Rebirth of an Empire "O Renascimento de um Império"

[Lusitania]

Ibérica Peninsula War (Rush to the Pirenéus) (continued)


English Invasion


On the Ibérica Peninsula’s eastern coast, Marshal Jourdan had over 60,000 men in two provinces of Valencia and Catalonia. His forces faced the English who were stationed in the province of Múrcia since their arrival on the peninsula. His biggest concern was battling the guerrillas who’s attack on the French supply lines required him expend a huge amount of time and men to keep them open.

On September 1 the English expeditionary force under Sir Arthur Wellesley moved north from their positions in the province of Múrcia. On September 3 General Wellesley English force attacked the French garrison in the city of Alicante, the English force which number over 25,000 easily defeated the 5,000 remaining French garrison soldiers defending Cartagena. The French had suffered massive defections by its allied troops on the eve of the English attack and the remaining French garrison only put up a token opposition.

With the road now open for the English to the city of Valencia, General Wellesley marched his forces north finally meeting Marshal Jourdan and his French army at the town of Alzira on the Júcar River on September 15. On August 25 Marshal Jourdan had moved from his base in Barcelona and was in the city of Valencia when he received news of the English attack on Cartagena.

On September 15 in an attempt to drive back the English, Marshal Jourdan and his army which numbered close to 32,000 soldiers attacked General Wellesley and his forces which now number over 30,000 at the town of Alzira on the Júcar River. Wellington and the English force were able to hold the French while the remaining English soldiers crossed the river. On September 16 General Wellington and his forces counter attacked Marshal Jourdan right flank and pushed the French back to the town of Alcácer.

O September 16 at the town of Alcácer the English pressed their attack but Marshal Jourdan rallied his forces and held the English for one day before General Wellesley forces punched their way through French lines enveloping the French right flank. Marshal Jourdan was forced to withdraw his remaining forces north to the city of Valencia in an attempt to avoid being surrounded. During the two battles the French army lost over 1,200 men while the English had suffered only 514 casualties but had captured over 3,750 French soldiers at the town of Alcácer battle.

Like other towns and cities the withdrawal of the French armies and the approach of the liberating armies gave people new hope and the city of Valencia erupted in revolt so when Marshal Jourdan and his forces arrived with the English in hot pursuit the city had already been lost and with no time to retake the city Marshal Jourdan spent the next two days preparing his forces to engage the English. On September 21 General Wellesley and his English forces attacked Marshal Jourdan and his forces and after just one hour had defeated the French. Marshal Jourdan with a force still close to 20,000 French soldiers was able to escaped from Valencia and withdraw north. General Wellesley and his forces were forced to rest and wait supplies and reinforcements after one month of constant fighting and lack of supplies from the province of Valencia. On September 24 The French were able to cross the Ebro River and recuperate at the town of Tortosa.

On October 5 General Wellesley attempted to cross the Ebro River and attack the French at the town of Tortosa but was forced to withdraw his forces south when Marshal Jourdan and his reinforced French army were able to repulse the English crossing. General Wellesley force now faced larger French army and on October 8 his position was attacked by the French. General Beresford who commanded the III and IV division on the English right was able to stop the French advance and drive them back across the river.

During the month of October the French and English forces settled into a continuous small scale fighting along the river as neither side was able to gain any advantage. It was not until the end of the month that General Wellesley had received enough additional reinforcements and supplies that he was able to plan an attack on Marshal Jourdan forces. His forces stood at over 60,000 compared to Marshal Jourdan forces of 40,000.

 

[Lusitania]

Ibérica Peninsula War (Rush to the Pirenéus) (continued)



Revenge at Zaragoza


By October 15, Francisco Ezpoz y Mina and his guerrillas had effectively cut off Marshal Massena and his French army around the city of Saragoça. Marshal Massena was faced with the choice of either abandoning the province of Aragon or to try and open the supply route either north to the city of Pamplona or east to Barcelona. With the proximity of three huge Portuguese armies to the north he decided in attacking the guerrillas in the south and opening the Saragoça to Barcelona road. This would also provide him with an escape route in case his position in Aragon became impossible.

On October 20 General Souham took the II corps and marched east attacking any guerrillas they encountered as they attempted to open the Saragoça to Barcelona road. General Souham and his soldiers never encountered any major guerrilla groups in their march they were limited to skirmishes, at least during the day, at night any French soldier caught alone usually did not survive as the guerrillas circled and followed the French like wolfs. On November 2 he reached Barcelona but his would be the only French force to leave the province of Aragão.

On October 20, the same day that General Souham left Saragoça, General Francisco Javier Castaños and his Castela Army marched into the province of Aragão from Castela-a Nova after his army had been re-supplied by Portugal. Marshal Massena left the IV and III divisions in Saragoça and marched west with his remaining French Army which still was over 25,000 and stopped them at the town of Calatayud and pushed them back over the Jiloca River.

Over the next 10 days the Castela Army made several attempts to cross both the Jiloca and Jalón River but were repeatedly repulse by the French. Marshal Massena’s French army attacked the Castilians but was also not strong enough defeat the Castilians. On November 2 the French and Castilians were still campaigning against each other in eastern Aragão around the Jiloca and Jalón Rivers.

After the Saragoça December Massacre in 1807, Francisco Ezpoz y Mina had risen amongst the Aragonese guerrillas to become the guerrilla leader for most of the provinces of Aragão, Catalonia and Navarra. He had been involved in over 160 battles both major and minor and his forces had destroyed over 40 French fortified posts. His forces had been responsible for over 19,000 French casualties and had captured over 25,000 French soldiers. These captured French soldiers were at first used in trade for captured Spanish guerrillas but the French policy in 1809 to execute any guerrilla and calibrator caught stopped that practice. The captured French soldiers were secretly marched to the coast of Catalonia and picked up by Portuguese and/or English ships and taken to the Baleares Islands.

By November 1811 he commanded over 30,000 men throughout the three provinces. The concentration of most of the French army along the front with the allies and the overall French dire situation in the Ibérica Peninsula convinced Francisco Ezpoz y Mina to attack and finally drive the French from Aragão. By November 2 his forces had infiltrated the city of Saragoça and launched an all out attack on the garrisons. Using captured French artillery and guns they defeated the French garrisons and liberated the city. In an act of reprisal for the French atrocities especially its attack and massacre in the city of Saragoça, all French soldiers were stripped of their uniforms and hanged.

On November 5 an emissary from Aragonese forces reached General Francisco Javier Castaños and a joint attack was planned against Marshal Massena and his remaining forces. On November 7 General Francisco Javier Castaños and his Castela Army attacked the French at dawn across the Jalón River. While the forces were locked in battle a French force was spotted coming in behind the French position but the French officers thinking they were reinforcements called by Marshal Massena ignored them. The Aragonese soldiers dressed as French soldiers along with several Italian defectors first took the French artillery and then began an all out attack on the French themselves under the protection of the captured French artillery.

Marshal Massena and his French force were crushed between the two attacking armies. Marshal Massena himself was gravely injured and it was his second in command General Reynier who finally surrendered the last French army in the province of Aragão. The French lost over 10,000 men in the eastern Aragão battles not including over 9,400 men hanged in the city of Saragoça.

Unfortunately for the Castilians and Aragonese forces the victory celebrations were cut prematurely when Francisco Ezpoz y Mina and his soldiers prevented the Castela Army to proceed into the province of Aragão. The first meeting between the leaders of the two Ibérica armies went off very badly when General Francisco Javier Castaños refused to recognize Francisco Ezpoz y Mina as a General and equal but instead just a peasant. The situation continued very tense and the two armies were locked in the game of chicken instead of following through on their victories and attacking the French still in the provinces of Navarra in the north and Catalonia in the southeast.

 

[Lusitania]

Ibérica Peninsula War (Rush to the Pirenéus) (continued)



Across the Ebro


Since their arrival on the Ebro River the Portuguese had worked feverishly to supply their forces across the Castilian province of Castela-a-Velha, since the month of September the Portuguese with conscripted locals help and had upgraded the Castilian road from the Portuguese city of Valladolid to the city of Burgos. The upgrade of the road from Burgos to the Ebro River was still not finished due in part to the weather and the lack of people. As the Portuguese marched deeper into the French occupied Castile the more desolate and empty the land appeared. From Burgos the Portuguese supplies either went to Miranda do Ebro or Lagronho where the two Portuguese armies waited for orders to continue their march east.

On November 18 both General Pereira and Marshal Silveira finally received news of the fall of Bilbau to General Almeida’s forces and the withdrawal of Marshal Soult from province of Biscaia to the city of São Sebastião. The removal of the last French army with the ability to attack Portuguese supply line from Valladolid freed the Portuguese to continue their march east.

On November 22 Marshal Silveira and the Tejo Army left the town Lagronho and marched northeast towards the French army at Vitoria while to the north on November 26 General Pereira and the Douro Army left the town of Miranda do Ebro on the Ebro River and entered the Álava province and marched east towards Vitoria also. Since his withdrawal from Castela-a-Velha General Junot had assembled an army of over 40,000 to defend the fortified city of Vitoria against the combined Portuguese forces. In doing so he had stripped city of Pamplona and the Navarra province of all its French soldiers except for the passes of the Pirenéus Mountains. When news reached him of Marshal Soult retreat from Bilbau he sent an urgent message for him to bring his soldiers to Vitoria but sensing that the Ibérica Peninsula was lost Marshal Soult marched towards São Sebastião instead.

The Portuguese combined army of approximately 100,000 soldiers attacked the French at Vitoria on November 28. Marshal Silveira attacked from the north along the Lagronho-Vitoria road while General Pereira attacked from the east along the Miranda do Ebro-Victoria road. The Portuguese already controlled Bilbau to the north leaving the French only two options to retreat either northeast towards São Sebastião or east towards Pamplona. The last communicate General Junot had received from Paris made it very clear that if he were to loose Victoria, it would be viewed as an act of misconduct so therefore he intended to make this his last stand.

The French defenders had just 69 guns against a combined total of 269 guns of both Portuguese armies. On November 28 after several hours of heavy fighting Portuguese forces breached French defenses at two separate locations. The Tejo Army had pushed the French back towards the city of Vitoria and taken the Heights of la Puebla while the Douro Army had forded the Zadora River and cut off half the French army including General Junot. Completely surrounded the French forces continued to resist and refused to surrender until General Junot was mortality wounded when his remaining troops surrendered.

The French flight from the battle of Vitoria was a complete disorganized, of the 40, 0000 men he had at the start of the battle less than 5,000 were able to reach the safety of the city of São Sebastião. Those that fled east towards Pamplona were killed by the remaining Castilian guerrillas. The French had suffered over 7,300 casualties and the Portuguese had in turn captured over 8,700 French soldiers in the battle. The city of Vitoria with its impressive defenses was open to Portuguese soldiers and clogged with the either Francesco’s and booty being taken by the French.

In an attempt to regain control of his out of control troops who had abandoned their posts with the prospect of so much loot and alcohol in an open city Marshal Silveira and was forced to order his troops to fire on the looters. Over 1,200 men almost as many as had been lost in the battle were killed along with the same amount of civilians before the city was secured. Meanwhile General Pereira had his soldiers build special pyres to burn all the bodies before disease and death spread.

The advance of the Portuguese was again limited by the same factor that had crippled the French; the Portuguese logistics were having a very difficult time supplying close to 100,000 troops at Victoria due to the poor state of Castilian roads and infrastructure. The countryside was almost deserted and those that still lived in the province of Álava were in no shape to provide any help to the huge Portuguese army.

Battle of Bilbau


Marshal Soult and his army recuperated in the city of Bilbau and received reinforcements from France and built up the cities defenses in a bid to stop the Portuguese advance and on October 10 his forces halted the Minho Army outside of Bilbau and even forced General Almeida to rally his forces and repulse a French attack on the Portuguese lines but on October 14 the Portuguese were able to push the French back and start the siege of the city.

On November 14, Marshal Soult forces suffered a major defeat when the Portuguese finally breached the French defenses and entered the city of Bilbau, forcing him to order the abandonment of the city and start the withdrawal east towards to the city of São Sebastião. Portuguese artillery and foguetes armados reached the main French armory causing a huge explosion and over 5,000 casualties on the north and great confusion amongst the French. General Almeida forces were able to take advantage of the confusion and take part of the French defenses on the west. While Marshal Soult was able rally his forces to retake the defenses and repulse the Portuguese they were completely unable to stop the second breach to the south. By nightfall the Portuguese had been able to widen the breach to over half a mile and put through over 15,000 and bring their artillery into the city. During the night the French withdrew from the city leaving their wounded and heavy baggage behind.

 

[Lusitania]

Ibérica Peninsula War (Rush to the Pirenéus) (continued)


Barcelona and the Kingdom of Aragão

The French loses and rapid allied advancement in the Ibérica Peninsula during the last six months of 1811 had caused major concern and worry in Paris and even for a brief time taking their minds off the calamity in Russia. From the middle of November, Paris began organizing a new French army to reinforce the French forces in the Ibérica Peninsula and after the fall of Vitoria and the loss of General Junot at the end of November to defend France proper from allied attack.

As of December 1, 1811 the French had lost almost all of Ibérica Peninsula and had ordered the conscription of an additional 200,000 men to defend France from Portuguese and English attacks. For the first time France proper was in jeopardy from invasion as the Portuguese and English were hard pressing the French and approaching the Pirenéus Mountains.

Marshal Soult now situated in São Sebastião had been the first to receive additional reinforcements from France and now had close to 100,000 men in the provinces of Navarra and Guipúscoa. The reinforcement of his position had stripped all the soldiers from the French province of Gascony as well from most of southern and central France. Marshal Soult contrary to orders from Paris did not move against the attacking allied armies instead he concentrated on improving his defenses and make it too costly for the allies to advance east In the Ibérica Peninsula east coast Marshal Jourdan forces continued to hold General Wellesley and the English force along the Ebro River, while General Souham and his forces held the Catalonia province and the city of Barcelona. Marshal Jourdan had close to 70,000 facing the English leaving General Souham only two divisions to hold the city and protect the French supply line. Marshal Soult’s forces were separated from Marshal Jourdan by the Aragonese and Castilian forces in the province of Aragão.

The spirit of the French soldiers was at an all time low and was suffering from constant night time guerrilla attacks and desertion. The unreliability of French Allied soldiers during the last years fighting when the majority had either fled or surrendered had forced the French from removing the rest from the Ibérica Peninsula. The additional conscripts were being readied in France but Napoleon’s disastrous Russian campaign and the constant demands for additional soldiers throughout the Empire meant that these reinforcements would not be available until January the earliest probable not till February.

The Ibérica allies were desperate to push the French from the Ibérica Peninsula before these additional soldiers could be brought to bear. For the first half of the month of December the Allies could not dislodge the dug in French armies and the war had grinded to a stalemate. So when the opportunity appeared to strike a blow behind the French lines and possibly collapse the entire French defenses in the Peninsula the two main combatants; the Portuguese and the English were quick seize the opportunity even though it would alienate both the Castilians and Spanish governments and possibly stop all further co-operation with either country.

***​

After the fall of Spain in the Ibérica Peninsula to the French and King Ferdinand VII and his government’s move to New Spain, the Duke of Saragossa had recovered from his injuries in the Portuguese city of Badajoz before moving to the Canárias Islands. The arrival of the Duque de Cádis in the Canaries had created problems for the Duke of Saragossa due to their dislike for each other. The Duke of Saragossa had been a keen supporter of the “Constitution de Santa Cruz” and planned on leaving for New Spain with the constitutional envoy to meet with King Ferdinand but due to concerns about his health had stayed in the Canaries instead. It turned out to be a very fortunate event for the Duke of Saragossa since he escaped imprisonment and death suffered by the constitutional delegation in Vera Cruz.

The refusal and subsequent attack against the constitutionals by King Ferdinand VII and the Duke of Saragossa continued animosity with the ruler of the Canárias Islands the Duke of Cadiz left Duke of Saragossa in a difficult situation. The situation became even more dangerous for him and his supporters with the elevation of the Duke of Cadiz to King Francisco I of Castile in 1810. So in August 1810 along with his supporters he left the Canárias and moved to the city of Majorca in the Baleares Islands which was not under either King Ferdinand or King Francisco control.

The creation of the Kingdom of Aragão by the French at first had been welcomed by many people in those two provinces who had resented Madrid’s political and economic suppression of the people of the former country of Aragão. Since the War of Spanish Succession in 1710 the provinces of Catalonia and Aragão had lost all their previous economic and political autonomy. The terrible French suppression and attacks against the civilians finally made them give up on the support for the French but not on the idea of an independent Kingdom of Aragão. The one thing they lacked was a credible figure that could unite the people and lead the country to independence.

The arrival of the Duke of Saragossa was instantly heralded by the Aragonese and Catalonian nobles along with common people and the refugees living in the Baleares Islands as the answer to their prayers. They saw him as the ideal person to lead the country; he was from the province of Aragão and had distinguished himself in the fight against the French.

The move from the Canárias to the Baleares Islands by the Duke of Saragossa had been merely for security reasons and not for any political reason so he was at first taken back by the reception he received and the idea of an independent Kingdom of Aragão. He especially was horrified by the thought of him being elevated to king, but without any real opposition and with both the Portuguese and English protection he slowly came around to the idea and over the next two years reorganized his government and army.

During the year of 1811 the Aragonese prepared for the independence of Aragão from both French and Spanish control. On October 15 the “Constitution de Palma” was proclaimed in the city of Majorca and received with enthusiasm through the islands and in the provinces of Aragão and Catalonia and Duke of Saragossa was proclaimed as King José I the king of the Kingdom of Aragão.

By the month December in 1811 the Kingdom of Aragão already controlled the provinces of Aragão and the Baleares Islands the only thing remaining for the Aragonese was the control of both the city of Barcelona and the province of Catalonia. The last hurdle faced by the Aragonese was the public support of the Portuguese and English governments.

To achieve this; the Aragonese made a very bold proposal to the English and Portuguese, in return for public support of the Kingdom of Aragão. King José I would lead his Aragão Army and both liberate the province of Catalonia as well as trap of close to 75,000 French soldiers along the Ebro River. While the plan was full of political risks the opportunity to open the entire campaign was something that neither Portugal nor England wished to loose. England had been worried about angering Castela and having an angry local population so it had originally refused to recognize Aragão’s independence but the stalemate of the fighting in the Ibérica Peninsula and potential arrival of an additional 200,000 French soldiers along with the ability to move their supply base to the city of Barcelona and away from Castela finally convinced them to recognize the Kingdom of Aragão. On December 10 England and Portugal finally recognized the independence of the Kingdom of Aragão.

***​

On December 20 King José I led the Aragão Army into the province of Catalonia. King José I force of close to 10,000 landed on a deserted beach 10 miles to the north of the city of Barcelona with the assistance of the Portuguese and English navies. His arrival on the Peninsula had been much anticipated by the Aragonese guerrillas and his force was reinforced by thousands of Aragonese guerrillas on their march south against the French in Barcelona.

The appearance of the Aragonese force at the city’s gate came as a complete shock to General Souham and his forces. The French under General Souham refused to surrender and made a frantic effort to defend the city but the situation in the city quickly grew unstable and he was forced to withdraw his forces. At the time that the Aragonese Army arrived the French were locked in a fight with guerrillas and civilians in the city. The French had the upper hand and without any distraction would have defeated the latest revolt but the arrival of the Aragonese Army at the city’s gate put the French in a disadvantage. The size of the French garrison was not large enough to gain control of both the city and defend it against a attack. On December 21 General Souham gave the order to withdraw from the city but the Aragonese army blocked their route north and so was forced to march south instead.

King José I of the Kingdom of Aragão​

General Souham and his forces were forced to retreat south and on December 24 arrived at Marshal Jourdan’s camp bolstering his forces by over 8,000 by unfortunately for the French they were completely cut off from France and running out of supplies.

King José I arrival in Barcelona was greeted with much fanfare and enthusiasm. On December 23 he was crowned King of Aragão by the Archbishop of Barcelona. He immediately moved to build up the provinces defenses especially the ones that would block the French in the south and the French in the north.

On Christmas day with his forces on half rations and facing starvation Marshal Jourdan ordered his forces to break camp and march north towards France. He was able to gain on the English who took too much time crossing the river and pursuing the retreating French. On December 28 the French were stopped by King José I Aragonese force just north of the city of Barcelona at the town of Martorell. The French forces were forced to engage two armies at the same time; one from the north and the second from the south. King José I Aragonese force of close to 20,000 became a blocking force while the pursing English army under General Wellesley hammered the French from behind. Marshal Jourdan force finally broke through the Aragonese lines and made their escape north towards France but not before suffering over 5,000 casualties and loosing over 10,000 men to the English.

The French presence in Aragon was finished and Marshal Jourdan’s’ forces no longer had any desire to fight but unfortunately they still had the need to destroy and attack anyone they encountered on the march to the French border. Both the English and the Aragonese forces pursued the French without mercy. An additional 4,320 men were captured by the English and unknown amount killed the Aragonese forces before the French made it back to France. The road to France was littered with bodies of French soldiers and their discarded baggage as the starving men attempted to reach France. Of the over 70,000 men Marshal Jourdan left the Ebro River less than 10,000 reached the border and of those almost half were so traumatized that were of no use. Marshal Jourdan himself was incapacitated due to malaria and arrived in France unconscious.

At the beginning of January 1812 the French faced the first army ready to invade France and with no real force able to stop them. All available French soldiers in southern France had been diverted to block the Portuguese and now a frantic effort was initiated by French to move some of those soldiers to the south.

 

[Lusitania]

Ibérica Peninsula War (Rush to the Pirenéus) (conclusion)


The Pirenéus Mountains


At the end of December the Portuguese waited impatiently for the French to react to the situation in Aragão but other than a few officers nobody knew the reason for the delay in the attack but welcomed any delay because they knew that the French positions were very well defended and it would be very costly to dislodge the French.

As the two opposing forces celebrated arrival of the New Year commotion in the French positions was clearly seen. The news of the collapse of the French in Aragão and the arrival of General Wellesley along with 70,000 English soldiers at France’s border had completely shocked the French.

Marshal Soult had for the most part run the war to his own liking with very little regard for directions from Paris but the orders to send 50,000 men south immediately to stop the invading English army was something he could not ignore. The order would also mean that he would be unable to defend his line of defence and started making plans for a new line of defence along the Castela and French border using the Pirenéus Mountains. On January 2 General Reille left with 30,000 men and marched his soldiers relentlessly in an attempt to intercept the English.

The proclamation of the Kingdom of Aragão had already severely dampened the cooperation of the Castilian authorities and the Portuguese and English forces but the liberation of Barcelona by the Aragonese and the crowning of King José I put the countries on the path to war. It was only due to the Castilian reliance on the support from Portugal for money, supplies and politically against Spain that stopped the young country from declaring war. In addition the Portuguese ambassador’s threats to several leading Castilian politicians to empty all of Castela’s Northern provinces under Portuguese occupation and send all the people into Castela-a-Nova and allow Aragão to occupy the provinces of Navarra and Valencia kept the Castilians in order. On December 30 the Portuguese and English made additional offers of supplies, weapons and money to the government in Madrid on condition that it removes its forces from eastern Aragão and move on Pamplona and the province of Navarra.

On January 8 the three Portuguese armies totaling over 100,000 men started their attack against Marshal Soult and his remaining soldiers. General Pereira and the Douro Army began the attack on the French position at the town of Tolosa, after less than two hours of fighting the town had been captured and the French under General Taupin were pushed back along the São Sebastião road.

Instead of pursuing the retreating French the Douro Army marched due east toward the French position at the town of Irun close to the Bidasoa River, the Minho Army under General Almeida were the ones who took up the pursuit of General Taupin and his forces. Meanwhile Marshal Silveira had left his base in Victoria and marched straight east against the French held towns of Salvaterra, Alsasua, and Irurzun threatening the city of Pamplona and the passes through the Pirenéus. The French garrisons at the two first towns simply abandoned their positions and retreated as soon as the size and strength of the Portuguese army became evident. Only the garrison of Irurzun gave the Portuguese any return fire and the fight was over after the first artillery bombardment.

On January 11 the General Almeida and Minho Army once more engaged Marshal Soult and his army, this time it was at the town of Añorga-Lugariz just south of São Sebastião. The Minho Army which had become used to defeating Marshal Soult were initially repulsed by the French but soon make feel their superior numbers backed by superior artillery and musket. At the end of the day Marshal Soult was forced to withdraw from the field and retire behind the protection of the towns walls. On January 13 before the Minho Army could completely invest the town Marshal Soult and most of his forces broke through and abandoned the city. Marshal Soult had less than 10,000 men with him and knew that if he did not escape, he and his troops would be trapped in the city while the Portuguese would be free to advance unopposed into France. On January 14 at the town of Passajes his rear guard was able to slow the pursing Portuguese forces enough to allow Marshal Soult and his remaining forces over the Bidasoa River.

Once more Marshal Soult was faced with a task that he lacked the resources to accomplish. With less than 50,000 men he knew that he was unable to stop the Portuguese from taking the main passes and his major concern preventing the destruction of most of his remaining forces. He ordered the retreat from Pamplona and all territory west of the Bidasoa River.

The Portuguese took the Dona Maria Passes and the Velate Pass without any opposition and on January 16 had established themselves along the São Estevão-Irun road. On January 17 the town of Elizando was taken and finally the next day the Maia Pass was taken after heavy fighting. With the capture of the remaining towns along the Bidasoa River Marshal Soult abandoned his positions along the river and moved his remaining forces behind the Nivelle River.

The capture of the intact port city of São Sebastião finally gave the Portuguese the ability to transfer their supply base from Valladolid-Burgos. Meanwhile on January 18 the Castilian Army under General Francisco Javier Castaños had finally moved from Eastern Aragão and occupied the city of Pamplona. From there they moved east and captured the Roncesvalles Pass.

To the east the recently promoted General Francisco Ezpoz y Mina led his Aragonese forces north and captured the Jaca Pass in northern Aragão.

Marshal Soult now faced an impossible task he had less than 70,000 men and was tasked with stopping five invading armies totaling almost 200,000 men. While General Reille was tasked with stopping an invading English army of over 70,000 with only 30,000 men most of who were second rate soldiers or conscripts.

Ibérica Peninsula during Peninsula War
Portuguese-Spanish border in 1802 shown by Black Line
Extent of Portuguese advance as of 1807 shown by Green Line
Extent of Portuguese and Castilians advance as of 1809 shown by Blue Line
Extent of Portuguese, Castilians and English advance as of 1811 shown by Red Line​

 

[Nasei]

, Portugal got the lands of the old Kingdom of Leão and its claims in Andaluzia.
Castela and Aragão wore restored.
Just one question, why do you write all the others provinces with its Portuguese names but Galiza with its Castilian name?

 

[Lusitania]

I'm still following this.

Glad to have you here, always welcome.

, Portugal got the lands of the old Kingdom of Leão and its claims in Andaluzia.
Castela and Aragão wore restored.
Just one question, why do you write all the others provinces with its Portuguese names but Galiza with its Castilian name?

Acording to my sources Galiza is the European Portuguese version while Galícia is the Brazilian Portuguese.
"A Galiza (em galego, Galiza ou Galicia, em castelhano Galicia; no Brasil também se utiliza Galícia"

As for the land that Portugal will get it will all depend on two things beating the French, all we have done till now is push out of the Peninsula Iberica. Then we have to survive something even worse the "political arena" to see if we can keep what we bled for.

 

[Lusitania]

Ibérica Peninsula War (Final Act)


The Russian Campaign

During 1811 the French Empire started becoming unraveled as the Portuguese, Castilian and English forces had driven the French from the Ibérica Peninsula after repeatedly defeating the French army in the Ibérica Peninsula. The huge French invasion of Russia had gone very well during the summer months and by September the huge French Army had captured Moscow but the Russians had evacuated the city and stripped it of any supplies and set fire to it depriving the French of supplies and shelter in the city. The refusal of the Russians to surrender with the capture of their capital and with the reinforced Russian Army near the city finally forced Napoleon to retreat from Moscow on September 26.

At the Battle of Maloyaroslavets the Russians forced the retreating French to maintain the same route they had taken east which had been stripped of all food supplies by both the invading French and defending Russians armies. On October 18 the Russians under the command of Marshal Kutuzov defeated the French army under the command of Eugène de Beauharnais at the Battle of Maloyaroslavets. The defeat of 30,000 French soldiers by 25,000 Russians was only the first of many defeats that kept the French along the Smolensk road taken by the French east.

The French army was cut off from supplies and soon its remaining horses either died or were killed for food by the starving French soldiers. The French were forced to abandon all its artillery and supply wagons. The Russians attacked the French trail and any isolated French units, inflicting huge losses as well as demoralizing the already weak French.

These extreme conditions proved too much for many of the French and their allies and many deserted but these found no relief as most were either captured or executed by the Russian peasants. The Russians continued to hammer the French at Vyazma and Krasnoi and separate French corps incurred losses at Polotsk and were forced to surrender at Czasniki and Smoliani. The final nail in the coffin for the French was the battle at the crossing of the Berezina River where the Russians inflicted over 50,000 casualties on the remnants of the French army.

On November 29 Napoleon and his much diminished French Army which now totaled less than 40,000 left Russia and crossed into the Duchy of Warsaw.

The Duchy of Warsaw


The Prussians had been waiting to exact their revenge on the French for their humiliating defeats to the French in the previous years. They had watched anxiously the French’s Grand Invasion of Russia in the spring of 1811 and when word of the French loses and defeats reached the Prussian capital the Prussians made plans for war.

The Duchy of Warsaw had hoped to gain from a Russian defeat and had contributed enormously in manpower and material to the invasion army. So when Prussia launched an all out attack on the Duchy on October 10, it was not prepared or have the ability to resist the Prussian invasion. The Duchy was defeated at the battles of Posen, Thorn, Kalisch and Lenczyka. On November 15 the Prussians had reached the city of Warsaw and commenced besieging it.

The Austrians were also greatly encouraged by the French defeat and the collapse of the Duchy under Prussian attack. On October 22 they attacked the city of Cracow and defeated the garrison and by October 28 the Duchy had lost Pinezow and Sandomierzo to the advancing Austrian who were advancing on the last Duchy major city in West Galicia. On November 6 the Austrians captured the city of Random.

On November 22 the Duchy formally surrendered to the Prussians and effectively ceased to exist. The Prussians entered into a treaty with the Russians and Austrians that divided the Duchy between them. The “Treaty of Vistula” which was named for the river that formed the dividing line between the major parties gave the Prussia all lands west of the Vistula River and north of Pilica River whiles the Russians got all lands east of the Vistula River including the city of Warsaw from the junction of the San and Vistula Rivers in the south along the Austrian border to the border of the Prussia and the Duchy. The Austrians received all land west of the Vistula River till the Pilica River.

On November 29 so when Napoleon arrived in the Duchy of Warsaw with the Russian army on his heels he faced the Prussian army fresh from its victories over the Duchy and eager to defeat their nemesis the French. On December 3 Napoleon abandoned his army and returned to France on sled leaving his doomed army under the command of Marshal Murat, King of Aragão. On December 12 the French were defeated at the battle of Ostrolenka. The French army surrendered after loosing close to 6,000 casualties in the first four hours of battle. Marshal Murat was wounded at the battle and his second in command Eugène de Beauharnais gave the final order to surrender to the Prussians.

Duchy of Warsaw at end of 1811 and the partition between Prussia, Russia and Austria
The Prussian portion of the Duchy is shown in Blue
Austrian portion of the Duchy is shown in Orange
Russian portion of the Duchy is shown in Magenta​

 

[Nasei]

Acording to my sources Galiza is the European Portuguese version while Galícia is the Brazilian Portuguese.
"A Galiza (em galego, Galiza ou Galicia, em castelhano Galicia; no Brasil também se utiliza Galícia".

True, but as the history now covers mainly Portugal the European version should be used.
Also Galícia is, also, the name of a region that now is part of Poland and part of Ukraine.

As for the land that Portugal will get it will all depend on two things beating the French, all we have done till now is push out of the Peninsula Iberica. Then we have to survive something even worse the "political arena" to see if we can keep what we bled for.

Indeed.

 

[G.Bone]

It does not bode well for the French given that they're getting knocked in Russia, Poland, and then in the Iberian Penninsula.

I'm curious if there are any running around in South America with Italian freebooters. In OTL around in the 1860's or the 1840's there was that trend. I suppose they are getting the experience in the Peninsula?

(Or does this ever occur?)

 

[Lusitania]

Ibérica Peninsula War (Final Act) (continued)


The Austrian Revenge & Italian Peninsula

The Austrians took advantage of the eminent collapse of the French Empire to attack the French positions south of the Alps in the Italian Peninsula. On December 10 the Austrian Army defeated the French at the battle of the Padua which the Austrians defeated the French and opened the entire Italian Peninsula to them. From December 12 to December 15 the Italian Peninsula exploded in revolt against the French. Rome, Genoa, Florence and Milan revolted against the French and defeated the garrisons in those cities.

The Kingdom of Italy collapsed and its remaining soldiers in the southern Italian Peninsula either defected or deserted leaving the south open to the Kingdom of Naples and Sicily. By December 29 the Kingdom of Naples and Sicily practically controlled all of southern Italy. On January 1, 1812 King Ferdinand I and his army entered the city of Naples to the cheering applause of the citizens. At the end of December the French had lost the entire Italian Peninsula the Allies.

The French defeats in the east, the liberation of the Ibérica and Italian Peninsulas gave the German people much hope in liberating themselves from the French overlords. With the help and support of the Austrians, Prussians and Russian the leaders of the Confederation of the Rhine rose up and revolted against the French. The two largest German states in the Confederation; Saxony and Bavaria exploded in revolt against the French and with the Prussian on the march west over the Elbe River into Westphalia the rest of the German states in the confederation also joined the revolt against France. By the middle of January most of the German soldiers in the French army joined in the revolt and by the end of January the majority of the confederation was lost to the French.

The last French satellite country; Holland came undone during the same month. The Dutch revolted on January 18 and by January 31 had liberated Holland from French occupation.

The Invasion of France

On January 6, 1812 General Wellesley and his English Army invaded the French province of Languedoc from the Aragonese province of Catalonia and attacked the French city of Perpignan. The English soldiers faced with the prospects of an un-plundered French city lost all discipline and the city was plundered and burned. Thousands of French civilians filled the roads of Southern France fleeing the rampaging English Army. General Wellesley was incensed with the conduct of his soldiers; he did not want to turn the French civilians against him and did not want to face the same situation the French had faced in the Ibérica Peninsula. Once he had regained control of his army which was done with much force and in some circumstances capital punishment he set out from Perpignan continued marching north along the coast.

The only sizeable French force in southern France was the 30,000 soldiers under the command of General Reille en route to stop the English from the province of Gascony, but as General Wellesley and his 70,000 force left Perpignan they were still close to the city of Toulouse. The province of Languedoc and the French city of Marseilles was open to the English and General Reille risked exhausting his soldiers in an attempt to intercept them at the town of Narbonne.

In the French province of Gascony, Marshal Soult faced three enemies with a combined force of close to 200,000 men along an 80 mile front from the Atlantic Ocean to the Jaca Pass in the province of Aragão. Against that he had less than 100,000 men of which half were either garrison or newly conscripted troops. The Aragonese Army controlled the Jaca Pass while the Castilian Army controlled the Roncesvalles Pass. The bulk of the French troops were situated behind the Nivelle River from the Atlantic Ocean to the Maya Pass facing the huge Portuguese Armies which comprised of over 130,000 soldiers who were made up of seasoned veterans that had not only stopped Frances repeated attempts to invade Portugal but now driven the French from the Ibérica Peninsula.

On January 5 and 6 the Aragonese and Castilian forces launched surprise border attacks through the Pirenéus Mountains, both of these attacks caught the French complete off guard and only due to the weather and Marshal Soult committing most of his reserves were the French able to regain the lost ground by the 10th of January. The Aragonese got as far as 5 miles south of the French town of Oleron Ste-Marie before being stopped by weather and the French. Over the next two days the French were able to push the Aragonese forces back as far as the Jaca Pass but were unable to dislodge the Aragonese from their strong defensive positions. The Castilian offensive reached and captured the town of St. Jean-Pied-de-Port; the French launched a counter attack on the 7th liberating the town and slowly driving the Castilians back to the Roncesvalles Pass.

The two attacks had stretched the French and the Portuguese launched their largest single assault on January 12, 1812. All three Portuguese armies were in play and the action started at dawn under an overcast morning when over 1,000 guns and foguetes armados began pounding the French positions. Marshal Silveira and the Portuguese Tejo Army attacked the weakened French Army along front of 10 miles from the French towns of St. Jean de Luz to St. Pée. While General Pereira’s Douro Army attacked from their position along the Maya Pass against the French positions around the town of Ainhoa. The Minho Army under General Almeida acted as the Portuguese reserve.

The Portuguese strategy was to either defeat any French forces encountered or in case of fortified positions encircle them and continue forward leaving the mopping up to rear units. After six hours of fighting all French forces south of the Nive River had either surrendered or driven back towards the Ardour River where Marshal Soult was attempting to solidify his defenses on the north bank of the river. By January 15 the Portuguese had invested the city of Bayonne while the remaining units had reached the southern banks of the Arbour River.

***​

The retreat of the French armies from the Ibérica Peninsula into southern France had not change the behavior of the French Army; they still robbed and looted the countryside at will even though they were now doing it to French civilians instead of either the Castilians or Aragonese. The passage of General Reille and his force from the city of Bayonne through southern France was like a huge locus invasion for five to ten miles along the Bayonne-Toulouse-Narbonne road the French army left misery, death and starvation behind. The Portuguese were forced to care for thousands of starving French civilians south of the Ardour River. Marshal Silveira along with the Portuguese Generals were very careful to care for the French civilians to provide them with no reason to rebel against Portuguese occupation. Marshal Soult and the remnants of his French army along the Ardour River caused huge logistic problems from Bordeaux and Toulouse. Southern France was overrun with civilians fleeing the battle zones and the French requisition these in turn created more panic and confusion so that by end of January over 500,000 refugees crowded the roads fleeing the invading / defending armies creating huge congestions and supply problems for the French forces trying to stop the invading armies.

***​

On January 14 the English captured the city of Narbonne and General Wellesley then secreted two thirds of his army west and setup his forces close to the town of Moux waiting for the arrival of General Reille and his army. On January 16 General Wellesley and his forces surprised the French and defeated them. The French army suffered over 7,000 casualties while the English suffered less than 1,000. General Wellesley pursued the retreating French and again defeated them at the town of Cacassonne. The French suffered an additional 8,000 casualties and for all intense purposes ceased to be a military opponent to the English in southern France.

Southern France was in turmoil and panic had set in throughout all of France as its enemies prepared to attack it from all sides. By January 28 two events put Marshal Soult’s position in peril and forced him to order a retreat east towards Toulouse. On January 26 General Almeida’s Minho Army was able to cross the Ardour River north of the Bayonne Forest close to the mouth of the river with the help of the Portuguese Navy. On January 28 the city of Bordeaux surrendered to Portuguese Navy without firing a shot. With his position along the Ardour River in jeopardy Marshal Soult ordered the evacuation of the city of Bayonne and retreated east towards the city of Toulouse unfortunately for Marshal Soult the governor of the city of Bayonne refused to allow the more than 6,000 soldiers to leave the city and ordered the whole city sealed thus depriving Marshal Soult of these soldiers.

On February 2 the English approached the city of Toulouse from the east while the Tejo Army approached the city from the West. Marshal Soult had so far been unable to stop either of the invading armies in the countryside so he packed his remaining soldiers in the city in a last ditch effort to stop the Portuguese and English. His army now number less than 30,000 men was no match for the combined armies of close to 100,000.

The Portuguese forces approached from the west on the southern side of the Garonne River and from the north along the Languedoc Canal while the English approached from the east. The Portuguese and English attacks on February 3 left the Portuguese with all land west of the Garonne River and all the bridges over the Languedoc Canal. The English pushed the French out of the Calvinet Heights. With the town complete surrounded most of the remaining French forces surrendered en mass leaving Marshal Soult and 2,000 men to defend the city. On February 5 Marshal Soult surrendered the city and his remaining forces to both Marshal Silveira and General Wellesley.

 

[Lusitania]

Ibérica Peninsula War (Final Act) (conclusion)



The Fall of France

At the beginning of February 1812 France was in a precarious position, it had lost the Confederation of the Rhine, Holland, the Italian Peninsula and the Ibérica Peninsula. Their ally and client in the east the Duchy of Warsaw had been defeated and carved up between Prussia, Russia and Austria.

France now faced three huge armies on its east front the Prussian and Russian Armies along with the Austrians were poised to attack France with over 500,000 soldiers while in southern France the Portuguese and English had over 200,000 soldiers in the field and most importantly the French people had started losing faith in Napoleon’s ability to deliver them from these perils.

***​

When Napoleon arrived in Paris on December 15 the country was in turmoil as France’s enemies closed in around it. He called for a new army of 500,000 and promised to defeat the combined armies surrounding France but the defeat of the French in Italian Peninsula and the revolt and loss of the Confederation of the Rhine along with the loss of Holland put the invading armies along France’s borders in the east and panicked many French people including many in government and military. During the month of January while he built up his army in Northern France the Portuguese and English invaded southern France. The defeat of Marshal Soult and the rampaging invading armies was too much for many French.

Napoleon left Paris with 175,000 men on February 1 and originally intended to march east and deal with the Prussians and Russians before he turned his attention to the Austrians. He still believed in Marshal Soult ability to stop the Portuguese and English but on February 15 when word arrived of Marshal Soult defeat and capture at the city or Toulouse and the capture of the city of Bordeaux, he turned around and marched south instead to drive the Portuguese and English from French soil. The desperation of the French country by the middle of February and the panic in the cities resulted in most of the country revolting against him. On February 20 when his army reached the city of Orleáns the city had already revolted against him and refused to assist him. Frustrated and angry he ordered his army to attack the city but when his soldiers refused and he was forced to abdicate.

***​

The French government requested a ceasefire with the allies and after agreeing to allied demands that France’s border return to 1791 position all hostilities ended on March 1, 1812. Napoleon was exiled to the island of Elba per the Treaty of Fontainebleau signed between France and the Allied Nations arrayed against it and the Congress of Vienna was scheduled to be held in Vienna Austria starting in August 1812 to settle the outstanding issues.

The people of Europe celebrated the end of hostilities; the people in the Ibérica Peninsula were no exception especially the people in Castela and Aragão. They had suffered immensely at the hands of the occupying French soldiers. The people in Portugal were in a general state of shock as news reached them that the war was finally over and more importantly they had not only survived it but won, especially won the war against the French. For over 30 years the Portuguese had been fighting the French holding them off, pushing them away from Portugal and finally it was over.

On April 5 the bells on every church throughout Portugal rang out in celebration for three hours signifying the three French invasions that Portuguese soldiers had beaten back. On April 15 one week of celebration was proclaimed by King José II in honor of the victory. Festivals and church services were held in every village, town and city to commemorate the Portuguese victory.

By June The Portuguese and English withdrew all of their soldiers from French European Territory. The Portuguese Armies in France began to march south towards the Portuguese supply base of city of Bayonne there they started their return march through the Kingdom of Castela towards Portugal. The English were withdrawn from France by the English Navy.

Starting May 1 columns of close to 20,000 soldiers and support personnel along with all their belongings (booty), families started marching through Castela along the San Sebastian, Vitoria, Burgos and Valladolid road constructed under Portuguese direction in their march to the Pirenéus. On June 8 the last Portuguese soldier left southern France and on June 26 the last Portuguese soldier left the Kingdom of Castela.

 

[Guillaume]

Great! Simply love it! Eager to read the alt-congress of Viena. What's with the Spanish East Indies?

And what about a monographic for Castilla and Aragó?

I must make a request: colonies for Aragon!

 

[Lusitania]

True, but as the history now covers mainly Portugal the European version should be used.
Also Galícia is, also, the name of a region that now is part of Poland and part of Ukraine.

Yes, my mistake, I have made the correction on the master copy of the TL and in all future posts will be correct. When I post the 1800 to 1825 to the Timeline and Scenario it will be correct.

It does not bode well for the French given that they're getting knocked in Russia, Poland, and then in the Iberian Penninsula.

I'm curious if there are any running around in South America with Italian freebooters. In OTL around in the 1860's or the 1840's there was that trend. I suppose they are getting the experience in the Peninsula?

(Or does this ever occur?)

I will be moving to the Americas soon, a major event is about to happen that moves us there and we also have to deal with the fighting in Southern part of the American continent, plus India and all of Asia lots to cover still.

Great! Simply love it! Eager to read the alt-congress of Viena. What's with the Spanish East Indies?

And what about a monographic for Castilla and Aragó?

I must make a request: colonies for Aragon!

Yes, my TL will cover Espanha, Castile and Aragon history from now on including the bloody civil war comming up.

Alas for Aragon it will take time for it to get its house in order, same could be said for Castile I am afraid.

Well thanks everyone for the comments and questions. See you all soon.

 

[Lusitania]

Peninsula Ibérica War (Repercussions)


Portugal

The Peninsula Ibérica at the end of 1812 was a vastly different place as apposed to 1801 when the hostilities commenced. Espanha the larger and dominant power of the peninsula for the last 300 years was no longer present in the peninsula and the majority of its former territory on the peninsula was divided into two smaller countries; Castela and Aragão, while its remaining territory in the peninsula had been incorporated into Portugal Metropolitano. The Kingdom of Espanha continued to exist in the Américas with its capital in Cidade de Mexico and still claimed sovereignty over its former territory in the Peninsula Ibérica as well as the Vice-rei of Rio de la Plata which was controlled by Castela.

The territory of the Kingdom of Portugal on the Peninsula Ibérica had more than doubled in size; the former Spanish provinces of Galiza, Astúrias, Leão, Estremadura as well as the western part of Andaluzia (Huelva) had been incorporated into Metropolitan Portugal. The population of Portugal on the peninsula had also doubled to over 8.5 million of which less than two million people were Spanish while the remaining were made up of the mismatch that comprised Portugal in the beginning of the 19th century. At the end of the war there were over two million Luso-Índians, Macaenses, Timorenses and Portuguese Áfrican people living in Portugal Metropolitano. Portugal was also the home to huge communities of Italians, Irish, German and Polish people who either had immigrated or were the decedents of those that had immigrated to Portugal during the last half century.

The Portuguese economy continued strong as the industrialization and economic policies started in the middle of the previous century had led to a transformation of Portugal into the second most industrial country in the world, still behind England but well ahead of the rest of Europe. The war itself had not physically touched Portugal with both the countryside and its people escaping mostly unscathed. The new provinces gained from Espanha also provided Portugal with much needed resources and room to grow.

In América the territory between the Uruguai and Paraná Rivers had been incorporated into Portuguese América and all lands south and west along the Paraná River belonging to the Vice-rei of Rio de la Plata had been turned over to the government of Castela.

The Portuguese political situation was also stable although the ideas espoused by the French Revolution and the constitutional monarchies of its neighbors began gaining support among some elements of the Portuguese people. The granting of Portuguese nationality and rights to so many non-Europeans and their large communities in Portugal Metropolitanoalso created problems for many of the more conservative elements of Portuguese society.

In 1812, the two distinct political movements that had existed unofficially since the 1790’s in Portugal the Imperials and the Nationalists had to share the stage with the new political movements that arose due to the foreign influences; the Liberals and Cartistas emerged as the two new movements and would shape the country’s future and struggles in the years to follow.

The Imperials advocated the status quo of Portugal with expansion of industry and trade and the Portuguese Empire. To accomplish these goals it was willing to allow the non European citizens the same rights as the European citizens and to continue bringing them to Portugal Metropolitanoto supply the growing industry with the manpower needed. It also advocated the continued immigration of select Europeans to Portugal. The Imperials enjoyed the support of most of Portugal business establishment, government including the king, and the Portuguese Catholic Church.

The Nationalists advocated a return to established and traditional values, it wanted to put in place a ban on both immigration into Portugal as well as restrict the rights of those not traditional Portuguese. It advocated a stronger link between the Portuguese Catholic Church as the Holy See. It was not against the increase in trade and industry but disapproved of the lack of control and power of those they considered “proper Portuguese”. The movement had its largest support amongst the rural aristocrats and rural people. These were some of the people who were benefiting the least from the industrial expansion in Portugal. There also was a substantial support amongst the rural landowners of Brasil who were upset at the government’s policies.

The Portuguese government continued its program of repopulating the former Spanish provinces with Portuguese citizens and in August passed the Ibérica War Repatriation Act. The act provided all soldiers who had served in the Portuguese Army including disabled veterans with land in the new Portuguese provinces. This was done in part to repopulate these provinces as well as to provide the Portuguese with a strong base of support in these provinces but it also created much social unrest in the provinces. This also coincided with expulsion and confiscation of all assets of the remaining Spanish Roman Catholic religious orders and clergy.

During the month of September the Spanish people in the provinces of Leão, Estremadura as well as isolated towns and cities in other former Spanish provinces revolted against the Portuguese government and the Portuguese Catholic Church. Starting in the month of October and continuing through the next six months over 400,000 Spanish living under Portuguese administration in the Peninsula Ibérica willingly moved to the country of Castela further complicating things for the young kingdom. These people were allowed to take all their personal possessions and received between a quarter and half of the value of their lands and property left in Portugal but had to swear loyalty to the government of Castela and its king. In the next five years Portugal also expelled approximately an additional 100,000 people directly to Spain in the Américas who refused to recognize the country of Castela. These people did not receive any compensation and were limited in the possessions they could take along. In addition the Portuguese Empire especially the provinces in África, Índia and Asia received over 50,000 settlers under the Portuguese resettlement policy. These people received full value for their property and also help in re-settling in their new province. This program had started in 1810 and continued until 1820.

In August 1812 the last Portuguese and English soldiers left the Canárias and Baleares Islands, the Canárias Islands were turned over to Castela while the Baleares Islands were turned over to Aragão.

In the summer of 1813 the Portuguese government began a program to study the monument to celebrate the deliverance of Portugal from the threat of invasion. Several projects were discussed including an arch of triumph, cathedral or palace. In November 1813 the noted Portuguese Architect Carlos Luís Ferreira da Cruz Amarante proposed the “Cristo Rei” statue. The Christ King statue would be over 360 feet high and would face the city of Lisboa.

The uniqueness and grandeur of the project appealed to many people and in 1814 gained both the backing of the government and the church. In January 1, 1815 his project was officially approved and work started that same summer but unfortunately Carlos Luís Ferreira da Cruz Amarante would die before his greatest project could be completed.

​

Work on the Cristo Rei from 1816 - 1820​

​

Cristo Rei Monument celebrating the intervention of God in the defeat of Napoleonic France 1807-1812​

 

[Dathi THorfinnsson]

Keep it up, keep it up!

What is the original of your 'Christorei' monument? It seems not to be the Christo redemptor in Rio, which would be the obvious model.

 

[TimeStorm]

Keep it up, keep it up!

What is the original of your 'Christorei' monument? It seems not to be the Christo redemptor in Rio, which would be the obvious model.

I can answer to that (since I live about 5 km from it ):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cristo-Rei

Basically, is the same, built 150 years earlier.

 

[Archangel]

An earlier Cristo-Rei!

 

[Dathi THorfinnsson]

I can answer to that (since I live about 5 km from it ):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cristo-Rei

Basically, is the same, built 150 years earlier.

Thank you..

 

[Lusitania]

Keep it up, keep it up!

What is the original of your 'Christorei' monument? It seems not to be the Christo redemptor in Rio, which would be the obvious model.

Thanks,

There are actually two Christo Rei monuments in the world, the most famous of course is the one in Rio de Janeiro, but there is also a similar one in Portugal.

It ws built after the one in Rio, and faces Lisboa. It is situated in Almada which is just south of Lisboa on the banks of the Tejo Estuary, the pictures are actual ones both from the contruction to finished one.