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Andy Barnes
Spanish troops have
held a surprise attack from French forces during the fading light of dusk
today.The attack by the French caught a British supporting brigade totally
by surprise and forced the British troops to retire with heavy
casualties.Spanish forces however stood their ground in an unusual show of
bravery.Night has now fallen over the battlefield of Talavera and all is
quiet apart from pickets taking pot shots at each other.
Manuel lay on his back,his head resting on his back pack.He drew heavily
on his claypipe inhaling the smoke into his lungs and then blowing it out
to form rings of white smoke which floated gently heavenward.
His body ached from the previous 2 hours fighting.
He had fired and loaded his musket as he had been taught by the English
drill instructors.He had loaded and fired until his hands were bloody,his
cheekbone bruised and swollen from the recoil of his musket.This had been
his first combat and his regiment had stood their ground fearlessly.He was
proud of himself and his comrades.They had shown the dreaded French that
they could fight and kill.
In the distant darkness the odd sound of gunfire split the darkness and
silence.Pickets patroling the front.
The man next to him lay snoring peacefully.
"You should get some sleep Manuel " said the company sargeant
Lorenzo."The Frenchies will be back at dawn soon enough ".
" Yes sargeant ill finish my smoke and get my head down"replied
Manuel.
"Sargeant?" asked Manuel "Yes son what is it?"
"We did well today didnt we Sargeant?
"Aye my boy we did well,that we did" was the kind reply.
Lorenzo knew tommorow would be different.Tommorow
these young farmers boys would be facing "Les Belle Filles" The
guns of the French.He wondered if the men would hold their ground under
the terrifying canonade.
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Patric Strijbis
Adrien kept a close
watch on Chris and Louis as they moved forward through the shrubbery. Just
like he had learned to do when they patrolled the night. He knew his life
depended on it. Left and right and even in front of them was loads of
musketfire and shouting. Afraid as they were of getting shot by their own
comrads or a trap by the enemy, the three men moved even closer to
eachother. Another volly thundered, now to the left and within a second
they could hear balls whistling past or hitting leaves and branches. More
shouting, now very loud and closeby. More brustling of leaves. And all of
a sudden, like a couple of ghosts doing trackrunning, couple of hunderd
men appeared from the darkness. The three light infantrymen got ready to
fire, when the familiar thundering voice of lieutant Marne shouted to hold
fire. One routed soldier almost slammed into Adrien, but ran into a tree
next to him, cursing away. Now random fire came from the front. Adrien
could clearly see the red flicker of gunfire. "Wait 'till they come
to us. Keep still", barked Marne.
"This night is going to last forever", thought Adrien as he
watched his friends taking up positions. He himself set himself by a big
olivetree, spying in the dark untill he began to feel sleepy.
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Andy Barnes
It was the low
snorting noise of a mare that gave away the posistion of the French
cavalry.The British riflemen in their dark green uniforms were almost
invisible in the darkness.The two man team moved like wraiths in the night
towards the unsuspecting enemy.
The men slowly and painstakingly crawled into a firing posistion not 50
yards away from the unweary troopers.
One of the men silently took up his firing posistion and waited.The other
observed.Five minutes had passed when that what the men had been waiting
for happened.
In the darkness the spark of a Frenchman trying to get a light for his
pipe from his tinderbox could been seen.
It was the last thing the cavalryman did.The bullet struck him in the
temple on the right side of his head.The man died instantly.All hell broke
loose amongst the cavalry,men shouting in surprise "ALARM"
The second Light infantryman took aim at the shadows darting about before
him.CRACK a second shot rang out in the night,another Frenchman lay dead.
"Get down you stupid imbeciles shouted someone desperately your
sitting ducks.A third shot rang out once more a man died.Then there was
silence,silence and darkness on the battlefield of Talavera...
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Patric Strijbis
They called it "the
game". They knew you where somewhere outthere, and you knew they
where somewhere outthere. It was like hide and seek like you played when
you were a kid. Except getting caught or seen could get you killed.
Adrien, Chris and Louis wouldn't get much sleep this night. Every now and
then same shoot rang out. But mostly it was silent. But Spanish and
English pickets and snipers were out there. As were they, and they also
hunted.
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Andy Barnes
Jose soothed his
spooked horse.He tenderly whispered calming words to the beautiful black
stallion."Quiet my friend there is nothing to be afraid of".The
darkness was black as tar.The troop of Spanish dragoons slowly walked
their horses along the river bank.Their task was to probe the french
lines,Find weak spots in the French defences ready for the dawn counter
attack.
French voices could be heard from the darkness.Across the battlefield the
odd report of a musket and sometimes the distinct crack of a Baker rifle
could be heard as pickets fought their private and intimate little war.Out
of the darkness loomed the ominous shapes of French horsemen."Damn"
cursed Jose " this way is blocked"
The Spaniards would have to find another way around the french.
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Patric Strijbis
"Alarm!!!
Alarm!!!" The French encampment on the small riverbank bank was full
of action after a relative peacefull night. Apperently some Spanish were
spotted, but this was general alarm. GD Milhaud, whiping the sleep from
his eyes, looked stunned at the little ridge above the camp. Totally
ignoring the sleeping French army a couple of hunderd Spanish riders had
taken up position there. Through the brass calls, shouting and men getting
onto horseback, he could hear the sound of fighting coming from by the
river. "What the......???" Now from close to the ridge the
charge was sounded. Milhaud felt disorientated. He should be giving orders,
goddamnit, but he lost control over the situation.
Along the ridge, accompanied by a trampling sound, a dark cloud appeared.
As it moved along, the Spanish riders vanished. French dragoons charged
the ridge under the cover of night.
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Andy Barnes
"What the
devilsbollocks does Generalisimo Cuesta think hes doing Captain
Sanchez" inquired Arthur Wellesley,commander of the allied army in
Spain snidedly.
The Spanish aide looked uneasily at his feet trying to hide his
embarressment.
"Your bloody commander has just wasted valuable Cavalry in a pathetic
despisable and IDIOTIC show of INCOMPETANCE" roared
Wellesley."By my great Aunts hairy arse how am i to hold the French
here when your ILLUSTRIOUS General Cuesta sends men to their deaths in
suicide actions??".Wellesly was in fall rage .Sanchez cringed under
the onslaught of the verbal attack.
"Why me thought Sanchez to himself, why me?
Hundreds of Spanish cavalry had been caught off guard by French
Dragoons.They had tried to surprise the French by out flanking them.It had
failed miserable.
"No more f**king night actions Sanchez! Is that clear?Tell Cuesta
that understand?"
"Si Sir Si" stammered Sanchez.
" No get out of my sight and tell Cuesta to rest his men,tommorow
will be hard enough"
Sanchez opened the flap of the tent and made of into the night.
"God help us tommorow if that Spanish Ponce doesn´t perform"
moaned Wellelsey to himself.
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Patric Strijbis
The French camp came
to rest again as did GB Milhaud.
"Sent out patrols, lots of em. Next time they won't catch us while
we're dreaming of Jeanette"
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Andy Barnes
" Is that tea nearly
ready John me old mate?" ask Private Bagley in a low voice."Im
parched as a Nuns fanny i is Johnny boy" grinned Bagley.
" Patience you uncouth bastard and watch what your saying about nuns
you heathen" replied John ONaulty.ONaulty was a stauch Catholic and
didnt take care to any sort of blasphemy.
"Sorry John ois forgot me manners matey" rplied Bagley and
lifted his buttock releasing a fart nonenchantedly.
" Those French pickets probably just crapped themselves hearing your
fart,probably thought its a new secret weapon of "Noseys"
grinned the Irishman.
"Hee Hee thats a good one John you a clever bugger when it comes to
humour,that you be "replied Bagley
"Heres the tea mate,youve earned it"
"Thanks John you make the best tea in the battalion that you does to
be sure" warmed ONaulty.
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Andy Barnes
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
All quiet on the Spanish front
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Patric Strijbis
French skirmishers
just feeling uneasy.
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Andy Barnes
(Uneasy or QUEASY? Perhaps
your barbarian troops shouldnt have eaten the PAELLA they STOLE from the
poor farmers before they murdered them and f**ked the pigs. Did you send
the turn Pat cos i havent recieved it yet?)
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Patric Strijbis
Please don't wake me....Ow,
don't shake me...Leave me as I am.....
.....I'm only sleeping......
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Patric Strijbis
Tough competition
nowadays....here goes the Dutch guy pretending to write English again....
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Patric Strijbis
Adrien had lost all
track of time. He was cold to the bone and his legs felt numb. From time
to time he nodded away, but not too far to fall solid asleep. The cold and
the night dew which soaked his uniform kept him awake. He couldn't feel
more miserable.
In his year of service he'd been on picket duty more than he would like to
remember. He hated it. Because of his small posture he was detailed to the
legere and sent of to Spain to garrison Madrid. He hated Spain. He hated
the war here. He had seen things and done things even Monsieur Lafralle,
the priest from his small town near Bordeaux, wouldn't forgive. How could
he ever face his parents and Jaqueline when he got home. If he ever got
home.
The French commander woke up to the sound of laughter. Joseph and Jourdan
had trown a little party and were amusing themselves with local
prostitutes and expensive cognac brought from France. Even at this late
hour they were still at it. "No shame that lot", he thought to
himself and started to get himself dressed. On a table in his tent he had
a chart of the Talavera surroundings. He knew it by heart, although he
studied it for a couple of moments. Whatever happend tomorrow, it would be
up to him to direct this battle. His first command of two corps.
The French commander felt miserable. Cold crept through his body and he
felt sick. His throat had been killing him for a couple of days. Probably
something he had picked up from one of the washing ladies. He hated this
war. He hated his superiors. And how on earth could a promising young
French commander make a name for himself here in Spain ? Why wasn't he on
campaigne with the emperor ?
The commander stepped out of his tent. "Fetch my horse, I want to
inspect the troops. Sent for Maj.General Chasse. I want him to accompany
me"
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Andy Barnes
"All quiet
Davis" whispered Lieutenant MacIntyre to the sentry.
"Quiet as a gnats fart Sir" replied Davis.
"Looks like the French are zzzding it Sir"
"Aye but you never know Davis, so be extra vigilent this night son"
warned MacIntyre
"I will sir dont you worry about me Sir"
Along the British lines some men prayed,some cleaned their weapons in
readiness of the dawn.Another hour or so remained.Most men still
slept,some peacefully others fitfully.The quartermaster of a highland
battalion supervised the making of breakfast for his company.
"Make sure ye dinne burn the parridge Mcdonnel ye reprabate mon."
gruffed the old veteran.
" Yer dinne be worrying about the Parridge sir yer doont,ass made
Parridge since i was a bairn that i have Sir" chirped the cheery
highlander in response.
A trooper of the Light Dragoons groomed his horse,talking soothing words
into the ear of the horse to calm the beast .
the first flickers of dawn could be seen far of in the distance.Across the
river on the French side fires were bieng relit ready for cooking and
boiling water for washing the battle of Talavera was nearly ready to
continue.........
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Patric Strijbis
Accompanied by a
troop of chasseurs the French commander and Maj.General Chasse made their
patrol through the quiet French camp. Except for the bakers and cooks, the
French army was sound asleep.
"Still lots of movement is reported in the south. Cuesta is restless",
mumbled Chasse in his thick Dutch accent. The French commander nodded.
"He already pulled some tricks yesterday. The crazy old bastard'll
have some more up his sleeve. Don't worry" The company stood still
for a while and listend to some picketfire in the distance. "Them
Brits never sleep, do they ? How's Maj.General Campbell doing ?"
"He's asleep now", answered chasse, "but that man was
furieus. He was still at it, fighting his guards and trying to escape all
the time. We had to tie him up. Not very honourable, but he gave us no
choice." "I see. I'll check on him later"
The party moved along heading north.
Very gently Adrien placed his gun on a stump of an olivetree and took aim.
A patrol of Spanish riders moved past along the French skirmishlines
unawear of the danger. Lieutenant Marne had signalled they would take a
shot. Adrien waited. And waited. FEU !!! He pulled the trigger and felt
the recoill of his gun against his should. Shouting and the Spanish riders
spurred away, leaving a couple of their dying comrads behind. Nothing
answered the French volly. Adrien ducked away and started to reload.
______________________________________
Andy Barnes
Dawn was about to
break......................
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Patric Strijbis
..............and the
French army got ready for battle.
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Andy Barnes
Diego Maradonut
urinated down the barrel of his musket.He scrubbed out the black cordite
residue left in the barrel after the fighting the previous night.He had
not slept throughout the night,his commander having sent him on
patrol.Diego carefully dried out the barrel with a piece of linen on a
lanyard and ramrod.
He rested his back against an old stone wall,opened his napsack and
removed a piece of chorizo sausage wrapped in muslin.
Diego cut of a large chunk of the aromatic smelling sausage and proceeded
to devour his breakfast.He was ravenously hungry after the long tense
night.His patrol had on several occasions traded fire with their French
adverseries.As dawn broke Diego knew the daylight would be the time for
the line regiments artillery and cavalry.His duties would be to guard the
supply wagons.
He washed the sausage down with a mouthful of sour wine hed plundered from
a dead Frenchman.All around his the Spanish army stirred readying
themselves for battle.
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Patric Strijbis
The French commander
had posted himself on a knoll overseeing the cerro de Melin, on which the
English army awaited the coming day, and commanding the valley before
Talavera, where the Spanish army of Cuesta held their ground. With the
first rays of dawn he could spot some of the Spanish formations. As far as
he could see they were still in the same positions as yesterday evening.
They would deliver battle.
"Ah, commander !!" A group of about twelve men had arrived on
the knoll. Marechal Jourdan descended from his horse. He was still visably
drunk. "Well, there are them Spanish then ? Ragged looking lot,
aren't they. I don't expect much trouble from them. Two canonballs and
they will be running back to their farms." Jourdan thought he'd made
a funny little smart remark and bursted out laughing.
"There is an awfull lot of them, Sir."
"They're peasants commander. They hardly know their own names. Now
don't worry."
The French commander turned his spyglass towards cerro de Medelin. "What
about the English ?"
"The English aren't very found of attacking. Lazy folk. We'll deal
with them swiftly."
The commander and some ADC's frowned.
Jourdan staggered back to his horse and attempted an unsuccesfull mounting.
With help of some officers he got on his horse.
"Let's change uniform", he exclaimed, "this young man wants
a battle and if I get captured I'd better make a good impression on the
shopkeepers."
The first corps artillery was preparing itself for battle when a
lieutenant spotted a band of rifles walking leisurely by the river.
"Looks like we're going to get some practise this morning gentlemen.
If you please..." Guncrews started pointing their pieces towards the
rivers. Trained as they were the guns were loaded in seconds. The rifles
noticed the sounds and movement too late. When the first of them got ready
to fire towards the battery a thunder roared through the morningair. The
riverbank dissapeared in dust.
With the morning the first French attack comes. Along the far right of the
battlefield, French dragoons attacked the Spanish cavalry which pestered
them all night. Now in full exposure in front of the Spanish defences, the
Spanish gunners behind these defences get ready to fire upon the cream of
the French army.
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Andy Barnes
The French cavalry was flayed
by cannister.Men and horses were ripped to shreds by the hot jagged pieces
of metal fired at them by the Spanish guns.On top of that, one volley
after another fired by the Spanish Infantry scythed row after row of
Frenchmen down.
This was a duckshoot!!
The dawn had started how the evening before had ended,BLOODY this was
Talavera,this was hell!
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Patric Strijbis
Colonel Depereux
brought his steaming cup of hot milk to his lips and took a fullfilling
sip. He closed his eyes for a second as he felt the drink warm his cold
and stiff body. He smiled grateful and blew over the edge of the mug,
cooling the milk. In the plain in front of him he could see all sorts of
formations getting ready for battle. Approving he took another sip. But
why were they moving towards him ? What kind of manoeuvre was this ?
Depereux pinched his eyes. What division was this anyway ? He tossed his
mug warm milk away and fetched his spyglass. Those weren't French uniforms......They're
Spanish !!! The bloody Spanish Are Attacking !!!!
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Andy Barnes
Divisonal General
Merlin took a sip of coffee from the battered tin mug ."Aaah thats
good Corporal ,i need my coffee on a morning,gets the brain working
."The general streched his aching arms skyward in an attempt to
relieve the pain in his aching back.Hed been in the saddle nearly all
night,moving from one unit to the other making sure his men were ready for
the new days fighting.It had not started well !The cavalry attacks had
started too early and were repulsed by cannon and Spanish musket
volleys.The French had been surprised!!After the Spanish had takien a
beaten the evening before,the French commander had not expected this
ferocity from the Spanish.To his front a heavy summer morning mist lay
before him it was difficult to see the enemy clearly.Suddenly the ground
around him was churned up by hot iron! Horse and men were hit by cannon
balls from the Spanish guns to his front,now clear to see from the muzzle
flashes through the mist.
The General threw his mug to the ground,a horses head slapped into the
flank of his mount splattering the general with hot blood,panic started to
rise in the veteran ,he quickly surpressed it in a display of iron self
disciplin."Steady men hold your ground"Out of the mist appeared
a battalion of Spaniards,at least 500 men."Merde " gasped the
general.The cavalry unit to his front were ripped to pieces by the deadly
volley.Around him men were falling.Suddenly he was alone among the dead
and dying.He realised that he was alone.The general sat in shock as a
Spanish Cavalry major requested his surrender and sword! "Oui "
replied Merlin in shock.
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Patric Strijbis
It would be humanly
impossible for the jaws of Jourdan, the French commander and Gen. Leval to
drop any lower. To mask his amazement Leval started agressively petting
his horse, Jourdan milled through his cup of coffee like a madman and the
French commander scratched behind his ears as if he was under attack by an
army of flees. "They're attacking", mumbled Jourdan. "Uhuh",
replied the commander and Leval in unison. From their viewpoint they see
could Gen. Sebastiani rushing back and forth between the sleepy French
units. "Someone is taking action", Leval remarked. The true
scene of fighting was clouded by mist and gunsmoke and lay futher towards
the small creek east of Talavera. "Your orders Sir ?" Leval and
the French commander turned towards Jourdan. The Marcheal just shrugged,
"Just stop them ?" Leval and the French commander gave eachother
a telling look and spurred away on their horses; one turning left towards
Talavera, the other towards the action in the east.
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Andy Barnes
All hell had broken
out on the Spanish right flank.The French had launched a savage counter
attack on the young Spanish troops.It had been very successful.Further to
the right French Cavalry had once again launched a furious attack and had
suffered staggering losses.10 French guns had been captured by the heroic
Spaniards.The dawn mists were starting to clear and soon the guns of both
sides would have full view over the battlefield
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Patric Strijbis
Pierre Vinaque ran as
fast as he could. His drum smashed against his legs with every step he
took, but he ignored the pain. Just a couple of minutes ago he was taking
a crap behind some rocks, when he heard voices. Annoyed he had put his
trousers back on untill he realised the voices he heard weren't French. He
spied over the rocks and saw English riders talking merrily with eachother.
With his heart beating in his throat he sprinted back to his battalion.
"The English are coming !!! The English are coming !!!", the boy
shouted, grabbing a stunned soldier bij his jacket. "Overthere, they
are behind us !!!" Marecheal Victor overhearing the commotion turned
his spyglass towards the direction the flushed boy was pointing. "Indeed
they are", he mumbled. "Hardly suprising, with those noices they
make at night. What do those shopkeepers eat ? You can hear them farting
and burping a mile away? Well, so much for all the planning last night
Villatte."
"Gentlemen.....About Face !!!!"
"Charrrrrgeeeeee" Trumpets broke the morning quietness and
hunderds of hoves started battering the still damp Spanish soil. Men were
yelling and cursing, spurring their horses forward. Diego Maradona woke up
from his daydream as did many of his comards. A uneasiness came over the
Spanish battalion. They could feel something was about to happen. Diego,
standing on the outermost place in his rank tried to distinguise something
in the mist. "Ow Madre !!! Caballarias !!!!" From the mist
hunderds of French dragoons appeared. Diego tried to lift his rifle but
was too late. A horse smashed against him, knocking him over. A hove
scrapped his skull. When Diego tried to look up again a second horse ran
him over, smashing his ribs. The poor farmer lost his life without ever
firing a shot. The shock of the charge went like a wave through the
Spanish battalion. The poorly trained soldiers broke rank and fled in all
directions. The French dragoons gave chase, butchering many.
The French attack has stared for real.
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Andy Barnes
(That was a good attack
Pat me old dog.Weldone matey,this battle is going to be hard to hold onto
now. Nice one!)
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...to be continued
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