THE ANGLO-PORTUGUESE ALLIANCE WAS ESTABLISHED 648 YEARS AGO

 

The Anglo-Portuguese alliance was born out of converging strategic interests: An alliance between France and Castile in 1369 had caused great concern at the English court. Through the alliance with Castile, which had one of the largest fleets in Western Europe, France had access to Castilian sea power. Therefore closer union with Castile’s western neighbor Portugal was a logical step to counter this threat. 

 

Added to this was a dynastic interest as the Duke of Lancaster, John of Gaunt, had a legitimate claim to the throne of Castile through his wife, Constance, daughter of Pedro I (1334-1369). With military victory in the Iberian Peninsula and a Plantagenet on the Castilian throne, it would only be a matter of time before France would be forced to the negotiating table. 

 

The treaty was signed on June 16, 1373 between King Edward III of England and King Fernando and Queen Leonor of Portugal. It established a treaty of "perpetual friendships, unions [and] alliances" between the two nations. 

Battle of Aljubarrota from A Batalha graphic novel by Pedro Massano, 2014.

 

In the aftermath, England sent a failed expedition to Portugal in 1381-2 under Edmund of Langley in an attempt to push Castile out of the war. Undisciplined English troops caused outrage by raiding Portuguese towns and killing inhabitants whilst exclusion from Portuguese-Castilian peace negotiations in 1382 drew English resentment. 

 

After the death of King Fernando I, Joao of Aviz sent ambassadors to England to request permission to recruit mercenaries. The Portuguese ambassador Fernando Afonso de Albuquerque, Master of the Portuguese military order of Sant'Iago da Espada succeeded initially in raising only a modest force of approximately 800 Anglo-Gascon troops. Nevertheless these soldiers would play a laudable role in the eventual defeat and withdrawal of Castilian forces from Portugal particularly with their contribution to the victory over Castilian troops at the battle of Aljubarrota (14th August 1385). 

Treaty of alliance between king Edward III of England and Fernando I of Portugal, 16th June 1373 (British National Archives: E 30-275)

Joao I was recognized as the undisputed King of Portugal, putting an end to the interregnum of the 1383–1385 Crisis. The Treaty of Windsor in 1386 established a pact of mutual support between the countries.

 

Although not invoked until several centuries later, the terms of the alliance were to be called upon during the 18th and 19th centuries when Portuguese independence was again threatened. In 1762 Anglo-Portuguese forces successfully defeated a Spanish invasion force and again during the Peninsula war of 1808-1814, Anglo-Portuguese troops under the Duke of Wellington thwarted Napoleon’s attempts to conquer Portugal, most notably at the battle of Buçaco (27 September 1810) which allowed Viscount Wellington and Portuguese General Luís do Rego Barreto to resume the retreat of their 52,000 men into the previously fortified Lines of Torres Vedras, a contiguous line of fortifications extending from the Tagus River to the ocean.  

Brigadier-General Robert Craufurd and the 52nd at Buçaco, 27th September 1810 by Christa Hook. The Royal Green Jackets Museum, Winchester.

 

 

 

BATTLE OF ROCROI, May 19, 1643: TWILIGHT OF THE TERCIOS

At Rocroi, 22-year old Louis Duc d'Enghien defeated the Spanish Army of Flanders led by experienced General Francisco de Melo and Maestre de Campo Paul-Bernard de Fontaines. This decisive victory took place only five days after the accession of young Louis XIV, late in the Thirty Years' War. It is considered the turning point of the perceived invincibility of the Spanish tercio.

 

The Habsburgs had 27,000 men, the French 23,000. The French army attacked, but the infantry in the center were bested by the Spanish. The cavalry on the French left, advancing against Enghien's orders, was also thrown back. But the cavalry on the French right, under the command of Jean de Gassion, routed the Spanish cavalry opposite. 

 

Enghien was able to follow this up by attacking the exposed left flank of the Spanish infantry. Spanish cavalry made a successful counter-attack to drive off the French cavalry, but were checked by the advance of the French reserve.

 

Enghien now carried out a huge cavalry encirclement, sweeping behind the Spanish army and smashing his way through to attack the rear of the Spanish cavalry, which was still in combat with his reserves. The Spanish horse was put to flight, leaving the Spanish infantry to carry on the fight.

The French were twice repulsed by the stubborn Spanish squares, so Enghien arranged for his artillery and captured Spanish guns to blast them apart. The German and Walloon tercios fled from the battlefield, while the Spanish remained on the field with their commander, repulsing four cavalry charges by the French and never breaking formation, despite repeated heavy artillery bombardment. Enghien then offered surrender conditions just like those obtained by a besieged garrison in a fortress. Having agreed to those terms, the remains of the two tercios left the field with deployed flags and weapons. Enghien himself had conceived and directed the decisive victory. 

Battle of Rocroi by Ugo Pinson

The total Spanish losses were about 7,000 dead, wounded, or captured. French losses were about 4,000.

The Battle given at Rocroi proved to be a resounding victory for the French Royal army under the Duc d’Enghien. Until then, the tercios were considered invincible. Combining a force of trained pikemen and the fire of the arquebusiers, the tercios were the tool of Spanish domination in Europe throughout the 16th and the first half of the 17th century. 

 

To defeat them, the impetuous Duke of Enghien compensated for his numerical inferiority by his speed of maneuver and by making extensive use of his cavalry, routing the opponent’s own mounted forces, before falling back on the tercios’ rear and attacking them from all sides. The Army of Flanders lost most of its forces, including Maestre de Campo Paul-Bernard de Fontaine and 250 flags. This stunning victory against the renown Spanish tercios was unprecedented.

 

While Spain continued to use tercios, other European nations moved away from them, and even Spain was modifying them before they were eventually consigned to the memories of a glorious time in Spain's past.

 

A majority of historians, including myself, consider that this is clearly the beginning of the end of the Spanish predominance in Europe and of the tercios: There is one more Bavarian-Imperial victory at Tuttingen in November of the same year. At Montijo the next year the Portuguese defeated the Spaniards. At Nördlingen in 1645 the French defeated the Imperials. At Lens in 1648 once again Condé defeated the Spaniards. In 1654 at Arras this time it was Turenne who defeated the Spaniards. The last Spanish victory against the French was at Valenciennes in 1656, but 3 years later at Les Dunes Turenne crushed the Spaniards and this victory led to the Treaty of the Pyrenees. Thus, the only clear Spanish victory after Rocroi was Valenciennes and the last one. 

ART OF THE DAY: PASTOR ZWINGLI BLESSES THE SOLDIERS OF GLARUS. BATTLE OF NOVARA, June 6, 1513, by MARK CHURMS

Huldrych Zwingli, the Swiss leader of the Reformation, was present at the battle as chaplain of the soldiers of Glarus. According to his successor Heinrich Bullinger he “behaved honorably and bravely during the battles [of Novara and Marignano] with advice, words and deeds.” The function of chaplain was indeed crucial for morale.

The battle was particularly bloody, with 5,000 to 10,000 casualties on the French side, and 1,500 for the Swiss pikemen, mostly suffered from the French artillery. After the battle, the Swiss executed the hundreds of German Landsknecht mercenaries they had captured who had fought for King Louis XII. 

 

Novara would be the last Confederate victory; Two years later, they were defeated at Marignano by the French using a combination of artillery, cavalry and infantry. Zwingly also participated in that battle. He died at the battle of Kappel in October 1531 at age 47, his body was taken by the victorious Catholic army and burned for heresy. 

 

-Medieval Warfare Magazine, 2013 Vol III, No. 2.

-About the artist: Mark Churms is a free-lance military artist. Originally from the UK, Mark now lives and works in the USA. The artist’s website: https://markchurms.com/.

MILITARY LEADER OF THE DAY: MURAT, NAPOLEON’S CAVALRY COMMANDER

By Eric G. L. Pinzelli,
October 21, 2018

Murat at the battle of Aboukir by Job. His previous battles in Egypt had seen Napoleon take a defensive posture while the Mamluk armies battered themselves to destruction. This time, he went on to the offensive. While the infantry attacked the centre of the first line, Murat’s cavalry was sent against both the left and right flanks of the Ottoman line. This first line was rolled up and forced back on to the second line. Napoleon then rested his army, before starting the second phase of the battle at three in the afternoon. This second phase resulting in a crushing French victory. The Ottoman army was forced back into the sea. Thousands of Ottoman soldiers drowned attempting to escape, while Sir Sidney Smith’s fleet attempted to rescue as many men as possible. Amongst the escapees was the future ruler of Egypt, Mohammed Ali. This part of the battle is probably most famous for one of the very few occasions where opposing generals fought a personal combat, in this case between Mustapha Bey and Murat, the French cavalry commander. Murat’s cavalry charge brought him within feet of Mustapha. The two commanders spotted each other. Mustapha fired at Murat from close range, hitting him in the jaw. Murat responded with a sabre blow, chopping off two of Mustapha’s fingers and taking his pistol with them!

Joachim Murat (March 25, 1767 —October 13, 1815), was an outstanding and dashing French cavalry leader who was one of Napoleon’s most celebrated marshals and who, as a surprising good king of Naples (1808–15), lent stimulus to Italian nationalism. Prone to wearing flamboyant costumes, he was extremely brave and fought in approximately 200 battles.
The son of an innkeeper, he studied briefly for a career in the church but enlisted in a cavalry regiment in 1787 and, when war broke out in 1792, won rapid promotion. In October 1795 he was on hand in Paris at the moment that Napoleon Bonaparte was entrusted with the mission of suppressing a royalist insurrection; Murat’s contribution in bringing up cannon won him a place as aide-de-camp to Bonaparte for the Italian campaign of 1796–97. In Italy and later in Egypt (1798–99) he established his reputation as a gifted and daring leader of cavalry. At Aboukir, he led a cavalry charge against the Ottomans and captured the Turkish commander, Mustapha Bey, in a single combat (one of the few genuinely documented examples of this happening). Again he served his chief well in the coup d’état of 18 Brumaire (November 9, 1799), by which Bonaparte seized power as first consul. Murat’s reward was the hand of Napoleon’s youngest sister, Caroline.

Illustration by Giuseppe Rava: Murat leads the gigantic charge at Eylau.

In the Italian campaign of 1800 Murat helped win the decisive Battle of Marengo, and in 1801 he rapidly concluded the campaign against Bourbon-ruled Naples by imposing the Armistice of Foligno. As governor of Paris in 1804, he was included among the first generals promoted to the rank of marshal after Napoleon’s coronation as emperor on December 2. In 1805 he played a conspicuous role in the Austerlitz campaign, helping to pin the Austrian Army in Ulm, where it was forced to surrender, and defeating Austrian and Russian cavalry on the field of Austerlitz. At Jena in 1806 his energetic pursuit completed destruction of the Prussian Army; at Eylau in 1807 Napoleon ordered Murat to charge the Russians, and he led the 80 cavalry squadrons (15,000 men) of the cavalry reserve in one of the largest cavalry charges in history.

Murat, King of Naples by François Gérard, c. 1812.

When he was sent to act as Napoleon’s lieutenant in Spain he tried to gain possession of the unoccupied Spanish throne. His intrigues led instead to Spanish opposition and a rising in Madrid that, though quelled (May 2, 1808), ended his hopes. Though Napoleon gave the Spanish throne to his brother Joseph, he rewarded Murat with Joseph’s former place as king of Naples, under the name Joachim-Napoléon. In Naples Murat carried out important reforms, breaking up the vast landed estates and introducing the Napoleonic Code. The administration was opened to advancement by merit, cotton growing was encouraged, and effective measures were taken against the chronic brigandage. Murat even foresaw the unification of Italy, a development at whose head he sought to place himself through the encouragement of secret societies that eventually played a major role in the Risorgimento.

October 1815, Murat is executed by a firing squad, by Giuseppe Rava. His body was never found. Murat’s remains are thought to have been interred in a mass grave underneath Pizzo’s Church of St. George, but there were rumors that they had been spirited away to France.

In 1812 Murat took part in Napoleon’s Russian campaign and once more distinguished himself at Borodino; but, left in charge of the shattered Grand Army during the retreat from Moscow, he abandoned it to try to save his kingdom of Naples. In 1813 he wavered between loyalty to Napoleon and negotiation with the allies. The Austrians signed a treaty with him, but the former Bourbon rulers of Naples raised objections, and his situation was in doubt when Napoleon returned to France in 1815. Napoleon refused to offer him a military command during the Waterloo campaign, a serious mistake that greatly reduced the effectiveness of his cavalry at Waterloo. He then staked his hopes on an appeal to Italian nationalism, but he was forced to flee to Corsica disguised as a Danish sailor. In October, with 26 men, he made a last, hopeless attempt to recover Naples, was taken prisoner and shot. Before his death he shouted to the firing squad: "Soldiers! Do your duty! Straight to the heart but spare my face. Fire!"

MILITARY LEADER OF THE DAY: JACQUES DE LINIERS (1753-1810), THE FRENCH KNIGHT OF MALTA WHO FOUGHT FOR SPAIN AND SAVED BUENOS AIRES.

By Eric G. L. Pinzelli,
June 27, 2019 

After graduating from the Order of Malta military school at age 15, Jacques de Liniers (from a very ancient French noble family) was commissioned as a Sub-Lieutenant of Cavalry in the Royal-Piémont Regiment at Carcassonne, France. In 1774 Liniers enlisted as a volunteer in the Spanish campaigns against the Moors in Algiers.

At the campaign's conclusion, Liniers took an exam as a Midshipman in Cádiz, to serve as a volunteer for the Spanish Crown. In 1775 he earned the rank of Ensign in the Spanish Navy. In 1776, under the orders of Pedro de Cevallos, Liniers sailed to the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata and took part on the occupation of Santa Catarina Island in Brazil and the attack on Colonia del Sacramento (Uruguay).

In 1779, Liniers was an officer on the San Vicente which part of the Spanish-French Naval Squadron fighting the British Royal Navy in South America. Liniers distinguished himself during the American Revolution. In 1780, with a few sloops, he captured a three-masted ship of 24 guns. In 1782, during the siege of Port Mahon, under fire, he moved to where two British ships had collided, which were laden with arms and ammunition. He seized the ships and conveyed them to the Spanish lines. He was promoted to Frigate Captain.

A few months later Liniers took part in a new expedition against the city of Algiers, in North Africa. When Madrid tried to negotiate with the local dey, Liniers was entrusted with the mission. The Spanish court rewarded Liniers for his diplomatic successes, promoting him to the rank of captain and entrusting him with the command of the Río de la Plata in 1788 to organize a flotilla of gunships.

In June 23, 1806, a British expeditionary force of 1,700 men landed on the left bank of the Río de la Plata and invaded Buenos Aires, which had been abandoned by the Viceroy. Liniers remained in the city in disguise, staying in the Dominican convent. At the altar of the Virgin, he vowed to return with the flags of the occupiers. He escaped to Montevideo and, with the help of its governor Pascual Ruiz Huidobro, galvanized the people, raising a troop of 1,200 volunteers.

He embarked with this liberation army on a few schooners, which joined a French privateer corvette and local militia. Landing on August 4, Liniers and his men rushed across the marshes to Buenos Aires. The city was recovered after fierce street fighting that ended with the storming of the cathedral, which had been fortified by the British. British General William Carr Beresford capitulated and offered his sword; true to Liniers's vow, British flags (those of the Highlanders regiment and Green St. Helena) were transferred to the church of the convent of the Dominicans, where they are still held.

When a second larger British invasion with 11,000 men was imminent, the Real Audiencia of Buenos Aires confirmed Liniers as commander-in-chief, and appointed him as interim viceroy.

The British forced entered into the city and found a strong resistance, and many battalions were defeated, while others tried to resist at strategic points. Whitelocke suggested a truce, which was rejected by Liniers, who also attacked the British ships within cannon range. After suffering 311 killed, 679 wounded and 1,808 captured or missing Whitelocke's defeat was complete, and Liniers demanded that all British forces be removed from the territories of Viceroyalty, including the Banda Oriental, in no more than 2 months, as well as an exchange of prisoners. Whitelocke accepted the conditions and surrendered.There was a large number of celebrations after the victory against the British. Liniers was officially appointed as viceroy in May 1808, and awarded the title of "Count of Buenos Aires".

When the May Revolution took place in 1810, Liniers decided to come out of his retirement and organized a monarchist uprising in Córdoba. Jacques de Liniers was defeated, captured, and executed without trial.

Painting: Reconquest of Buenos Aires by Charles Fouqueray, Museo Histórico Nacional, Buenos Aires.