Peninsular War

Peninsular War, The, is the name employed to denote the various campaigns of the French in Spain and Portugal between the years 1807 and 1814, their opponents being the Portuguese, the Spaniards, and, for most of the period, the British. When Napoleon's intrigues in Spain culminated in the abdication of Charles IV. and the appointment of Joseph Bonaparte as King of Spain, the Spanish resisted, receiving aid from Great Britain, first in money and supplies, and eventually in troops. Sir Arthur Wellesley was sent with an army to the Peninsula in 1808, but was soon superseded, though in 1809 he again'returned to it after the death of Sir John Moore at Corunna. Napoleon was called away by his campaign in Germany, just as, later, his Russian expedition prevented his having a personal share in the Peninsular War. Though Wellesley, or Lord Wellington, as he soon became, drove Marshal Soult out of Portugal, he could not follow up his success, and was forced to re-. tire within the lines of Torres Vedras, where he wearied out Soult, and in 1811 he again foroedhim to evacuate Portugal. Although the French had many successes, Wellington defeated Massena at Fuentes d'Onoro and Albuera, and took Ciudad Rodrigo. The war languished in an indecisive way till Wellington's appointment .to the chief command of the Spanish and Portuguese armies in addition to his own enabled him to enter upon more vigorous measures. In 1813 he defeated Soult in the battles of Vittoria and Nivelle, and the war ended with the battle of Toulouse, which took place after Napoleon's abdication.