First Battle of Porto
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First Battle of Porto | |||||||
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Part of the Peninsular War | |||||||
![]() Marshall Soult surveys the broken bridge as Oporto falls to the French on 29 March 1809. In the foreground a grenadier rescues an orphaned baby. | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
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Commanders and leaders | |||||||
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Jean de Dieu Soult | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
30,000[1] | 16,000[1] | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
8,000-10,000 killed[2] Unknown wounded | 500 killed or wounded[2] |
In the First Battle of Porto (29 March 1809) the
Background
The
Soult's invasion of Portugal
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/63/Batalha_do_Porto_-_29Mar1809.jpg/220px-Batalha_do_Porto_-_29Mar1809.jpg)
After the
.![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b7/Battle_of_Porto_reenactment_%282%29_2009.jpg/220px-Battle_of_Porto_reenactment_%282%29_2009.jpg)
Soult's
Soult's first attempt to invade Portugal was stopped by the local militia on 16 February. The French then moved northeast to Ourense in Spain, seized an unguarded bridge and marched south. On the way, Franceschi's cavalry overran Major General Nicolás Mahy's Spanish brigade at La Trepa on 6 March, inflicting 700 casualties. The French crossed into Portugal and occupied Chaves on 9 March.
From Chaves, Soult moved west to Póvoa de Lanhoso where he was confronted by Baron Eben's 25,000-man army composed mostly of Portuguese militia armed with muskets, pikes, and agricultural implements. After waiting several days for all his troops to arrive, Soult went over to the attack. On 20 March 1809, at the Battle of Braga the French veterans butchered their adversaries. The outmatched Portuguese lost 4,000 killed and 400 captured. The French, who lost 40 killed and 160 wounded, also seized 17 Portuguese cannons.
Battle
Bishop Castro organized an army of 24,000 men to defend Porto.
Generals Lima and Parreiras commanded two battalions, each of the 6th, 18th and 21st Infantry Regiments, and one battalion of the 9th and other units. The 4,500 Portuguese regulars were supported by 10,000 ordenanças (militia) and 9,000 armed citizens. When Soult hurled Merle, Mermet, Heudelet, Franceschi and Lahoussaye at the Portuguese deployed north of the city, on the weakest part of the Portuguese line of defence, Castro's force soon dissolved and the battle became a massacre. The Portuguese tried to escape from the French in the city but were chased by the French cavalry through the streets, and their regular units were annihilated.
Thousands of fleeing civilians drowned when a bridge of boats across the Douro River (as soon as some Portuguese units started to sabotage the bridge to prevent the French from crossing the river) collapsed because of their weight and of Portuguese artillery fire (coming from the left side of the Douro) who were aiming at the French cavalry behind the Portuguese soldiers and citizens.[5]
In the roadstead, Soult captured a squadron of Spanish naval vessels and 30 merchant ships. The French also found large stockpiles of British military stores. In the battle and storming of the city, the French lost 72 officers and 2,000 rank and file casualties. The Portuguese lost about 8,000 killed and 197 cannons captured.[4]
Soult did not have very long to enjoy his success; Almost at once, the ordenanças cut his communications with Spain and a 1,800-man garrison was forced to capitulate to
Aftermath
The Second Portuguese campaign proceeded with the Battle of Grijó. Porto was retaken by the British and Portuguese under Wellesley in the Second Battle of Porto.
See also
Notes
References
- ^ a b c Bodart 1908, p. 395.
- ^ a b Buttery 2016, p. 55.
- ^ Esdaile 2003, p. 164.
- ^ a b Smith 1998.
- ^ a b Glover 1974.
Bibliography
- Bodart, Gaston (1908). Militär-historisches Kriegs-Lexikon (1618-1905). Retrieved 19 May 2021.
- Buttery, David (2016). Wellington Against Soult: The Second Invasion of Portugal, 1809. Pen and Sword.
- Esdaile, Charles J. (2003). The Peninsular War. Palgrave MacMillan. ISBN 9781403962317. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
- Glover, Michael (1974). The Peninsular War 1807-1814. Penguin.
- Smith, Digby (1998). The Napoleonic Wars Data Book. Greenhill.
Further reading
- Hickock, William; York, Edward (1974). York's Military History of the Peninsular War.
- Conquêtes, désastres, revers et guerres civiles des Français, de 1792 à 1815, par une société de militaires et de gens de lettres. Paris: C. L. F. Panckoucke. 1820. pp. 16–18.
External links
Media related to First Battle of Porto at Wikimedia Commons
Preceded by Battle of Ciudad Real |
Napoleonic Wars First Battle of Porto |
Succeeded by Battle of Medellín |