By the time Moore became aware of the French attack most of the British artillery and virtually all of their cavalry had been loaded on the transports. Nearly all of his infantry was still ashore, expecting to be embarked that day. "The soldiers lay scattered about, weary and dispirited, ragged in their dress ... Muskets were piled in pyramids along the ridge amongst the men who were stretched on the ground fast asleep, not in any precise order." [2]

When the French cannonade began the entire force "snatched up their arms and formed themselves with as much regularity as if they had been exercising themselves in Hyde Park." [3]

Morale was now high on both sides. The French were anxious to come to grips with the army they had pursued across some of the worst terrain in northern Spain, and they could not help but notice their distinct advantage in artillery. The British infantry was anxious to prove themselves as an army after being so long denied the right.

The terrain around Corunna is cut by a multitude of small ravines and streams interspersed with rolling hills. The British infantry was spread out in a line on a low hill some distance south of the port itself. The British left flank was anchored on the Mero River and the right on the village of Elvina. Two divisions, the Reserve division and Frazer's division, were some distance north and west of the line and possibly were in preparation to board the transports. There was only one major road through the battlefield, crossing both the British and French lines. On the road behind the British was the town of Oza and then the port of Corunna. Corunna was on a peninsula, well back from the battle.

The French forces advanced in a wide arc extending from the Mero River to markedly beyond the British right at Elvina. As a consequence, while the British line was engaged along its entire length (with particularly intense fighting for Elvina itself), the French left was able to advance virtually unopposed.

This created a potentially disastrous situation for Moore's army, as the French left could assist in the struggle for Elvina, roll up the British line, or even cut the road behind the British, preventing any withdrawal to Corunna. At this point, Sir Edward Paget led the Reserve division against the advancing French left. Paget was facing a force slightly superior to him in infantry and the bulk of the French cavalry.

However, Paget's division managed to push back the French. Frazer's division arrived in time to stiffen the Reserve division, and the battle's focus shifted back to the fight for the village until darkness ended the conflict. During the night Soult pulled back his battered army and the British embarked without interference the next day. A few days later they landed in England, ragged, weary, but unbeaten. Sir John Moore died of wounds received from a cannonball during the battle, but he lived long enough to know that his army had held.

If Soult had succeeded in defeating this first British expedition to the lbeian peninsula, it is possible that no further expeditions would have been sent. In fact, the ragged and starving condition of the army as landed in England gave rise to rumors that it had suffered a great defeat; these rumors alone caused a crisis in Parliament that almost resulted in a change of leadership.

Without the British presence, Portugal would probably have never been freed and perhaps Spain would not had been such a drain on French resources. The effects of another fifty to one hundred thousand veterans in the battles of 1812 are incalculable.

More Corunna

Introduction and Strategic Situation
The Battle of Corunna
The Corunna Scenario