Talavera by Griff Hosker

Author:Griff Hosker [Hosker, Griff]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 1097578992
Goodreads: 45688148
Publisher: Sword Books Ltd.
Published: 2018-12-31T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

I followed. My part in this battle was done but I was a spy. I knew what to look for. The redcoats ahead of me would be intent upon killing Frenchmen and when that was done, they would seek alcohol. The French officer had been right. Drink was the bane of the British soldier. I had seen it during the retreat to Corunna. If there was an enemy to fight then they would fight. When the enemy was dead or fled then they fought themselves and drink. I knew that Sir Arthur would need to know what was happening here. As I ran, I saw more wine barges, filled with reinforcements, crossing the river. With Sir John Murray cutting off their escape then soon we would outnumber the French. Brigadier Campbell had been right. Now was not the time to take the bayonet from the Frenchman’s back but where would Soult go? My money was on either Estremadura or Galicia. As I hurried after the screaming Irishmen, I dismissed Galicia. Soult was too clever a leader to risk being isolated. He would head north and east.

Ahead I heard muskets being fired. The redcoats were far ahead of me. There were screams and shouts. As we neared the centre it became a scene from Dante’s Inferno. The Portuguese had taken to the streets. Men were wielding axes and pitchforks. They were firing musketoons. Any Frenchman who failed to join his fellows in flight was a doomed man. This was a rout. The French were leaving Oporto. I saw abandoned artillery pieces and discarded weapons. The defeat was so sudden that I wondered if Soult had already left the city. I stopped at what had been the French Headquarters. The French flag still flew. I found, in the entrance, scattered documents. I walked into a palace. It was the sort of place Soult would choose as his headquarters. I could smell food and I followed my nose. I saw a half-eaten sumptuous dinner. I picked up a lobster claw, cracked it and began to suck the meat from it. It gave me time to think. Soult had left in the middle of his dinner. What might he have missed? I would collect all the papers I could. I would search the headquarters and then report to Sir Arthur. He would be across the river as soon as he could. First Vouga River and now Oporto; if the General’s luck held then Portugal would be free by the end of May and Spain, perhaps by the end of the year. I ate a chicken leg and washed it down with some wine.

Heading upstairs I began my search. I was soon rewarded by lists of regiments and numbers of men. There were maps. Soult had not meant to leave them. Our sudden and successful attack had given him no choice. It was flee or be captured. I soon had armfuls of papers which I carried back to the dining room. I collected the ones from the hallway.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.