I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 982 A Different Peninsula War
However, one night was not enough for Talavera to build a solid defense.

The next morning, the British and Portuguese coalition forces, led by Wellesley's most elite 43rd Light Infantry Regiment, launched a full-scale attack on the Spaniards.

Marquis Talavera personally commanded the defense line, but the British New Army had overwhelming advantages in equipment and training, leaving the Spanish without any chance to fight back.

Before noon, Talavera's remaining 1 soldiers were forced into a very narrow area on the river bank.

The sound of British gunfire was heard everywhere, and behind them was the rushing river.

The Marquis of Talavera was almost in despair. He crossed himself and prayed, and was considering whether to surrender.

On the other side of the battlefield, Dos Santos mounted his horse with his sword, ready to personally lead the final charge, but saw British hussars coming and reported to Wellesley: "General, we have discovered French cavalry activity in the northeast."

Wellesley frowned immediately: "How many people are there?"

"It's not clear yet." The cavalryman said, "The enemy's defense is tight, and we can't get close."

Wellesley hesitated for a few seconds, then turned and waved to the herald: "Order Colonel Lecor to keep an eye on the Spaniards here, and the other legions to retreat to Coimbra immediately."

"Yes, General!"

Dos Santos’ eyes widened immediately and he advised: “General, why do we need to stop the attack?

"We only need two hours, no, one and a half hours to completely defeat the Talavera Legion. This time..."

The British looked at him coldly: "I think I have made it clear, General, retreat immediately."

"This... yes, I understand."

Half an hour later, the Anglo-Portuguese allied forces began to withdraw from the battlefield in an orderly manner in batches, retreating towards the city of Coimbra along the Mondego River.

Marquis Talavera was surprised to find that the British had stopped attacking, but he did not dare to pursue them rashly - in fact, his troops did not have enough morale to launch a counterattack.

About an hour later, more than a dozen French columns launched a fierce attack on the British Lecor Corps that remained here. At the same time, French rangers in white double-breasted uniforms slipped past the flank of the British defense line and pursued directly southward.

The 20 British and Portuguese troops who were left behind only held out for more than minutes before they collapsed to both sides under the fierce shooting of the French infantry lines.

Then, Junot led his guards to Talavera's temporary headquarters. As soon as they met, he shouted angrily: "What are you doing here? Why don't you hold back the British?!"

The latter swallowed his words of thanks just as they came to his lips, and said awkwardly: "I, I'm worried that this is a trap set by the British."

Juno glared at him, mounted her horse and continued chasing south.

He had been waiting for an opportunity in Tondela further north, and when he learned yesterday afternoon that the British had finally launched an offensive, he immediately led his troops to attack excitedly.

It took his troops less than a day to march 30 kilometers and reach the south of the town of Mortagua.

However, what he saw was only an enemy rearguard force of about 2,000 men.

In other words, nearly 3 Spanish troops could not even hold back the Anglo-Portuguese coalition for a day...

When Junot reached the outskirts of Coimbra, he saw the flickering lights of British cannons outside the city, and it was obvious that the latter had made preparations for defense.

Coimbra, the headquarters of the Anglo-Portuguese Allied Forces.

"What happened today makes me question your courage, General." Portuguese commander Dos Santos put his hands on the table and looked at Wellesley and said, "You also heard the cavalry's report. The French army had only 5 people at most.

"We finally gained the upper hand, but we gave it up so easily!" Wellesley gestured to Colonel Lecor, who had just changed into his uniform, and said, "Please tell General Dos Santos how long you held off the French?"

"About 25 minutes, General," Lecor said dejectedly. He was lucky enough to escape the French cavalry and escape all the way back to Coimbra, but he lost most of his troops.

Wellesley nodded and said to Dos Santos, "So, do you think you can repel these 5 French troops?"

The latter paused and shook his head.

Lecorer's Legion was a "mixed formation" with at least 6 British soldiers, and its combat effectiveness was far stronger than his own troops composed entirely of Portuguese.

Wellesley continued: "We cannot determine whether Talavera's army was truly defeated. Moreover, our army's formation at the time was not conducive to defending against an attack from the north.

"If the Spanish launch a counterattack at the same time, our army will probably be defeated."

The Marquis of Wellesley's command style was extremely cautious, and in history he had never been ambushed, even when facing an opponent like Napoleon.

Dos Santos lowered his head when he heard this. He had to admit that the British man had a point.

After a moment, he said solemnly: "Now that our plan has failed, the situation may be very unfavorable. The enemy will form a siege on Coimbra."

A month ago, the Franco-Spanish coalition forces left Porto and headed south.

Wellesley judged that the enemy's attack direction should be Coimbra, the gateway to Lisbon, so he decided to take advantage of the enemy's eagerness to attack and launch a surprise attack with the British New Army that had been hidden and unused.

However, they didn't expect that the French had a trick up their sleeve, and they were almost counterattacked.

Wellesley seemed very calm: "No, we didn't suffer any losses. Instead, the enemy changed the direction of attack on a large scale, and it took a lot of supplies to rebuild the supply line.

"We continue to build bastions in Coimbra, just as we did in Porto.

"If this exchange happens again, the Spanish will be forced to withdraw because of the huge fiscal deficit."

"Like Porto..." Dos Santos' heart tightened, "You mean?"

Wellesley nodded: "The only way for us to win is to continuously attack the enemy's supply lines and maximize their war losses."

Three days later, Crown Prince João of Portugal received another suggestion from Wellesley, asking him to "clear out" all the villages and towns around Coimbra.

With the experience of successfully blocking the Franco-Spanish coalition last time, Nohant signed the decree without any hesitation.

Well, Coimbra is very close to Lisbon, and we cannot afford to lose it.

……

Eastern suburbs of Paris.

Joseph's carriage stopped in the square outside the Royal Military University of France, and continuous salutes were immediately heard all around.

This is the site of the old Paris Police Academy. After the police academy was split up, it was expanded into a military university.

Today is the 6th anniversary of the establishment of the Paris Police Academy. Almost all the capable officers in France have gathered here.

(End of this chapter)