By René Chartrand, Richard Hook
Consistent Spanish guerrilla job so tired the assets and diverted the eye of the French army that Wellington used to be capable of improve opposed to and conquer a numerically stronger enemy. such a lot of French squaddies have been getting used to counter the guerrillas and the danger that they posed that below a 3rd of the French military will be tasked with confronting Wellington. This publication brings to existence, for the 1st time, the formation, strategies and stories of the Spanish guerrilla forces that fought Napoleon's military. utilizing a lot formerly unpublished fabric, it bargains a brilliant description of the guerrilla and his way of life.
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Extra resources for Spanish guerrillas in the Peninsular War, 1808-14
Example text
As they gave each blow, they drowned the cries and supplications for mercy of their victims, by enumerating the different losses each had sustained in his family during the war: 'Take that for my father you shot', 'that for my son', 'this for my brother', etc, until the work of death was complete. ' At the gates of Pamplona, held by the French in 1812 and blockaded by the guerrillas, Mina had two officers and four men hanged. General Abbé responded by executing six Spanish prisoners, to which Mina responded by executing four more of his French prisoners after having blinded them and cut off their noses and ears.
As conventional tactics failed and their armies were vanquished, the Spanish did not relent and, faced with wanton savagery from French soldiers, the tactics of guerrilla warfare evolved rapidly throughout Spain. These were more the instinctive tactics of an individual warrior rather than those of an army, and were closely related to hunting. A hunter sought his prey by hiding until it came into view. Once within range, the prey was not allowed to sense danger until it was too late. A single sudden shot would down the prey and the hunter would rush out to finish the animal with his knife.
A guerrilla usually operated in mountains and hills where the enemy could be surrounded and ambushed. He and his companions would then vanish back into the almost impenetrable terrain which they all knew so well. Northern Spain's mountainous topography was perfect for ambushing French convoys travelling on the area's narrow roads with steep hills on either side. But one had to be a born mountaineer to do this successfully and get away before the enemy could react in force. As it turned out, the mountains were home to an independent-minded breed who, when roused into fighting the French under talented leadership, formed the largest guerrilla bands in Spain.