Siege of Chaves
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The Siege of Chaves refers to the French siege of Chaves, Portugal in 1808 and the subsequent recapture of the town by Portuguese forces.
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[edit] The French Invasions (1807-1811)
Portugal suffered several invasions by French forces during the turbulent period of the Peninsular War. The northern region of Trás-os-Montes, as all the country, had succumbed to the Napoleonic regency of Junot. As soon as news came of the disembarkation of the English in Portuguese Estremadura, the rebellion broke out. Braganza, and soon after Chaves, proclaimed liberation. The militias and the guerrillas were formed to fight the invader.
Napoleon, worried about what was happening in Spain and upset with the failure of the expedition of his forces, decided to come personally to the Peninsula in whose submission he had invested three hundred thousand men. The English, who had disembarked in 1807 in Galicia under the command of general Moore, did not surpass thirty thousand in number. With his customary mobility Napoleon multiplied himself, divided and destroyed the English and the Spanish in quick and precise blows. He ordered Soult to pursue the English in Galicia. Moore's army was defeated and hounded across the mountains of Lugo; the English general himself was killed during the final combats carried out around the bay of Coruña, where the remnants of his forces re-embarked.
Some months later the same Soult received orders to invade Portugal from the North and expel the English from Portuguese soil. The carrying out of the order was, however, strongly impeded by the winter, which had made the Minho River almost impassable, and by the resistance of Portuguese forces located between Cerveira and Valença. Then general Soult decided to go around the mountainous border of the Upper Minho and make his penetration across the dry border of Trás-os-Montes. His forces numbered around twenty three thousand (among them four thousand on horse) and fifty pieces of artillery. Some of these troops were experienced since they had participated in the battles of Friedland and Austerlitz. The border was crossed on March 7 1808.
[edit] The attack on Chaves
The defence of the border of Tras-os-Montes was in the hands of brigadier Francisco da Silveira (future count of Amarante) whose forces, numbering six thousand men, were concentrated around the stronghold of Chaves. The forts, protected by fifty pieces of artillery, were commanded by lieutenant colonel Pizarro, whose descendants are still prominent in the political life of Chaves. After initial skirmishes near the border, the Portuguese forces retreated to Chaves, and then Silveira ordered the abandonment of the stronghold.
This decision caused great unrest among the militia members and the population. Prudently, the brigadier led his forces south avoiding any risk against the superior forces. But pressured by the people and the militia, lieutenant colonel Pizarro disobeyed orders and accepted the command of the popular forces, preparing to resist the invading forces. Silveira tried to change his mind, even calling a war council to discuss the problem, but he couldn't get a formal decision, especially since the French were now preparing to attack the most northerly fort of São Neutel. Pizarro held his ground and the future count left with his officers to join his forces, who had occupied the highlands south of Chaves.
Soon it was obvious in the stronghold that defence was useless. A few cannon shots were fired, but they recognized that Silveira’s decision to retreat had been the most sensible one. Soult sent a message calling for the surrender of the stronghold, and it was accepted. Chaves surrendered and the French troops marched into the town. Soult, with so many prisoners on his hands, released them, under oath, and tried to recruit five hundred of the line troops, who soon deserted.
[edit] The Portuguese counterattack
Meanwhile the Portuguese forces had left their positions near Vidago and retreated farther south to a low pass between Vila Pouca and Vila Real. Soult, though, had decided to make his way south by way of the Barroso, due west instead of south. He left a small garrison of about one thousand men in Chaves. As soon as Silveira knew that the French army has gone away, he decided to attack Chaves. For some days a French detachment had approached Vila Pouca in an attempt to force the entrenched Portuguese forces to retreat. But soon it was discovered that these forces had gone to Boticas to join up with the main French army which was already on its way west. Soult's army went on to win the First Battle of Porto.
Once again Silveira went down into the Tâmega valley and attacked the Chaves stronghold. The small French garrison tried to resist, but the Portuguese knew the town well and were able to penetrate the walls through an opening called the "Opening of the Butchershops." In the streets there was hand-to-hand combat, and the French, leaving almost three hundred dead, retreated into the São Francisco Fort. Two hundred prisoners fell into the hands of the Portuguese. For four days the fort was bombarded but the French had good artillery and the fort defences had been well built. Finally the final assault was prepared. Before it could be carried out the French surrendered without conditions. Twenty-five officers, 13 surgeons, and about one thousand three hundred soldiers were captured to taken under escort to Vila Real.
This skilful and valiant maneuver by Silveira seriously upset Soult's plans, obliging him to wait, for lack of supply lines, between the Douro and the Vouga. After the Second Battle of Porto, the French army was obliged by Wellesley to retreat quickly to its starting point, the city of Orense in Galicia. In the final phase of this retreat, Silveira was almost able to intercept the French troops near Montealegre. Some of his detachments were even able to see the rearguard crossing the border near the rugged mountains of Larouco. Beresford had come up to Chaves and let the opportunity to destroy the French slip away. Once the danger had passed, Beresford, under the insistence of Silveira, called a court martial for Pizarro. This War Council took place in Lisbon in 1809 and found the reckless lieutenant colonel innocent of the charges.
This successful defeat of the French by the badly equipped Portuguese army gave the town of Chaves an important place in Portuguese history. It, together with the defeat of pro-Royalist forces in 1912, gave Chaves the deserved title of the Heroic City of Chaves (Cidade Heróica de Chaves), the name of many streets and avenues in Portugal.
