Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro
Fuentes de Oñoro, Salamanca, Spain
What happened
An Anglo-Portuguese army under Lord Wellington fought the French Army of Portugal under Marshal André Masséna. Masséna was trying to rescue the French garrison in the Portuguese fortress town of Almeida, which Wellington was besieging. Fighting raged in the village of Fuentes de Oñoro, and then the French attacked Wellington's exposed right flank. British troops fell back in good order, and Masséna, short of ammunition, called off the attacks.
Why it matters
Why it matters: The French failed to relieve Almeida. Wellington admitted he had stretched his line too thin and later said, 'If Boney had been there, we should have been beat.'
What came next
The French garrison of Almeida escaped by night a few days later. Napoleon recalled Masséna and replaced him with Marshal Marmont.
Did you know?
The battle is listed as a French victory on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, misspelled 'Fuente d'Oũoro'.
Timeline
- 1641Almeida's star-shaped fortress is built.
- 25 July-27 August 1810The French besiege Almeida.
- 3-5 May 1811The Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro.