swirled around the French army in Porto for six weeks in Go to menu Go to content Go to search.

Intrigue and conspiracy at Porto: the second French invasion of Portugal. Share it twitter facebook. Introduction The month of May, marked the commencement of a terrible tragedy for the peoples and nations of Spain, Portugal, and France. Military operations The military operations of the campaign can be summarized briefly. Nicolas Soult A commentary on the character and competence of Nicolas Soult is significant for an understanding of the events occurring during this campaign. Three general works could be cited as references for this campaign.

The first is a contemporary volume in French: Pierre-Madeleine Le Noble, Memoires sur les operations militaires des francais en Galice, en Portugal, et dans la vallee du Tage en Paris, The latter, as official historian of the campaign and staunch defender of Soult, described some of the milder measures taken by the Marshal but refused to countenance any implications of unprincipled purposes.

II, Marbot, Memoires , II, For the career of Loison, one can consult: Donald H. Oman, Peninsular War , II, The last document is a highly significant summary and analysis of the various papers in French archives concerning the Porto Conspiracy. The Biblical figure Nicodemus, his name meaning literally "victor over the people", became renowned as a Pharisee, member of the Sanhedrin, and man of means who had an interview with Christ after being impressed by his miracles, and who defended Jesus' legal rights in the Sanhedrin.