Date: Tue, 21 Feb 2017 23:03:10 +1300
From: arthur carkeek <artcart65@gmail.com>
Subject: drummer boy chpt 10

DRUMMER BOY
THE ROAD NORTH
CHAPTER 10
BOOK 2
BY ARTHUR


CONTACT AUTHOR:
artcart65@gmail.com


Estaban stood inside the line of trees with his three cousins as they
watched the town of Villaviciosa below the ridge. What the four cousins saw
below was not good and it gave them pause as they tried to think of a way
to carry out their intended raid.

It appeared that Villaviciosa had become a major hub on the supply and
replacement line to the west and south where the English army was
threatening to make inroads into French held territories.

The road leading into and out of Villaviciosa was now full of Cavalry,
Infantry and supply wagons which were all heading west towards the battle
lines either around Madrid or further east to Salamanca but for Estaban and
his cousins it made little difference; there was little they could do with
their numbers to disrupt the mass of French moving along the roadway.

Estaban had left the three Cavalry troops behind the low ridge he and his
cousins were now standing on; it would give his men a time to rest while he
tried to develop some sort of attack plan. Estaban knew he had the rest of
today and all of tomorrow to find a way to attack the French but he would
have to leave the area by the time his General attacked at Molina whether
he had a target here or not.

For the rest of the day the four cousins hid under the cover of the tree
line and watched the continuous parade of French might move west. It was
late in the afternoon before Estaban began to notice that the French were
moving their troops almost in exactly the same way each time.

The time between one Brigade and another was about an hour and so far all
three that had past their observation point had been made up exactly the
same. At the head of the Brigade were a full company of French Lancers;
next came company after company of Infantry followed closely by both the
guns and supply wagons. Bringing up the rear was another company of French
Chasseurs to protect the rear of the column; if he mounted an attack
against such odds it would be doomed to failure. Estaban had to find
another way; he had no intention of letting his General down on the overall
master plan they had worked out together.

An hour before dusk Estaban and his cousins saw the fourth column appear on
the road but, as they drew closer to Villaviciosa they slowed their
advance. As the four watched from their hiding place, the massed column
below them appeared to be making ready to make camp for the night. For as
far as they could see to the rear of this latest column there was no
further sign of other troops. Could this be something they could build on
and still be able to mount an attack? Estaban called softly to his cousins
and signalled for them to follow him back down the ridge and meet up with
the waiting men, it was time to put his thinking cap on.

During the night Estaban had two men go back to watch the night camp and
return after an hour to report before sending another pair to gather what
information they could. Slowly a plan began to develop as the reports on
the camp came in.

In the early hours of the morning and while most of his men were getting
some sleep, Estaban suddenly realised how he could make a vital attack with
a very high chance of getting away without a single injury. The last report
had come in and it was this that gave him his idea. The French had camped
out in the open but close enough to Villaviciosa to make use of their water
supply, a vital necessity for their horses. What they had not done was set
out night pickets as would have been normal for any army in hostile
territory; it was then Estaban realised that the French must think the land
around them was safely in their own hands and they had no need of night
pickets.

Estaban's main worry was over the notorious reputation of the Chasseurs and
the Lancers; if they were allowed to get mounted then he and his men would
be in grave danger, he had to give more and deeper thought to the plan he
was working on.

All of the next day was spent watching the troop's move past Villaviciosa,
the makeup of the columns had not changed and Estaban began to feel more
secure in the rough plan he and the others had come up with. Estaban waited
for darkness to begin to come down on the camp below before he turned back
to the back of the low ridge; it was time to complete the plan and set his
men where they would do most good.

It was just before midnight when the last watchers returned to where the
others waited for them. After a further discussion Estaban set his
plan. Once again the French had not set pickets and only a very small guard
stood around the horse lines; it was here he planned to cause most of the
trouble.

Estaban looked over his waiting men, after careful consideration he
selected the best men from three different areas of Spain. Estaban knew
they were the best men for the job at hand and would make no mistakes in
what he was about to ask them to do. The twenty men were from Castile,
Andalucia and Seville and were not only excellent men with a knife but
could also move without sound on even the most broken of ground, something
they would not have to deal with on the grassland of the plain below them.

Estaban's plan was simple in its deviousness; the twenty men would make use
of the darkness as the first thin sliver of the new moon shed very little
light. The men were to creep into the horse lines, dispatch the few guards
that were watching over the horses and then cut free the lines. Once the
horses were scattered he would bring in the rest of the mounted men and
create as much havoc for the French camp as they could as they rode through
the middle of the bivouac.

Estaban was hoping that, with the Cavalry set afoot he would have the
advantage and they could cause a lot of damage and destruction before
riding off into the dark and turning for the meeting place with their
General.

As they waited for the signal from the twenty men; which was to be a bird
call, Estaban told every man to recheck their musket and pistol loads and
make ready to mount and charge the camp on his command.

The frontal charge would be made directly into the camp, once the men had
used their muskets they would break to the left and right so that they made
their escape to both the east and the west so they did not have to turn
back and ride through lines they had just attacked; it gave them a better
chance of not being trapped on the return journey to make their escape to
the pass.

The signal came just as the first ten silent men appeared from the darkness
and made for the own horses; the others would scatter the horses once the
attack started in the hope it would create even more confusion. Estaban did
not miss the occasional smile on some of the faces nor did he miss the
dark, wet looking blotches on one or two of the men's jackets, their bloody
work had been done in complete silence and now it was time to repay a
little of the cost of Olivenca.

In the silence of the night only the creaking of leather could be heard as
the three hundred men mounted, once fully seated there was then only the
loud clicking of hammers being pulled to full cock. Estaban looked into the
dark for as far as he could see so that he could make sure his men were all
in two ranks, one behind the other.

His two ranks would give him depth for the attack on a reasonably wide
front and he hoped it would cause a lot of damage; had he not been able to
rid the French of their mounts he would not have been able to charge with
any possibility of success if the Cavalry got mounted.

Estaban could almost feel the tension in the chill night air as he readied
himself for the upcoming fight; he was sure that even their own mounts knew
what was too come as they also snorted and shuffled their hooves as the
time drew closer. Estaban looked to both his right then left and raised his
hand in readiness for the order to charge the camp.

They had quietly led their horses out of the tree line in the dark and were
now assembled on the lower slope of the ridge with just a few yards to the
flat plain, it would give them an added impetus at the start of the charge;
Estaban dropped his hand and the two ranks immediately broke into a fast
trot with only seconds passing before they were at a canter.

With the camp now only a hundred yards away, Estaban cried out as loud as
he could so all his men would hear him.

"CHARGE."

Every rider rose in his saddle to the familiar stance they took when firing
their muskets from horseback. At the same time the thunder of hooves were
heard by the sleeping French, the ten men left at the horse lines cut the
last ropes and began to shout and yell at the tops of their voices and
added a few pistol shots to add to the effect.

For the French who were still trying to pull themselves from their deep
sleep; it seemed as though they were under attack from two sides as the
thunder of the charging men mixed with the chaos and running hooves of
their own horses. Estaban's men hit the camp at much the same time as most
of the French were just coming out of their tents to see what was going on;
for many it would be the last thing they ever saw or heard.

At no more than twenty yards from the orderly line of Infantry tents,
Estaban's front rank opened fire with their first barrel; they were ten
yards into the lines before they fired their second barrel and then threw
their muskets over the backs and took out their pistols for the closer work
ahead of them. The second rank followed behind but not wanting to fire into
their own friends ahead of them, used their horses to ride down many of the
tents; a number of which still had Frenchmen inside them.

When the Front rank changed over to pistols they slowed a little to allow
the second and faster moving rank to come through their line and use their
muskets on those still ahead of them. The ten men who had freed the French
Cavalry horses had not wasted any time in jumping to mount some of those
same horses and use them to leave the now empty horse lines and to keep
pushing the freed horse's well way from the camp and the cavalry.

The dark night became a scene of thundering horses and fast volleys of
Muskets that were soon interspersed with the lighter pistol shots and
screams of wounded and frightened men. The dark clad riders were hard to
discern for the French and most looked like dark spectres as they rode
their hard charging horses through the middle of the camp and laid waste to
whatever appeared in front of them.

For the French it was like a nightmare that never ended, not only were they
caught in their sleep with no warning but they all had empty muskets and no
time to load so they could return fire; the raiders were well through the
camp before even the first soldier had loaded his musket only to find he
had only a dark, fast moving shadow as a target.

As Estaban led the first rank to the right with Pablo leading the second
rank to the left, they left behind chaos and destruction, the thunder of
their hooves did not drown out the screams of the wounded or the shouting
of the French Officers as they tried to bring some semblance of order back
into their troops.

With Pablo leading the second rank out wide to circle around and once again
meet up with Estaban to the north of the camp, the noise and confusion
behind them gave them a sense of accomplishment and some little way to
repaying the losses at Olivenca. Estaban and his men would never know the
cost of their raid to the French but the report that went off to Marshal
Soult had details of seventy nine men killed and one hundred and eleven
wounded; it failed to mention the number of tents lost or the fact their
prize cavalry was now afoot.

All that was ever found of their attackers were the now familiar small gold
and red flags with a bulls head at the centre; it did not take much
imagination by the French to know who had caused them such trouble.

For Estaban it had been a great success, he and his men had escaped almost
unharmed and only one of his men had been injured, not by French musketry
but by a loose tent peg flying up as the rider rode down the tent and the
men inside. The peg had flown through the air and struck the rider on the
brow which opened a nice cut so that his right eye was blinded by the free
flowing blood. The poor rider was to be the object of many a joke over the
next few days.

It was only an hour before dawn when Estaban and his troops saw the long
column of their General ahead of them and almost at the pass through to the
eastern end of the mountain range that would take them into the southern
plain of Castile. Once the two columns had rejoined it was time to find
their hiding place for the daylight hours; fortunately Lorenco and his
scouts had found them a good hiding place just the other side of the pass.

Once the army had set its camp for the day, Estaban reported to Thomas and
told him all about his own attacks. The success of his Cavalry had Thomas
smiling as he congratulated Estaban on a job well done; that he had got
away without a single death was even better.

The day proved to be hot and humid and the men found places in any shadows
that were available. The supply wagons distributed water from the barrels
carried on the outside of the decks and food was made ready on small cook
fires well hidden at the back of the ravine.

Well before midday and, if one listened carefully they would have heard a
few soft snores coming from the shadows. Only those detailed for guard duty
could be seen moving around the bivouac. Major Morgan had placed his guns
in three ranks facing towards the entrance into the ravine; all his gunners
had settled down close to the guns just in case they were ever needed in a
hurry.

The first shadows of dusk were showing when the army began to stir for the
next leg of their journey. The next leg would be used to get past Somosiera
while still in the dark, they then hoped to find another hiding place just
before San Ildefonso so they would not be caught travelling in the early
dawn light when passing between that town and the nearby Segovia.

They planned to once again hide during the daylight hours and then pass
between the two towns late in the night when there was less chance of
discovery. Lorenco once again would take the van and seek out a daytime
hiding place while the slower Infantry and wagons made their way through
the dark.

The last campsite would be west of the Guadarrama pass with the River
Carrion on one side and the mountains on the other. The final plan was for
the wagons to cross the River Carrion along with all of the Infantry when
the rest of the army turned back east to attack Escorial, they would need
the extra time to make sure they were safely on their way towards Batuecas
when the attack went forward as they were the slowest of all the army
units.

Estaban had given Thomas a new idea on how they may be able to fool any
night time watchers. To this end Estaban explained to Thomas what he had
noticed when spying on the French reinforcements and supply trains. Each
and every supply train that Estaban had watched was formed up the same
way. In the vanguard were a company of Cavalry, next came the Infantry and
supply wagons along with the guns and then as a read guard was another
Cavalry unit.

Estaban suggested they set up their own line of advance in the same way
and, hopefully in the dark of night they would be mistaken for a French
army moving towards the west and a future battle with the English. Thomas
thought over the idea and could find little in it that did not fulfil the
needs for his army to stay safe behind the French lines; he quickly relayed
orders for the new formations.

As the last light faded Lorenco left the day camp and set out to scout well
ahead of the army as he was always wont to do; he would be ahead of them
for most of the night and when he found their next camp site would send
some of his men back to lead the army to it.

With the new orders of march it took a little more time than usual for the
army to assemble but once formed they stepped out at their usual pace, they
had a distance to go before being safe again in their new camp and had to
pass the valley leading to Somosiera before they were seen.

The night march went well and there were no interruptions as they moved
towards their new camp site. There were two more hours to dawn when four of
Lorenco's men found the army on the move and reported where the next camp
was to be. With the number of men and equipment moving in such a long
train, Thomas realised they would be very close to dawn before they made
the camp back in the hills.

With little thought Thomas sent word that the pace was to be increased to
the maximum that the Infantry could travel at; he did not want any of his
men caught out in the open when daylight arrived. In the east the first
faint hint of dawn showed in the sky as the army finally gathered in the
deep ravine. The Infantry were all breathless and sweating heavily as were
all the horses and the rattle of the guns and wagons soon filled the ravine
with their noise; it was a close run thing but at least now they were
safely in hiding for another day.

There would be no cooking fires this time as both San Ildefonso and Segovia
were far too close for comfort, they would have to last the day on the
bread and cheese they had carried with them for just such an
occasion. Before anyone settled down for the day all weapons and equipment
were checked and inspected, now was not the time to let a small thing like
tiredness make them sloppy and cause problems if they were found out during
the day.

Once again Major Morgan had his guns lined up in three ranks and facing the
entrance into the ravine; he would have little pity for any Frenchman that
tried to attack them through the entrance of their temporary home.

The full heat of the day was tempered by the high walls of the ravine; it
was only during the few hours either side of the middle of the day that the
heat struck those hiding there. By late afternoon the shadows had
lengthened and the army of El Toro was getting ready to once again move on
towards their final camp site before attacking Escorial.

The nights march would take them past the Guadarrama pass and end on the
banks of the River Carrion; it was here they hoped to spend the next day
while scouts were sent out to look over Escorial. Escorial was tucked away
in the narrow pass with high ridges on either side, not the most ideal
place to attack but one that should put the fear of encirclement in the
French that were holding Madrid.

The plan of attack would be finalised once Thomas had the reports of the
scouts but his need to have his supplies and Infantry well away from the
fighting took precedence at this stage. The road to Batuecas was not an
easy one and the final climb into the mountains where the town was situated
would be hard on all concerned and they would still have the crossing of
the River Alagon to contend with before the climb up to the town and a
hoped for haven while they waited for the English to take Salamanca.

With dusk descending quickly, Thomas set his formations just as the French
were wont to do; it was the only disguise they would have during the hours
of darkness. Two hours before dawn found Thomas and his army clearing the
banks of the Carrion for their camp site. Less than a half hour away was a
narrow ford that would be just large enough to get the wagons across during
the dark hours of the next night.

The new camp was kept in a tight circle with the heavy guns in an outer
circle around them; there were also the men of Lorenco's scouts further out
as an early warning. It would be very difficult for an enemy to sneak up on
them undetected. Lorenco had sent ten of his men high up on the mountain
side so they would have a better view of their surroundings and to offer an
added measure of protection from discovery.

With the new camp secure, Thomas sat in his small tent and looked over the
detailed maps of the area; even with his lack of local knowledge he could
see that Escorial was not going to be easy.

The rest of the day was spent resting and preparing the wagons to cross the
river in the evening. It was a little deeper than they would have liked but
now they had little option. Thomas did not want his supply wagons or his
Infantry to be caught on the wrong side of the river if the French garrison
at Escorial managed to break out and form a counter attack.

Late in the evening, every man in the camp helped to get the wagons across
the River Carrion and on their way towards their eventual stopping place at
Batuecas; they were put under the command of Major Perrin. Many who had to
leave with the wagons were not happy but Thomas's reasoning could not be
faulted as far as their safety went. For two days Thomas kept his remaining
men in the camp while Lorenco's scouts surveyed Escorial and its environs.

On the morning of the third day, Lorenco's scouts returned with the news
they had been waiting for. With little time wasted the five scouts began to
give their reports and slowly a plan began to develop in the minds of
Thomas's Officers. The narrowness of the pass would limit the numbers that
could be used in a counter attack but the French were reported to have some
six or seven hundred troops in their garrison, including Cavalry.

To Thomas's way of thinking it was obvious the French in Madrid well knew
this pass was a vital part of their defences and had garrisoned it with
sufficient numbers to make it difficult to make any sort of advance on
Madrid.

The narrowness of the pass would not allow Major Morgan to use all his guns
as they normally would have but he soon came up with a way to make the best
use of what he had. As usual for such a well defended place, Thomas had no
intent to charge into their midst; once again his guns would wreck havoc
and then retire with the three troops of Cavalry protecting their rear.

Major Morgan would only be able to use fifteen of his guns in line in the
narrow confines of the pass; even then he would only have little more than
a yard and a half between each gun. His range would be at maximum of around
eleven hundred yards which would give him plenty of time to fire a number
of barrages before having to pull his guns back to safety. To make use of
all his guns, Major Morgan proposed that the fourth battery would position
themselves a further two hundred yards back and load only canister; two
hundred yards behind them would be the fifth battery of rockets.

As the fifth battery could break down their rockets faster, they would be
the last line of defence as the guns pulled out and Estaban's Cavalry would
then act as the final rear guard against what they assumed would be French
Cavalry once the pursuit happened; that there would be a pursuit there was
little doubt, even if the French only had a few Cavalry left they would
still come after the notorious El Toro.

The scouts had reported one thing that made Thomas sigh with relief, in the
town of Escorial there were now no more civilians; it appeared that, as the
town was a vital link to protecting Madrid it had been cleared of all the
civilians by the French forces. Thomas surmised that now he would not have
to worry about killing any innocents, anything that moved in the town was
the enemy.

It was two hours before dawn on the 12th of June when Thomas watched Major
Morgan sight his guns on the faint outline of the town ahead of them; the
distance was just under eleven hundred yards and each gun had been raised
almost to its maximum and would stay that way during the entire
barrage. Once again Major Morgan had his horses closer than normal as he
wanted his guns on the retreat well before they could be attacked by the
town's defenders.

Thomas sat his horse with Carmelo and Estaban beside him, his personal
guard was standing close by and on full alert; they were not going to allow
another Olivenca if they had anything to do with it. The small group of
Officers was positioned back beside the fourth battery but still had a
clear view of the sleeping town in the distance and were now only waiting
for Major Morgan to give the first fire orders.

In the faint light Thomas and his friends could just barely make out the
small picket fires of the night guards and he was well aware the French had
at least six two gun batteries facing their way. Major Morgan was hoping to
cut down the number of guns with his first two barrages; he did not fancy a
contest with guns that may well have been sighted in for some time even
though the range was at the extreme.

It was not long before Thomas and the others heard the loud voice of Major
Morgan in the still morning air.

"All guns will fire broadside then fire independently...FIRE."

In the grey dawn light the sudden flash and loud rolling thunder of the
fifteen guns filled the pass of Guadarrama as it echoed and bounced between
the high cliff sides; for those in the town of Escorial it must have seemed
like the end of the earth had come as the roar of the guns woke them from
their night's sleep.

While the gun crews went into action to reload their smoking guns with more
powder and shot, Major Morgan watched for the fall of shot while his
gunners worked furiously in front of him. After watching the fall of the
first shots; Major Morgan called loudly before the independent fire took
over.

"All guns down a quarter; two rounds and up full."

The first fall of shot had landed well inside the sleeping town and Major
Morgan wanted a little more destruction on the outer limits to reduce any
chance of the defensive guns returning fire once their crews had assembled.

From those last orders there was little time for more as the guns began to
fire independently in what was to become an almost continuous barrage of
shot. Thomas and his friends watched as the front of the town became
nothing more than a scene of erupting earth mixed with what appeared to be
metal gun parts. The haze of dust and smoke soon hid the outer environs of
the town as the gunners tried valiantly to outdo each other in reloading
faster than any others.

The fourth barrage had been sent on its way well before there was even the
tiniest of movement from those holding the town; the surprise had been
total and the defenders were battered by sound and shot mixed with a thick
shroud of dust thrown high into the morning air.

The guns continued to fire at will and, with no answering fire from the
town they continued to pound the undefended troops and buildings. For a
good ten minutes the guns had it all their own way as the French tried to
gather their wits and find a way to stop the slaughter and destruction.

It was a further five minutes of pounding fire before the French started to
respond to the early morning attack. Somehow a few of the French gunners
had managed to get to the remaining guns outside the town. Although only
two French guns could be sighted, it was enough to cause some concern for
Major Morgan. Amid the crashing of his own guns Major Morgan yelled at the
top of his voice.

"Number one battery down a half and sight the guns. Fire at will."

The two remaining French guns had already fired their first shots but both
landed some fifty yards short. As the dust settled and the French gunners
worked furiously to reload, Major Morgans 1st Battery went into action; the
five shots falling close enough to cause concern but did not disable the
French guns. It was now a race by both gun crews to get their next and
better aimed shots off before the other could take the advantage.

It had to be the years of working the guns on board a wallowing ship that
gave Major Morgans gunners the slight edge as they fired their battery only
seconds before the French could get theirs back into action. The five guns
of the 1st Battery sent their shot screaming towards the French guns just
as the French Officer was about to call the fire order. It was never to be
as five great gouts of flying earth and rock flew into the air around and
on the two solitary guns.

When the dust and smoke cleared there was little to see but the two broken
chassis of the French guns; their barrels lying broken on what was left of
their carriages and the ground around them was strewn with the bodies of
the gunners; Major Morgan was quick to call orders.

"Number one Battery return to main target."

Thomas could now see the town clearly in the early morning light as the
dawn brightened with the hint of the morning sun in the east. The town was
now becoming hard to see as the dust and smoke filled the air above; Major
Morgan's gunners were now almost firing blindly into the target, the
narrowness of the pass had been to their advantage and they had used it
well.

From his position at the rear of the main gun line Thomas could see more
clearly than Major Morgan and it was this fact that gave him the first
warning of the French beginning to organise. Through the thick and cloying
dust and smoke of the town, Thomas could now make out the French Infantry
beginning to assemble at the edge of the town for an advance on his guns;
it was time to pull back.

Thomas reached for one of his pistols and aimed it into the morning air
then pulled the trigger. Even Major Morgan heard the smaller sound of the
Pistol above the heavy thunder of his guns; it was the prearranged signal
for him to withdraw his guns.

Major Morgan quickly reached into his jacket pocket and withdrew his
boatswains whistle; a long loud blast on the whistle soon caught the
attention of the gunners and, those who were still in the act of reloading
continued and then fired as the sound of horses were heard above the
explosions.

Major Morgan looked through the heavy pall of gun smoke and could just make
out the assembling Infantry but it was not them that he grew concerned
over; it was the build up of Cavalry that lent urgency to the retirement of
the guns.

Lieutenant Kent commanded the 4th Battery had heard the high pitched
whistle; it was now his time to take over. Lieutenant Kent went down the
line of his five gun Battery and checked with each Master Gunner to make
sure they were all loaded with canister. The maximum range for canister was
nine hundred yards and he would have to wait until the Cavalry were within
range before he could open fire; it was hoped by then that the first three
Batteries would be well on their way to their rear.

Thomas and his friends watched as the Cavalry formed up behind the long
ranks of French Infantry, Major Morgan now had his guns almost hooked up
and ready to retire, they should be well away before the Cavalry could come
close enough to cause any trouble.

The French Cavalry was made up of a mixture of heavy Chasseurs and the
lighter Lancers; it was obvious they had been mashed together in urgency by
the French command. Thomas estimated there were some one hundred and fifty
or more of the Cavalry; it would be up to the 4th Battery to cut down those
odds and then the 5th Battery to cause as much confusion in the Cavalry
ranks while the 4th retired to safety.

Estaban left Thomas's side to return to his three troops of Cavalry, they
would be the final line of defence should the French Cavalry break through
and follow the retiring guns; it would all have to depended on timing as
they could easily end up in a running fight if they also allowed the French
Infantry to advance closely behind the Cavalry.

Five minutes after the long, loud blast on the boatswains whistle and the
three Batteries were on the move rearward. In the distance the French
Cavalry had now formed up in ranks for the charge and were even now
beginning to advance at the walk towards the gun positions in close
formation. At the front were the lighter Lancers with the heavier Chasseurs
close behind, they would be the main thrust into the gun positions once the
Lancers had cleared any guards around the guns.

Major Morgan had used his gun sight to range nine hundred yards for
Lieutenant Kent, all the young Lieutenant had to do now was wait for the
French Cavalry to reach the pile of rocks that marked his maximum range and
then open fire. He would lower his guns a half turn at each firing until
ordered to retire himself and his guns. As he was placed two hundred yards
behind the other three Batteries he had plenty of time to watch the French
Cavalries formation and adjust his guns to suit.

Major Morgan's guns were now well behind the lines as the French Cavalry
broke into a fast trot in preparation to building for the final charge; as
they passed the pile of rocks that signified the nine hundred yards,
Lieutenant Kent called his fire orders.

"4th Battery, by barrage...Fire."

The five guns opened up with a loud roar and sent their deadly canisters
soaring into the morning air; as the projectiles flew towards the
unsuspecting Cavalry, Lieutenant Kent's gunners worked at speed to reload
and lower their guns a half turn. Thomas had been told to retire behind the
fifth Battery by Carmelo and his personal guards made sure their charge did
as was suggested. There was not going to be another Olivenca under their
watch even though Thomas felt he was quite safe behind the Lieutenants
guns.

As Thomas slowed near the 5th Battery so he could turn and watch the
effects of the canister on the French Cavalry, he could just hear above the
roar of the 4th Battery guns the first three Batteries riding off to
safety; he could not resist the sigh of satisfaction as his main guns
escaped; so far the plan was working.

The French Cavalry was not expecting the sound of bursts above their heads
but the effects of the canister shot took immediate effect on their well
ordered ranks; the order was passed to rise to the canter, they still had
some distance to go before they could attack the five guns they could now
see ahead of them; the sooner they covered that distance the better they
would all be.

As the Cavalry rode through the first barrage of canister they broke into a
fast canter with the Lancer's lowering their long lances in preparation for
the final charge into the five guns in the distance. The second barrage of
canister exploded with violence right above the fast moving Cavalry and
tore holes in their smart ranks and caused many of the horses to rear back
or try to escape from the thundering explosions above their heads along
with the deadly rain of hot pellets of metal that showered down on them.

With the ranks broken it took the French Officers a little time to call the
Cavalry back to order and continue with their advance; it also allowed
Lieutenant Kent's gunners a few extra seconds to reload and re-sight their
guns.

The Cavalry was now only five hundred yards away when the young Lieutenant
ordered the last Barrage and then called for the guns to retire, it would
be the signal for the 5th Battery to make ready their rockets which they
had positioned some two hundred yards further back; the final line of
defence were Estaban's three musket wielding Cavalry troops.

Once again Thomas was told to move back by Carmelo, again against his will
but none of his friends would let him argue the point and his personal
guards were all in full agreement. Thomas turned and rode his horse back to
where Estaban had his first Troop waiting ready, their muskets now in hand
as they sat their horses patiently waiting for their turn at the French.

The French Cavalry was now showing large holes in their broken ranks; there
was now little order and the Lancers were mixed in among the Chasseurs as
the few remaining Officers tried to get some semblance of order for a final
charge at the five guns which they could now see were beginning to retire
from their position.

As the five guns ran for safety, the Officer's called for a charge in the
hope they could still catch the retreating guns on their faster horses even
though the guns were retreating at what some might consider break neck
speed.

As the broken ranks started to come to the gallop the air around them was
suddenly filled with whooshing rockets that exploded and sent showers of
small flaming pellets into their midst. There was little let up in the
rockets as they could be reloaded far faster than the guns, for the French
it was another worrisome act that they had not been prepared for but the
Officers urged their men onward even though their numbers were now
considerably reduced.

Thomas saw the broken ranks of Cavalry trying to reform their lines, their
galloping charge had been temporarily broken but they were not about to
give up on destroying the guns that had wrecked havoc in the early light of
day.

Lieutenant Wright urged his men to work faster as they reset the rocket
frames, there was just time enough for one more salvo of thirty two rockets
before they would also pack up and run for safety; it would then be up to
Estaban and his musket Cavalry to delay any pursuit for as long as
possible. Once again Thomas was more or less ordered to retire with the 5th
Battery while Estaban set his lines and once again Thomas was not happy
about being sent away when his men were about to come into danger but he
had to comply and turned his horse to follow the track left by the 4th
Battery.

The French Cavalry had been cut to pieces by the devastating and continuous
fire of the guns. Estaban now estimated their numbers to be less than
ninety and there was little order in their ranks as the Officers tried to
organise a final attempt to capture or destroy the fast retiring guns; as
yet they had not seen the waiting Cavalry who had taken a position just
around the last bend of the pass and out of full sight of the French.

Estaban had positioned himself close to the bend where he could keep an eye
on the demoralised French Cavalry, there was no sign of the Infantry and
for that he was thankful, he did not want to have to fight a combined force
of Infantry and Cavalry in the narrow confines of the pass.

Estaban finally caught sight of the remains of the Cavalry; they had
reformed their ranks and were now coming towards where Estaban and his 1st
troop waited for them. At approximately one hundred yards, Estaban called
his men of the 1st troop to form ranks across the road of the pass and
prepare to fire in volleys. The 1st troop was in three ranks and would fire
both barrels each before retiring behind the others and making a run for
safety behind the other two troops that waited further back along the pass.

The other two troops were placed further back and would have their turn as
each troop retired; Estaban was the only one that would stay to the last
and retreat only when the last rank of number three troop had fired their
muskets.

As the French Cavalry drew closer, Estaban made one final check on his
weaponry especially the thick leather cuff with the sharp spike where his
right hand had once been. All his pistols were loaded and ready as was his
musket. It had take weeks of practice for Estaban to learn to fire with his
left hand, the barrel of his musket was rested on top of his right forearm
for ease of aiming and he had had to change to a shorter musket because he
was unable to hold it in the conventional manner to stop the recoil.

Estaban could almost see the startled looks on the faces of the fast
trotting Cavalry as they saw number 3 troop lined in ranks across the pass;
as the Officer was about to call for the charge at less than sixty yards;
the first rank of men dressed in black fired off their volleys from both
barrels and then withdrew before the French could react; the second rank
taking the place of the first and continued with more devastating volley
fire.

The surprised French had little chance and men began to fall from their
saddles with regularity as the mounted musketeers took their toll on their
ranks. Once the third rank of the troops turned and rode off at haste the
French tried to work out what had just happened, all they could do was look
at their losses and wonder what or who they were meant to be fighting.

At every turn the French Cavalry had been beaten and now they were unsure
if they should proceed to chase after the guns that had now long
disappeared; it was decided by the last remaining Officer that the French
Cavalry was not going to be humbled by such unorthodox tactics, they would
continue to ride after the invaders regardless of how many of them were
left.

The last Officer led his remaining men on a charge after the fast retiring
riders; as they came around the final bend before the open plains at the
head of the Guadarrama pass he was struck with sight that could make the
blood run cold. Lined across the entrance to the valley was a mass of
musket wielding Cavalry; waving his hand in urgency the Officer tried to
turn the men back the way they had come.

What waited he and his men was a Cavalry force that must have outnumbered
his last fifty odd men by at least five to one; ahead of them it was a like
a solid black wall mounted on some of the finest horses the Officer had
ever seen; and on the back of each horse was a rider with a musket aimed
right at his few last survivors; it was once again a no win situation.

The Officer did his best to call off the charge but even at the last moment
he knew it was all far too late; the resounding echo of hundreds of muskets
was only diminished by the torrent of lead balls that flew unerringly into
the charging Cavalry. Horses and men fell as though a scythe had cut
through them in one devastating slice and his once proud troop of Lancers
and Chasseurs seemed to disappear before his very eyes.

The second volley only went to cut his men down even further and, for those
who survived there was little chance unless they turned their mounts and
retreated as best they could. It was a sorry small column that retreated
from the battle of Guadarrama pass; never had the French Cavalry been
assaulted by such a force and their losses would be numbered at over a
hundred and thirty. Only sixteen Cavalrymen and one wounded Officer made it
back to Escorial to make their report; of the attackers they found no
evidence of even wounding a single one but the fact of actually seeing the
black uniforms soon told the French who they had been up against.

There was now little doubt that the infamous El Toro was alive and active
once more. There were many disturbed sleeps that night as word went around
about whom they had been trying to face off with; it would only go to grow
the legend of the rebel that could not be killed and would set fear into
many a young Frenchman when told the Rebel leader was in their area.

Estaban watched the remnants of the French charge struggling to retreat, it
was not compassion that made him call for his men not to pursue the French
but a need to return to their Patron; Olivenca had been somewhat revenged
but there was still a long way to go before any of them would consider the
debt paid in full.

Estaban led his men from the pass in pursuit of his Patron; there was now a
need for the army of El Toro to rest well before they would once again go
into the field against their hated enemy. Batuecas was nearly two days away
with two river crossings and he did not want his Patron to be left without
his and his men's services for too much longer.

Estaban caught up to Thomas and the fast moving guns within five hours of
hard riding. It was as the last gun was forced across the River Tormes that
Estaban and his tired and sweaty Cavalry came into sight of the others. It
did not surprise Estaban that Thomas was still on the eastern bank of the
River watching that his men crossed first in safety before he looked to his
own welfare.

Thomas had turned as soon as he heard the sound of galloping hooves behind
him; he smiled as he saw the torrent of black clad riders coming hard
towards him, he had little doubt that Estaban would bring his men home
without any pursuit from the French.

When all the army was once again together, Thomas called for the next leg
of their journey to Batuecas to continue. They could now move at a slower
pace and with a certain amount of security as they were almost within reach
of the English lines to their west; it was time for rest and recovery while
they set to work on what they could do next to help the war effort.

As there was no longer a need to move during the hours of darkness, Thomas
pushed the men to the banks of the River Alagon and sent his scouts forward
to find an easy crossing; it was estimated that within another day or so
they should be making contact with the others that had gone on ahead and
all of them could finally settle into a camp around the environs of
Batuecas for a well earned rest.

By the 16th of June the army of El Toro was in camp just outside Batuecas;
for the last full day they had had no trouble let alone even seen any sign
of the French. Thomas had sent out fast mounted patrols of six men in the
direction of Salamanca to keep watch for the English advance which he had
been told would come soon; he did not have long to wait.

That same day one of the patrols returned with the news that the English
were moving towards Salamanca in force and that there appeared to be only
one French army in the vicinity, that of General Marmont. On the 17th of
June, it appeared that Wellington entered Salamanca unopposed. The French
seemed to have kept their distance and only shadowed the English army
looking for an advantage before attacking the well drilled force.

While Thomas no longer felt much in the way of duty to the English army
itself; he still had his duty to his new homeland and that meant he still
had to take his war to the French whenever the chance arose, this was one
of those times.

Thomas called his Officers to his small tent and they began to look for
ways to slow the French and cause as much trouble behind their lines as
they could; there was also the fact that Wellington also had both Spanish
and Portuguese troops under his command.

At this stage Thomas was not aware that Marshal Beresford had been recalled
to England under the pretext his skills with organisation were sorely
needed and that now Wellington was in full command of all English forces on
the Peninsular. Had Thomas been aware of this he just may have considered
working closer with the Viscount.

Thomas never found out how much influence had been used in England to get
Beresford out of the battle lines and that his old friend Percy had had far
more to do with it than anybody would ever know. It was to be a few years
before Thomas was to meet a member of the English House of Lords and get
the full story over a few glasses of the finest Oporto wine that Thomas
could produce.

The people of Batuecas were only too glad to have their hero El Toro in
their midst and went to great lengths to help in any way they could. The
goat-herders would take Thomas's small patrols over unknown tracks through
the mountains to gain a better sight of what was going on down on the
Salamanca plains while the town's hunters helped to keep the army supplied
with fresh game and meats.

At any one time Thomas had more than ten patrols out watching the goings on
of the two armies as he developed new plans to disrupt the French. It
appeared that both armies were not yet ready to commit themselves to battle
as Thomas and his men watched them shadow each other over the plains. There
were small skirmishes between the French and English patrols but as yet the
full armies had not been called to action on a larger scale.

When Thomas had a better understanding of what was going on, he began to
lay plans for his own interventions. His final plans were to use the night
and as much as possible disrupt the French sleeping hours; it was just the
sort of fighting his men preferred.

As yet Thomas could see no way to use his guns so most of the night attacks
were performed by his Infantry and mounted troops. As an added disruption,
Thomas allowed Lorenco to use his sharpshooters during the hours of
daylight; their ability to stay well hidden and snipe at the French troops
almost with impunity went a long way to making for some very nervous
soldiers in the French lines.

While the numbers of the French losses were not high overall; it was the
continual small raids that caused the most concern in the French
camps. That they were under attack by the infamous rebel El Toro there was
little doubt; the small flags left behind by the raiders told the French
all they needed to know. For the ordinary soldier in the French army it was
almost a nightmare; none ever knew if their turn on guard picket would be
their last.

It was not uncommon for a whole picket guard to be found lying dead in the
morning or at the change of the guard and yet not a sound was ever heard or
an alarm raised; only the bloody mess of slit throats told the story when
the guard was eventually found. During the day as the French marched to
shadow the English army they came under continual fire from well hidden
positions by sharpshooters. For the French troops the shooters were very
rarely seen and the chance to return fire and actually kill the hiding
shooters was out of the question.

It was becoming a war of attrition and the French were losing on that front
when it came to using conventional tactics against a small, fast and mobile
force like the one Ell Toro used. The war on the peninsular had now become
a war of nerves and cunning and the French were once again losing it.

Thomas had been watching the manoeuvrings of the two armies below on the
plains from his position on the heights of Batuecas, he spent many days
following almost hidden tracks led by the hunters of Batuecas so he could
get a better overview; many times he was away from the camp for days which
made his friends very nervous; especially as he would sometimes go out all
on his own and without his personal guard.

For the following weeks Thomas kept up the small guerrilla attacks on the
French and the effects could easily be seen whenever the time for bivouac
arrived; at this time the French soldiers could be seen to become very
nervous and extra alert.

Thomas was not really interested in what the English were doing but he was
concerned at where and what the Portuguese and Spanish forces were doing;
they were now his concern and; when it came to the real battle, as he knew
it eventually would; Thomas wanted to be in a position to help them as much
as he could.

Each day the movements of the two great armies were marked on Smithson's
excellent maps and eventually Thomas was able to work out a form of pattern
that could be to his advantage when the time for the real battle arrived.

Viscount Wellington was not surprised to learn through his patrols that his
onetime Drummer Boy was in the field and close by even though he had had no
contact with the boy. Many was the time when he was given a report from one
of his many patrols that they had been rescued from a French ambush or
sudden skirmish by the black clad forces of El Toro.

For Viscount Wellington it was even more of a wonder that the young General
had not made any attempt to contact him so they could co-ordinate their
attacks or harassments of the French army; he was never to learn the why of
it but it did raise his ire to know the ex-drummer boy still preferred to
do it all his own way without the supervision of far more experienced
Officers.

On the 21st of July it appeared to Thomas that the French under Marshal
Marmont were attempting to out flank the Viscount's forces; Thomas prepared
his men for what he thought was too come. The 22nd of July was to prove to
be one of the defining moments of the peninsular war and Thomas, along with
his little army was to play a part that few expected.



TBC.