Battle of Albuera
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Albuera (16 May 1811) was an indecisive battle during the Peninsular War
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War was a war between France and the allied powers of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars. The war began when French and Spanish armies crossed Spain and invaded Portugal in 1807. Then, in 1808, France turned on its...

. A mixed British
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....

, Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 and Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

 corps
Corps
A corps is either a large formation, or an administrative grouping of troops within an armed force with a common function such as Artillery or Signals representing an arm of service...

 engaged elements of the French Armée du Midi
Armée du Midi
The Army of Le Midi was a unit of the French army, stationed in the Le Midi region and created by royal decree of Louis XVI on 13 April 1792. It existed under this name for less than five months, and was split by a decree of the National Convention dated 1 October 1792 into the armée des Alpes...

 (Army of the South) at the small Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 village of Albuera
La Albuera
La Albuera is a village southeast of Badajoz, Extremadura, Spain. It was scene of a battle between the British troops under William Carr Beresford and the French ones led by Marshal Soult, in the course of the Peninsular war. it had a population of c. 2,000 inhabitants....

, about 20 kilometres (12 mi) south of the frontier fortress-town of Badajoz
Badajoz
Badajoz is the capital of the Province of Badajoz in the autonomous community of Extremadura, Spain, situated close to the Portuguese border, on the left bank of the river Guadiana, and the Madrid–Lisbon railway. The population in 2007 was 145,257....

, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

.

From October 1810 Marshal Masséna
André Masséna
André Masséna 1st Duc de Rivoli, 1st Prince d'Essling was a French military commander during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars....

's Army of Portugal had been tied down in an increasingly hopeless stand-off against Wellington
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...

's Allied forces, safely entrenched in and behind the Lines of Torres Vedras
Lines of Torres Vedras
The Lines of Torres Vedras were lines of forts built in secrecy to defend Lisbon during the Peninsular War. Named after the nearby town of Torres Vedras, they were ordered by Arthur Wellesley, Viscount Wellington, constructed by Sir Richard Fletcher, 1st Baronet and his Portuguese workers between...

. Acting on Napoleon
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...

's orders, in early 1811 Marshal Soult led a French expedition from Andalusia
Andalusia
Andalusia is the most populous and the second largest in area of the autonomous communities of Spain. The Andalusian autonomous community is officially recognised as a nationality of Spain. The territory is divided into eight provinces: Huelva, Seville, Cádiz, Córdoba, Málaga, Jaén, Granada and...

 into Extremadura
Extremadura
Extremadura is an autonomous community of western Spain whose capital city is Mérida. Its component provinces are Cáceres and Badajoz. It is bordered by Portugal to the west...

 in a bid to draw Allied forces away from the Lines and ease Masséna's plight. Napoleon's information was outdated and Soult's intervention came too late; starving and understrength, Masséna's army was already withdrawing to Spain. Soult was able to capture the fortress at Badajoz from the Spanish, but was forced to return to Andalusia following Marshal Victor
Claude Victor-Perrin, duc de Belluno
Claude Victor-Perrin, First Duc de Belluno was a French soldier and military commander during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars...

's defeat in March at the Battle of Barrosa
Battle of Barrosa
The Battle of Barrosa was an unsuccessful French attack on a larger Anglo-Portuguese-Spanish force attempting to lift the siege of Cádiz, Spain during the Peninsular War...

. However, Soult left Badajoz strongly garrisoned. In April, following news of Masséna's complete withdrawal from Portugal, Wellington sent a powerful Anglo-Portuguese corps
Anglo-Portuguese Army
The Anglo-Portuguese Army was the combined British and Portuguese army that won the Peninsular War, under the command of Arthur Wellesley. The Army is also referred to as the British-Portuguese Army and, in Portuguese, as the Exército Anglo-Luso or the Exército Anglo-Português.The Anglo-Portuguese...

 commanded by Sir William Beresford
William Carr Beresford, 1st Viscount Beresford
General William Carr Beresford, 1st Viscount Beresford, 1st Marquis of Campo Maior, GCB, GCH, GCTE, PC , was a British soldier and politician...

 to retake the border town. The Allies drove most of the French from the surrounding area, and laid siege to the remainder in Badajoz.

Soult rapidly gathered a new army from the French forces in Andalusia and, joining with the troops retreating before Beresford, he marched to relieve the siege. With intelligence
Intelligence (information gathering)
Intelligence assessment is the development of forecasts of behaviour or recommended courses of action to the leadership of an organization, based on a wide range of available information sources both overt and covert. Assessments are developed in response to requirements declared by the leadership...

 of another approaching force—a Spanish army under General Joaquín Blake
Joaquín Blake y Joyes
Joaquín Blake y Joyes was a Spanish military officer who served with distinction in the French Revolutionary and Peninsular wars.-Early military career:...

—he planned to turn Beresford's flank and interpose his army between the two. However, Soult was again acting on outdated information; unknown to the Marshal, the Spaniards had already linked up with the Anglo-Portuguese corps, and his 24,000 troops now faced a combined Allied army 35,000 strong.

The opposing armies met at the village of Albuera. Both sides suffered heavily in the ensuing struggle, but the French were eventually forced to retreat. Beresford's army was too battered and exhausted to pursue, but was able to resume the investment
Investment (military)
Investment is the military tactic of surrounding an enemy fort with armed forces to prevent entry or escape.A circumvallation is a line of fortifications, built by the attackers around the besieged fortification facing towards the enemy fort...

 of Badajoz. Despite Soult's failure to relieve the town, the battle had little strategic effect on the on-going war. Just one month later, in June 1811, the Allies were forced to abandon their siege by the approach of the reconstituted French Armies of Portugal and Andalusia.

Background

Despite his victory over elements of Marshal André Masséna
André Masséna
André Masséna 1st Duc de Rivoli, 1st Prince d'Essling was a French military commander during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars....

's Army of Portugal at the Battle of Bussaco in September 1810, Viscount Wellington
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...

 was forced by Masséna's subsequent manoeuvring to withdraw his numerically inferior force behind the extensive series of fortifications
Lines of Torres Vedras
The Lines of Torres Vedras were lines of forts built in secrecy to defend Lisbon during the Peninsular War. Named after the nearby town of Torres Vedras, they were ordered by Arthur Wellesley, Viscount Wellington, constructed by Sir Richard Fletcher, 1st Baronet and his Portuguese workers between...

 he had prepared around Torres Vedras to protect the approaches to Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...

. By 10 October 1810, only the British light division and some cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...

 patrols remained outside the "Lines". Wellington manned the fortifications with "secondary troops"—25,000 Portuguese militia
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...

, 8,000 Spaniards and 2,500 British marines
Royal Marines
The Corps of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, commonly just referred to as the Royal Marines , are the marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom and, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, form the Naval Service...

 and artillerymen
Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...

—keeping his main field army of British and Portuguese regulars dispersed in order to rapidly meet a French assault on any point of the Lines.

Masséna's Army of Portugal concentrated around Sobral, apparently in preparation to attack. However, after a fierce skirmish
Skirmisher
Skirmishers are infantry or cavalry soldiers stationed ahead or alongside a larger body of friendly troops. They are usually placed in a skirmish line to harass the enemy.-Pre-modern:...

 on 14 October in which the strength of the Lines became apparent, the French dug themselves in rather than launch a costly full-scale assault. They remained entrenched for a month before falling back to a position between Santarém
Santarém, Portugal
Santarém is a city in the Santarém Municipality in Portugal. The city itself has a population of 28,760 and the entire municipality has 64,124 inhabitants.It is the capital of Santarém District....

 and Rio Maior
Rio Maior
Rio Maior is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 272.8 km² and a total population of 21,621 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 14 parishes, and is located in the Santarém District.The present Mayor is Isaura Morais, elected by the PSD....

. Following Masséna's withdrawal, Wellington moved the 2nd Division
Division (military)
A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...

 under Lieutenant General Hill
Rowland Hill, 1st Viscount Hill
General Rowland Hill, 1st Viscount Hill of Almaraz GCB, GCH served in the Napoleonic Wars as a trusted brigade, division and corps commander under the command of the Duke of Wellington. He became Commander-in-Chief of the British Army in 1829.-Early career:Educated at a school in Chester, Hill was...

, along with two Portuguese brigade
Brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of two to five battalions, plus supporting elements depending on the era and nationality of a given army and could be perceived as an enlarged/reinforced regiment...

s and an attachment of Dragoon
Dragoon
The word dragoon originally meant mounted infantry, who were trained in horse riding as well as infantry fighting skills. However, usage altered over time and during the 18th century, dragoons evolved into conventional light cavalry units and personnel...

s, across the Tagus
Tagus
The Tagus is the longest river on the Iberian Peninsula. It is long, in Spain, along the border between Portugal and Spain and in Portugal, where it empties into the Atlantic Ocean at Lisbon. It drains an area of . The Tagus is highly utilized for most of its course...

 to protect the plains of Alentejo—both from Masséna and a possible attack from Andalusia
Andalusia
Andalusia is the most populous and the second largest in area of the autonomous communities of Spain. The Andalusian autonomous community is officially recognised as a nationality of Spain. The territory is divided into eight provinces: Huelva, Seville, Cádiz, Córdoba, Málaga, Jaén, Granada and...

 by the French Army of the South.

Napoleon
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...

 had previously sent dispatches to Marshal Soult, commander of the Army of the South, urging him to send assistance to Masséna. The Emperor's orders were based on outdated intelligence and called for only a small force; by the time Soult received them the situation had changed considerably. Soult now knew a successful attack against Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...

 was beyond his means with the forces proposed—there were 30,000 Allied troops and six major fortresses
Fortification
Fortifications are military constructions and buildings designed for defence in warfare and military bases. Humans have constructed defensive works for many thousands of years, in a variety of increasingly complex designs...

 between his army and the Portuguese capital—but he had received orders nonetheless and felt obliged to do something. He therefore gathered an army of 20,000 men, mainly from V Corps
V Corps (Grande Armée)
The V Corps of the Grande Armée was a military unit during the Napoleonic Wars. Formed in 1805 and later few times reorganized. In 1805-1807 there serviced mainly French troops under command French Marshals Lannes, Mortier, Lefebvre, general Savary and Marshal Massena.In 1812 the V Corps was made...

, and launched an expedition into Extremadura
Extremadura
Extremadura is an autonomous community of western Spain whose capital city is Mérida. Its component provinces are Cáceres and Badajoz. It is bordered by Portugal to the west...

 with the limited aim of capturing the fortress at Badajoz
Badajoz
Badajoz is the capital of the Province of Badajoz in the autonomous community of Extremadura, Spain, situated close to the Portuguese border, on the left bank of the river Guadiana, and the Madrid–Lisbon railway. The population in 2007 was 145,257....

 and hopefully drawing some of the Allied forces away from their impregnable positions in the Lines. Along with V Corps, this venture also pulled both infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...

 and cavalry from Marshal Victor
Claude Victor-Perrin, duc de Belluno
Claude Victor-Perrin, First Duc de Belluno was a French soldier and military commander during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars...

's I Corps who were besieging Cádiz
Siege of Cádiz
The Siege of Cádiz was a siege of the large Spanish naval base of Cádiz by a French army from February 5, 1810 to August 24, 1812 during the Peninsular War. Following the occupation of Madrid on March 23, 1808, Cádiz became the Spanish seat of power, and was targeted by 60,000 French troops under...

 at the time. Soult ordered more of Victor's men to fill the gaps left by his use of V Corps; this was bitterly opposed by Victor since it severely weakened his own forces, leaving him with only 15,000 men besieging a city garrisoned by around 26,000 Allied troops.

Following a successful campaign
Military campaign
In the military sciences, the term military campaign applies to large scale, long duration, significant military strategy plan incorporating a series of inter-related military operations or battles forming a distinct part of a larger conflict often called a war...

 in Extremadura, on 27 January 1811 Soult began his investment
Investment (military)
Investment is the military tactic of surrounding an enemy fort with armed forces to prevent entry or escape.A circumvallation is a line of fortifications, built by the attackers around the besieged fortification facing towards the enemy fort...

 of Badajoz. Almost immediately the Spanish Army of Extremadura arrived in the vicinity with some 15,000 troops under the command of General Mendizabal
Gabriel Mendizabal
Gabriel Mendizabal Iraeta was a Spanish military general....

. Soult's army, too small to surround Badajoz, was unable to prevent 3,000 of Mendizabal's men reinforcing the fortress and the remainder occupying the heights of San Cristóbal. This posed a major threat to the French, so Soult moved at once to engage. In the ensuing Battle of the Gebora
Battle of the Gebora
The Battle of the Gebora was a minor battle of the Peninsular War between Spanish and French armies. It occurred on 19 February 1811, near Badajoz, Spain, where an outnumbered French force routed and nearly destroyed the Spanish Army of Extremadura....

 the French inflicted 1,000 casualties on the Spanish field army and took 4,000 prisoners, at a cost to themselves of only 400 casualties. The remnants of Mendizabal's defeated army fled towards Badajoz or into Portugal.

The garrison
Garrison
Garrison is the collective term for a body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it, but now often simply using it as a home base....

 of Badajoz, ably commanded by General Rafael Menacho, initially put up strong resistance and by 3 March the French had made little progress against the powerful fortress. On that day however, Menacho was killed on the ramparts
Defensive wall
A defensive wall is a fortification used to protect a city or settlement from potential aggressors. In ancient to modern times, they were used to enclose settlements...

 by a chance shot; command of the garrison fell to Brigadier
Brigadier
Brigadier is a senior military rank, the meaning of which is somewhat different in different military services. The brigadier rank is generally superior to the rank of colonel, and subordinate to major general....

 José Imaz and the Spanish defence started to slacken. The walls were finally breached on 10 March. Soult was anxious to press the siege since he had learned that Masséna, in command of a disintegrating army plagued by sickness, starvation and an unusually harsh Portuguese winter, had retreated from Portugal. Concerned that the British would now be free to send a contingent to relieve Badajoz, Soult sent a deputation into the town to demand the garrison's surrender. Imaz duly capitulated and the French took possession of the fortress on 11 March.

On 12 March, news of Victor's defeat at the Battle of Barrosa
Battle of Barrosa
The Battle of Barrosa was an unsuccessful French attack on a larger Anglo-Portuguese-Spanish force attempting to lift the siege of Cádiz, Spain during the Peninsular War...

 reached Soult and he left Badajoz to return to Andalusia, anxious that the siege of Cádiz had been lifted. Reaching Seville
Seville
Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...

 on 20 March he was relieved to find that Victor's siege lines still held and Andalusia remained under French control. Before his departure Soult had consolidated his gains in Extremadura by garrisoning Badajoz with 11,000 French troops under the command of Marshal
Marshal of France
The Marshal of France is a military distinction in contemporary France, not a military rank. It is granted to generals for exceptional achievements...

 Édouard Mortier
Édouard Adolphe Casimir Joseph Mortier
Édouard Adolphe Casimir Joseph Mortier, 1st Duc de Trévise was a French general and Marshal of France under Napoleon I.-Biography:...

.

Prelude to battle

The Allies soon learnt of Soult's investment of Badajoz, and with the threat from Masséna diminished by his withdrawal towards Spain, Wellington prepared to send his 2nd and 4th division
Division (military)
A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...

s (now under the command of General William Beresford
William Beresford, 1st Viscount Beresford
General William Carr Beresford, 1st Viscount Beresford, 1st Marquis of Campo Maior, GCB, GCH, GCTE, PC , was a British soldier and politician...

) to relieve the siege. The orders were first issued on 8 March, but countermanded the next day due to false reports of Masséna offering battle at Tomar
Tomar
Tomar Municipality has a total area of 351.0 km² and a total population of 43,007 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 16 parishes, and is located in Santarém District...

. Following further delays as Beresford's two divisions regrouped, the relieving force were ordered to hurry to Badajoz on 15 March. Around this time though, Wellington received news of the town's surrender; the urgency had diminished and Beresford's expedition could proceed at a more moderate pace.

Mortier keeps busy

Marshal Édouard Mortier, commanding the Badajoz garrison, made good use of the Allied delays. Leaving six battalion
Battalion
A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...

s to hold the fortress, in early March he moved against the nearby Portuguese town of Campo Maior
Campo Maior
Campo Maior , is a municipality in the Portalegre District, Alentejo Region, Portugal.The municipality has an area of 247,26 km² and a population of 8359 . It is divided into 3 parishes . It is bordered by Spain on the North and East, by Elvas Municipality on the Southeast, and by Arronches...

 with around 7,000 men and three batteries
Artillery battery
In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit of guns, mortars, rockets or missiles so grouped in order to facilitate better battlefield communication and command and control, as well as to provide dispersion for its constituent gunnery crews and their systems...

 borrowed from the siege-train stationed at Badajoz. The French captured the outlying Fort São João on 14 March (the night of their arrival) but the Campo Maior fortress proved a harder proposition. Despite being manned by only 800 militia and Ordenanças, commanded by Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

 José Talaya, the town held out for seven days—surrendering only when an entire face of the bastion crumbled under the bombardment from Mortier's artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...

. Mortier also sent two cavalry regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...

s under General Marie Victor Latour-Maubourg
Marie Victor de Fay, marquis de Latour-Maubourg
Marie Victor Nicolas de Fay, marquis de Latour-Maubourg was a French cavalry commander starting under the Ancien Régime of France, and rising to prominence during the First French Empire...

 to invest Alburquerque
Alburquerque, Badajoz
Alburquerque is a town in the province of Badajoz in Spain. It has 5,600 inhabitants. It is very close to the border with Portugal and was an ancient dominion of the kings of this country...

; the 6,000 strong garrison there surrendered before French reinforcements needed to be brought up.

Major Talaya's prolonged defence of Campo Maior gave Beresford's divisions time to arrive before the captured fortress had been slighted
Slighting
A slighting is the deliberate destruction, partial or complete, of a fortification without opposition. During the English Civil War this was to render it unusable as a fort.-Middle Ages:...

. On returning to Badajoz after his successful foray into Portugal, Mortier had left one infantry and three cavalry regiments at Campo Maior, under Latour-Maubourg, to dismantle its defences; Beresford's appearance on 25 March caught the French by surprise. However, despite the Allies having 18,000 troops at their disposal, Latour-Maubourg calmly formed up his command and retreated towards Badajoz. Beresford sent 1,500 cavalry, under the command of Brigadier General
Brigadier General
Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...

 Robert Long
Robert Ballard Long
Lieutenant-General Robert Ballard Long was an officer of the British and Hanoverian Armies who despite extensive service during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars never managed to achieve high command due to his abrasive manner with his superiors and his alleged tactical ineptitude...

 after the French. Most of the French cavalry were driven off by a charge of the 13th Light Dragoons
13th Light Dragoons
The 13th Hussars was a cavalry regiment of the British Army whose battle honours include Waterloo and The Charge of the Light Brigade. 1n 1922, the regiment was amalgamated with the 18th Royal Hussars, to form the 13th/18th Hussars.-Regimental history:British light dragoons were first raised in...

, however, the pursuit of Latour-Maubourg's force then faltered. It was poorly co-ordinated and the greater part of the French force managed to reach the safety of Badajoz. The reason behind this failure was subsequently disputed between supporters of Brigadier Long and Marshal Beresford.

Allies invest Badajoz

Beresford now began the task of positioning his army to invest Badajoz, but a series of mishaps delayed the Allied advance into Spain. The Guadiana
Guadiana
The Guadiana , or Odiana, is an international river located on the Portuguese–Spanish border, separating Extremadura and Andalucia from Alentejo and Algarve...

, a major river of Spain and Portugal that delineates part of the border, lay across Beresford's line of march. Wellington had promised a stock of Spanish pontoon boats
Pontoon (boat)
A pontoon is a flotation device with buoyancy sufficient to float itself as well as a heavy load. A pontoon boat is a flattish boat that relies on pontoons to float. Pontoons may be used on boats, rafts, barges, docks, floatplanes or seaplanes. Pontoons may support a platform, creating a raft. A...

 so that a bridge could be erected, but these were not forthcoming. Instead, a bridge had to be fashioned in situ—a task that would take until 3 April to complete. Furthermore, the rations promised to Beresford, to be taken from the town of Estremoz, had been consumed by the remnants of Mendizabal's Army of Extremadura, which had settled in the region following their defeat by Soult at the start of the year. Beresford's troops eventually had to draw on rations from the fortress-town of Elvas in order to feed themselves. Finally, the shoes of the 4th Division
4th Infantry Division (United Kingdom)
The 4th Infantry Division is a regular British Army division with a long history having been present at the Peninsular War the Crimean War , the First World War , and during the Second World War.- Napoleonic Wars :...

 had completely worn out following two weeks of marching, and replacements from Lisbon would take a week to arrive. These delays gave the Badajoz garrison time to work on the fortifications, taking them from a state of serious disrepair on 25 March to being tenable on 3 April. Beresford began to bring his army forward on 4 April, but a sudden flood swept away his makeshift bridge across the Guadiana, trapping the Allied vanguard on the eastern bank. This could have proved disastrous for Beresford, but Mortier had been recalled to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 leaving Latour-Maubourg in command at Badajoz, and he was more concerned with repairing the fortress's defences than confronting the Allied army. After a minor success involving the capture of an entire squadron of the 13th Light Dragoons, Latour-Maubourg retired before Beresford's superior forces, leaving 3,000 men garrisoning Badajoz and 400 in Olivenza.

By 8 April new bridges had been thrown across the Guadiana and the following day Beresford's army moved to Olivenza
Olivenza
Olivenza or Olivença is a town in the autonomous community of Extremadura, situated on a disputed section of the border between Portugal and Spain...

; they were now over the border and 24 kilometres (15 mi) south of Badajoz. While the British 4th Division tackled the small French garrison there, the main Allied army followed Latour-Maubourg south while sending covering forces to watch the Badajoz garrison from Valverde
Valverde de Leganés
Valverde de Leganés is a municipality located in the province of Badajoz, Extremadura, Spain. According to the 2005 census , the municipality has a population of 3894 inhabitants....

 and Albuera
La Albuera
La Albuera is a village southeast of Badajoz, Extremadura, Spain. It was scene of a battle between the British troops under William Carr Beresford and the French ones led by Marshal Soult, in the course of the Peninsular war. it had a population of c. 2,000 inhabitants....

. Beresford coordinated his movements with the remnants of the Spanish Army of Extremadura (now under the command of General Castaños
Francisco Javier Castaños, 1st Duke of Bailén
Francisco Javier Castaños Aragorri Urioste y Olavide, Count of Castaños y Aragones, 1st Duke of Baylen , was a Spanish general.Castaños was born at Madrid.He is remembered for his victory over the French under Dupont, whom he...

), adding 3,000 infantry and 1,000 cavalry to his strength. On 15 April, Olivenza fell to the 4th Division, which technically put Beresford in a position to commence the more important task of besieging Badajoz. However, neither Beresford nor Wellington had provided a siege-train for the expedition, so one had to be improvised on the spot. The solution adopted was to take sufficient artillery pieces of various qualities and vintages from the fortress of Elvas, but this expedient caused yet another delay in Allied progress. Beresford took the opportunity presented by this delay to have his forces clear southern Extremadura of French forces and Latour-Maubourg was pushed back to Guadalcanal. Beresford left his cavalry and a brigade under Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...

 John Colborne
John Colborne, 1st Baron Seaton
Field Marshal John Colborne, 1st Baron Seaton, GCB, GCMG, GCH, PC was a British field marshal and colonial governor.-Early service:...

, along with a detachment of Spanish horse, to watch Latour-Maubourg's movements and dissuade him from returning to Extremadura. Wellington was so concerned by the lack of progress that he decided to pay a flying visit to the region. He and Beresford conducted a reconnaissance of Badajoz on 22 April and by the time he left for the north, he had prepared for Beresford a detailed set of memorandum concerning how he should conduct the impending siege and the rest of the campaign. Beresford followed the instructions slowly but surely and finally began to invest Badajoz on 4 May.

A positive development for the Allies during this time was the appearance of another Spanish force in the region. The Spanish Regency at Cádiz had sent General Joaquín Blake
Joaquín Blake y Joyes
Joaquín Blake y Joyes was a Spanish military officer who served with distinction in the French Revolutionary and Peninsular wars.-Early military career:...

, with the two divisions of Zayas and Lardizábal, by sea to Ayamonte
Ayamonte
Ayamonte is a town and municipality located in the province of Huelva, Spain. According to the 2005 census, the city has a population of 18,001 inhabitants.-Location and history:...

 on the mouth of the Guadiana. Landing on 18 April, Blake's army moved to join General Francisco Ballesteros
Francisco Ballesteros
Francisco Ballesteros, emerged as a career Spanish General during the Peninsular War.Ballasteros served against the First French Republic in the 1793 War of the Pyrenees...

 at the Spanish town of Xeres
Jerez de los Caballeros
Jerez de los Caballeros is a town of south-western Spain, in the province of Badajoz. It is situated on two heights overlooking the River Ardila, a tributary of the Guadiana, 12 miles east of the Portuguese frontier. The old town is surrounded by a Moorish wall with six gates. The newer portion is...

.
Although Blake was himself a member of the Spanish Regency, he was junior to Castaños in the military hierarchy (but senior to Ballasteros). He consequently did not protest when General Castaños agreed that Marshal Beresford, who was also junior to Castaños in rank, should command the combined Allied armies in any battle because there were more men in the Anglo-Portuguese force.

Armies gather

From the moment the French were forced to retreat before Beresford, Soult knew that Badajoz was at risk and he was determined that he would not lose the one tangible gain of his winter campaign. By May 9, he felt that time was running out, so he set out for Badajoz with all the men of I Corps
I Corps (Grande Armée)
The I Corps of the Grande Armée was a military unit during the Napoleonic Wars. It were different troops in French service commanded by Marshal Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte in 1805 and 1806, General Claude Victor-Perrin in 1807 and Marshal Louis Nicolas Davout during the 1812 invasion of Russia.- Size...

 and IV Corps
IV Corps (Grande Armée)
The IV Corps of the Grande Armée was a military unit during the Napoleonic Wars. It consisted several different units and commanders.- Under Soult :Marshal Nicolas Soult took command of IV Corps in 1805....

 of the Army of the South he could spare from the siege of Cadiz and the occupation of the rest of Andalusia. Combined with the men of V Corps under Latour-Maubourg on the Andalusian border, Soult had a force of approximately 23,000 men and 35 artillery pieces cannon
Cannon
A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...

 moving towards Badajoz. His army was much smaller than that of the Allies, but he hoped the quality of his troops would compensate for his lack of numbers.

Beresford was alerted to the French advance by reports received on 12 May from Spanish patriots in Seville, who had sent word of Soult's departure. Beresford kept up the pretence of besieging Badajoz by sending an unsuccessful demand for surrender to the French commander on the afternoon of that same day, but he realized he would now not have time to finish the job, so he ordered the withdrawal of his siege guns and supplies. On 13 May, the Spanish cavalry attached to Colborne's brigade came into contact with the French force and, in accordance with orders given by Wellington in April, they fell back while sending word of Soult's new position to Beresford. Later that day Long's British cavalry also encountered the advancing French and hastily pulled back—although Long, too, was following Wellington's orders not to engage, Beresford considered his withdrawal somewhat premature and thought Long could have delayed the French by forcing them to deploy.

Also on the 13th, Beresford moved the British 2nd Division, Major General
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...

 John Hamilton's Portuguese division and three artillery batteries from Badajoz to Valverde—an ideal position to observe the three routes open for Soult's approach. Wellington's orders left Beresford full discretion to fight Soult or to retreat and he was personally inclined to the latter course of action. However, when Beresford met with Blake and Castaños, the two most senior Spanish generals, at Valverde on 14 May, he allowed himself to be persuaded that the numerical superiority the Allied army had over Soult justified risking a battle. The Allied leaders consequently agreed to concentrate at Albuera, which was the location chosen by Wellington as best suited for an attempt to resist any French advance to relieve Badajoz.

By 15 May it was clear to Beresford that Soult was taking the central route to Badajoz, which ran through Santa Marta
Santa Marta, Extremadura
Santa Marta is a municipality in the Spanish province of Badajoz, in the autonomous community of Extremadura....

 and the village of Albuera. He made further adjustments to his deployment, moving the 2nd Division and Hamilton's Portuguese to defend the village, where they were joined by Alten's KGL brigade and a further Portuguese brigade composed of garrison and light troops temporarily formed for the campaign. Soult's movements became even clearer when his Chasseurs à cheval
Chasseur
Chasseur [sha-sur; Fr. sha-sœr] is the designation given to certain regiments of French light infantry or light cavalry troops, trained for rapid action.-History:...

and hussar
Hussar
Hussar refers to a number of types of light cavalry which originated in Hungary in the 14th century, tracing its roots from Serbian medieval cavalry tradition, brought to Hungary in the course of the Serb migrations, which began in the late 14th century....

s engaged Long's cavalry at Santa Marta—once again Long retreated in what Beresford considered to be unreasonable haste. Major General William Lumley
William Lumley
General Sir William Lumley, GCB was a senior British Army officer and courtier during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The son of the Earl of Scarborough, Lumley enjoyed a rapid rise through the ranks aided by a reputation for bravery and professionalism established on campaign...

 took over from Long as the Allied cavalry commander. Accounts differ as to the reason for this, some claiming it was because of Long's incompetence, and others stating that it was simply down to Lumley's seniority.

There were no further engagements that day, so Beresford was able to complete his dispositions. The front of the Allied position was defined by a series of small watercourses flowing from south to north. Two of these, the Nogales (sometimes called the Feria) and Chicapierna brooks, meet just south of the village to form the Albuera river, but none of these were formidable obstacles and the river itself could be crossed at two bridges and a ford. Alten's men were placed in Albuera itself, while Hamilton's division along with most of the Portuguese cavalry formed the Allied left wing to the north of the village and Major General William Stewart
William Stewart (1774-1827)
Lieutenant-General Sir William Stewart, GCB was a British military officer who was the first Commanding Officer of the Rifle Corps, a Division Commander in the Peninsula and a Scottish Member of Parliament in the British Parliament...

's 2nd Division formed up on a hill just to the west of Albuera. The right wing of the Allied army was to be supplied by Castaños's and Blake's four Spanish infantry divisions, while the Allied cavalry and artillery along with the 4th Division would provide a strong strategic reserve. To the west of the Chicapierna and the Albuera, the land rises to a low, treeless north-south ridge crowned by several knolls that become progressively higher to the south. After the battle, Beresford was severely criticized for failing to occupy two of these high points, the first of which lies approximately one mile southwest of the village and the second some 500 yards further south.

Blake's divisions were delayed in coming forward and only arrived at around midnight 15–16 May, although they were in position in time for the opening of battle later that morning. Meanwhile, Lowry Cole's 4th Division, and de España's Spanish brigade marched from Badajoz to Albuera in the early hours of 16 May.

Meanwhile Soult was making his own plans. He knew that Blake had arrived via sea from Cádiz, but was unaware that the Spanish divisions had already joined with Beresford. He decided that his best course of action would be to turn the Allies' southern flank, cutting Blake off from Beresford's army. Soult hoped that as a result he could defeat his opponents in detail, overcoming Beresford's force and then turning south to deal with Blake's divisions.

Battle

Beresford deployed his troops on the reverse slopes of such hills as could be found on the battlefield; unable to see the Allied army, Soult was still unaware that Blake's Spanish divisions had come up during the night. Thus, on the morning of 16 May 1811, the Marshal proceeded with his attempt to turn the Allied right flank. To approach Albuera village directly, the French would have to cross the Albuera River via a small bridge, and Soult's first move was to launch a strong feint attack
Feint
Feint is a French term that entered English from the discipline of fencing. Feints are maneuvers designed to distract or mislead, done by giving the impression that a certain maneuver will take place, while in fact another, or even none, will...

 in this direction. He sent Godinot's
Nicolas Godinot
Deo-Gratias-Nicolas Godinot was a Général de Division of the First French Empire who saw action during the Peninsular War. He was made Chef de Brigade of the 25th Légère on 30 June 1799 and rose to become Colonel of that regiment in 1803...

 infantry brigade, flanked by Briche's
André Briche
André-Louis-Elisabeth-Marie Briche was a French General of the First French Empire who saw action during the Peninsular War. He was Colonel of the 10th Regiment of Hussars between 1806 and 1809, before being promoted to Général de Brigade...

 light cavalry
Light cavalry
Light cavalry refers to lightly armed and lightly armored troops mounted on horses, as opposed to heavy cavalry, where the riders are heavily armored...

 and supported by artillery, across the bridge towards the village. Four platoons of Vistula
Legion of the Vistula
The Legion of the Vistula was a unit of Poles in the service of Napoleonic France, one of the larger Polish Legions of Napoleonic Period.-Creation of the Legion:...

 Uhlan
Uhlan
Uhlans were Polish light cavalry armed with lances, sabres and pistols. The title was later used by lancer regiments in the Russian, Prussian, and Austrian armies....

s also crossed the river, but they were driven back by the 3rd Dragoon Guards
3rd Dragoon Guards
The 3rd Dragoon Guards was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1685. It saw service for three centuries, before being amalgamated into the 3rd/6th Dragoon Guards in 1922....

. A Portuguese gun battery had been positioned to cover the approaches to the bridge, and as Godinot's skirmishers advanced they became engaged with Alten's KGL battalions, who were defending Albuera.

At the same time two brigades of dragoons and Werlé's
François Werlé
François Jean Werlé was a Général de Brigade of the First French Empire who saw action during the Napoleonic Wars and died fighting against the British during the Peninsular War.- Early career :...

 infantry brigade showed themselves on Godinot's left, advancing out of an olive wood in front of Blake's position to Alten's right. With a large concentration of French troops now menacing the village, the Allied commanders took the bait exactly as Soult had planned, and sent reinforcements to Alten's aid.

French flank attack

While the Allies were bracing themselves for a frontal assault on their centre and right, Soult was preparing his real thrust. The two V Corps divisions of Generals Girard
Jean-Baptiste Girard (soldier)
Jean-Baptiste Girard , was a French soldier, général and baron d'Empire, who fought in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars.-Biography:...

 and Gazan, preceded by a cavalry brigade, swung left to begin the Marshal's flanking move—their progress was concealed by intervening olive woods, and the first the Allies knew of them was when four French cavalry regiments burst from the southern end of the woods, crossed two brooks, and scattered Loy's Spanish cavalry on the right of Beresford's lines. Alarmed, Beresford rode forward to observe the French manoeuvres; when Godinot's cavalry support and Werlé's brigade began to move away from Albuera and toward Girard's rear, Soult's true intentions became clear.

Beresford immediately issued new orders. He directed Blake to swing his forward line
Line (formation)
The line formation is a standard tactical formation which has been used in Early modern warfare.It continues the phalanx formation or shield wall of infantry armed with polearms in use during antiquity and the Middle Ages....

 around to face the approaching French. Lumley's cavalry was sent to support Loy's horse and hold Blake's right flank, while Stewart
William Stewart (1774-1827)
Lieutenant-General Sir William Stewart, GCB was a British military officer who was the first Commanding Officer of the Rifle Corps, a Division Commander in the Peninsula and a Scottish Member of Parliament in the British Parliament...

's 2nd Division was sent south from its location behind Albuera to take up a new position behind Blake in readiness to provide support if needed. Cole's 4th Division was ordered to form up behind the cavalry, and Hamilton's Portuguese moved to the Allied centre to hold Albuera and act as a reserve.

Blake however did not follow Beresford's orders; he still believed that the French attack would come at his front. Keeping his forward line in position, he instead moved four battalions from Zayas's division to form his new southern-facing front. Zayas deployed these battalions, from the Spanish second line, in two groups. Two battalions of Spanish Guards
Spanish Royal Guard
The Royal Guard is an independent unit of the Spanish Armed Forces dedicated to the military protection of H.M. the King of Spain and the members of the Spanish Royal Family. It currently has a strength of 1,900 troops. While the guard does participate in parades and other ceremonial events, it...

 were formed up, in line, at the top of a steep incline while the remaining two formed close column
Column (formation)
A military column is a formation of soldiers marching together in one or more files in which the file is significantly longer than the width of ranks in the formation...

s behind them; a single battery of Spanish artillery supported the whole position.

Beresford, on hearing of Blake's limited redeployment, rode back to personally supervise the operation. He merged Zayas's second pair of battalions with the first pair, forming a front line four battalions strong. He then sent orders for Lardizabal to bring up three of his battalions to support Zayas's right, and for Ballesteros to bring a further two in support of the left. However, these reinforcements did not arrive in time to meet the first French attack—Zayas's four battalions had to face two entire French divisions alone.

Thin Spanish line holds

While Beresford had been redeploying his army, a "majestic movement changed the whole aspect of the French front". Two brigades of dragoons galloped from the French right-centre, passed behind V Corps, and joined Latour-Maubourg's cavalry on the left. At the same time Werlé's division closed up with the rear of V Corps, becoming the French reserve. Soult had concentrated his entire infantry strength, except for Godinot's 3,500 men who were still engaged at Albuera, and all his cavalry save Briche's light horse, into one front marching on Blake's right flank.

The two divisions of V Corps advanced one behind the other against Zayas's position. The first of these divisions, that of Girard, moved in ordre mixte
Mixed Order
The Mixed Order was a tactical formation originally used by demi-brigades of the French Revolutionary Army and then later by Napoleon's Grande Armée to great effect....

—four battalions in column flanked on either side by a battalion in line, and further flanked by a battalion and a half in column—while Gazan's division moved in battalion column. Girard's tirailleur
Tirailleur
Tirailleur literally means a shooting skirmisher in French from tir—shot. The term dates back to the Napoleonic period where it was used to designate light infantry trained to skirmish ahead of the main columns...

s
engaged Zayas line and gradually thinned the Spanish front rank
Rank (formation)
A Rank is a line of military personnel, drawn up in line abreast .Commonly, troops called to 'On the right, fall in!' do so by forming in line abreast, determining their initial position in relation to a marker. This may be a position on the ground or a single person placed previously to the movement...

. When Girard's main column came within about 50 metres (55 yd) of the Spaniards, the skirmishers split to the left and right and the battalions behind them opened fire. The Spaniards held their ground, exchanging volleys with the French, and eventually repelled Girard's first attack.

Despite their resistance Zayas's men, possibly the best troops in the Spanish army at the time, were being slowly forced back. However, they held long enough for Ballesteros and Lardizabal to come up, and for Stewart's 2nd Division to advance to their support. Stewart brought John Colborne
John Colborne, 1st Baron Seaton
Field Marshal John Colborne, 1st Baron Seaton, GCB, GCMG, GCH, PC was a British field marshal and colonial governor.-Early service:...

's 1st Brigade up, followed by the Division's two other brigades. The 3rd Regiment of Foot (the Buffs) took the lead, followed by the 48th
48th (Northamptonshire) Regiment of Foot
-History:The regiment was first raised in 1741 as James Cholmondeley's Regiment of Foot in Norwich, England during the War of Austrian Succession. The regiment first saw action at the Battles of Falkirk and Culloden in 1745-1746, campaigning against the Young Pretender. In 1748, it was renumbered...

 and the 66th
66th (Berkshire) Regiment of Foot
The 66th Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, formed in 1758 and amalgamated into The Princess Charlotte of Wales's in 1881....

. Colborne's brigade formed up on the French left, and supported by a battery of KGL cannon the British opened fire, forcing Girard's two flanking battalions to face outwards in order to return fire.

Destruction of Colborne's brigade

The musket
Musket
A musket is a muzzle-loaded, smooth bore long gun, fired from the shoulder. Muskets were designed for use by infantry. A soldier armed with a musket had the designation musketman or musketeer....

ry duel that developed between Colborne's brigade and Girard's left flank was so intense that both sides faltered. The French began to break, and were only kept in place by their officers beating them back with swords as they tried to retreat. The left of Colborne's brigade, assailed by both musket fire and grapeshot
Grapeshot
In artillery, a grapeshot is a type of shot that is not a one solid element, but a mass of small metal balls or slugs packed tightly into a canvas bag. It was used both in land and naval warfare. When assembled, the balls resembled a cluster of grapes, hence the name...

 from Girard's supporting guns, tried to force the issue with a bayonet
Bayonet
A bayonet is a knife, dagger, sword, or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit in, on, over or underneath the muzzle of a rifle, musket or similar weapon, effectively turning the gun into a spear...

 charge but were unsuccessful. On the right Colborne's men continued to trade volleys with the French and, seeing their resolve wavering, also fixed bayonets and charged.
As the brigade moved forward a blinding hail- and rain-shower hit the battlefield, rendering both sides' muskets useless. Under cover of the reduced visibility Latour-Maubourg launched two Polish cavalry regiments at Colborne's exposed right flank. Ploughing through the unprepared British infantry, the 1st Vistula Uhlans and the 2nd Hussars virtually annihilated Colborne's first three regiments. Only the fourth, the 31st Regiment of Foot
31st (Huntingdonshire) Regiment of Foot
The 31st Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army formed in 1702 and amalgamated into The East Surrey Regiment in 1881.-Predecessor regiment:...

, was able to save itself by forming into square. The cavalry pressed on against Colborne's supporting KGL artillery battery and captured its guns (although all but the howitzer
Howitzer
A howitzer is a type of artillery piece characterized by a relatively short barrel and the use of comparatively small propellant charges to propel projectiles at relatively high trajectories, with a steep angle of descent...

 were subsequently recovered).

Having captured five regimental flags and eight cannon the Uhlans swept past the 31st's square, scattering Beresford and his staff, and attacked the rear of Zayas's line. Zayas met this assault unflinchingly while continuing to direct fire at Girard. By this time the rainstorm had cleared and Lumley, commanding Beresford's horse, could finally make out the devastation caused by the French and Polish cavalry. He sent two squadrons of the 4th Dragoons
4th Royal Irish Dragoon Guards
The 4th Royal Irish Dragoon Guards was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1685. It saw service for three centuries, before being amalgamated into the 4th/7th Dragoon Guards in 1922....

 to disperse the Uhlans, which they did, but the British troopers were in their turn driven off by a fresh hussar regiment that Latour-Maubourg had sent to cover the lancer
Lancer
A lancer was a type of cavalryman who fought with a lance. Lances were used in mounted warfare by the Assyrians as early as and subsequently by Greek, Persian, Gallic, Han-Chinese, nomadic and Roman horsemen...

's retreat. Closing on the action, the 29th Regiment of Foot
29th Regiment of Foot
The 29th Regiment of Foot was, from 1694 to 1881, an infantry regiment of the British Army. It now forms part of the Mercian Regiment.-Formation:...

 (the lead regiment of Stewart's second brigade) opened fire on the scattered Vistula lancers. Most of this fusillade
Fusillade
A fusillade is the simultaneous and continuous firing of a group of firearms on command. It stems from the French word fusil, meaning firearm, and fusiller meaning to shoot....

 actually missed its intended targets and instead struck the rear ranks of Zayas's men. The Spaniards nevertheless stood firm; their actions very likely saved the allied army from destruction.

Some British sources claim that the Polish cavalrymen refused to accept any surrender by the British infantry, and deliberately speared the wounded as they lay. Tradition reports that the British 2nd Division swore to give no quarter to Poles following Albuera. According to Beresford, of the 1,258 men lost by Colborne's first three regiments, 319 were killed, 460 were wounded and 479 were taken prisoner. According to Soult's report the Vistula Lancers had 130 casualties out of 591 troopers.

Hoghton's ordeal

The fighting on the Allied right now paused as both sides sought to regroup. Girard's division had suffered considerably in its battle with Zayas, and Colborne's actions, although ultimately disastrous, had caused significant French casualties. Girard now regarded his division as a spent force and brought up Gazan's 2nd Division to take its place. Advancing in column, Gazan's battalions had to struggle through the remnants of Girard's retiring units. As a result, many of the 1st Division's survivors were swept up and incorporated into Gazan's column, which grew by accretion into a dense mass of 8,000 men, losing much of its cohesion in the process. The ensuing disruption and delay gave the Allies time to re-form their own lines. Beresford deployed Hoghton's
Daniel Hoghton
Major-General Daniel Hoghton was a talented and experienced British Army officer who served during the Napoleonic Wars with distinction until his death during combat with the French at the Battle of Albuera in the Peninsula War...

 brigade behind Zayas's lines and Abercrombie's to the rear of Ballesteros, then moved them forward to relieve the Spaniards. Joseph Moyle Sherer, an officer serving under Abercrombie, recounts how a young Spanish officer rode up and "begged me ... to explain to the English that his countrymen were ordered to retire [and] were not flying."

Following this hiatus the second phase of the battle began—if anything even more bloodily than the first. The French only deployed a skirmish line against Abercrombie's brigade, so the weight of the renewed assault fell on Hoghton. Despite being joined by the sole survivors of Colborne's brigade (the 31st Foot), just 1,900 men stood in line to face the advancing corps. Hoghton's three battalions (the 29th Regiment of Foot, 1/48th Regiment of Foot
48th (Northamptonshire) Regiment of Foot
-History:The regiment was first raised in 1741 as James Cholmondeley's Regiment of Foot in Norwich, England during the War of Austrian Succession. The regiment first saw action at the Battles of Falkirk and Culloden in 1745-1746, campaigning against the Young Pretender. In 1748, it was renumbered...

 and 1/57th Regiment of Foot
57th (West Middlesex) Regiment of Foot
The 57th Regiment of Foot was a regiment of line infantry in the British Army.-History:The regiment started out as the 59th Regiment of Foot raised in Gloucester in 1755....

) suffered huge casualties, with 56 officers and 971 men killed or wounded from their complement of 95 officers and 1,556 men.

Ordinarily in a duel between British line and French column, the greater volume of fire laid down by the line (where every single weapon could be brought to bear on the front and flanks of the narrower column) could be expected to be the decisive factor. In this case however, the French were well supported by artillery. More than compensating for the firepower disadvantage of his infantry formation, Girard brought guns up to just 275 metres (300 yd) from Hoghton's line—close enough to enfilade
Enfilade and defilade
Enfilade and defilade are concepts in military tactics used to describe a military formation's exposure to enemy fire. A formation or position is "in enfilade" if weapons fire can be directed along its longest axis. A unit or position is "in defilade" if it uses natural or artificial obstacles to...

 it with a crossfire of grape and canister
Canister shot
Canister shot is a kind of anti-personnel ammunition used in cannons. It was similar to the naval grapeshot, but fired smaller and more numerous balls, which did not have to punch through the wooden hull of a ship...

. Early in this engagement Colonel William Inglis
William Inglis
Lieutenant General Sir William Inglis, KCB was a British officer of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars....

 of the 57th Foot was wounded by grapeshot from the French artillery. He refused to be carried to the rear and lay with the Colours; throughout the battle his voice could be heard calmly repeating "Die hard 57th, die hard!" In following his exhortations, the 57th earned their nickname
Nickname
A nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....

: the "Die-Hards".

Under this combined arms
Combined arms
Combined arms is an approach to warfare which seeks to integrate different branches of a military to achieve mutually complementary effects...

 assault Hoghton's brigade lost two thirds of its strength. The Brigadier himself was killed, and as casualties rose its shrinking line could no longer cover the frontage of the attacking column. However, the French were in no condition to press home their numerical advantage; British volley fire had taken its toll and Girard lost 2,000 men during the confrontation. He had tried to form his unwieldy corps-sized column into line to bring his full firepower to bear and overwhelm Hoghton's brigade, but his deploying companies
Company (military unit)
A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 80–225 soldiers and usually commanded by a Captain, Major or Commandant. Most companies are formed of three to five platoons although the exact number may vary by country, unit type, and structure...

 were constantly driven back into the column by the intense British musketry.

Soult's retreat

Although the French attacks were being held, the result of the battle was still far from certain. Soult had Werlé's divisional-sized brigade in reserve, and most of Latour-Maubourg's cavalry had not been engaged. However, the presence of Cole's fresh 4th Division, still formed up in readiness behind Lumley's squadrons, seems to have persuaded Soult not to use his strong force of horsemen. In his subsequent dispatch to the Emperor, Soult claimed that he had only at that point learned that Blake had joined with Beresford and he faced a much larger Allied force than expected. The Marshal, having out-manoeuvred the Allies with his flank attack, went on the defensive: the cavalry were refused permission to charge, and Werlé remained in reserve.

On the Allied side Beresford was proving no more incisive. Anxious to reinforce Hoghton and Abercrombie, he tried to bring up de España's independent brigade, but they refused to move within range of the French. Leaving Cole's division in place (according to Beresford, to protect the Allied flank from further cavalry attack, although Wellington was of the opinion that Beresford was actually securing his line of retreat), Beresford instead called upon Hamilton's Portuguese Division, but Hamilton had moved closer to Albuera to support Alten in fending off Godinot's attack, and the orders took a long time to reach him. Hamilton's brigades only started moving half an hour after the orders had been sent. With his right under heavy pressure and casualties mounting, Beresford finally sent for Alten's KGL, ordering 3,000 Spaniards to Albuera to relieve them and take over the defence there. Alten hastily regrouped and marched south to the Allies' right wing, but Godinot took Albuera before the Spaniards could arrive, exposing another Allied flank to the French.

It was at this critical point that the decisive move of the battle was made by General Cole. Standing idle under explicit orders from Beresford, he had nevertheless been considering advancing against the French left flank, but he was wary of moving his infantry across open country in the face of 3,500 French cavalry. His mind was made up though when Colonel Henry Hardinge
Henry Hardinge, 1st Viscount Hardinge
Field Marshal Henry Hardinge, 1st Viscount Hardinge, GCB, PC was a British field marshal and Governor-general of India.-Army career:...

, of the Portuguese Quarter-master-general's
Quartermaster general
A Quartermaster general is the staff officer in charge of supplies for a whole army.- The United Kingdom :In the United Kingdom, the Quartermaster-General to the Forces is one of the most senior generals in the British Army...

 department, rode up and urged him to immediately advance. After a brief consultation with Lumley, Cole began to redeploy his division from column into line. Mindful of the dangers presented by Latour-Maubourg's horsemen, Cole flanked his line at either end with a unit in column: on the right were the division's massed light companies, including those from Brigadier Kemmis's brigade, while the first battalion of the Lusitanian Legion took station on the left. Lumley formed up the whole of the Allied cavalry to the rear and right, accompanied by a battery of horse artillery
Horse artillery
Horse artillery was a type of light, fast-moving and fast-firing artillery which provided highly mobile fire support to European and American armies from the 17th to the early 20th century...

, and the whole mass, some 5,000 infantrymen, advanced on V Corps' left flank.

The sight of the approaching Allied line forced Soult's hand—if Cole's division was not stopped, defeat was certain. He sent four regiments of Latour-Maubourg's dragoons to charge the Portuguese section of Cole's line, and committed the whole of Werlé's reserve to protect V Corps' flank. The dragoons swept down on Harvey's Portuguese brigade fully expecting to destroy it as they had Colborne's. The inexperienced Portuguese, however, stood firm and drove away the cavalry without even forming square. Having once been repulsed, Latour-Maubourg's dragoons made no further attack on Cole's division, and the Allied line marched on. The Fusilier
Fusilier
Fusilier was originally the name of a soldier armed with a light flintlock musket called the fusil. The word was first used around 1680, and has later developed into a regimental designation.-History:...

 brigade and Lusitanian Legion on the division's left soon encountered Werlé's brigade, which outnumbered them two to one. Despite his advantage in numbers, Werlé had formed his nine battalions into three columns of regiments, and could not bring as many muskets to bear as the Allies. Three separate regimental musket duels ensued, as the 23rd Royal Welch Fusiliers
Royal Welch Fusiliers
The Royal Welch Fusiliers was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Prince of Wales' Division. It was founded in 1689 to oppose James II and the imminent war with France...

 and the two battalions of the 7th Fusiliers each took on a column. During the fire-fight the French tried once more to extend into line, but as before the concentrated Allied fire prevented their deployment. After 20–30 minutes of bitter conflict they finally broke and ran. The Fusiliers had lost more than half their numbers, mainly to artillery fire, while Werlé's brigade had suffered 1,800 casualties.

Meanwhile, Abercrombie had wheeled his brigade round to face the right of the beleaguered V Corps and charged; Girard's and Gazan's men fled to the rear, joining the fugitives from Werlé's brigade. The Allied 4th Division and parts of the 2nd went after the retreating French, leading Beresford to exclaim "Stop! Stop the Fifty Seventh; it would be a sin to let them go on!" This admonition was unnecessary though: Latour-Maubourg quickly placed his cavalry between the chasing Allied divisions and the fleeing French infantry, and aborting their pursuit the British and Portuguese instead drew up on the heights they had just won. Soult also moved up his final reserve—two strong Grenadier
Grenadier (soldier)
A grenadier was originally a specialized soldier, first established as a distinct role in the mid-to-late 17th century, for the throwing of grenades and sometimes assault operations. At this time grenadiers were chosen from the strongest and largest soldiers...

 battalions—to cover the retreat, and although these suffered heavily from Allied artillery fire, they and the cavalry ensured there was little further fighting. After some delay Beresford brought up three Portuguese brigades and drove the Grenadiers back, but by this time Soult had massed his artillery in a line against the Allies and Beresford did not further commit his forces.

As a postscript to the battle, Alten's KGL, who had not had time to join the southern front, returned to Albuera and drove out what French force remained in the village. After six or seven hours of bitter conflict, the battle had come to an end.

Aftermath

On the morning of 17 May both sides formed up again. Beresford was preparing for another defensive battle, but Soult was only holding his ground long enough to arrange for transportation of his wounded to Seville. There was little chance of Soult resuming hostilities, since Kemmis's 1,400 strong brigade (previously stranded on the north bank of the Guadiana) joined the Allied army on the battlefield at dawn. Beresford also had the relatively unscathed Portuguese division, Alten's KGL and several Spanish battalions ready for duty; Soult, in contrast, only had Godinot's brigade and Latour-Maubourg's cavalry in a fit state to fight. News that Wellington was marching to Elvas with a further two divisions hastened the Marshal's decision to retreat, as well as persuading Beresford not to launch a premature offensive against Soult's superior artillery and cavalry.

Soult marched away before dawn on 18 May, leaving several hundred wounded behind for the Allies to treat. So many were injured in the battle that two days later British casualties were still waiting to be collected from the field. The chapel at Albuera was filled with wounded Frenchmen, and the dead still lay scattered across the ground. In proportion to the numbers involved, the Battle of Albuera was the bloodiest of the whole Peninsular War
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War was a war between France and the allied powers of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars. The war began when French and Spanish armies crossed Spain and invaded Portugal in 1807. Then, in 1808, France turned on its...

.

The losses on both sides were horrific, and while Soult had failed in his aim of relieving the siege of Badajoz, neither side had demonstrated the will to press for a conclusive victory. Allied losses amounted to 5,916: 4,159 British, 389 Portuguese and 1,368 Spaniards. In his despatch of 21 May 1811, Soult estimated British casualties as 5,000 with 800 to 1,000 captured; Spanish as 2,000 with 1,100 captured; Portugese as 700 to 800. French casualties are harder to ascertain—Soult initially declared 2,800 in his dispatch to Napoleon, but the official figure drawn up on 6 July revised that number upward to 5,936. British historians dispute this, comparing Soult's figure of 241 officer casualties with regimental returns that total 362. Sir Charles Oman
Charles Oman
Sir Charles William Chadwick Oman was a British military historian of the early 20th century. His reconstructions of medieval battles from the fragmentary and distorted accounts left by chroniclers were pioneering...

 extrapolated this figure to come up with the total number of French casualties, which he puts at approximately 7,900. In comparison, the French historians Belmas and Lapène place Soult's losses at 7,000. Some of the British dead from the battle, including Major General Daniel Hoghton, are buried in the British Cemetery, Elvas
British Cemetery Elvas
The British Cemetery at Elvas, Portugal is one of the oldest British Military Cemeteries in existence. It holds only five known graves but two of these are the only marked graves of the thousands of British soldiers who fell at the Battle of Albuera and another is the sole marked grave of the...

.

Reviewing Beresford's after action report
After Action Report
An after action report is any form of retrospective analysis on a given sequence of goal-oriented actions previously undertaken, generally by the author himself....

, Wellington was unhappy with its despondent tone and commented to a staff officer "This won't do. It will drive the people in England mad. Write me down a victory." The report was duly rewritten, although Wellington privately acknowledged that another such battle would ruin his army. Soult, on the basis of higher allied casualties, also claimed "a signal victory". He generously paid tribute to the steadfastness of the allied troops, writing "There is no beating these troops, in spite of their generals. I always thought they were bad soldiers, now I am sure of it. I had turned their right, pierced their centre and everywhere victory was mine – but they did not know how to run!"

Consequences

Although he failed to lift the siege of Badajoz, Soult's campaign had managed to temporarily relieve it for three days. General Philippon
Armand Philippon
Armand Philippon , sometimes called Phillipon, was a French soldier during the French Revolution and the subsequent First French Empire....

, the garrison's commander, took this opportunity to sally
Sortie
Sortie is a term for deployment or dispatch of one military unit, be it an aircraft, ship, or troops from a strongpoint. The sortie, whether by one or more aircraft or vessels, usually has a specific mission....

 out and destroy the surrounding Allied trenchworks and batteries. However, before abandoning these works and moving off to Albuera on 15 May, the 4th Division had sent their more valuable supplies back to Elvas, so little else was achieved during the Allied absence. On 18 May Beresford sent Hamilton's Portuguese division, along with some cavalry, back to Badajoz. Its investment was resumed the following day. Beresford's corps was joined by Wellington's field army during June 1811, but even with this reinforcement time was fast running out. The French Army of Portugal, now reconstituted under Marshal Auguste Marmont
Auguste Marmont
Auguste Frédéric Louis Viesse de Marmont, 1st Duke of Ragusa was a French General, nobleman and Marshal of France.-Biography:...

, had joined up with Soult's Army of the South, and Wellington was forced to pull his 44,000 men back across the border to Elvas. On 20 June the combined French force, over 60,000 strong, lifted the siege.

The Battle of Albuera had little effect on the overall course of the war, but it had shown that British and Spanish troops could work together. On the other hand, Anglo-Spanish political relations suffered following the battle. Wellington unfairly placed most of the blame for the losses on Blake, while a dispatch read in the Spanish cortes
Cádiz Cortes
The Cádiz Cortes were sessions of the national legislative body which met in the safe haven of Cádiz during the French occupation of Spain during the Napoleonic Wars...

implied that the British had played only a minor role in the battle. The next action in the theater was the Battle of Usagre
Battle of Usagre
In the Battle of Usagre on 25 May 1811, Anglo-Allied cavalry commanded by Major-General William Lumley routed a French cavalry force led by Major-General Marie Victor Latour-Maubourg at the village of Usagre in the Peninsular War.-Background:...

on 25 May.
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