Napoleon in 1812
Chapter 80:

13. Golden War – 4

Asphyxia. Thisword wasthe besttoexpress theterriblefeelingsthat themembers of theSpanish resistance werefeeling now.

TheFrench army’s strategy andmovementwere so differentfrom thepast. They were no longer launchingrecklessoffensives 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 guerrilla 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 wereunacceptable, theFrench werevery persistentlyharassing the resistance, attackingand crushing their supply lines.

“If we go on like this, we’re going to sit down and die!”

Spanish Resistance Commander Juan MartínDíezwrotedirectlytothe Allies to overcome thesituation.

‘If you want us to holdour breath even if it’sa weak one, wedesperatelyneed youtosend us warsuppliesassoon as possible.’

TheAllies, whoknew thevalueofthe Spanishresistance, did not turn ablindeye to his demand.

FranciscodaSilveira, Count of Amarante and CommanderofPortugal’s Royal Army, volunteered to take on the heavy duty of providing supplies to theresistance.

“Ourgoal is nottofightthe French, but to givehope andcourage to ourcomrades.”

Ofcourse, to provide supplies to the resistance forces in theterritoriesoccupiedbythe French, they hadtocontact them and infiltrate the enemy’s lines, which wasa considerablerisk.

The Count of Amarante, daring to takerisksanyway, hadprepareda surprise infiltrationthrough theplains of La Mancha.

Who would dare to openly cross theplains of La Mancha, the heart of the Iberian Peninsula? Therefore, there wasnobolder operation to piercethe enemy’slinesthan 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 plains of La Mancha, insteadofgoingbysea throughportssuch as Almería 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 success.

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.

“Africa’s vulgardishwashersand coachmen of Estrela’s countryside have gathered here! Givea gift of resttothosewho wanttomeet PhilipII and João IV in the underworld!”

The Spanish ResistanceArmy andthe Count of Amarante’stroops responded well to the suddenappearance of Suchet’s Corps, showing their skills.

From the beginning, however, it was impossible for theresistance andcoalition forces to overcome Suchet’s 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.

“You’ve done agreatjob bringing these all theway here! We’ll 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.

===

France hadfosteredand utilized alargenumber of spies composed 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.

Couldn’t 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 localsbecome spies, theAllies could alsorun intelligence units of citizens in theoccupiedterritories.

On a bigger scale, this would help to amplifythe volume andaccuracyofinformationcoming 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 Minister’s residence), but this time, it’sthe Provisional GovernmentofSeville?”

“Itistrue that the delegation fromSeville hasarrived… Coincidentally, people on the Westminster side arrivedaround the same time.”

“The army’slife 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 peninsula, sotherewas alot of fusshere andthere.

“Well, I understand thatSeville is nervous, too. We didn’t know thatNabotwas inciting the Spanish people in such aheinous way.”

“There’snoequaltothis reincarnation of the true devil! In theentire history! I will never forgetthat damn Corsican slayer!”

“Haa!…”

Eachofthe Allied generals ventedtheirangerorsighed to clear their minds. Thenews that France hadestablishedits own administrative entities andwas ‘ruling’ the occupied 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 cabinetwere much moreangryand afraid of Franceencroachingonthe empty Spanishadministrativevacuum thanhundredsofthousands of their people being slaughtered.

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.

“Don’twehave to stop the demiseofthe resistancebyany means necessary? When we were withthem, weused to call them‘abunchofelephants suckingmoneyand gunpowder’, but to be honest, onlythe resistanceforces could swaythe French’s rear.”

“The reasonwhy we can maintain thefrontline despite the lack of coalition troopsisbecause there areinsurgents andmilitiasinthe territories occupied by the French. We can’t losethem. Weneed to make suretoprovide them withsupplies.”

Officersfrom Spain andPortugalwanted to protectthe resistancebyall means. British officers, on theotherhand, were skeptical.

“…Thereisnoclearway to helpthem. Rightnow, we’re in a hurry to maintain the front line of the peninsula.”

“The Frenchbastardsare not usually sneaky people. But they’re cuttingall the connections between us and theresistance.”

“Tobreakthis crisis, the Count of Amarante himself led thecorpsand marchedinto theplains of La Mancha… Of course, as we all know, theCount’s 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 occupied 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 Peninsula, stopped advancing. And then it startedtoconciliate andstabilize its control overthe occupied territories.

Itwas as if the Frenchwere notinterested in anyotherarea of thepeninsula other thanthe one they werecurrently occupying. They were using all sorts of tactics to exterminate the Spanish resistanceand militias.

Theirstrategysucceeded in making themembers of theProvisionalGovernment of Seville, British, Portuguese politicians and themediabeyond the straitmore hasty andanxious than the soldiers on thepeninsula. Allthat ledtothe presentday.

“At times likethis, I just wanttogoout and fight hard.”

“An impatientcommander fights a hundredtimesand loses ahundred times. Don’tsay stupid things, kid.”

“Bullshit! Butisn’tittrue! Astime goes by, theenemyisonly getting stronger and less vulnerable! The Frenchhave dispersedtheirforces to ruleover that vastoccupiedarea. This maybeour lastchance!”

“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 overcome thecurrent situation. Thatwas why theAllied commandwas evenmore unsettled.

“The Commander is comingin!”

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 knewaboutFernandoVII’spersonalitycouldimagine howagitatedhemust have beenwhen askingthis.

“Also, a final notice from Prime Minister Robert Jenkinsonand Westminster Parliamenthas arrived, asking us to break through thatbloody ‘Santiago-Almería’ line beforeApriland turntothe offensive. So, our troopscan’tcontinuewith thedefensive strategy.”

Grunts pouredout fromall overthe place. 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 kingdom’s financialburden. Theleaders of both partiesinWestminsterand His Majesty agreed to send fleets andtroops to protectthe kingdom’s territoryinthe New World andapprovedadditional budgetspending. And so theoppositeaction is…”

“A cut in the budgetfor the Alliedforces in the Peninsular War.”

“Oh, my God, damn it! Are theyreally going to handover thewholeIberia to Nabot!?”

Disappointedsoldiersspat outcurses. They could no longer be compensated forall the hard workthey hadhad in their servicehere fornearly fiveyears.

Nowitwas completelyinvain. 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!…”

“That’sright. The targetbeingcut is the kingdom’snavalstrength. And a big part of the support thatwas put into it… willberedirected to form an additionalarmy force that willjoin us here.”

“!!…”

A wave of silence swept the military meeting. Soon after, theofficerswho cametotheirsenses let outharshcheers.

That wasright. Britainhad declared thatitwouldabandon itscurrent strategy andmore aggressivelyengage in the waragainst France.