Wellington's Wars by Davies Huw J

Author:Davies, Huw J.
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780300164176
Publisher: Yale University Press

Meanwhile, the British cavalry regiments of Arentschildt and D'Urban swept around the British right to neutralise the threat posed by Curto's light cavalry. Having suffered a devastating blow, and now outflanked by British cavalry, Thomières's division collapsed, and began a headlong retreat back along the Monte de Azan, where it collided with Maucune's division, which was by now facing its own threat.

Maucune, meanwhile, had brought his artillery to bear on the exposed British troops of the Fifth Division, behind the village of Los Arapiles. Leith, having received his orders, told his men to lie down, ‘though he sat on horseback, exposed to the fire as calm as possible’. He then delivered an inspirational speech, which reveals once more the importance of the bayonet to British infantry morale. ‘The day shall be a glorious day for Old England,’ he said: ‘if these bragadocian [sic] rascals dare but stand their ground, we will display the point of the British bayonet, and where it is properly displayed no power is able to withstand it.’15 Hearing the clash of arms to his right on the Pico de Miranda, Leith now ordered the advance of the Fifth Division. It must have been a spectacular sight, the quintessential thin red line of British soldiers stretching over 1,500 yards. But this was not Maucune's first consideration. Behind the British infantry, which now advanced out of sight of the French troops into the undulations in the terrain, Maucune could see Le Marchant's cavalry brigade preparing a charge. Anticipating a cavalry assault before Leith's infantry, Maucune ordered his division into square. Leith's troops now reappeared closer than Maucune had anticipated. ‘General Leith ordered the line to fire, and charge: the roll of musketry was succeeded by that proud cheer that has become habitual to British soldiers on similar occasions.’ As soon as the British troops saw the French in square, ‘we gave a shout opened a tremendous fire and ran into them directly so that that line was in a few minutes killed and taken prisoners’. The same story, of a single musket volley followed by a charge ‘according [to] the English custom … show[ing] them the point of the bayonet’, is told all along the line.16

From the west Le Marchant's cavalry now thundered in, sweeping up the remnants of Thomières's division and Maucune's left flank before attacking the leading regiment of a third French division, commanded by General Taupin. This had been sent up in support by the new French commander, General Clausel. The French left, under attack from the advancing infantry of Pakenham's Third and Leith's Fifth Divisions, as well as the cavalry of Le Marchant, now disintegrated. Things were not proceeding quite so successfully in the centre, however. Clausel counterattacked with two divisions, to the west of the Greater Arapile, against the troops of Cole's Fourth Division who were advancing from the Lesser Arapile. The fighting here became intense. The French front rank failed to make any headway, and fell back on the much stronger rear echelon, numbering some 3,000 troops.

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