after time to retire; and whenever he had to depend upon the help of those men whose country he was freeing, he found himself baffled. One refuge he had secured for himself. By the lines of Torres Vedras,22 he had safely guarded a tract of country between the Tagus and the sea. Massena appeared before this stronghold in November 1810, but was forced to retreat without having accomplished anything. Wellington was soon successful in freeing Portugal; and, though the French were long able to keep their hold on Spain, yet that hold cost them tremendous sacrifices.23 The moral effect of the conflict was great. The nations of Europe could now see that the armies of France were not irresistible; and the spectacle of that country striving to subdue a people struggling for freedom proved how far she had departed from the first principles of the Revolution. At last Europe rose against Napoleon, and he was forced to release his hold on the Peninsula.24 The last campaign was that of 1813. In June of that year, Wellington gained a great victory at Vittoria 25 over the French, who were forced to retreat, leaving not merely the plunder and treasure they were carrying from Spain, but all their military stores behind them. A succession of terrible conflicts was fought in the passes of the Pyrenees. The French resisted gallantly but in vain, for the British still advanced. The long series of combats was closed by the battle of Toulouse.26 This was not a decisive conflict, but the advantages of victory remained with the British, and the French still retreated. As the British were preparing to press forward, they learned that Napoleon had abdicated six days before the accidental delay of the messengers had thus cost the loss of 8000 men. Napoleon had at last fallen! He had declared war against Russia, and marched into the heart of that country. He had taken Moscow, but it was burned by its inhabitants, and the invader was forced to retreat. His army was almost destroyed by the terrible weather In and the host of enemies that hovered round his famished columns. France had been drained of men, and now all Europe rose up against its humbled emperor. vain Napoleon displayed his marvellous generalship! In vain his soldiers sacrificed themselves with reckless bravery! Nothing could prevent the inevitable ruin! The Allied Armies 27 entered France, and occupied the capital. The fallen conqueror was given the island of Elba as a place of retirement, the Bourbons 28 were restored, and a congress was summoned to Vienna to reconstruct the political system of Europe. 1 The peace had lasted from March 27, 1802, to 2. This period is marked by a great volunteer 18. 3. Napoleon was proclaimed King of Italy in 4. At Ulm, in the east of Wurtemberg, on the Danube, October 19, 1805, two days before Trafalgar. 5. Austerlitz, near Brunn, in Moravia. The battle was fought on December 2, 1805. The Austrians lost 27,000 killed and wounded, 20,000 prisoners, and 133 pieces of cannon. 6. Jena, in the Saxon States, on the Saale, north of Bavaria. The battle took place on October 14, 1806; Napoleon entered Berlin on October 27. 7. Trafalgar, a wild headland west of the Strait of Gibraltar. The battle was fought in October 1805. 8. The French entered the battle with 33 sail of the line and 7 frigates; the British with 27 sail of the line and 4 frigates. 9. January 23, 1806. 10. Fox died in September. 11. Berlin decree, issued in November 1806. 12. Russia was defeated at Friedland on June 14. Wellesley won the battles of Rorica or Rolica 20. 21. tween Capes Ortegal and Finisterre. The battle was fought on January 16, 1809. Lugo, on the Minho, in Galicia, south-east of Corunna. The heights. The Cantabrian Mountains form an extension of the Pyrenees to Cape Finisterre, and run east of Corunna, commanding the town. Sir Arthur Wellesley arrived at Lisbon (this time as commander-in-chief), on April 22, 1809. That is, to advance into Spain from Portugal. On his first advance he won the great battle of Talavera, on the Tagus, 75 miles southwest of Madrid. 22. Torres Vedras, a village 27 miles north-west of Lisbon. Wellington built a double wall of stone across the hills from the Tagus to the Atlantic. 23. In the year 1811 the English gained three great victories in their second advance into Spain. These were the following:(1.) Graham defeated Marshal Victor at Barrosa, to the west of Cadiz (March 5, 1811); (2.) Wellington routed the French at Fuentes d'Onoro, in Spain, near the Portuguese frontier, south-west of Ciudad Rodrigo (May 5); (3.) He gained the still more decisive victory of Albuera, in Spain. near Badajoz, 120 miles east of Lisbon (May 16). 24. In the year 1812, Wellington made his third invasion of Spain. In this he gained the following victories:-(1.) Capture of Ciudad Rodrigo, in Spain, near the Portuguese frontier; (2.) Capture of Badajoz, in Spain, on the Guadiana, near the Portuguese frontier; (3.) Overcame Marmont at Salamanca, on the Tormes, 112 miles northwest of Madrid; (4.) He entered Madrid in triumph on the 12th August. The advance of two armies against him then forced him to retreat on Portugal. 25. 15. The withdrawal was agreed to at the Convention of Cintra, signed August 30, 1880. 26. Cintra is a small town near Cape Roca, west of Lisbon. 16. Vigo, on Vigo Bay, in Galicia near the Portuguese frontier. 27. Vittoria, in the north of Spain, 30 miles south 17. Corunna, in the north-west of Galicia, be- 28. The Bourbons. See note 8, p. 176. WELLINGTON. WATERLOO. THE HE Renewal of the Struggle. The difficult negotiations were still proceeding1 when the assembled diplomatists were informed that Napoleon had escaped from Elba, that all France had rallied round him, that the Bourbons were fugitives, and that the Em peror was once more installed in Paris. Napoleon, in spite of his fair promises, was then declared a public enemy; and a league of the great European powers was formed to overturn his power. He Napoleon saw that instant action was necessary. felt that his only chance was to win some splendid victories, and then break up the league against him. Success was by no means hopeless. He had great genius, and was at the head of the most splendid soldiers in Europe-seasoned veterans devotedly attached to him. His opponents were many, their interests were not identical, and it would take some time before their unwieldy forces could act with full effect. Belgium seemed marked out by various circumstances as the theatre of the impending conflict. To this country Wellington was despatched at the head of 80,000 men. His plan was to advance from the sea eastward until he united with the Prussians, 1 10,000 in number, and led by the brave Blucher. The com bined armies would then outnumber the French, and could at once advance upon France from the northeast. Napoleon's evident design was to move his troops. in one mass into Belgium, interpose between the Prussians and the English, crush them in turn, and advance on Brussels. Were he victorious, it was probable that he would break the coalition; were he to fail, it was certain that would be ruined. NAPOLEON'S ESCAPE FROM ELBA. He was successful in advancing into Belgium, and separating the English from the Prussians. He then defeated the latter at Ligny, driving them northward 3 and sending an army under Grouchy to prevent their 2 |