Marshal William Carr Beresford by Marcus de la Poer Beresford

Author:Marcus de la Poer Beresford [Beresford, Marcus de la Poer]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Biography & Autobiography, Historical, Military, History, Europe, Great Britain, General
ISBN: 9781788550345
Google: IGZ-DwAAQBAJ
Publisher: Merrion Press
Published: 2018-10-30T03:24:52+00:00

13 PREPARATION FOR AND PARTICIPATION IN THE CAMPAIGN OF 1813, LEADING TO THE INVASION OF FRANCE

Back in Lisbon during the winter of 1812–13, Beresford worked hard to maintain and improve the Portuguese army. Whether because of a charm offensive vis-à-vis members of the Regency, or because of the single-minded support of Forjaz, Beresford was able to have the penalties for those chosen by lottery for the army who failed to enlist not only increased but enforced against defaulters.1 The Provincial Governors were ordered to imprison draft dodgers until they could be brought to the training depots.2 This stratagem, while resulting in a further stream of recruits, was clearly not sufficient for in mid 1813 Forjaz further limited exemptions from armed service and threatened to extinguish these altogether if sufficient numbers of men were not forthcoming.3 The latter move, in August 1813, is relevant for the Regency was frequently accused of failing to properly support the war once it had left Portugal’s borders; but here we have Forjaz at least taking decisive action to support the cause at a time when the army was in the Pyrénées.

Throughout the winter of 1812–13 Beresford and Forjaz worked not only to fill up the Portuguese regiments but to ensure they were properly clothed and equipped for the forthcoming campaign.4 By early April, not only had new clothing and shoes been issued to those regiments entitled to them under the procedure established by Beresford, but arrangements had been made to provision the army while on campaign.5 In the spring of 1813 arrears of pay to the Portuguese army became an issue once again, and these were only reduced when Wellington threatened to give the British monthly subsidy directly to the paymaster of the army should there be no reduction of arrears to the level of arrears in the British army.6

On his return from Cádiz, Wellington, now overall commander of the Spanish as well as the Anglo-Portuguese armies, visited Beresford in Lisbon, arriving there on 16 January before proceeding to Freneda on the nineteenth of the month. While in Lisbon it is likely that Wellington discussed the question of succession with Beresford. The issue of second in command and succession, in the case of Wellington’s incapacity for whatever reason, had been a topic of correspondence and discussion since at least the previous summer, and it was shortly to be resolved. Wellington’s choice of Beresford caused huge difficulties at Horse Guards and with the Commander in Chief, where the position taken was that seniority in the British army should be the deciding factor. We have already seen that there was some unease at Beresford’s promotion ahead of others in 1809, but there was considerable disquiet about the potential consequences in the event of Beresford’s appointment to succeed Wellington four years later.7

Wellington expressed the view to the government and to Beresford that he regarded the position of second in command as pointless. He wrote: ‘It has a great and high sounding title, without duties or responsibility of any description’, giving rise to pretensions.

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