Naturally, young Wellesley wanted to be in it. He wrote to his brother
Richard importuning him to use his influence in this direction. "I
will serve as major to one of the flank corps," he wrote, as his own
regiment was "the last for service." The request was not granted,
however, and he had to wait until the Spring of 1794 for his chance to
see active service.
It was a parlous time to go over. The French had defeated one army
after another, of the Allies, and were in the hey-dey of their first
success. The trouble seemed to be lack of unity of command, and lack
of able leadership. The Duke of York was in command of the British
army, but allowed himself to be out-maneuvered repeatedly. By the Fall
of that year, when Wellesley was with the army, the campaign resembled
a rout.
During a series of rearguard actions in the retreat through Holland and
Flanders, Colonel Wellesley came first into official notice. It was at
the Meuse, a stream made forever memorable in the recent Great War. A
retreat had been ordered during the night, to avoid a superior force of
French. One regiment, however, had mistaken its orders and engaged the
enemy. The result was a hopeless tangle of infantry and cavalry, with
the enemy taking advantage of the confusion to press the attack.
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