In May 1813, while Napoleon’s forces were regrouping in Central Europe after a disastrous campaign in Russia, another front was heating up 1,200 miles away. The previous year, Wellington’s Anglo-Portuguese army had achieved a significant victory at Salamanca but was forced to retreat to the Portuguese border. After a winter of rest and reinforcement, Wellington’s army was stronger than ever, boasting 100,000 well-trained soldiers, improved cavalry, artillery, and logistics. Morale was high, and Wellington, affectionately known as “Old Nosey,” was a beloved leader.
In contrast, the French position in Spain was deteriorating. Napoleon underestimated Wellington’s threat and withdrew 20,000 troops for his campaign in Germany. King Joseph, Napoleon’s brother and commander-in-chief in Spain, knew his forces were overstretched. Despite considering a strategic retreat to the Ebro River, Joseph was forced to hold his ground to avoid sending a negative signal to Austria and Germany.
Wellington planned a two-pronged advance, with his forces converging at Toro before moving against Joseph’s army. Meanwhile, a diversionary attack by Murray’s forces on the Mediterranean coast aimed to prevent French reinforcements from joining Joseph. Although Wellington hoped for significant support from Spanish regular forces, political divisions limited their contribution. However, guerrilla fighters, now better organized and armed, provided valuable assistance.
On May 22nd, Wellington’s army began its advance from Portugal. By May 26th, they reached Salamanca, joining forces with Sir Thomas Graham’s northern wing. Joseph and his chief of staff, Marshal Jourdan, anticipated an attack from Salamanca and prepared to defend the Douro River. However, Graham’s rapid northern advance outflanked them, forcing a retreat.
By June, the French were outflanked again at the Ebro River and retreated to Vitoria. Joseph decided to make a stand in the Zadorra River valley, hoping to buy time for a massive convoy of supplies and treasures to escape. However, Wellington, informed by guerrillas, knew that French reinforcements wouldn’t arrive in time and planned an attack for June 21st.
On the morning of June 21st, Wellington launched a four-column attack across a 10-mile front. The French, expecting an attack from the west, were caught off guard. General Hill’s column attacked from the right, drawing French reinforcements and creating an opportunity for Wellington’s other columns. Despite initial delays, Wellington’s forces began crossing the Zadorra River, outflanking the French.
By afternoon, Wellington’s army was poised for a decisive strike. Despite heavy French artillery fire, allied forces exploited gaps in the French lines. King Joseph ordered a retreat, but chaos ensued as troops and wagons clogged the narrow roads. The French retreat turned into a rout, with allied cavalry attacking the disorganized French forces.
The Battle of Vitoria was a significant victory for the Coalition, capturing nearly all French artillery and supplies. Although French casualties were relatively light, their military power in Spain was effectively broken. The Bonapartist kingdom in Spain collapsed, and Joseph fled to France. Wellington’s victory paved the way for an advance into France, marking a turning point in the Peninsular War.
The Peninsular War, known in Spain as the War of Independence, was a costly conflict. French losses were immense, with an estimated 260,000 lives lost, mostly to disease. British and Portuguese casualties were also significant, while Spanish civilian losses were devastating. The war highlighted the resilience of the Spanish people and the effectiveness of guerrilla warfare.
For Napoleon, the campaign in Spain was a strategic blunder with dire consequences. As his empire crumbled in Iberia, a larger conflict loomed in Central Europe. The Battle of Leipzig would soon decide the fate of Europe, with Wellington’s forces ready to play a crucial role in the unfolding drama.
Study a map of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars. Identify key locations mentioned in the article, such as Salamanca, the Douro River, and Vitoria. Based on the map, develop your own strategic plan for either the French or the Anglo-Portuguese forces. Consider geographical advantages and potential challenges. Present your plan to the class, explaining your strategic choices.
Participate in a role-playing debate where you assume the roles of key figures such as Wellington, King Joseph, or Marshal Jourdan. Prepare arguments to defend your character’s decisions and actions during the Battle of Vitoria. Engage in a structured debate with your classmates, focusing on the military and political implications of the battle.
Write a diary entry from the perspective of a soldier in Wellington’s army or a French soldier during the Battle of Vitoria. Describe your experiences, emotions, and observations during the battle. Use historical details from the article to enhance the authenticity of your entry. Share your diary entry with the class and discuss the different perspectives.
Conduct a research project on the role of guerrilla warfare in the Peninsular War. Investigate how guerrilla tactics influenced the outcome of battles and the overall war effort. Create a presentation or report highlighting key guerrilla leaders, tactics, and their impact on the French forces. Present your findings to the class.
Engage in a class discussion about the long-term impact of the Battle of Vitoria and the Peninsular War on European history. Consider questions such as: How did this battle influence the outcome of the Napoleonic Wars? What were the social and political consequences for Spain and other involved nations? Prepare to share your thoughts and insights with your classmates.
**Sanitized Transcript:**
May 1813. While Napoleon’s Grande Armée began its fightback in Central Europe, following the disastrous invasion of Russia, 1200 miles away, another enemy was poised to strike at the other end of Napoleon’s embattled empire. The previous year, Wellington’s Anglo-Portuguese army had won a brilliant victory at Salamanca but had been held at Burgos and forced into a long, demoralizing retreat back to the Portuguese frontier. After a winter of rest, reinforcement, and training, Wellington’s army was stronger than ever: 100,000 men, many of them battle-hardened veterans. For the first time, he had sufficient cavalry and artillery, while transport and medical services had also been improved. Morale was high. Their chief, known to the troops as Old Nosey, was cheered wherever he went. “I never saw the British army so healthy or so strong,” Wellington informed London.
In contrast, the French position in Spain was weaker than ever. Napoleon severely underestimated the threat posed by Wellington and had just withdrawn 20,000 French troops for his own use in Germany. As commander-in-chief, King Joseph knew his forces were overstretched. Napoleon allowed him to give up Madrid and move his capital to the more easily defended Valladolid. However, withdrawing further to a strong position like the Ebro River was out of the question, as it would send the wrong message to neutral Austria and Napoleon’s wavering German allies. With serious concerns, Joseph and his Chief of Staff, Marshal Jourdan, awaited Wellington’s advance.
Wellington planned for his army to advance in two wings, concentrate at Toro, and then move against Joseph’s forces. In the south, Murray’s Anglo-Sicilian-Spanish force, based in Alicante, had just repelled an attack by Marshal Suchet at the Battle of Castalla. Murray would now mount a diversionary landing on the Mediterranean coast to coincide with Wellington’s advance and prevent Suchet from sending reinforcements north. Wellington had also counted on large-scale support from Spanish regular forces, of which he was, since November 1812, theoretically Commander-in-Chief. However, the Spanish Cortes based in Cádiz was deeply divided, with many still suspicious of British motives. As a result, Wellington would only receive direct support from a few reliable Spanish divisions. Fortunately, he would receive considerable support from the guerrillas, who were now better armed, organized, and operating in greater numbers than ever before.
A large area of Valencia had effectively been liberated by El Fraile – ‘the Friar’. Espoz y Mina had captured major towns in Navarre and was currently keeping General Clauzel’s Army of the North busy, while Juan Martín Diaz, also known as El Empecinado, was tying down large numbers of French troops near Madrid. On 22nd May, Wellington bid farewell to Portugal and began his advance. Four days later, he was in Salamanca, from where he joined the northern wing of his army under Sir Thomas Graham. Joseph and Jourdan expected Wellington’s main thrust to come from Salamanca, so they planned to defend the line of the Douro River. However, Graham’s rapid advance north of the river meant they had already been outflanked, and they ordered a retreat.
Through a series of brilliant marches, Wellington continued threatening the French right flank, forcing Joseph to keep falling back. Wellington’s army was able to use small roads and mountain tracks north of the main highway, which the French had dismissed as impassable. Thanks to his Spanish allies, Wellington knew better. Backed by British sea power, he was also able to switch his supply base from Lisbon to Santander, drastically reducing the length of his supply lines – another feat the French had written off as impossible.
At the Ebro River, the French found themselves outflanked yet again and fell back to Vitoria. Here, Joseph decided that he must make his stand. The Zadorra River valley west of Vitoria seemed to offer a strong defensive position. Expecting an attack from the west, French forces were drawn up in three lines – General Gazan’s Army of the South formed the first line, followed by General D’Erlon’s Army of the Centre, and then General Reille’s Army of Portugal. Joseph hoped that he could, at least, buy time for the vast wagon convoy assembled east of the city to get away. It contained not only military supplies but also the government’s treasury and the accumulated loot of five years of French occupation of Spain, including priceless works of art, jewels, and antiques. He also expected General Clauzel to arrive with 20,000 reinforcements any day. However, thanks to the guerrillas, Wellington was better informed of Clauzel’s whereabouts than Joseph himself. Knowing that Clauzel couldn’t reach Joseph before the 22nd June, he decided to attack on the 21st.
The day before, French patrols reported enemy troop movement to the north, so Reille’s troops were moved to cover any threat to the army’s line of communications, apart from one division, which left to escort part of the wagon convoy to France – a decision that deprived the army of 4,000 men on the eve of battle. Marshal Jourdan had been bedridden with fever that day. The next morning, he reconnoitered the army’s position with King Joseph. They agreed that their position was overextended and should be shortened. However, by the time their orders reached General Gazan, it was too late. He was already under attack.
Wellington, enjoying the advantage in numbers for once, had decided to attack in four columns across a 10-mile front, with General Graham’s left-hand column threatening Joseph’s line of retreat. It was a bold plan with the potential to trap and destroy Joseph’s army, but it required careful coordination and precise timing. Fortunately, the French had not thought it necessary to destroy any of the bridges over the Zadorra River, which was also fordable in several places. At 8 am, General Hill’s column began its attack on the allied right: Spanish and British troops advanced up the western Heights of Puebla, driving off French skirmishers and forcing General Gazan to send reinforcements to secure his left flank. Hill’s troops then seized the village of Subijana, but French cannon-fire and counterattacks prevented any further advance.
Convinced that Hill’s attack was the main assault and that troop movements to the north were probably a diversion, Jourdan continued to send troops from the center to reinforce the left. This was exactly what Wellington wanted. However, at 11 am, he was waiting, with growing impatience, for his other columns to go into action. Lord Dalhousie’s 7th Division, supposed to be leading the attack by the center-left column, had gotten held up in the mountains, while further east, Graham’s flanking move had gotten off to a cautious start. But seeing the size of the approaching force, General Reille decided to pull his troops back across the Zadorra River. This encouraged Graham to get things moving.
Colonel Longa’s Spanish division advanced on Durana, held by Spanish troops loyal to King Joseph, and a bitter struggle for the village ensued. British and Portuguese infantry advanced against Gamarra Major, soon engaged in street fighting with the French. Though they succeeded in driving the French out of the village, they could not cross its bridge over the Zadorra, which was expertly covered by French guns. Around noon, a Spanish peasant informed Wellington that the bridge at Tres Puentes was completely unguarded. He immediately ordered Kempt’s elite light infantry brigade to dash across it and secure a bridgehead. However, there was still little sign of Dalhousie’s Seventh Division.
General Picton, the notoriously short-tempered commander of the ‘Fighting’ Third Division, ran out of patience. Fed up with waiting for Dalhousie, he ordered his men to advance. They charged across the Mendoza bridge and a nearby ford, driving back light French defenses. General Gazan, with his left flank pinned down at Subijana, was now about to be outflanked on his right and had no option but to pull back his troops. Wellington’s army was now crossing the Zadorra River in force. Heavy fighting continued to rage on the Heights of Puebla, but here the French also had to give ground to maintain the cohesion of their new line.
Scottish Highlanders and Connaught Rangers, supported by riflemen and Portuguese troops, stormed the village of Ariñez, routing the defenders, who retreated southeast, creating a gap in the French center between Gazan’s Army of the South and D’Erlon’s Army of the Centre. The allied advance continued, with heavy pressure on both French flanks. Wellington’s army appeared to be building unstoppable momentum, with Graham’s column poised to cut off Joseph’s escape. By 4 pm, Wellington’s army was formed up across the Zadorra, ready to strike a decisive blow. However, his infantry came under heavy fire from 76 French guns, blasting great holes in their ranks. Allied guns were brought forward to provide support, and the biggest artillery duel of the Peninsular War began, with more than 70 guns on each side.
Allied skirmishers, exploiting the gap in the French center near Gomecha, were able to work their way behind the French guns and shoot down their crews. Gazan found himself threatened on both flanks, but instead of trying to close up with D’Erlon to his north, he ordered a retreat, leaving D’Erlon’s left flank completely exposed. Around the same time, Longa’s Spanish troops finally captured Durana, and rumors swept the French army that their escape route had been cut. D’Erlon’s Army of the Centre fought on bravely, withdrawing to another new defensive line just one mile west of Vitoria. French guns kept up a steady fire on the advancing allied lines, but once more the position was outflanked.
Around 5:30 pm, King Joseph bowed to the inevitable and ordered a general retreat. As the main road to France had now been cut by Longa’s Spanish troops, the army would have to retreat east towards Pamplona along a single narrow road, with boggy fields on either side. This was challenging for thousands of troops and guns, and there had been no attempt to move off the army’s enormous convoy of wagons earlier in the day. The result was chaos, as military units and artillery tried to force their way through the streets of Vitoria and the congested lanes and fields beyond. The task of forming a rearguard fell to General Reille’s Army of Portugal, which conducted an organized withdrawal covered by its cavalry.
Wellington hoped that Graham’s column would now be surging across the Zadorra River to cut off the French army’s retreat. However, Graham, overestimating the enemy’s strength, continued to take a cautious approach. East of Vitoria, the French retreat descended into total chaos. The single, narrow road became blocked. Wagons that took to the fields got stuck and were abandoned. Allied cavalry fell upon this confused mass, spreading panic and meeting little serious opposition. King Joseph and Marshal Jourdan narrowly escaped capture. Among the abandoned wagons were many civilians, including officers’ wives and children, priceless paintings, jewels, and furniture, and more than 5 million gold francs. Troops on both sides broke ranks and dived into plundering.
Wellington was furious. Not only did the plundering delay the pursuit of the enemy, but large sums of cash, which might have paid for his army’s supplies, vanished into private pockets instead. Of 5.5 million francs, only 250,000 were ever recovered by the army. Vitoria was a great victory for the Coalition, though not as crushing as it might have been, reflected in relatively light French casualties. However, in the chaotic retreat that followed, the allies captured all but 2 of 153 French guns and even Jourdan’s Marshal’s baton. French military power in Iberia was broken; the Bonapartist kingdom of Spain was at an end. Joseph returned to France to face his brother’s criticism, and Marshal Jourdan retired from active service. Napoleon sent Marshal Soult to replace them, but even his shrewd military mind could not turn the tide in Spain.
Counterattacks to relieve the French garrisons at Pamplona and San Sebastian were defeated. That autumn, Wellington began what proved to be an unstoppable advance across the Pyrenees and into France. In southern Spain, where Marshal Suchet remained undefeated, the disaster at Vitoria forced him also to withdraw towards the frontier, leaving behind just a few isolated garrisons. After a bitter five-year struggle, the allies had brought the Peninsular War – to the Spanish, their War of Independence – to a victorious conclusion. It had been a long, hard road, steeped in blood and suffering. The alliance between Britain and Spain had been particularly treacherous to navigate. Ultimately, both nations fought together, with Portugal, to drive the French back across the Pyrenees.
New research provides clearer insight into the huge attrition of French manpower in Iberia: an estimated total of 260,000 lives lost, with three-quarters dying of sickness. Of approximately 66,000 deaths from combat, 43% were in actions against Spanish regular forces, 38% fighting British-led armies, and 19% fighting guerrillas. By contrast, British military deaths are estimated at 52,000, Portuguese 15,000, with many more thousands of civilian deaths, while Spanish deaths are unknown – though the country as a whole may have lost as many as half a million lives in five years of war and occupation.
For Napoleon, this disaster had been an unnecessary and largely self-inflicted wound: an intervention born of arrogance and false assumptions, with dire strategic consequences. As the Napoleonic Empire crumbled in Spain, an even greater struggle neared its climax in central Europe, where Napoleon faced the most powerful coalition of his enemies yet. If the French Emperor was victorious in Germany, Wellington might soon be scrambling back across the Pyrenees. The fate of Europe was about to be decided at the Battle of Leipzig.
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Napoleonic – Relating to Napoleon Bonaparte, the French military leader and emperor, or his era of influence in Europe during the early 19th century. – The Napoleonic Wars reshaped the political landscape of Europe and led to the rise of nationalism.
Wars – Conflicts between different nations or states, or different groups within a nation, typically involving armed forces. – The wars of the 20th century, including both World Wars, had profound impacts on global politics and society.
Wellington – Referring to Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington, a British military leader known for defeating Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo. – Wellington’s strategic acumen was crucial in the Allied victory over Napoleon in 1815.
Army – An organized military force equipped for fighting on land. – The Roman army was one of the most formidable military forces in ancient history.
French – Relating to France or its people, language, or culture. – The French Revolution of 1789 was a pivotal event that influenced democratic movements worldwide.
Retreat – The act of withdrawing troops from enemy forces as a result of their superior power or after a defeat. – The Russian winter forced Napoleon’s army into a disastrous retreat from Moscow in 1812.
Battle – A sustained fight between large organized armed forces. – The Battle of Gettysburg was a turning point in the American Civil War.
Guerrilla – A form of irregular warfare in which small groups use military tactics, including ambushes and raids, to fight a larger, less-mobile traditional military. – Guerrilla warfare played a significant role in the American Revolutionary War, allowing smaller colonial forces to harass British troops effectively.
Strategy – A plan of action designed to achieve a long-term or overall aim, especially in military operations. – The strategy employed by the Allies during World War II involved coordinated attacks on multiple fronts to weaken Axis powers.
Casualties – Persons killed or injured in a war or accident. – The high number of casualties in World War I led to widespread calls for peace and the establishment of the League of Nations.
