Battle of Talavera (1809)
British troops hold the position against repeated French attacks
| date | July 27. bis 28. July 1809 |
|---|---|
| place | Talavera de la Reina in Castile-La Mancha |
| output | Allied victory |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
|
|
|
| Troop strength | |
| 20,641 British 34,800 Spaniards |
45,000 men |
| losses | |
|
5,365 to 6,200 dead, wounded and missing |
7,268 dead, wounded and missing |
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Bailén - Roliça - Vimeiro - Saragossa (1808) - Burgos (Gamonal) - Medina de Rioseco - Espinosa - Tudela - Somosierra - Saragossa (1809) - La Coruña - Torres Vedras - Valls - Braga - Oporto - Talavera - Ocaña - Gerona - Ciudad Rodrigo (1810) - Buçaco - Gévora - Barrosa - Badajoz (1811) - Fuentes de Oñoro - La Albuera - Tarragona (1811) - Sagunto (Murviedro) - Ciudad Rodrigo (1812) - Badajoz (1812) - Majadahonda - Salamanca - García Hernández - Venta del Pozo - Vitoria - Sorauren - San Sebastián - Bidassoa
In the battle of Talavera de la Reina on July 27 and 28, 1809, a British army under Wellington and a Spanish army under the captain-general of Estremadura, Cuesta , fought off the attacks of a French army under Joseph Bonaparte and the marshals Jean-Baptiste Jourdan and Claude-Victor Perrin called Victor . The battle ended with the retreat of the French, this battle being considered a draw in France.
initial situation
After the Second Battle of Oporto , the French troops had to withdraw from Portugal, so that four weeks after the British victory in this battle there were no more French combat troops. The British troops followed the withdrawing French without being able to catch up with them. Near Abrantes , the British regrouped under Wellesley. His plan was to advance to Spain with his 20,000 British soldiers and 35,000 Spanish. Another 25,000 Spaniards should try to advance against Madrid and take the capital at the same time.
With this in mind, Wellington's advance through the Tajo Valley began on June 28, 1809, and the Spanish-Portuguese border was crossed on July 3, 1809. As a result, there were serious problems, such as inaction by Spanish commanders and collapsing logistics, but the French patrols discovered the British troops on July 22, 1809, still on the march to Madrid. Due to the orders of Emperor Napoleon, several French corps were to form an army during this time and take action against the British army and Portugal. On July 25, 1809, a hundred kilometers from Madrid at Talavera de la Reina, two French corps joined forces with King Joseph, who had come from Madrid, with a total of 45,000 men. The Spaniards withdrew - knowing this concentration of troops - back west to the British troops. Nevertheless, the Spanish and French clashed on July 26, 1809 east of Talavera. The Spanish troops only managed to escape with luck. The Spaniards withdrew further to the British troops under Major General Sir Arthur Wellesley, which were positioned at Talavera on July 27, 1809.
Lineup
The British-Spanish army took up positions in the Tagus Valley. The right flank (almost the entire Spanish army of Cuesta) of the Allied army took up position at Talavera on the plain - directly on the Tagus -, while the left wing (the British troops) took up position in the hills. In the valley, the Spaniards had the advantage of being able to take up good defensive positions through dense hedges and olive groves. The British troops took up position along the Cerro de Medellín ridge, with Wellesley deploying his troops in two staggered lines.
Skirmish at Casa de las Salinas
As early as July 27, 1809, there was a minor clash between the enemy armies when the British infantry took up position near the ruins of Casa de las Salinas. At around two in the afternoon, French infantry advanced to take up position in the rugged terrain, which was also criss-crossed with olive trees or forest. The British Donkin Brigade and parts of the MacKenzie Brigade were surprised by the French Lapisse 'division. The two regiments of the Donkin Brigade were overrun as well as another British infantry regiment. With difficulty it was possible to collect the British soldiers in a catchment position. As the British cavalry approached, the French attack slowed. The British troops used the break to withdraw into the range of hills. This small skirmish cost 100 French dead and wounded, while 400 British soldiers died, were wounded or were captured. The French then took up positions against the Allied army.
Course of the battle
The battle began with the onset of artillery fire from the French after they had taken their positions. The battle itself was divided into individual skirmishes.
The French evening attack on July 27th
On the evening of July 27th, the French advanced against the Cerro de Medellín and tried to occupy it in order to secure this advantageous position for the next day. Around nine o'clock in the evening, parts of the French Lapisse infantry division crossed the ridge and overran the infantry brigade of the King's German Legion (KGL) under Colonel Löw. From the second line, under the command of Major General Rowland Hill, the Stewart Brigade marched forward and in close combat drove the French back from the ridge within a very short time.
The morning attack on July 28th
French batteries set up during the night opened fire on British positions around five in the morning. Half an hour later the French infantry began to advance. The French soon came under fire from the advanced light infantry. This dropped back, but caused the advancing 5,000 French of the Ruffin Division the first losses. At musket range, the British infantry fired a devastating volley that put an abrupt end to the French advance. In the next few minutes there was a pure firefight in a confined space, until the British infantry of the Sherbrooke Brigade advanced to the bayonet attack, and the French fled hastily.
The afternoon attacks
Around two o'clock in the afternoon, 4,600 German soldiers from the Leval division of the Rhine Confederation were sent against the Allied center. These succeeded in pushing back the advanced British posts, but the attack failed because of a fortified Spanish artillery position with ten guns and fire from the British infantry. The Baden battalions were badly hit by the artillery. In this situation, the British brigade under Henry Frederick Campbell counterattacked, with parts of Leval's division were overrun. As a result, the rest of the division, which had fought almost unmolested with the Spaniards, was also forced to retreat.
At three in the afternoon there was another French attack by the Lapisse and Sebastiani divisions on the British center and in particular on the troops of the 1st British Infantry Division. All four brigades waited until the last moment until they opened fire on the French at the shortest possible distance and then attacked immediately with the bayonet. The losses caused by the closed volley were catastrophic, and Major General Heinrich von Porbeck from Baden was killed in the attack. Around four in the afternoon, Leval's division was sent forward again to attack. This time, too, the German Rhine Confederation troops were decimated by volley fire on the approach, which was put to an end by a bayonet attack in connection with a cavalry attack by the Spaniards. The Leval division withdrew in disorder. Meanwhile, the Sebastiani Division stopped the attack carried out by the 1st British Infantry Division. Together with the remnants of the Lapisse Division and Reserves, the French immediately started a counterattack. In retreating to their old position, British forces fought desperately. A collapse of the British front could only be prevented by the reserves of the MacKenzie Brigade, which had been drawn into the first line and faced the superiority of the French almost alone for almost 45 minutes. After the French troops were attacked by the British cavalry, this attack collapsed. By this time the British reserves of the MacKenzie and Donkin Brigades on the one hand and the French on the other had nearly wiped each other out. The British managed to regroup their disbanded infantry in the second line. The French counterattack by the Lapisse Division was delayed while the British battalions forced to retreat were gathered. At the closest possible distance, both sides fought a hand-to-hand battle, which the French eventually lost after the French Sebastiani division had retreated. After four o'clock in the afternoon the French tried to bypass the mountain ranges to the north. However, a cavalry attack by the British collapsed. Nevertheless, the French retreated around 8 p.m., believing that they had been bypassed on their flanks.
The opposing troops
The breakdown and the rounded thickness are given below:
The French troops
The following troops were under the command of King Joseph Bonaparte and Marshal Jourdan:
- I. Army Corps Marshal Victor
- IV. Army Corps Sebastiani
- Milhaud Dragoon Division 3,250 soldiers
- Dragoon Division Latour-Marbourg 2,200 soldiers
- King's Guard 6,000 men
British troops
Under the command of Sir Arthur Wellesley were the following troops:
- 1st Sherbrooke Infantry Division
- Campbell Guards Brigade 2,000 soldiers
- Cameron Infantry Brigade 1,300 soldiers
- Infantry Brigade of the King's German Legion (KGL) Langwerth 1,400 soldiers
- Infantry Brigade of the King's German Legion (KGL) Löw 1,200 soldiers
- 2nd Rowland Hill Infantry Division
- Tilson Infantry Brigade 1,800 soldiers
- Stewart Infantry Brigade 2,000 soldiers
- 3rd MacKenzie Infantry Division
- MacKenzie Infantry Brigade 2,200 soldiers
- Donkin Infantry Brigade 1,400 soldiers
- 4th Campbell Infantry Division
- Campbell Infantry Brigade 1,000 soldiers
- Kemis Infantry Brigade 1,800 soldiers
- Payne Cavalry Division
The Spanish troops
The following troops were under the command of General-Captain Gregorio García de la Cuesta :
- Vanguard (5 battalions) 3,000 soldiers
- Zayas Infantry Division 4,500 soldiers
- Iglesias Infantry Division 5,100 soldiers
- Infantry Division de Portago 3,800 soldiers
- Manglano Infantry Division 4,300 soldiers
- Bassecourt Infantry Division 5,300 soldiers
- Henestrosa Cavalry Division 3,400 soldiers
- Cavalry Division de Albuquerque 3,000 soldiers
consequences
The French suffered the greatest casualties in this hard-fought battle, with 7,390 dead or wounded. The Spanish casualties were around 1,200 and the British were 5,500 dead and wounded. This was roughly 25% of the British troops compared to 18% of the French. Many of the wounded on both sides were burned as the dry grass caught fire on the battlefield. The next day, 3,000 light brigades joined the British forces after completing their famous 68 km march in 26 hours. In the meantime, Marshal Soult was advancing south, threatening to cut Wellesley's links with Portugal. Assuming the French were only 15,000 strong, Wellesley marched east to block their advance. He left 1,500 wounded under the care of the Spaniards. Surprisingly, however, he discovered that Soult had 30,000 men available, and he sent the light brigade in an express march to the bridge over the Tagus in Almaraz, which they reached just before Soult on August 6th. After securing communication with Lisbon in this way, Wellesley considered reuniting his troops with Cuestas. But he had to realize that the Spanish allies had handed the British wounded over to the French and were otherwise uncooperative. During the following months, badly executed actions endangered the position of the British. In addition, the promised grocery deliveries by the Spaniards did not materialize. This lack of supplies and the threat of French reinforcements (with the possibility of Napoleon's arrival) in the spring led to the British decision to withdraw to Portugal.
After this battle, Wellesley was awarded the title Viscount Wellington of Talavera .
meaning
The tactic employed of placing light troops in front of an easily defendable position while the main crowd was in safe cover behind a range of hills became Sir Arthur Wellesley's preferred style of fighting.
literature
- Siegfried Fiedler : Tactics and Strategy of the Revolutionary Wars. 1792-1848. License issue. Bechtermünz, Augsburg 2002, ISBN 3-8289-0521-8 .
- Heinz Helmert , Hansjürgen Usczeck: European Wars of Liberation. 1808 to 1814/15. Military history. 3. Edition. Military publishing house of the German Democratic Republic, Berlin 1986, ISBN 3-327-00042-5 .
- Detlef Wenzlik: The battles at Oporto and Talavera. May 12th / 27th - July 28, 1809 (= The Napoleonic Wars. Vol. 1). 3rd, revised and expanded edition. VRZ-Verlag Zörb, Hamburg 2004, ISBN 3-931482-01-4 .
Individual evidence
Web links
Coordinates: 39 ° 58 ′ 0 ″ N , 4 ° 50 ′ 0 ″ W.