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The Battle of Albuera took place on May 16, 1811 between the French Army, under the command of Field Marshal Nicolas Soult, and an Allied force of English, Spanish, and Portuguese troops. The combined forces were under the command of Lord William Beresford. The commander of the Spanish forces was General Joaquin Blake.
In the summer of 1810, French Field Marshal Andre Massena captured the main fortress of Ciudad Rodrigo y Almeida. On September 27, 1810, after heavy fighting at Busaco, the Duke of Wellington, Commander-in-Chief of the Allied forces, withdrew to Lisbon where he established a line of fortification at Torres Vedras. Massena's forces were too weak to press an assault so he withdrew to Santander. He needed the assistance of Marshal Soult, who commanded the French South Spanish Army. He had a force of about 70,000 troops in Andalusia, Granada and Murcia.
In early January 1811 he marched to Estremadura where he besieged the fortress of Badajoz. Wellington sent a detachment of 10,000 troops to the southern bank of the Tag River, under the command command of General Rowland Hill. He sent orders to the Spanish General Mendizabel to disrupt the French siege of Badajoz. A while later, Spanish and English troops began landing (by ship) near Kadyks. However, they lost the Battle of Barrosa on March 8, 1811, and the Allies lost the city of Badajoz. Massena's forces, however, were routed. The French V Corps under the command of General Latour Mauborg remained in Estremadura.
Wellington decided to recapture Badajoz. He sent General Hill's corps with support (more than 20,000) under command of William Beresford, with the Spanish forces of Generals Blake and Castanos in support. Beresford was sure that he could easily capture Badajoz so he did not take his siege guns. Unfortunately, the French commander General Philippon had strongly fortified Badajoz. Beresford sent for siege artillery from Elvas, but the only available guns were so weak that they were a greater danger to the Allies than the French.
Meanwhile, Marshal Soult collected forces and went to support Badajoz.
- 11 May: Skirmish between French and Anglo-spanish cavalry.
- 13 May: Beresford conferred with Spanish generals Blake, Ballasteros and d'Espana in Valverede. The Allied decided to fight a defensive battle at Albuera, which was 200,000 metres south east of Badajoz. They also dispatched 2,500 cavalry under the command of General Long to monitor the French movements.
Opposite forces.
Allied forces: 35,000 soldiers and 38 cannons.
French forces: 24,000 soldiers and 40 cannons.
Soult's command included the Polish Onvistula Uhlan (Lancer) Regiment (minus one squadron) with 591 soldiers, and a regiment of Grenadiers formed from two Grenadier companies drawn from each of 4 infantry regiments from the Duchy of Warsaw. The composite Grenadier regiment was under the command of Colonel Varrere.
Prelude
On May 15, General Briche's Hussar brigade (800 men) destroyed General Long's Allied cavalry force at Santa Martha and captured the right bank of the Albuera River. In response, Beresford's forces took their position on the hilly left bank of that river.
Soult decided to attack. He decided to feint an attack on the town of Albuera with one brigade, while the rest of his forces would outflank the Allied right wing.
The Battle
Four platoons of Polish Uhlans crossed the Albuera. General Long responded by deploying two squadrons of the 3rd Dragoon Guards. The first squadron of this regiment was destroyed by two platoons. When the second squadron attacked, the Polish retreated to the river. However, when the dragoon fire became too intense, the Polish forces retreated across the river. As the Uhlans began to withdraw after crossing the river they had to fight with the British dragoons. Polish losses were 14 killed and 3 wounded. English losses were 20 killed and wounded.
Attack on Albuera
A brigade of infantry commanded by General Godin pushed back soldiers from a brigade of the King's German Legion (KGL) under the command of General Altena. They crossed the river at a bridge but took heavy losses from Portuguese artillery fire, which displaced some of the Germans from the village. Meanwhile, on the French right wing, V Corps under the command of General Girard begun its attack on three Spanish divisions under the command of Generals Zayas, Lardizabal, and Ballasteros. V Corps' flanks were covered by horse artillery. On the left flank of V Corps, a French dragoon division under the command of General Latour Mauborg took its position. On its right flank, General Werle's infantry division was deployed.
Beresford sent Hamilton's Division to the village of Albuera. He concentrated all of his cavalry units against Mauborg's dragoon division. General Steward's 2nd Infantry Division, along with a battery from the KGL, moved to assist the Spanish. The 4th Division under General Cole remained in reserve. Soon, Spanish General Colborn's brigade began decimating the V Corps' left flank.
At this moment, General Latour Maubourg sent the Uhlan Regiment and the 10th Hussars Regiment against them. The Uhlans succesfully destroyed the 3rd Infantry Regiment and some battalions from the 48th and 66th Infantry Regiments. They captured 5 regimental flags and also 5 cannons from the KGL battery. Meanwhile, some troops attacked a battalion of the 31st Infantry Regiment, but were repulsed. Next, the Uhlans attacked a Spanish Brigade commanded by General d'Espana and Beresford's staff. Some of the Spanish troops, mainly those from Ballesteros's and Lardizabal's divisions, successfully escaped. This portion of the battle was ended by the unsuccessful attack of the British 4th Dragoon Regiment, which lost 27 soldiers.
Meanwhile, French soldiers from V Corps tried to change face but were fired upon by a hidden British regiment nearby. Beresford decided to commit General d'Espana's brigade but he and his soldiers refused to attack. When he got information that the French had captured the village of Albuera he decided to retreat. Then, General Cole's division began its attack.
Marshal Soult sent a few divisions of dragoons and the Polish Uhlans. They stopped the attack of Harvey's brigade but the Uhlans took heavy losses from rifle fire. After that the cavalry withdrew. English and Portuguese infantry begun their attack on the right wing of V Corps. Soldiers from this corps began retreating from the right bank of the Albuera River. The English attack was slowed by Gen. Werle's division, until Werle was killed; afterwards, his forces began retreating also.
French artillery under the command of General Ruty began an artillery duel with the English, while the Polish grenadiers protected the artillery. Meanwhile, most of Soult's army began to withdraw. The 15-hour battle was finally finished.
Casualties
- Allied forces (English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Germans): 5,916 Soldiers.
- French forces: 7,000 soldiers. (British claim 8000).
- Polish forces (serving with the French): The Uhlans lost 130 soldiers killed, wounded, or captured by the Allied forces. Kajetan (Captain) Wojciechowski, who took part in the battle, reported that the Uhlans lost 16 officers and 200 soldiers. The Polish grenadiers, which had covered the French withdrawal, also took heavy casualties.
Sources
- Article from polish historical newspaper "Mówią Wieki" nr 8/2000. The author is: Andrzej Krzysztof Szymański. The Polish title is: "Albuera zapomniana karta z dziejów kawalerii polskiej". The English translation is: "Albuera: A forgotten charge in the history of the Polish cavalry"
- Information about this battle can be found at here