CHAPTER TWENTY -FOURNapoleon's first military concern on return fr om the Russian fiasco was
the war in Spain. From this theatre the news was mixed: in the short
term the situation was satisfactory but long-term there were worrying
trends. In Madrid King Joseph was reduced to raising money on his
estates because of the dire shortage of fu nds, but he was still unable to
command the obedience of those nominally on his side. When Napoleon
sent him soo,ooo francs in gold bullion, one of the French field
commanders intercepted the convoy and requisitioned 12o,ooo fr ancs to
pay the troops under his command. 1812 was the year when both Joseph
and Wellington were appointed Commanders-in-Chief of their respective
forces. In Wellington's case this resulted in a cohesive military force; in
Joseph's case it changed nothing, for the marshals continued to behave
like provincial satraps and take notice of their 'King' only when they
chose to.
Wellington's strategy fo r 1812 was to strike at Marmont and the Army
of Portugal, with the intention of forcing Soult to abandon southern
Spain. His intelligence sources revealed that Suchet, with 6o,ooo men in
Aragon and Catalonia, never had the slightest interest in supporting his
fe llow marshals; most of Soult's 54,000 men in the south were engaged on
the siege of Cadiz; Joubert's 18,ooo in Madrid had their hands full with
partisans and a hostile city population; and Caffarelli's Army of the North
was fully occupied with keeping the Pyrenean passes open and containing
the guerrillas in Navarre. By now, after Napoleon had withdrawn 3o,ooo
men for the Russian campaign, Wellington's army was superior in
numbers to any one French army. Just to make sure he would have no
interference fr om the other marshals, he ordered all Spanish forces in the
south to make a concerted effort against Soult; Suchet would be diverted
by an Anglo-Neapolitan landing from Sicily; and the Royal Navy would
disembark marines for irregular warfare against Caffarelli.
After his usual careful preparations, Wellington advanced with 42,000
men (most of them British) to besiege Ciudad Rodrigo. This time he was
successful but, after storming the town in a bloody assault, his men went