Right, back to Wellington's battles in Spain.
Fuentes de Onoro, 3rd - 5th May 1811.
Massena intended to relieve Almeida with 48,000 troops but he was blocked bu Wellington on the Dos Casa rivr at Fuentes de Onoro.
This is the view of the village the French would have had as they approached form the West
This is the line of march of Loison's five divisions on 3rd May
It is still quite heavily wooded in parts, as it would have been in 1811
It was here that 71st and 79h Regiments were thrown in by Wellington to expel the French from the village
These markers by the church commemorate the battle
The church changed hands several times during the battle
At one point, Massena committed 18 battalions to capture the village, which they did until the 88th (Connaught Rangers) supported by 74th Highlanders ejected them for the final time.
This stork seems to get everywhere !
Although not a text book Wellington victory (our losses were 1,545 against French of 2,192) it was enough to thwart Massena again. Wellington then retired to his HQ at Freneda, back in Portugal
This was his residence and HQ for much of this campaign
A quiet little backwater now, the locals kindly opened the church for us to have a look see
Salamanca is coming soon, I promise !
Thanks Stephen, it is good to see it as it is today, must have been a fantastic holiday.
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Pat.
Sure was, Pat ! More pics to come soon. I'm hoping to get back to Washington in August, so will try and fit in some more ACW visits whilst there to cap off the year's tattle field trips.
ReplyDeleteExcellent images of the battlefield, very green on the day you visited. Thank you
ReplyDelete