Battle of Albuera

The Battle of Albuera was a battle of the Peninsular War which took place on May 16, 1811, at Albuera, about 12 miles south of Badajoz between the French Army, under the command of Field Marshal Soult, and an Allied force of British, Spanish, and Portuguese troops. The combined forces were under the command of Lord William Beresford, Marshal of the Portuguese Army. Portuguese and British forces were directly under his command; the Spanish forces were commanded by General Joaquin Blake. Soult was attempting to break up Beresford's attempts to besiege Badajoz, and failed to do so; the battle therefore was a victory for Beresford's forces. However, this was due to hard fighting; the British took very heavy casualties, and the Spaniards repelled one of the most massive infantry attacks of the war.

Related Topics:
Peninsular War - May 16 - 1811 - Badajoz - French Army - Field Marshal - Soult - British - Spanish - Portuguese - William Beresford - General - Joaquin Blake

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The siege of Badajoz was latter abandoned when Marmont joined forces with Soult. Albuera therefore had little effect on the course of the war , but the performance of Polish Lancers at it did cause the British Army to convert some cavalry regiments to lancers post-Waterloo. It also confirmed the fighting quality of the remodelled Portuguese Army.

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