Wellington’s Engineers: Military Engineering on the Peninsular War 1808-1814 Read Online Free PDF Page A

an officer received his first commission.
    Wellington’s strategy from the very start of the war was to fight the numerically superior French when the opportunity arose. He also needed strongholds to which he could retire when he was threatened. Whilst Torres Vedras was the most visible sign of this, it also included the major fortresses of Elvas, Badajoz, Almeida and Ciudad Rodrigo and the minor defences at Abrantes, Peniche and Setubal. In conjunction with the strongholds at Gibraltar and Cadiz, the French were never able to concentrate enough troops to overwhelm Wellington. The engineers played their pivotal role in capturing and/or fortifying these places and ensuring that the Allied forces always had a place of safety.
    Along with their work in reconnaissance, and in improvements to the road and river communications in the Peninsula, they played an unsung but vital role in the defeat of Napoleon and the key to this success were some very junior officers who took huge responsibilities on their own shoulders and generally made it happen.

Appendix 1
    Commanding Royal Engineers (CRE) with Wellington’s Army, 1808–14

    Note 1 . Fletcher was absent from the Peninsula from January to April 1809 following the Corunna campaign. The senior Engineer officer in Lisbon was Captain Peter Patton who remained there when Moore’s army advanced in October 1808. There was a temporary internal quarrel in late 1808 when George Landmann tried to claim seniority in Portugal. This was rejected by both the army commander, Sir John Craddock, and the Board of Ordnance. Landmann was part of the Gibraltar garrison and had been ordered back there. He managed to avoid doing so for several months, a skill he demonstrated several times throughout the war. Patton was superseded by Captain Stephen Chapman on 4 March 1809 on his arrival from England.
    Note 2 . I believe that Elphinstone was supposed to take over command from Fletcher. He should have sailed for the Peninsula in December 1812 and Fletcher did not arrive in England until the first week of January 1813. Elphinstone did not arrive in Portugal until early February and did not arrive at HQ until 4 March 1813. Fletcher returned six weeks later and Elphinstone was immediately sent back to Lisbon.
    Note 3 . Technically, Elphinstone was in command, but Burgoyne was with Wellington’s army until Elphinstone arrived at HQ. Wellington had effectively kept a succession of senior artillery officers in Lisbon to allow Dickson to retain command with the army.

Appendix 2
    Engineer Officers who Served in the Iberian Peninsula
    This includes officers who served in the east coast campaigns. It does not include officers who served in the Mediterranean.

Appendix 4
    Military Bridging
    The Iberian Peninsula was a hostile environment for Napoleonic armies. Much of the country was covered with mountains, making traversing it difficult, if not impossible. In between the mountain ranges flowed wide and fast-moving rivers that could only be crossed by bridges or boats. Rain or snow in the mountains could raise the level of rivers by several feet overnight and sweep away any crossing-points. These rivers intersected the country and without a crossing-point an army could be faced with long marches to get from one side to the other. Where there were no mountains or rivers, there were plains; barren in the winter and baking hot in the summer. Roads were rarely better than rough tracks. The royal roads between major towns might be fully cobbled but these were very rare. The best normal road might have two lines of paving stones for wagon wheels but did not allow for passing. Most roads would be hard-packed earth, passable in summer but muddy in the winter. In all cases, maintenance was minimal. It was the geography as much as anything else that defeated Napoleon’s troops in Spain.
    For nearly 2,000 years the Spanish had dealt with the major rivers by building strong bridges and knowing every crossing-point at the