File:A history of the Peninsular War (1902) (14765983245).jpg

Identifier: historyofpenins05oman (find matches)
Title: A history of the Peninsular War
Year: 1902 (1900s)
Authors: Oman, Charles William Chadwick, Sir, 1860-1946
Subjects: Peninsular War, 1807-1814
Publisher: Oxford : Clarendon Press
Contributing Library: Robarts - University of Toronto
Digitizing Sponsor: University of Toronto

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, and contained a garrison and stores, which madeit a good starting-point for a marching column. Suchet determined to use all three of these roads, thoughsuch a plan would have been most hazardous against a waryand vigorous enemy: for though they all converge in the end onthe same point, Murviedro, they are separated from each otherby long stretches of mountain, and have no cross-communica-tions. In especial, the road by Teruel was very distant fromthe other two, and any isolated column taking it might finditself opposed by immensely superior forces, during the lastdays of its march; since Valencia, the enemys base and head-quarters, where he would naturally concentrate, lies quite closeto the concluding stages of the route Teruel-Murviedro. Itmust have been in sheer contempt for his opponent—a con-tempt which turned out to be justified—that the Marshal senta detachment of eleven battalions by this road, for such a force of SUCHETS CAMPAIGNS 1811-12 in VALENCIA toMorella toTortosa
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^^Cfc* ^f^ojdn 5^.r^ i 0 10 20 30 40 50 1811) SUCHETS ADVANCE BEGINS 9 5,000 men might have been beset by the whole Valencian army,30,000 strong, and the other columns could not have helped it. Suchets arrangements were governed by a single fact—hissiege artillery and heavy stores were parked at Tortosa, andfrom thence, therefore, along the coast road, must be his mainline of advance, though it would be necessary to mask Peniscolaand to capture Oropesa, before he could get forward to hisobjective—the city of Valencia. It might have seemed rationalto move the whole field army by this route : but some of thetroops destined for it were coming from distant points, and tomarch them down the Ebro bank to Tortosa would have takenmuch time. Moreover if the whole force concentrated there,it would all have to be fed from the magazines at Tortosa, andthose lying in Aragon would be of no use. The Marshal startedhimself from this poin

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