The Powers of Europe and Fall of Sebastopol
by British Officer (9781458902030)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III. Joseph Bonaparte again King of Spain. ? His Difficulties with Sonlt. ? Second Siege of Saragossa. ? Another English Army, under Sir Arthur Wellesley, lands at Lisbon. ? Battle of TaUvera. ? The English retir into Portugal. ? Siege of Gcrona. ? Principal Events of the Campaign of 1810. ? The English Troops make a Stand at Torres Vedras. ? Retreat of Massena. ? Siege of Cadiz. ? Escape of French Prisoners. ? Opening of the Campaign of 1811. Having closed the history of this unfortunate army, let us now return to Spain. Joseph had returned, a nominal king, to Madrid. More than twenty-six thousand heads of families had come forward, of their own accord, and sworn, by the host, that they desired his presence amongst them. The marshals, under his directions, were pursuing the conquest of Spain with vigor. Though Joseph was nominally lieutenant- general, Soult was in reality at the head of operations. A modern writer, speaking of these two commanders, says Soult was crippled in all his movements, his sound policy neglected, and his best combinations thwarted, by Joseph. His operations in Andalusia and Estramadura, and the firmness with which he resisted the avarice of Joseph, all exhibited his well-balanced character. In Andalusia he firmly held his ground, although hedged in with hostile armies, and surrounded by an insurgent population, while a wide territory had to be covered with his troops. King Joseph could not comprehend the operations of such a mind as Soult's, and constantly impeded his success. When, without ruin to his army, the stubborn marshal could yield to his commands, he did; but where the king's projects would plunge him into irredeemable errors, he openly and firmly withstood them. The anger and threats of Joseph were alike in vain. The inflexibl...

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