The War for All the Oceans by Roy Adkins

Author:Roy Adkins [Adkins, Roy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780143113928
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2010-03-31T04:00:00+00:00

On the last day of the year the British rearguard reached Astorga, and by now Moore’s sole object was to save as many of his men as possible, destroying stores and ammunition and abandoning the sick in order to maintain the speed of the main body of troops. At Astorga the two light brigades were sent almost due west to the port of Vigo, while the remaining troops continued north-west towards Corunna. Thomas Howell, a soldier with the 71st Highlanders, vividly recalled the start of the journey:From Villa Franca we set out on the 2 January, 1809. What a New-year’s day had we passed! Drenched with rain, famished with cold and hunger, ignorant when our misery was to cease. This was the most dreadful period of my life. How differently did we pass our hogmonay, from the manner our friends were passing theirs, at home? Not a voice said, ‘I wish you a happy new year;’ each seemed to look upon his neighbour as an abridgement to his own comforts. His looks seemed to say, ‘One or other of the articles you wear would be of great use to me; your shoes are better than those I possess: if you were dead, they would be mine!’ . . . Dreadful as our former march had been, it was from Villa Franca that the march of death may be said to have begun.59

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