WELLINGTONS
MILITARY MACHINE HBDJ BRITISH ARMY ROYAL NAVY NAPOLEONIC WARS TRAFALGAR
WATERLOO HISTORY UNIFORMS WEAPONS
HARDBOUND BOOK with DUSTJACKET
in ENGLISH by PHILIP J. HAYTHORNTHWAITE
RECRUITMENT, TRAINING &
DRILLING
THE CAVALRY (1ST LIFE
GUARDS, HEAVY CAVALRY, 1ST ROYAL DRAGOONS, THE LIGHT DRAGOONS, THE
HUSSARS, THE YEOMANRY CAVALRY)
THE INFANTRY (23RD
ROYAL WELCH FUZILEERS, 6TH (1ST WARWICKSHIRE) REGT, THE
FOOT GUARDS, COLDSTREAM, SCOTS, THE LINE REGIMENTS, BROWN BESS INFANTRY MUSKET,
SHOULDER BELT BREASTPLATE, GRENARDIERS, BUCKINGHAMSHIRE, NORTHUMBERLAND, PRINCE
OF WALE’S VOLUNTEERS, THE SCOTTISH REGIMENTS, 92ND HIGHLANDERS, 79TH
HIGHLANDERS, 97TH HIGHLANDERS, BIG SAM MacDONALD, 71ST
GLASGOW HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY, THE IRISH REGIMENTS, 87TH FOOT, 88TH
FOOT, THE LIGHT INFANTRY, THE RIFLE CORPS, MILITIA, FENCIBLES, VOLUNTEERS)
THE ARTILLERY (ROYAL FOOT
ARTILLERY, FIELD ARTILLERY, CONGREVE’S BLOCK TRAIL CARRIAGE, THE HORSE
ARTILLERY, SIEGE AND GARRISON ARTILLERY)
THE SUPPORTING ARMS SERVICES (THE
COMMISSARIAT, MEDICAL SERVICES, ROYAL NGINEERS, STAFF & INTELIGENCE)
BRITAIN’S ALLIES (THE KING’S
GERMAN LEGION, THE SPANISH, THE PORTUGUESE, THE HANOVERIANS, THE NETHERLANDERS
DUTCH, THE RUSSIANS, AUSTRIANS & SWEDES, THE PRUSSIANS, THE EMIGRANT CORPS,
THE FOREIGN CORPS)
STRATEGY AND TACTICS (WELLINGTON
ON THE PENINSULA, ON THE MARCH, THE LINE, THE SQUARE, LIGHT INFANTRY TACTICS,
ARTILLERY TACTICS, CAVALRY TACTICS, DEFENSE IN DEPTH: THE LINES OF TORRES
VEDRAS, COASTAL DEFENSES, FORTS & MARTELLOS)
THE ARMY’S CAMPAIGNS (THE LOW
COUNTRIES 1793-1795, INDIA, THE CAPE 1795, NORTH HOLLAND 1799, THE WEST INDIES,
EGYPT 1801, SOUTH AMERICA 1806-1807, VIMEIRO 1808, CORUNNA 1809, PORTUGAL &
TALAVERA 1809, BUSACO 1810, ALBUERA 1811, CIUDAD RODRIGO 1812, BADAJOZ 1812,
SALAMANCA 1812, VITTORIA 1813, PYRENEES AND SOUTHERN FRANCE, AMERICA AND CANADA
1812-1815, QUATRE BRAS 1815, WATERLOO 1815)
THE ROYAL NAVY AT WAR (HMS
VICTORY, LORD HORATIO NELSON, SHIPS CREW, ROYAL MARINES, SHIPS-OF-THE-LINE,
FRIGATES, SHIPYARDS AND EQUIPMENT)
NAVAL TACTICS (BREAKING THE LINE,
FRIGATE TACTICS)
THE NAVY’S CAMPAIGNS (TRAFALGAR
1805, THE GLORIOUS FIRST OF JUNE 1794, CAPE ST. VINCENT 1797, CAMPERDOWN 1797, THE
MEDITERRANEAN 1798, COPENHAGEN 1801, THE NAVAL CAMPAIGNS 1806-1815, AMPHIBIOUS
OPERATIONS)
SIR THOMAS LAWRENCE, THE DUKE OF
WELLINGTON
-------------------------------------
Additional Information from
Internet Encyclopedia
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley,
1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS (né Wesley; 1 May 1769 – 14
September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish statesman, soldier, and Tory politician who
was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain,
serving twice as prime minister of the United Kingdom. He is among the
commanders who won and ended the Napoleonic Wars when the Seventh Coalition
defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.
Wellesley was born into the
Protestant Ascendancy in County Meath or Dublin in Ireland (then known as the
Kingdom of Ireland). He was commissioned as an ensign in the British Army in
1787, serving in Ireland as aide-de-camp to two successive lords lieutenant of
Ireland. He was also elected as a member of Parliament in the Irish House of
Commons. He was a colonel by 1796 and saw action in the Netherlands and in
India, where he fought in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War at the Battle of
Seringapatam. He was appointed governor of Seringapatam and Mysore in 1799 and,
as a newly appointed major-general, won a decisive victory over the Maratha
Confederacy at the Battle of Assaye in 1803.
Wellesley rose to prominence as
a general during the Peninsular campaign of the Napoleonic Wars, and was
promoted to the rank of field marshal after leading the allied forces to
victory against the French Empire at the Battle of Vitoria in 1813. Following
Napoleon's exile in 1814, he served as the ambassador to France and was made
Duke of Wellington. During the Hundred Days in 1815, he commanded the allied
army which, together with a Prussian Army under Field Marshal Gebhard von
Blücher, defeated Napoleon at Waterloo. Wellington's battle record is
exemplary; he ultimately participated in some 60 battles during the course of
his military career.
Wellington is famous for his
adaptive defensive style of warfare, resulting in several victories against
numerically superior forces while minimising his own losses. He is regarded as
one of the greatest commanders in the modern era, and many of his tactics and
battle plans are still studied in military academies around the world. After
the end of his active military career, he returned to politics. He was twice
British prime minister as a member of the Tory party from 1828 to 1830 and for
a little less than a month in 1834. He oversaw the passage of the Roman
Catholic Relief Act 1829, while he opposed the Reform Act 1832. He continued as
one of the leading figures in the House of Lords until his retirement and
remained Commander-in-Chief of the British Army until his death.
Early life
Wellesley was born into an
aristocratic Anglo-Irish family, belonging to the Protestant Ascendancy,
beginning life as The Hon. Arthur Wesley.[3] Wellesley was born the son of
Anne, Countess of Mornington, and Garret Wesley, 1st Earl of Mornington. His father
was himself the son of Richard Wesley, 1st Baron Mornington, and had a short
career in politics representing the constituency of Trim in the Irish House of
Commons before succeeding his father as Baron Mornington in 1758. Garret
Mornington was also an accomplished composer, and in recognition of his musical
and philanthropic achievements was elevated to the rank of Earl of Mornington
in 1760.[4] Wellesley's mother was the eldest daughter of Arthur Hill-Trevor,
1st Viscount Dungannon, after whom Wellesley was named. Through Elizabeth of
Rhuddlan, Wellesley was a descendant of Edward I.
Wellesley was the sixth of nine
children born to the Earl and Countess of Mornington. His siblings included
Richard, Viscount Wellesley, later 1st Marquess Wellesley, 2nd Earl of
Mornington, and Baron Maryborough.
Birth date and place
The exact date and location of
Wellesley's birth is not known; however, biographers mostly follow the same
contemporary newspaper evidence, which states that he was born on 1 May 1769,
the day before he was baptised in St. Peter's Church on Aungier Street in
Dublin. However, Ernest Lloyd states "registry of St. Peter's Church,
Dublin, shows that he was christened there on 30 April 1769". His
baptismal font was donated to St. Nahi's Church in Dundrum, Dublin, in 1914.
Wellesley may have been born at
his parents' townhouse, Mornington House at 6 Merrion Street (the address later
became known as 24 Upper Merrion Street), Dublin, which now forms part of the
Merrion Hotel.[12] His mother, Anne, Countess of Mornington, recalled in 1815
that he had been born at 6 Merrion Street.
His family's home at Dangan
Castle, Dangan near Summerhill, County Meath has also been purported to have
been his birth place. In his obituary, published in The Times in 1852, reported
that Dangan was unanimously believed to have been the place of his birth,
though suggested is was unlikely, but not impossible, that the family had
travelled to Dublin for his baptism.[15] A pillar was erected in his honour
near Dangan in 1817.
The place of his birth has been
much disputed following his death, with Sir. J.D. Burke writing the following
in 1873:
"Isn't it remarkable that
until recently all the old memoirs of the Duke of Wellington seemed to infer
that County Meath was the place of birth. Nowadays the theory that he was born
in Dublin is generally accepted but by no means proved".
Other places that have been put
forward as the location of his birth include a coach between Meath and Dublin,
the Dublin packet boat and the Wellesley townhouse in Trim, County Meath.
Childhood
Wellesley spent much of his
early childhood at his family's ancestral home, Dangan Castle in County Meath,
Ireland (engraving, 1842).
Wellesley spent most of his
childhood at his family's two homes, the first a large house in Dublin,
Mornington House, and the second Dangan Castle, 3 miles (5 km) north of
Summerhill in County Meath. In 1781, Arthur's father died and his eldest
brother Richard inherited his father's earldom.
He went to the diocesan school
in Trim when at Dangan, Mr Whyte's Academy when in Dublin, and Brown's School
in Chelsea when in London. He then enrolled at Eton College, where he studied
from 1781 to 1784. His loneliness there caused him to hate it, and makes it
highly unlikely that he actually said "The Battle of Waterloo was won on
the playing fields of Eton", a quotation which is often attributed to him.
Moreover, Eton had no playing fields at the time. In 1785, a lack of success at
Eton, combined with a shortage of family funds due to his father's death,
forced the young Wellesley and his mother to move to Brussels. Until his early
twenties, Arthur showed little sign of distinction and his mother grew
increasingly concerned at his idleness, stating, "I don't know what I
shall do with my awkward son Arthur."
In 1786, Arthur enrolled in the
French Royal Academy of Equitation in Angers, where he progressed
significantly, becoming a good horseman and learning French, which later proved
very useful. Upon returning to England later the same year, he astonished his
mother with his improvement.
Early military career
Despite his new promise,
Wellesley had yet to find a job and his family was still short of money, so
upon the advice of his mother, his brother Richard asked his friend the Duke of
Rutland (then Lord Lieutenant of Ireland) to consider Arthur for a commission
in the Army. Soon afterward, on 7 March 1787, he was gazetted ensign in the
73rd Regiment of Foot. In October, with the assistance of his brother, he was
assigned as aide-de-camp, on ten shillings a day (twice his pay as an ensign),
to the new Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Lord Buckingham. He was also transferred
to the new 76th Regiment forming in Ireland and on Christmas Day, 1787, was
promoted lieutenant. During his time in Dublin his duties were mainly social;
attending balls, entertaining guests and providing advice to Buckingham. While
in Ireland, he overextended himself in borrowing due to his occasional
gambling, but in his defence stated that "I have often known what it was
to be in want of money, but I have never got helplessly into debt".
On 23 January 1788, he
transferred into the 41st Regiment of Foot,[28] then again on 25 June 1789 he
transferred to the 12th (Prince of Wales's) Regiment of (Light) Dragoons and,
according to military historian Richard Holmes, he also reluctantly entered
politics. Shortly before the general election of 1789, he went to the rotten
borough of Trim to speak against the granting of the title "Freeman"
of Dublin to the parliamentary leader of the Irish Patriot Party, Henry
Grattan. Succeeding, he was later nominated and duly elected as a Member of
Parliament (MP) for Trim in the Irish House of Commons. Because of the limited
suffrage at the time, he sat in a parliament where at least two-thirds of the
members owed their election to the landowners of fewer than a hundred boroughs.
Wellesley continued to serve at Dublin Castle, voting with the government in
the Irish parliament over the next two years. He became a captain on 30 January
1791, and was transferred to the 58th Regiment of Foot.
On 31 October, he transferred to
the 18th Light Dragoons and it was during this period that he grew increasingly
attracted to Kitty Pakenham, the daughter of Edward Pakenham, 2nd Baron
Longford. She was described as being full of 'gaiety and charm'. In 1793, he
proposed, but was turned down by her brother Thomas, 2nd Earl of Longford, who
considered Wellesley to be a young man, in debt, with very poor prospects.An
aspiring amateur musician, Wellesley, devastated by the rejection, burnt his
violins in anger, and resolved to pursue a military career in earnest.[38] He
became a major by purchase in the 33rd Regiment in 1793.A few months later, in
September, his brother lent him more money and with it he purchased a-colonelcy
in the 33rd.
Netherlands
In 1793, the Duke of York was
sent to Flanders in command of the British contingent of an allied force
destined for the invasion of France. In June 1794, Wellesley with the 33rd
regiment set sail from Cork bound for Ostend as part of an expedition bringing
reinforcements for the army in Flanders. They arrived too late to participate,
and joined the Duke of York as he was pulling back towards the Netherlands. On
15 September 1794, at the Battle of Boxtel,[42] east of Breda, Wellington, in
temporary command of his brigade, had his first experience of battle. During
General Abercromby's withdrawal in the face of superior French forces, the 33rd
held off enemy cavalry, allowing neighbouring units to retreat safely. During
the extremely harsh winter that followed, Wellesley and his regiment formed
part of an allied force holding the defence line along the Waal River. The
33rd, along with the rest of the army, suffered heavy losses from attrition and
illness. Wellesley's health was also affected by the damp environment.
Though the campaign was to end
disastrously, with the British army driven out of the United Provinces into the
German states, Wellesley became more aware of battle tactics, including the use
of lines of infantry against advancing columns, and the merits of supporting
sea-power. He understood that the failure of the campaign was due in part to
the faults of the leaders and the poor organisation at headquarters.[44] He
remarked later of his time in the Netherlands that "At least I learned
what not to do, and that is always a valuable lesson".
Returning to England in March
1795, he was reinstated as a member of parliament for Trim.[45] He hoped to be
given the position of secretary of war in the new Irish government but the new
lord-lieutenant, Lord Camden, was only able to offer him the post of
Surveyor-General of the Ordnance. Declining the post, he returned to his
regiment, now at Southampton preparing to set sail for the West Indies. After
seven weeks at sea, a storm forced the fleet back to Poole. The 33rd was given
time to recuperate and a few months later, Whitehall decided to send the
regiment to India. Wellesley was promoted full colonel by seniority on 3 May
1796[46] and a few weeks later set sail for Calcutta with his regiment.
India
Arriving in Calcutta in February
1797 he spent 5 months there, before being sent in August to a brief expedition
to the Philippines, where he established a list of new hygiene precautions for
his men to deal with the unfamiliar climate.[48] Returning in November to
India, he learnt that his elder brother Richard, now known as Lord Mornington,
had been appointed as the new Governor-General of India.
In 1798, he changed the spelling
of his surname to "Wellesley"; up to this time he was still known as
Wesley, which his eldest brother considered the ancient and proper
spelling.[49][50]
Fourth Anglo-Mysore War
As part of the campaign to
extend the rule of the British East India Company, the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War
broke out in 1798 against the Sultan of Mysore, Tipu Sultan.[51] Arthur's
brother Richard ordered that an armed force be sent to capture Seringapatam and
defeat Tipu. During the war, rockets were used on several occasions. Wellesley
was almost defeated by Tipu's Diwan, Purnaiah, at the Battle of Sultanpet Tope.
Quoting Forrest,
At this point (near the village
of Sultanpet, Figure 5) there was a large tope, or grove, which gave shelter to
Tipu's rocketmen and had obviously to be cleaned out before the siege could be
pressed closer to Srirangapattana island. The commander chosen for this
operation was Col. Wellesley, but advancing towards the tope after dark on the
5th April 1799, he was set upon with rockets and musket-fires, lost his way
and, as Beatson politely puts it, had to "postpone the attack" until
a more favourable opportunity should offer.
The following day, Wellesley
launched a fresh attack with a larger force, and took the whole position
without any killed in action. On 22 April 1799, twelve days before the main
battle, rocketeers maneuvered to the rear of the British encampment, then
'threw a great number of rockets at the same instant' to signal the beginning
of an assault by 6,000 Indian infantry and a corps of Frenchmen, all ordered by
Mir Golam Hussain and Mohomed Hulleen Mir Miran. The rockets had a range of
about 1,000 yards. Some burst in the air like shells. Others, called ground
rockets, would rise again on striking the ground and bound along in a serpentine
motion until their force was spent. According to one British observer, a young
English officer named Bayly: "So pestered were we with the rocket boys
that there was no moving without danger from the destructive missiles
...". He continued:
The rockets and musketry from
20,000 of the enemy were incessant. No hail could be thicker. Every
illumination of blue lights was accompanied by a shower of rockets, some of
which entered the head of the column, passing through to the rear, causing
death, wounds, and dreadful lacerations from the long bamboos of twenty or
thirty feet, which are invariably attached to them.
Under the command of General
Harris, some 24,000 troops were dispatched to Madras (to join an equal force
being sent from Bombay in the west). Arthur and the 33rd sailed to join them in
August.
After extensive and careful
logistic preparation (which would become one of Wellesley's main
attributes)[56] the 33rd left with the main force in December and travelled
across 250 miles (402 km) of jungle from Madras to Mysore. On account of his
brother, during the journey, Wellesley was given an additional command, that of
chief advisor to the Nizam of Hyderabad's army (sent to accompany the British
force). This position was to cause friction among many of the senior officers
(some of whom were senior to Wellesley).[57] Much of this friction was put to
rest after the Battle of Mallavelly, some 20 miles (32 km) from Seringapatam,
in which Harris' army attacked a large part of the sultan's army. During the
battle, Wellesley led his men, in a line of battle of two ranks, against the
enemy to a gentle ridge and gave the order to fire. After an extensive
repetition of volleys, followed by a bayonet charge, the 33rd, in conjunction
with the rest of Harris's force, forced Tipu's infantry to retreat.
Seringapatam
Immediately after their arrival
at Seringapatam on 5 April 1799, the Battle of Seringapatam began and Wellesley
was ordered to lead a night attack on the village of Sultanpettah, adjacent to
the fortress to clear the way for the artillery.[60] Because of a variety of
factors including the Mysorean army's strong defensive preparations and the
darkness the attack failed with 25 casualties due to confusion among the
British. Wellesley suffered a minor injury to his knee from a spent
musket-ball.[61][62] Although they would re-attack successfully the next day,
after time to scout ahead the enemy's positions, the affair affected Wellesley.
He resolved "never to attack an enemy who is preparing and strongly
posted, and whose posts have not been reconnoitred by daylight".[53] Lewin
Bentham Bowring gives this alternative account:
One of these groves, called the
Sultanpet Tope, was intersected by deep ditches, watered from a channel running
in an easterly direction about a mile from the fort. General Baird was directed
to scour this grove and dislodge the enemy, but on his advancing with this
object on the night of the 5th, he found the tope unoccupied. The next day,
however, the Mysore troops again took possession of the ground, and as it was
absolutely necessary to expel them, two columns were detached at sunset for the
purpose. The first of these, under Colonel Shawe, got possession of a ruined
village, which it successfully held. The second column, under Colonel
Wellesley, on advancing into the tope, was at once attacked in the darkness of
night by a tremendous fire of musketry and rockets. The men, floundering about
amidst the trees and the water-courses, at last broke, and fell back in
disorder, some being killed and a few taken prisoners. In the confusion Colonel
Wellesley was himself struck on the knee by a spent ball, and narrowly escaped
falling into the hands of the enemy.
A few weeks later, after
extensive artillery bombardment, a breach was opened in the main walls of the
fortress of Seringapatam.[53] An attack led by Major-General Baird secured the
fortress. Wellesley secured the rear of the advance, posting guards at the
breach and then stationed his regiment at the main palace.[64] After hearing
news of the death of the Tipu Sultan, Wellesley was the first at the scene to
confirm his death, checking his pulse.[65] Over the coming day, Wellesley grew
increasingly concerned over the lack of discipline among his men, who drank and
pillaged the fortress and city. To restore order, several soldiers were flogged
and four hanged.
After battle and the resulting
end of the war, the main force under General Harris left Seringapatam and
Wellesley, aged 30, stayed behind to command the area as the new Governor of
Seringapatam and Mysore. While in India, Wellesley was ill for a considerable
time, first with severe diarrhoea from the water and then with fever, followed
by a serious skin infection caused by trichophyton.
Wellesley was in charge of
raising an Anglo-Indian expeditionary force in Trincomali in early 1801 for the
capture of Batavia and Mauritius from the French. However, on the eve of its
departure, orders arrived from England that it was to be sent to Egypt to
co-operate with Sir Ralph Abercromby in the expulsion of the French from Egypt.
Wellesley had been appointed second in command to Baird, but owing to ill
health did not accompany the expedition on 9 April 1801. This was fortunate for
Wellesley, since the vessel on which he was to have sailed sank in the Red Sea.
He was promoted to
brigadier-general on 17 July 1801. He took residence within the Sultan's summer
palace and reformed the tax and justice systems in his province to maintain
order and prevent bribery.
Dhoondiah Waugh insurgency
In 1800, whilst serving as
Governor of Mysore, Wellesley was tasked with putting down an insurgency led by
Dhoondiah Waugh, formerly a Patan trooper for Tipu Sultan.[70] Having escaped
after the fall of Seringapatam he became a powerful brigand, raiding villages
along the Maratha–Mysore border region.
Despite initial setbacks, the
East India Company having pursued and destroyed his forces once already,
forcing him into retreat in August 1799, he raised a sizeable force composed of
disbanded Mysore soldiers, captured small outposts and forts in Mysore, and was
receiving the support of several Maratha killedars opposed to British
occupation.[72] This drew the attention of the British administration, who were
beginning to recognise him as more than just a bandit, as his raids, expansion
and threats to destabilise British authority suddenly increased in 1800.[73]
The death of Tipu Sultan had created a power vacuum and Waugh was seeking to
fill it.
Given independent command of a
combined East India Company and British Army force,[74] Wellesley ventured
north to confront Waugh in June 1800, with an army of 8,000 infantry and
cavalry, having learnt that Waugh's forces numbered over 50,000, although the
majority (around 30,000) were irregular light cavalry and unlikely to pose a
serious threat to British infantry and artillery.
Throughout June–August 1800,
Wellesley advanced through Waugh's territory, his troops escalading forts in
turn and capturing each one with "trifling loss".[76] The forts
generally offered little resistance due to their poor construction and design.[74]
Wellesley did not have sufficient troops to garrison each fort and had to clear
the surrounding area of insurgents before advancing to the next fort.[77] On 31
July, he had "taken and destroyed Dhoondiah's baggage and six guns, and
driven into the Malpoorba (where they were drowned) about five thousand
people".[78] Dhoondiah continued to retreat, but his forces were rapidly
deserting, he had no infantry and due to the monsoon weather flooding river
crossings he could no longer outpace the British advance.[79] On 10 September,
at the Battle of Conaghul, Wellesley personally led a charge of 1,400 British
dragoons and Indian cavalry, in single line with no reserve, against Dhoondiah
and his remaining 5,000 cavalry.[79] Dhoondiah was killed during the clash, his
body was discovered and taken to the British camp tied to a cannon. With this
victory, Wellesley's campaign was concluded, and British authority had been
restored.[80] Wellesley then paid for the future upkeep of Dhoondiah's orphaned
son.
Second Anglo-Maratha War
In September 1802, Wellesley
learnt that he had been promoted to the rank of major-general. He had been
gazetted on 29 April 1802, but the news took several months to reach him by
sea. He remained at Mysore until November when he was sent to command an army
in the Second Anglo-Maratha War.
When he determined that a long
defensive war would ruin his army, Wellesley decided to act boldly to defeat
the numerically larger force of the Maratha Empire.[83] With the logistic
assembly of his army complete (24,000 men in total) he gave the order to break
camp and attack the nearest Maratha fort on 8 August 1803.[84] The fort
surrendered on 12 August after an infantry attack had exploited an
artillery-made breach in the wall. With the fort now in British control
Wellesley was able to extend control southwards to the river Godavari.
Assaye, Argaum and Gawilghur
Splitting his army into two
forces to pursue and locate the main Marathas army (the second force, commanded
by Colonel Stevenson was far smaller), Wellesley was preparing to rejoin his
forces on 24 September. His intelligence, however, reported the location of the
Marathas' main army, between two rivers near Assaye.[87] If he waited for the
arrival of his second force, the Marathas would be able to mount a retreat, so
Wellesley decided to launch an attack immediately.
On 23 September, Wellesley led
his forces over a ford in the river Kaitna and the Battle of Assaye
commenced.[88] After crossing the ford the infantry was reorganised into
several lines and advanced against the Maratha infantry. Wellesley ordered his
cavalry to exploit the flank of the Maratha army just near the village.[88]
During the battle Wellesley himself came under fire; two of his horses were
shot from under him and he had to mount a third.[89] At a crucial moment,
Wellesley regrouped his forces and ordered Colonel Maxwell (later killed in the
attack) to attack the eastern end of the Maratha position while Wellesley
himself directed a renewed infantry attack against the centre.
An officer in the attack wrote
of the importance of Wellesley's personal leadership: "The General was in
the thick of the action the whole time ... I never saw a man so cool and
collected as he was ... though I can assure you, till our troops got the order
to advance the fate of the day seemed doubtful ..."[90] With some 6,000
Marathas killed or wounded, the enemy was routed, though Wellesley's force was
in no condition to pursue. British casualties were heavy: the British losses
amounted to 428 killed, 1,138 wounded and 18 missing (the British casualty
figures were taken from Wellesley's own despatch).[91] Wellesley was troubled
by the loss of men and remarked that he hoped "I should not like to see
again such loss as I sustained on 23 September, even if attended by such
gain".[86] Years later, however, he remarked that Assaye and not Waterloo
was the best battle he ever fought.
Despite the damage done to the
Maratha army, the battle did not end the war.[92] A few months later in
November, Wellesley attacked a larger force near Argaum, leading his army to
victory again, with an astonishing 5,000 enemy dead at the cost of only 361
British casualties.[92] A further successful attack at the fortress at
Gawilghur, combined with the victory of General Lake at Delhi, forced the
Maratha to sign a peace settlement at Anjangaon (not concluded until a year
later) called the Treaty of Surji-Anjangaon.
Military historian Richard
Holmes remarked that Wellesley's experiences in India had an important
influence on his personality and military tactics, teaching him much about
military matters that would prove vital to his success in the Peninsular
War.[94] These included a strong sense of discipline through drill and
order,[95] the use of diplomacy to gain allies, and the vital necessity of a
secure supply line. He also established high regard for the acquisition of
intelligence through scouts and spies.[95] His personal tastes also developed,
including dressing himself in white trousers, a dark tunic, with Hessian boots
and black cocked hat (that later became synonymous as his style).
Leaving India
Wellesley had grown tired of his
time in India, remarking "I have served as long in India as any man ought
who can serve anywhere else". In June 1804 he applied for permission to
return home and as a reward for his service in India he was made a Knight of
the Bath in September. While in India, Wellesley had amassed a fortune of
£42,000 (considerable at the time, equivalent to £3.3 million in 2019),
consisting mainly of prize money from his campaign. When his brother's term as
Governor-General of India ended in March 1805, the brothers returned together
to England on HMS Howe. Wellesley, coincidentally, stopped on his voyage at the
island of Saint Helena and stayed in the same building in which Napoleon I
would live during his later exile.
Return to Britain
In September 1805, Major-General
Wellesley was newly returned from his campaigns in India and was not yet
particularly well known to the public. He reported to the office of the
Secretary of State for War and the Colonies to request a new assignment. In the
waiting room, he met Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, already a known figure after
his victories at the Nile and Copenhagen, who was briefly in England after
months pursuing the French Toulon fleet to the West Indies and back. Some 30
years later, Wellington recalled a conversation that Nelson began with him
which Wellesley found "almost all on his side in a style so vain and silly
as to surprise and almost disgust me".[99] Nelson left the room to inquire
who the young general was and, on his return, switched to a very different
tone, discussing the war, the state of the colonies, and the geopolitical
situation as between equals.[100] On this second discussion, Wellington
recalled, "I don't know that I ever had a conversation that interested me
more".[101] This was the only time that the two men met; Nelson was killed
at his victory at Trafalgar seven weeks later.
Wellesley then served in the
abortive Anglo-Russian expedition to north Germany in 1805, taking a brigade to
Elbe.
He then took a period of
extended leave from the army and was elected as a Tory member of the British
parliament for Rye in January 1806.[103][104] A year later, he was elected MP
for Newport on the Isle of Wight, and was then appointed to serve as Chief
Secretary for Ireland under the Duke of Richmond. At the same time, he was made
a privy counsellor.[103] While in Ireland, he gave a verbal promise that the
remaining Penal Laws would be enforced with great moderation, perhaps an
indication of his later willingness to support Catholic emancipation.[105]
Wellesley was described as having been "handsome, very brown, quite bald
and a hooked nose".
War against Denmark-Norway
Wellesley was in Ireland in May
1807 when he heard of the British expedition to Denmark-Norway. He decided to
go, while maintaining his political appointments, and was appointed to command
an infantry brigade in the Second Battle of Copenhagen, which took place in
August. He fought at Køge, during which the men under his command took 1,500
prisoners, with Wellesley later present during the surrender.
By 30 September, he had returned
to England and was raised to the rank of lieutenant general on 25 April
1808.[103] In June 1808 he accepted the command of an expedition of 9,000 men.
Preparing to sail for an attack on the Spanish colonies in South America (to
assist the Latin American patriot Francisco de Miranda) his force was instead
ordered to sail for Portugal, to take part in the Peninsular Campaign and
rendezvous with 5,000 troops from Gibraltar.
Peninsular War
1808–1809
Ready for battle, Wellesley left
Cork on 12 July 1808 to participate in the war against French forces in the
Iberian Peninsula, with his skills as a commander tested and
developed.[107]According to the historian Robin Neillands:
Wellesley had by now acquired
the experience on which his later successes were founded. He knew about command
from the ground up, about the importance of logistics, about campaigning in a
hostile environment. He enjoyed political influence and realised the need to
maintain support at home. Above all, he had gained a clear idea of how, by
setting attainable objectives and relying on his own force and abilities, a
campaign could be fought and won.
Wellesley defeated the French at
the Battle of Roliça and the Battle of Vimeiro in 1808[109] but was superseded
in command immediately after the latter battle. General Dalrymple then signed
the controversial Convention of Sintra, which stipulated that the Royal Navy
transport the French army out of Lisbon with all their loot, and insisted on
the association of the only available government minister, Wellesley.[109]
Dalrymple and Wellesley were recalled to Britain to face a Court of Enquiry.
Wellesley had agreed to sign the preliminary armistice, but had not signed the
convention, and was cleared.
Simultaneously, Napoleon entered
Spain with his veteran troops to put down the revolt; the new commander of the
British forces in the Peninsula, Sir John Moore, died during the Battle of
Corunna in January 1809.
Although overall the land war
with France was not going well from a British perspective, the Peninsula was
the one theatre where they, with the Portuguese, had provided strong resistance
against France and her allies. This contrasted with the disastrous Walcheren
expedition, which was typical of the mismanaged British operations of the time.
Wellesley submitted a memorandum to Lord Castlereagh on the defence of
Portugal. He stressed its mountainous frontiers and advocated Lisbon as the
main base because the Royal Navy could help to defend it. Castlereagh and the
cabinet approved the memo and appointed him head of all British forces in
Portugal.
Wellesley arrived in Lisbon on
22 April 1809 on board HMS Surveillante,[113] after narrowly escaping
shipwreck.[114] Reinforced, he took to the offensive. In the Second Battle of
Porto he crossed the Douro river in a daylight coup de main, and routed Marshal
Soult's French troops in Porto.
With Portugal secured, Wellesley
advanced into Spain to unite with General Cuesta's forces. The combined allied
force prepared for an assault on Marshal Victor's I Corps at Talavera, 23 July.
Cuesta, however, was reluctant to agree, and was only persuaded to advance on
the following day.[116] The delay allowed the French to withdraw, but Cuesta
sent his army headlong after Victor, and found himself faced by almost the
entire French army in New Castile—Victor had been reinforced by the Toledo and
Madrid garrisons. The Spanish retreated precipitously, necessitating the
advance of two British divisions to cover their retreat.
The next day, 27 July, at the
Battle of Talavera the French advanced in three columns and were repulsed
several times throughout the day by Wellesley, but at a heavy cost to the
British force. In the aftermath Marshal Soult's army was discovered to be advancing
south, threatening to cut Wellesley off from Portugal. Wellesley moved east on
3 August to block it, leaving 1,500 wounded in the care of the Spanish,[118]
intending to confront Soult before finding out that the French were in fact
30,000 strong. The British commander sent the Light Brigade on a dash to hold
the bridge over the Tagus at Almaraz. With communications and supply from
Lisbon secured for now, Wellesley considered joining with Cuesta again but
found out that his Spanish ally had abandoned the British wounded to the French
and was thoroughly uncooperative, promising and then refusing to supply the
British forces, aggravating Wellesley and causing considerable friction between
the British and their Spanish allies. The lack of supplies, coupled with the
threat of French reinforcement (including the possible inclusion of Napoleon
himself) in the spring, led to the British deciding to retreat into Portugal.
Following his victory at
Talavera, Wellesley was elevated to the Peerage of the United Kingdom on 26
August 1809 as Viscount Wellington of Talavera and of Wellington, in the County
of Somerset, with the subsidiary title of Baron Douro of Wellesley.
1810–1812
In 1810, a newly enlarged French
army under Marshal André Masséna invaded Portugal. British opinion was negative
and there were suggestions to evacuate Portugal. Instead, Lord Wellington first
slowed the French at Buçaco;[122] he then prevented them from taking the Lisbon
Peninsula by the construction of massive earthworks, known as the Lines of
Torres Vedras, which had been assembled in complete secrecy with their flanks
guarded by the Royal Navy.[123] The baffled and starving French invasion forces
retreated after six months. Wellington's pursuit was hindered by a series of
reverses inflicted by Marshal Ney in a much-lauded rear guard campaign.
In 1811, Masséna returned toward
Portugal to relieve Almeida; Wellington narrowly checked the French at the
Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro.[125] Simultaneously, his subordinate, Viscount
Beresford, fought Soult's 'Army of the South' to a bloody stalemate at the
Battle of Albuera in May.[126] Wellington was promoted to full general on 31
July for his services. The French abandoned Almeida, avoiding British
pursuit,[127] but retained the twin Spanish fortresses of Ciudad Rodrigo and
Badajoz, the 'Keys' guarding the roads through the mountain passes into
Portugal.
After taking the small
fortresses of Pamplona, Wellington invested San Sebastián but was frustrated by
the obstinate French garrison, losing 693 dead and 316 captured in a failed
assault and suspending the siege at the end of July. Soult's relief attempt was
blocked by the Spanish Army of Galicia at San Marcial, allowing the Allies to
consolidate their position and tighten the ring around the city, which fell in
September after a second spirited defence.[138] Wellington then forced Soult's
demoralised and battered army into a fighting retreat into France, punctuated
by battles at the Pyrenees,[139] Bidassoa and Nivelle.[140][141] Wellington
invaded southern France, winning at the Nive and Orthez.[142] Wellington's
final battle against his rival Soult occurred at Toulouse, where the Allied
divisions were badly mauled storming the French redoubts, losing some 4,600
men. Despite this momentary victory, news arrived of Napoleon's defeat and
abdication[143] and Soult, seeing no reason to continue the fighting, agreed on
a ceasefire with Wellington, allowing Soult to evacuate the city.
Hailed as the conquering hero by
the British, on 3 May 1814 Wellington was made Duke of Wellington, in the
county of Somerset, together with the subsidiary title of Marquess Douro, in
said County.
He received some recognition
during his lifetime (the title of "Duque de Ciudad Rodrigo" and
"Grandee of Spain") and the Spanish King Ferdinand VII allowed him to
keep part of the works of art from the Royal Collection which he had recovered
from the French. His equestrian portrait features prominently in the Monument
to the Battle of Vitoria, in present-day Vitoria-Gasteiz.
Wellington (far left) alongside
Metternich, Talleyrand and other European diplomats at the Congress of Vienna,
1815 (engraving after Jean-Baptiste Isabey)
His popularity in Britain was
due to his image and his appearance as well as to his military triumphs. His
victory fitted well with the passion and intensity of the Romantic movement,
with its emphasis on individuality. His personal style influenced the fashions
in Britain at the time: his tall, lean figure and his plumed black hat and
grand yet classic uniform and white trousers became very popular.
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was
fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo (at that time in the United
Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). It commenced with a diversionary
attack on Hougoumont by a division of French soldiers. After a barrage of 80
cannons, the first French infantry attack was launched by Comte D'Erlon's I
Corps. D'Erlon's troops advanced through the Allied centre, resulting in Allied
troops in front of the ridge retreating in disorder through the main position.
D'Erlon's corps stormed the most fortified Allied position, La Haye Sainte, but
failed to take it. An Allied division under Thomas Picton met the remainder of
D'Erlon's corps head to head, engaging them in an infantry duel in which Picton
was killed. During this struggle Lord Uxbridge launched two of his cavalry
brigades at the enemy, catching the French infantry off guard, driving them to
the bottom of the slope, and capturing two French Imperial Eagles. The charge,
however, over-reached itself, and the British cavalry, crushed by fresh French
horsemen sent at them by Napoleon, were driven back, suffering tremendous
losses.
Shortly before 16:00, Marshal
Ney noted an apparent withdrawal from Wellington's centre. He mistook the
movement of casualties to the rear for the beginnings of a retreat, and sought
to exploit it. Ney at this time had few infantry reserves left, as most of the
infantry had been committed either to the futile Hougoumont attack or to the
defence of the French right. Ney, therefore, tried to break Wellington's centre
with a cavalry charge alone.
The Grenadiers à Cheval.
Napoleon can be seen in the background on a grey horse. A number of different
mounts could have been ridden by Napoleon at Waterloo: Ali, Crebère, Désirée,
Jaffa, Marie, and Tauris.[161]
At about 16:30, the first
Prussian corps arrived. Commanded by Freiherr von Bülow, IV Corps arrived as
the French cavalry attack was in full spate. Bülow sent the 15th Brigade to
link up with Wellington's left flank in the Frichermont–La Haie area while the
brigade's horse artillery battery and additional brigade artillery deployed to
its left in support.[162] Napoleon sent Lobau's corps to intercept the rest of
Bülow's IV Corps proceeding to Plancenoit. The 15th Brigade sent Lobau's corps
into retreat to the Plancenoit area. Von Hiller's 16th Brigade also pushed
forward with six battalions against Plancenoit. Napoleon had dispatched all
eight battalions of the Young Guard to reinforce Lobau, who was now seriously
pressed by the enemy. Napoleon's Young Guard counter-attacked and, after very
hard fighting, secured Plancenoit, but were themselves counter-attacked and
driven out.[163] Napoleon then resorted to sending two battalions of the Middle
and Old Guard into Plancenoit and after ferocious fighting they recaptured the
village.[163] The French cavalry attacked the British infantry squares many
times, each at a heavy cost to the French but with few British casualties. Ney
himself was displaced from his horse four times.[164] Eventually, it became
obvious, even to Ney, that cavalry alone were achieving little. Belatedly, he
organised a combined-arms attack, using Bachelu's division and Tissot's
regiment of Foy's division from Reille's II Corps plus those French cavalry
that remained in a fit state to fight. This assault was directed along much the
same route as the previous heavy cavalry attacks.
Wellington at the battle of
Waterloo
The French army now fiercely
attacked the Coalition all along the line with the culminating point being
reached when Napoleon sent forward the Imperial Guard at 19:30. The attack of
the Imperial Guards was mounted by five battalions of the Middle Guard, and not
by the Grenadiers or Chasseurs of the Old Guard. Marching through a hail of
canister and skirmisher fire and severely outnumbered, the 3,000 or so Middle
Guardsmen advanced to the west of La Haye Sainte and proceeded to separate into
three distinct attack forces. One, consisting of two battalions of Grenadiers,
defeated the Coalition's first line and marched on. Chassé's relatively fresh
Dutch division was sent against them, and Allied artillery fired into the
victorious Grenadiers' flank. This still could not stop the Guard's advance, so
Chassé ordered his first brigade to charge the outnumbered French, who faltered
and broke.
British 10th Hussars of Vivian's
Brigade (red shakos – blue uniforms) attacking mixed French troops, including a
square of Guard grenadiers (left, middle distance) in the final stages of the
battle
Further to the west, 1,500
British Foot Guards under Maitland were lying down to protect themselves from
the French artillery. As two battalions of Chasseurs approached, the second
prong of the Imperial Guard's attack, Maitland's guardsmen rose and devastated
them with point-blank volleys. The Chasseurs deployed to counter-attack but
began to waver. A bayonet charge by the Foot Guards then broke them. The third
prong, a fresh Chasseur battalion, now came up in support. The British
guardsmen retreated with these Chasseurs in pursuit, but the latter were halted
as the 52nd Light Infantry wheeled in line onto their flank and poured a
devastating fire into them and then charged.[167][168] Under this onslaught,
they too broke.
The last of the Guard retreated
headlong. Mass panic ensued through the French lines as the news spread:
"La Garde recule. Sauve qui peut!" ("The Guard is retreating.
Every man for himself!"). Wellington then stood up in Copenhagen's stirrups,
and waved his hat in the air to signal an advance of the Allied line just as
the Prussians were overrunning the French positions to the east. What remained
of the French army then abandoned the field in disorder. Wellington and Blücher
met at the inn of La Belle Alliance, on the north–south road which bisected the
battlefield, and it was agreed that the Prussians should pursue the retreating
French army back to France.[167] The Treaty of Paris was signed on 20 November
1815.
After the victory, the Duke
supported proposals that a medal be awarded to all British soldiers who
participated in the Waterloo campaign, and on 28
