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[Wellington is] "the last great Englishman ...

Our greatest yet with least pretence ...

In his simplicity sublime."

- Tennyson General Wellington in India, Portugal and Spain.

"Wellington was the greatest improviser in the history of war,

whose campaigns made the best of every situation

and left room for no surprise." Wellesley was a beneficiary of archaic system of purchase of commissions in British army. Researcher Barbero sumed up the beginnings of Wellington's military career: "Before he became the Duke of Wellington Wellesley had been an ensign at the age of 18, and a lieutenant-colonel at 24, in six years, he had received five promotions, all of them in return for payment, and he had passed seven different regiments, without having served a single day in battle. (Barbero - "The Battle" p 24) The first part of Wellington's military career was as follow:

In 1794-1795 Wellesley participated in unsuccessful campaign against the French in Netherlands.



In 1796 he left for India, where next year his brother, Richard Wellesley, was appointed governor-general. Arthur Wellesley hoped to make enough money in India to pay off his gambling debts.

He fought at Assaye, Argaum, and Gawilghur. When his brother's term as Governor-General ended in 1805, the brothers returned together to England.



He fought at Assaye, Argaum, and Gawilghur. When his brother's term as Governor-General ended in 1805, the brothers returned together to England. Wellesley served in the unsuccessful military adventure in Bremen. The forces went home having accomplished nothing. He was elected Tory member of Parliament for Rye for six months in 1806.



Wellesley participated in the barbarian raid on Copenhagen (Denmark) two years later.



In 1807 Wellesley became Chief Secretary for Ireland.



In 1808 he was the youngest lieutenant general in the army and was appointed to command Britain's initial military response to Spain's rising against Napoleon. [On how Wellington came out of that fiasco at Cintra Convention unscathed and how English historians even today continue to repeat the same old saw that he was only a reluctant pawn in the whole affair read Journal of British Studies (1980) -article by Schneer, "Arthur Wellesley and the Cintra Convention: A New Look at an Old Puzzle." There are several websites (in 2007) offering The Journal > ] Deserter and hero.

"Arthur Wellesley ... he had lost control of the action

and of himself and he had panicked and deserted his men,

behaviour which would not have been tolerated in a

subaltern much less a colonel."

Corrigan - "Wellington: A Military Life" Generally there is no doubting his courage under fire. He demonstrated it in Spain and Waterloo, when General Ompteda was shot dead near the high road, and de Lancey was mortally wounded by a cannonball close by, as was one of his most trusted ADCs and friends, Sir Gordon, while to the right both the Prince of Orange and General Alteen were down.

In one of his early battles in India however Wellington deserted under fire. "Wellesley galloped back to the Madras camp where he found General Harris and told him that the attack on the Tope had failed. [Wellesley] was described as being much agitated. Having delivered his report, [his troops forgotten] he flung himself full length on a mess table and went to sleep. ... Arthur Wellesley ... he had lost control of the action and of himself and he had panicked and deserted his men, behaviour which would not have been tolerated in a subaltern much less a colonel." (Gordon Corrigan - "Wellington: A Military Life")

What would have Wellington done to a colonel in Spain who abandoned his troops in the middle of a bloody battle and ran "much agitated" to the coziness of the headquarters ? The opinion was that "Wellesley should have been court-martialled but his brother was Governor General of India and that saved his skin." (- "Diary of Colonel Bayly, 1796-1830") Wellington in India.

Wellington had a tendency to pick battlefields

where he did not need to reveal the full strength

of his forces to his enemy. He did this by

using sites with slight reverse slopes. Picture: storming of Seringapatam in 1799. It was the final confrontation between the British and Tippu Sultan. After his regiment was sent to India in 1796 Wellesley began to distinguish himself in the field. He first gained fame by leading the capture of Seringapatam in southern India in 1799. When the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War broke out, the British assembled large force of 4,000 British troops and 21,000 local Indian sepoys. There were also Nizam of Hyderabad's 10 infantry battalions and 15,000 cavalry. Together, the British army numbered over 50,000 soldiers. Tipu's force consisted of only 30,000 soldiers. Seringapatam was besieged by the British forces on April 5, 1799. It was the capital for the Muslim rulers of the kingdom of Mysore. British forces under the command of Governor-General Richard Wellesley invested the city. Tipu played for time knowing that it would be difficult for the British to operate once the monsoon season arrived. To facilitate the battle, Wellesley bribed Tipu's prime minister, Mir Saadiq, to call the Mysurian army away from the walls for their pay just prior to the assault. On May 2, a gap in the wall was created by artillery and two days later the attack commenced. One of the storming columns was commanded by Arthur Wellesley, the governor-general's younger brother and the future Duke of Wellington. The city was quickly secured, with the invaders only meeting pockets of resistance. Picture: Battle of Assaye September 23, 1803. General Arthur Wellesley (later the Duke of Wellington) defeated the Mahratta army in south-central India. During the subjugation of the Mahrattas, the now-General Wellesley achieved victory at Assaye in 1803. Wellesley had 7,500 troops (4,500 infantry, 2,000 cavalry, artillerymen with 20 cannons, etc.) Ragojee Bhonsla's and Sindhia's Indian forces consisted of 20,000 infantry, 30,000 cavalry and numerous artillery pieces. Although the Marathas imported artillery and muskets, many of their troops still used the bows and arrows. The casualties were low,

Wellesley lost 480 killed and wounded (or 6.4 %),

while the enemy only 1,200 (or 2.4 %). This was Wellesley's first major success, and one that he always held in the highest estimation. Wellington defeated the French

throughout the war in Peninsula.

Wellington had a tendency to pick battlefields

where he did not need to reveal the full strength

of his forces to his enemy. He did this by

using sites with slight reverse slopes. Wellington was a micromanager, and kept tight control of his troops and commanders on the battlefield. He seldom gave his officers much scope for initiative (the exception being the commander of his cavalry). He made the descisions, at times even down to battalion and battery level. For example at Waterloo he personally selected the positions of each infantry brigade, ordered to reinforce Hougoumont with battalion of Nassau, etc. etc. There is no doubt that Wellington had a keen appreciation for terrain. He deployed his infantry on the reverse slope to conceal them and to avoid casualties from artillery fire. "Operating with relatively small army ... Wellington wrung maximum results from slender resources through patience, thorough preparation, plain common sense, and calm courage. Superior judge of terrain, expert tactician, good understanding of strategy..." (Esposito, Elting - "A Military History and Atlas of the Napoleonic Wars") Wellington had a tendency to pick battlefields where he did not need to reveal the full strength of his forces to his enemy. He did this by using sites with slight reverse slopes, the French could never be quite sure how many men he had in reserve on the reverse slope of the battlefield and out of sight. The reverse slope also worked as a shield for his men from artillery fire. The reverse slope tactic was also used repeatedly to defeat the French attacking columns. By placing the ridge between his own army and his opponent's, and having his troops lie down, Wellington was able to surprise the enemy by having his troops leap up at the last moment and deliver volleys of musketry at point-blank range. So often were the enemy beaten in this manner that it came to be said that "they came on in the old style and were driven off in the old style." Wellington is viewed as a defensive general. For example Jac Weller described Wellington as overly cautious and very defensive minded. However some of his victories were offensive battles. In fact, when on the defensive Wellington actually made mistakes, most famously at the battle of Fuentes de Oñoro, where his disastrous misplacement of a division was only retrieved by his quick thinking and the steadiness of the British and Portuguese troops in retreating under fire. The offensive tactics that had characterised Wellington’s generalship in India and at Salamanca and Vitoria were absent at Waterloo. In the major battles in Spain Wellington outnumbered the French, which is a positive thing:

- at Talavera Wellington had 55.000 vs 46.000 French.

- at Salamanca Wellington had 52.000 vs 49.500 French.

- at Vittoria "Wellington's 105,000 British, Portuguese and Spanish troops, with 96 guns, defeated 60,000 French with 138 guns under King Joseph Bonaparte" (- wikipedia, April 2008) Wellington "The Undefeated" Myth

According to historian Jac Weller, none of Wellington's battles in Spain

can be called "great." At Salamanca he failed to exploit his success

and the enemy quickly recovered. Talavera was near disaster.

Busaco was "a technical defeat although claimed as victory ...

if Talavera was a victory because the French withdrew, then

Busaco was a defeat because the British were forced to withdraw."

The allignement of troops at Talavera was not very well thought. According to Jac Weller the Battle of Busaco was "a technical defeat [for Wellington] although claimed as victory" and the allignement of troops at Talavera was not very well thought. Weller wrote that "if Talavera was a victory because the French withdrew then Busaco was a defeat because the British were forced to withdraw." Of all the bigger battles only Salamanca was the one where Wellington not deliberately set out to fight "at that place and at that time." At El Bodon Wellington was caught too dispersed by Marshal Marmont and was driven back several miles in disorder. French General Souham defeated Wellington at Torquemada (Villa Muriel). Wellington was resting his retreating army along the Carrion River when Souham attacked. The British were caught and the 5th Fighting Division was mauled taking half thousand casualties. Then Souham forced Wellington to relieve the siege of Burgos. Majority of the sieges were failures for Wellington. The siege of Burgos was a very costly defeat. Wellington called later "The worst situation I ever was." The defeat at Burgos forced Wellington to withdraw all the way to Portugal and give up Mardid. PS. It took one year for Bonaparte in Italy with his depleted, amateur, tattered, poorly fed and equipped army to defeat the professional enemy and without the aid of guerillas. Wellington's campaign Spain looks flat and long despite all the [numerous!] advantages he enjoyed over the enemy.