Anglo-Portuguese Army
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The Anglo-Portuguese Army was the combined British and Portuguese army that participated in the Peninsular War, under the command of Arthur Wellesley. The Army is also referred to as the British-Portuguese Army and, in Portuguese, as the Exército Anglo-Luso or the Exército Anglo-Português.
The Anglo-Portuguese Army was established with the British Army deployed to the Iberian Peninsula under the command of General Arthur Wellesley, and the Portuguese Army rebuilt under the leadership of British General William Beresford and the Portuguese War Secretary Miguel Pereira Forjaz. The new Portuguese battalions were supplied with British equipment, trained to British standards and thoroughly re-organised. Incompetent or corrupt officers were cashiered and appropriate replacements were appointed or promoted from amongst promising Non-commissioned officers.
On 22 April 1809, Wellesley became Commander-in-Chief of the British Army in the Peninsula, replacing General Cradock, whose assessment of the military situation the British government found too pessimistic.[2] At the same time he was appointed by the Portuguese Government as Commander-in-Chief of the Portuguese Army. He then came to have the two armies under his command, transforming them into a single integrated army.
The Army was organised into divisions, most of them including mixed British-Portuguese units. Usually, each one had two British and one Portuguese brigades. In the elite Light Division, the brigades themselves were mixed, each including two British light infantry and one Portuguese Caçadores battalions.
Order of battle[]
The following tables show the order of battle and commanders of the Anglo-Portuguese Army at various stages in the Peninsular War.
July 1809[3] | September 1810[4] | May 1811[5] | September 1811 | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Commander in Chief | Lt Gen Sir Arthur Wellesley | Lt Gen Viscount Wellington | Lt Gen Viscount Wellington | Lt Gen the Earl of Wellington |
Corps Commanders | – | – | Maj Gen Brent Spencer[6] | Maj Gen Rowland Hill[8]
Lt Gen Sir Thomas Graham[9] |
Cavalry | Lt Gen William Payne | -[10] | Maj Gen Stapleton Cotton
Maj Gen Sir William Erskine |
Lt Gen Sir Stapleton Cotton |
1st Division | Maj Gen John Coape Sherbrooke | Maj Gen Brent Spencer | Maj Gen Miles Nightingall | Lt Gen Sir Thomas Graham |
2nd Division | Maj Gen Rowland Hill | Maj Gen Rowland Hill | Maj Gen the Hon William Stewart | Maj Gen the Hon William Stewart |
3rd Division | Maj Gen Alexander Randoll Mackenzie | Maj Gen Thomas Picton | Maj Gen Thomas Picton | Maj Gen Thomas Picton |
4th Division | Brig Gen Alexander Campbell | Maj Gen the Hon Lowry Cole | Maj Gen the Hon Lowry Cole | Maj Gen the Hon Lowry Cole |
5th Division | – | Maj Gen James Leith | Maj Gen Sir William Erskine | Maj Gen James Dunlop |
6th Division | – | – | Maj Gen Alexander Campbell | Maj Gen Alexander Campbell |
7th Division | – | – | Maj Gen William Houston | Maj Gen John Sontag |
Light Division | – | Brig Gen Robert Craufurd | Brig Gen Robert Craufurd | Brig Gen Robert Craufurd |
Portuguese Division | – | Maj Gen John Hamilton | Maj Gen John Hamilton | Maj Gen John Hamilton |
Independent Brigades | – |
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|
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July 1812[12] | June 1813[13] | November 1813[14] | April 1814[15] | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Commander in Chief | Lt Gen the Earl of Wellington | Lt Gen the Marquess of Wellington | Field Marshal the Marquess of Wellington | Field Marshal the Marquess of Wellington |
Corps Commanders | Maj Gen Rowland Hill[16] | Lt Gen Sir Rowland Hill[17]
Lt Gen the Earl of Dalhousie[18] Lt Gen Sir Thomas Graham[19] |
Lt Gen Sir Rowland Hill[20]
Lt Gen the Hon Sir John Hope[21] Maj Gen Charles, Baron von Alten[22] Marshal Sir William Carr Beresford[23] |
Lt Gen Sir Rowland Hill[24]
Lt Gen the Hon Sir John Hope[25] Marshal Sir William Carr Beresford[26] |
Cavalry | Lt Gen Sir Stapleton Cotton | Lt Gen Sir Stapleton Cotton | Lt Gen Sir Stapleton Cotton[27] | Lt Gen Sir Stapleton Cotton |
1st Division | Maj Gen Henry Frederick Campbell | Maj Gen Kenneth Alexander Howard | Maj Gen Kenneth Alexander Howard | Maj Gen Kenneth Alexander Howard[28] |
2nd Division | Maj Gen the Hon William Stewart[29] | Lt Gen the Hon William Stewart | Lt Gen the Hon William Stewart | Lt Gen the Hon William Stewart |
3rd Division | Col the Hon Edward Pakenham | Lt Gen Sir Thomas Picton | Maj Gen the Hon Charles Colville | Lt Gen Sir Thomas Picton |
4th Division | Maj Gen the Hon Lowry Cole | Lt Gen the Hon Sir Lowry Cole | Lt Gen the Hon Sir Lowry Cole | Lt Gen the Hon Sir Lowry Cole |
5th Division | Maj Gen James Leith | Maj Gen John Oswald | Maj Gen Andrew Hay | Maj Gen Andrew Hay[30] |
6th Division | Maj Gen Henry Clinton | Maj Gen Henry Clinton[31] | Lt Gen Sir Henry Clinton | Lt Gen Sir Henry Clinton |
7th Division | Maj Gen John Hope[32] | Lt Gen the Earl of Dalhousie | Maj Gen Carlos Lecor | Maj Gen George Townshend Walker[33] |
Light Division | Maj Gen Charles, Baron von Alten | Maj Gen Charles, Baron von Alten | Maj Gen Charles, Baron von Alten | Maj Gen Charles, Baron von Alten |
Portuguese Division | Maj Gen John Hamilton[34] | Maj Gen Francisco da Silveira | Lt Gen Sir John Hamilton | Maj Gen Carlos Lecor |
Independent Brigades |
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See also[]
- Army of Spain (Peninsular War)
- Lines of Torres Vedras
- King's German Legion
- Anglo-Portuguese Alliance
References[]
- ^ The Portuguese Army of the Napoleonic Wars, By Rene Chartrand, Bill Younghusband, pg16
- ^ Chartrand, Rene (2012). Oldest Allies – Alcantara 1809. Osprey Publishing. p. 53. ISBN 978-1-78096-895-7.
- ^ Battle of Talavera de la Reina
- ^ Battle of Bussaco
- ^ Battles of Fuentes de Oñoro and Albuera
- ^ 1st and 3rd Divisions.
- ^ 2nd, 4th and Portuguese Divisions. The usual commander of this corps, Hill, was on sick leave in England at the time of Albuera.
- ^ 2nd and Portuguese Divisions.
- ^ Graham was second-in-command of the main army, not operating as a distinct corps.
- ^ Only 2 squadrons of the 14th Light Dragoons were present (Glover, p. 375)
- ^ KGL Light Battalions
- ^ Battle of Salamanca
- ^ Battle of Vitoria
- ^ Battles of Pyrenees, Nivelle and Nive
- ^ Battle of Toulouse
- ^ 2nd and Portuguese Divisions.
- ^ 2nd and Portuguese Divisions.
- ^ 3rd and 7th Divisions.
- ^ 1st and 5th Divisions.
- ^ 2nd, 6th and Portuguese Divisions.
- ^ 1st and 5th Divisions.
- ^ Light Division and attached Spaniards.
- ^ 3rd, 4th and 7th Divisions.
- ^ 2nd and Portuguese Divisions.
- ^ 1st and 5th Divisions.
- ^ 4th and 6th Divisions.
- ^ Most of the cavalry was quartered in the rear during the battles in the Pyrenees.
- ^ Not present at Toulouse, besieging Bayonne.
- ^ Not present at Salamanca
- ^ Not present at Toulouse, besieging Bayonne.
- ^ Not present at Vitoria
- ^ Not to be confused with Lt Gen John Hope who commanded a corps in 1813
- ^ Not present at Toulouse, occupying Bordeaux.
- ^ Not present at Salamanca
Bibliography[]
- Bluth, B.J. (2001). Marching with Sharpe. UK: HarperCollins. ISBN 0-00-414537-2.
- Bryant, Arthur (1950). The Age of Elegance: 1812–1822. London: Collins.
- Chandler, David; Beckett, Ian (2003). The Oxford History of the British Army. UK: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-280311-5.
- Chappell, Mike (2004). Wellington's Peninsula Regiments (2): The Light Infantry. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-84176-403-5.
- Fletcher, Ian; Younghusband, William (1994). Wellington's Foot Guards. UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-85532-392-3.
- (1989). Dreams of Empire: Napoleon and the first World War, 1792–1815. Hutchinson. ISBN 0-09-173926-8.
- Glover, Michael (1974). The Peninsular War 1807–1814: A Concise Military History. UK: David & Charles. ISBN 0-7153-6387-5.
- Haythornthwaite, Philip J. (1987). British Infantry of the Napoleonic Wars. London: Arms and Armour Press. ISBN 0-85368-890-7.
- —— (1996). Weapons & Equipment of the Napoleonic Wars. Arms and Armour Press. ISBN 1-85409-495-5.
- Napier, Sir William Francis Patrick (1952). English Battles and Sieges in the Peninsula. London: Chapman & Hall.
- Nofi, Albert A. (1998). The Waterloo Campaign: June 1815. USA: Da Capo Press. ISBN 0-938289-98-5.
- Sumner, Ian; Hook, Richard (2001). British Colours and Standards 1747–1881 (2): Infantry. UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-84176-201-6.
- Venning, Annabel (2005). Following the Drum: The Lives of Army Wives and Daughters Past and Present. London: Headline Publishing. ISBN 0-7553-1258-9.
- Military units and formations established in 1809
- Military units and formations of the Napoleonic Wars
- Military units and formations of the Peninsular War
- British light infantry
- King's German Legion
- Peninsular War
- Portuguese Army