The hero Don Blas de Lezo y Olavarrieta
BLAS DE LEZO Y OLAVARRIETA (II)
Previously I have said that the British started to celebrate the plight of the Spanish stronghold of Cartagena de Indias….before having positively conquered the place! Yes, although Don Blas de Lezo still had the leg up (no joke intended!) he still was not defeated and, therefore, refused to surrender to the British naval and land forces. Due to a supreme heroism not seen for a long time in world history, the fort keeping the Spanish forces held up the attacks of the invaders and Don Blas could repel wave after wave of constant, unremitting attack on the part of the British.
Corpses piled up in the streets but also a most terrible plague was starting to develop its wings: ailments such as dysentery, malaria and cholera were rampant among the British and so, every day fighting saw weaker and more vulnerable British troops felling like dry wood waiting to be chopped by the axe man. Admiral Vernon ordered another last-ditch assault on the night of the 20 April. Jamaican machete-wielding forces (mostly slaves) were to lead the attack that will soon be repelled by the well-positioned Spanish forces that shot at these irregular troops which were little more than sitting ducks. A Spanish counter-attack ordered by Don Blas de Lezo achieved the death of more than 800 British men, near 1,000 taken prisoner, and Vernon’s ships full of sick and wounded.
Though several assaults will ocntinue during the following days, the British forces were doomed already: nothing could have changed the path of failure in which Vernon’s forces were engulfed by now: sickness everywhere, desertions and, what was worse among two military leaders: ineptitude and inability to reach a common consensus on what tactics to follow to conquest Cartagena. In the wake of this disastrous policy, Admiral Vernon’s ships would set sail and withdraw on the 20 of May to Jamaica. Did he succeed? Well, obviously his expedition was an utter failure and more than 18,000 men would die between tropical sickness and the losses suffered in the hands of a well-positioned Spanish minimal troop that was available to defend the town and its environments.
King George II never allowed the details of such disastrous expeditions be known to his Majesty’s subjects, even though Admiral Vernon would be welcomed home a hero (and he is buried at Westminster Abbey, too!).
Sadly for the Spanish interests, our local hero, Don Blas de Lezo y Olavarrieta would die later in September after being unable to recover from the serious wounds sustained during the Cartagena de Indias’ attack…but the legend of one of Spain’s most unknown military men has already started to be talked about in his native land and, were he an English buccaneer or a brilliant American tactician, it is sure that a lot of flicks would have already been produced telling his story to the wide public. Something to make us think about!
Jesús Lorenzo Vieites
