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Chapter 957: Believers in Scorched Earth

On the eastern bank of the Tamega River.

Junot, the commander of the French Iberian Army, gazed at the small town nestled halfway up the mountainside. He turned his head toward the Spanish officer beside him and asked, "Major Caldes, are you certain the guerrillas haven't left yet?"

The latter nodded emphatically. "Rest assured, my men have been watching them constantly."

"Very well. Same as the old rules then: I will deal with the guerrillas, and you will be responsible for requisitioning the grain."

"Understood, Commander."

Before long, two companies of French infantry marched into the town of Elsut.

After a volley of gunfire rang out, thirty or forty Portuguese men clutching rifles fled from the eastern side of the town.

However, the cannons already positioned on the mountainside immediately began to belch fire at them.

After a dozen men were torn apart by cannonballs, the others lost the courage to resist. They threw down their weapons one after another and surrendered to the encircling French forces.

The town, which had a population of only about eight hundred, was quickly stripped bare.

Junot watched as the Spaniards loaded bags of wheat, sour cheese, and cured meats onto their carts. He signaled to Caldes.

"There are still a few hours before dark. Deliver these supplies to the Marquis of Talavera as quickly as possible."

Indeed, during this period, the Anglo-Portuguese forces had consistently avoided a decisive battle with the Spaniards attacking Porto, choosing instead to hide within their fortresses and defend stubbornly.

At the same time, the supply lines of the Franco-Spanish alliance were frequently raided by British cavalry and Portuguese guerrillas. More than half of their logistical supplies were lost on the road.

Although Spain immediately redirected more supplies toward the Porto front, it was still not enough. At one point, the soldiers of the Talavera Legion could not even be guaranteed two meals a day.

Joseph's original plan had been to lure the enemy deep into their territory, establishing a defensive line near Lagoaça on the Spanish border to fight a war of attrition against the British.

But at present, the Talavera Legion had the enemy in Porto pinned down so tightly they wouldn't come out, showing no signs of collapsing at all.

He couldn't very well order a retreat now; the British would see through a feigned defeat instantly.

Joseph had truly not expected that the famous future Duke of Wellington would be so timid. He hadn't even attempted a probing attack, opting for a total lockdown defense from the very beginning.

Marquis Wellesley was indeed the man who would later become the Duke of Wellington, though he had not yet received that title.

In truth, one could not blame Wellesley for his caution.

The British Empire of historical record had never suffered the heavy blows of the London Gas Streetlight Incident or the Caribbean sugar supply cutoff. Its financial situation had been much better than it was now.

In that history, Britain had sent nearly 20,000 expeditionary troops in the first wave, eventually increasing that number to 35,000. With such a force in hand, Wellesley would certainly have charged straight ahead.

But now, Parliament had only given him 7,000 soldiers. How could he dare to risk an offensive? He was doing well just to hold his ground.

Fortunately, the "live off the land" supply model was a standard training subject for the French army. Junot adapted to the situation, expanding this model to "collect" supplies within a sixty-mile radius of Porto.

Since the British had no intention of taking the initiative, the French troops originally deployed along the Tamega River for ambushes had no battles to fight for the time being. Junot took half his strength to strike at the enemies harassing the supply lines, and after the fight, they would forage for grain on the spot.

As for whether the soldiers requisitioning the grain paid the local residents or how much they paid, that was not Junot's concern. After all, those doing the requisitioning spoke Spanish.

Relying on this method, the Spanish army at the front was barely able to maintain its offensive.

On Joseph's side, he found the current situation acceptable.

Although the Anglo-Portuguese forces, as the defenders, would consume fewer resources, France was consuming almost nothing—the ones besieging Porto were all Spanish troops, and they were eating Portuguese grain.

Madrid had already sent reinforcements twice; the force besieging Porto now numbered 33,000 men.

They could grind like this for several years and see who would run out of steam first.

...

Inside the meeting room of the Porto City Hall.

The Portuguese Minister of War, Miguel Forjaz, shouted at the top of his lungs to be heard over the distant, rumbling roar of the cannons.

"Marquis, the fighting has lasted for nearly two months, but the Franco-Spanish alliance has not fallen into chaos due to a lack of supplies as you predicted."

Wellesley waited until the cannon fire paused before replying calmly.

"That is correct. The enemy continues to launch fierce attacks every day. That is because they are obtaining a steady stream of supplies from Portuguese towns."

"Yes, the Portuguese people are being plundered by the enemy," Forjaz said with a dark expression. "Therefore, the Crown Prince hopes you can report this dire situation to London so that the Prime Minister can dispatch more troops. Only then can we achieve victory."

The Crown Prince he referred to was the Portuguese heir, João Maria José, who was currently the acting ruler of Portugal.

Wellesley shook his head slightly. "No, what we need most right now is not more troops."

In reality, he had applied for reinforcements half a month ago. However, because the Navy had swallowed a massive amount of funding and Parliament was unwilling to increase the financial pressure for Portugal's sake, they had only raised the expeditionary force limit to 10,000 men to appease him.

Even then, the additional 3,000 soldiers had yet to arrive.

Forjaz said anxiously, "But we are nowhere near having enough strength to launch a counter-attack..."

Wellesley raised a hand to cut him off. "The first thing we must do is cut off the enemy's source of logistical supplies."

Forjaz looked at him in surprise. "You seem to be speaking of something impossible."

"No, we can do it," Wellesley declared. "We only need to move the entire population around Porto south of the Douro River and even burn down the nearby towns. Within a month at most, the enemy soldiers will begin to starve."

Forjaz's pupils shrank instantly, and he instinctively shook his head. "No, that is absolutely out of the question..."

Wellesley leaned in close to him and said coldly, "This is the only way to defeat the enemy.

"Please inform the Crown Prince that summer is fast approaching. By then, the ripening wheat will provide the enemy with enough food to last half a year.

"The next time an opportunity arises to starve the enemy's logistics will be next spring. That is, if Porto can even hold out until then."

Forjaz stood frozen on the spot. It took a long time before he managed to speak with difficulty. "I... I will inform His Highness."

Many believed that Alexander I burning Moscow was the first time Napoleon encountered scorched earth tactics. In reality, the Russians at the time were inspired by the Portuguese campaign when they finally made that decision.

The British were the true believers in scorched earth tactics. During the Thirty Years' War, they had employed scorched earth operations extensively, causing severe damage to the European continent.

Wellesley continued, "General William Beresford will complete the training of the mixed formations within two months. At that time, we will seize the moment when the enemy's logistics are severed to launch a grand counter-offensive in one fell swoop!"