Battle of Vimeiro

Battle of Vimeiro

Part of: The Liberation of Portugal 1808

Map of the Battle of Vimeiro

date	August 21, 1808
place	Vimeiro
output	Allied victory

Parties to the conflict
United Kingdom Portugal	France
Commander
Arthur Wellesley	Andoche Junot
Troop strength
16,778	13,050
losses
720 dead, wounded and missing	2,000 dead, wounded and missing

According to Weller

In the battle of Vimeiro on August 21, 1808, a British-Portuguese army under Arthur Wellesley , later Duke of Wellington, defeated a French army under Junot at Vimeiro .

background

In November 1807 a French division general Junot with 25,000 men, including 18,000 Spaniards, was enlisted in Portugal. The Spanish troops stationed near Lisbon soon refused to obey, making Junot's situation more worrying every day. The uprising of the Portuguese in Lisbon that broke out on June 15, 1808 was suppressed. Then 5000 English landed under General Spencer in the Algarve , but initially dared not attack. At the beginning of August further reinforcements under General Wellesley with 9,200 men were landed in the mouth of the Mondego , 2 days later they united with the corps under General Spencer and began the advance to liberate Lisbon on August 10th . In the battle at Roliça (August 17), 3,500 French under General Henri François Delaborde attacked the enemy and brought them to a standstill until reinforcements under Junots were expected.

Fighting

Wellesley took up position at Vimeiro on August 19, where the Anstruthen and Ackland brigades had also been disembarked in Porto Novo and brought the English to 21 battalions to around 17,000 men, plus around 2,000 allied Portuguese. The French, on the other hand, had drawn together two divisions with about 13,000 men. The infantry division under General Delaborde comprised two brigades under Brenier and Thomières , while General Loison's division consisted of the brigades of Jean-Baptiste Solignac and Hugues Charlot. The cavalry division under Margaron supported, the reserve of 2,100 men was led by General Kellermann . The English placed the Anstruther and Fane brigades in front of Vimeiro, with support from the Auckland brigade. A series of uncoordinated French attacks followed. In the early afternoon the Laborde division with the Thomieres brigade climbed the plateau in front of Vimeiro in a closed column, while the Brenier brigade threatened the enemy's left wing. When Junot saw the struggle of his leading main force thrown back against the British defensive fire, he also used his grenadier reserve to attack. The English, who stood in defense in several meetings on the steep slopes, repulsed all attacks and soon went over to counterattack. The French troops lost 13 guns and over 2000 men and withdrew to the old position at Torres Vedras .

consequences

The English generals Burrard and Dalrymple prevented Wellesley's original intention to cut off and destroy Junot's forces in Lisbon. Although they were both seasoned generals, they made a serious tactical mistake: in the Cintra Convention , the two British generals agreed that the French army and equipment could be brought to Quiberon on British ships. The French agreed to evacuate all of Portugal and were given free travel in return. They were brought back to France on British ships. This liberated Portugal, which had been occupied by French troops since 1807.

literature

• Ian Robertson: A commanding presence. Wellington in the peninsula, 1808-1814 . Spellmount Press, Stroud 2008, ISBN 978-1-86227-374-0 .
• Jac Weller: Wellington in the Peninsula. 1808-1814 . Nicholas Vane, London 1962 (Reprinted: Greenhill Books, London 1992, ISBN 1-85367-127-4 ).

Web links

Commons : Batalha do Vimeiro  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Battle of Vimeiro

Drawing of the battle