{"id":13189,"date":"2015-01-03T20:06:27","date_gmt":"2015-01-03T19:06:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.memorialatpeninsula.org\/?p=13189"},"modified":"2022-10-14T14:42:21","modified_gmt":"2022-10-14T13:42:21","slug":"battle-of-salamanca","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.memorialatpeninsula.org\/?p=13189","title":{"rendered":"Battle of Salamanca"},"content":{"rendered":"

 Battle Honour on The Royal Green Jackets Cap Badge<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Battle of Salamanca<\/strong> saw an Anglo-Portuguese army under the Duke of Wellington defeat Marshal Auguste Marmont’s French forces among the hills around Arapiles, south of Salamanca, Spain on 22nd of July in 1812 during the Peninsular War. A Spanish division was also present but took no part in the battle.<\/p>\n

The battle involved a succession of flanking manoeuvres in oblique order, initiated by the British heavy cavalry brigade and Pakenham’s 3rd division, and continued by the cavalry and the 4th, 5th and 6th divisions. These attacks resulted in a rout of the French left wing. Both Marmont and his deputy commander, General Bonet, received shrapnel wounds in the first few minutes of firing. Confusion amongst the French command may have been decisive in creating an opportunity, which Wellington successfully seized and exploited.<\/p>\n

General Bertrand Clausel, third in seniority, assumed command and ordered a counterattack by the French reserve toward the depleted Allied centre. The move proved partly successful but with Wellington having sent his reinforcements to the centre, the Anglo-Portuguese forces prevailed.<\/p>\n

Allied losses numbered 3,129 British and 2,038 Portuguese dead or wounded. The Spanish troops took no part in the battle as they were positioned to block French escape routes and as such suffered just six casualties. The French suffered about 13,000 dead, wounded and captured. As a consequence of Wellington’s victory, his army was able to advance to and liberate Madrid for two months, before retreating to Portugal. The French were forced to abandon Andalusia permanently while the loss of Madrid irreparably damaged King Joseph’s pro-French government.<\/p>\n

Background<\/strong><\/p>\n

The battle followed a frustrating six weeks for Wellington. As he advanced into central Spain, the Duke had been blocked by Marmont’s army, which was constantly swelled by reinforcements. Wellington withdrew as the odds turned against him, with his armies often marching close together and Marmont repeatedly threatening Wellington’s supply line. By the day of the battle Wellington had decided to withdraw his army all the way back to Portugal, but observed that Marmont had made the tactical error of separating his left flank from the main body of his army. Wellington’s reaction has been differently reported, with little emphasis that both he and Marmont had been looking for an opening for weeks. The Duke immediately ordered the major part of his army to attack the overextended French left wing.<\/p>\n

Forces<\/strong><\/p>\n

Marshal Marmont’s 50,000-man Army of Portugal contained eight infantry and two cavalry divisions, plus 78 artillery pieces. The infantry divisions were Maximilien Sebastien Foy’s 1st (4,900), Bertrand Clausel’s 2nd (6,300), Claude Fran\u00e7ois Ferey’s 3rd (5,400), Jacques Thomas Sarrut’s 4th (5,000), Antoine Louis Popon de Maucune’s 5th (5,000), Antoine Fran\u00e7ois Brenier de Montmorand’s 6th (4,300), Jean Guillaume Barth\u00e9lemy Thomi\u00e8res’s 7th (4,300), and Jean Pierre Fran\u00e7ois Bonet’s 8th (6,400). Pierre Fran\u00e7ois Joseph Boyer led 1,500 dragoons and Jean-Baptiste Theodore Curto commanded 1,900 light cavalry. Louis Tirlet directed 3,300 artillerymen and there were also 1,300 engineers, military police and wagon drivers.<\/p>\n

Wellington’s 48,500-man army included eight infantry divisions and two independent brigades, five cavalry brigades and 54 cannons. The infantry divisions were Henry Campbell’s 1st (6,200), Edward Pakenham’s 3rd (5,800), Galbraith Lowry Cole’s 4th (5,191), James Leith’s 5th (6,700), Henry Clinton’s 6th (5,500), John Hope’s 7th (5,100) and Charles Alten’s Light (3,500). Carlos de Espa\u00f1a commanded a 3,400-man Spanish division, while Denis Pack (2,600) and Thomas Bradford (1,900) led Portuguese brigades.<\/p>\n

Stapleton Cotton supervised the cavalry brigades. These included 1,000 British heavy dragoons (1st Cavalry Brigade) led by John Le Marchant, 1,000 British light dragoons (2nd Cavalry Brigade) under George Anson, 700 Anglo-German light horse under Victor Alten, 800 King’s German Legion (KGL) heavy dragoons led by George Bock and 500 Portuguese dragoons under Benjamin d’Urban. Hoylet Framingham commanded eight British (RHA: Ross, Bull, Macdonald; RA: Lawson, Gardiner, Greene, Douglas, May) and one Portuguese (Arriaga) six-gun artillery batteries.<\/p>\n

Manoeuvres<\/strong><\/p>\n

Marmont’s army moved south early on the 22nd of July, its leading elements reaching an area southeast of Salamanca. To the west, the Marshal could see Wellington’s 7th Division deployed on a ridge. Spotting a dust cloud in the distance, Marmont assumed that most of the British army was in retreat and that he faced only a rearguard. He planned to move his French army south, then west to turn the British right flank.<\/p>\n

This was a mistake as Wellington had most of his forces hidden behind the ridge, while his 3rd and 5th Divisions were en route from Salamanca. Wellington had planned to retreat if outflanked, but waited to see if Marmont would make a blunder.<\/p>\n

The Marshal’s army planned to move along an L-shaped ridge, with its angle near a steep height known as the Greater Arapile. That morning, the French occupied only the short, north-pointing part of the L. For his flanking move, Marmont marched his divisions west along the long side of the L. The Anglo-Allied army lay behind another L-shaped ridge, inside and parallel to the French L, and separated from it by a valley. Unseen by the French, Wellington assembled a powerful striking force along the long side of the British L.<\/p>\n

As Marmont moved westward, the French became strung out along the long side of the L. Thomi\u00e8res’s division led the way, supported by Curto’s cavalry. After that Maucune, Brenier, and Clausel. Bonet, Sarrut and Boyer advanced close to the Greater Arapile, while Foy and Ferey held the short side of the L.<\/p>\n

Battle<\/strong><\/p>\n

When the British 3rd Division and D’Urban’s brigade reached the top of the French L, they attacked Thomi\u00e8res. At the same time, Wellington launched the 5th and 4th Divisions, backed by the 7th and 6th Divisions, at the long side of the French L.<\/p>\n

The 3rd Division came at the head of Thomi\u00e8res’s division in a two-deep line. Despite its deployment in column formation, the French division initially repulsed its attackers, but was then charged and routed by a bayonet charge. Thomi\u00e8res was killed. Seeing British cavalry in the area, Maucune formed his division into squares, the standard formation to receive a mounted attack, but a poor choice when defending against infantry. With their two-deep line, Leith’s 5th Division easily defeated Maucune in a musketry duel. As the French foot soldiers fell back, Cotton ordered Le Marchant’s brigade (5th Dragoon Guards, 3rd and 4th Dragoons) to attack them. Maucune’s men were cut to pieces by the heavy cavalrymen’s sabres. Many of the survivors surrendered.<\/p>\n

Le Marchant hurriedly reformed his troopers and sent them at the next French division, which was winded from a rapid march. The heavy dragoons mauled Brenier’s hastily formed first line, but Le Marchant pressed his luck too far. He was killed trying to break a French square in Brenier’s second line. William Ponsonby succeeded to command of the brigade.<\/p>\n

During this crisis, the French army lost its commander. As Pakenham’s 3rd Division prepared to attack Thomi\u00e8res, Marmont finally woke up to his army’s peril. He dashed for his horse, but was caught in a British shellburst which broke his arm and two ribs. His second-in-command, Bonet, was wounded very soon afterwards. Records conflict however, with Marmont claiming that he was wounded as his wing became overextended, and his incapacitation led to the error not being corrected before Wellington attacked. His enemies place the time of his wounding as during Wellington’s attack. For somewhere between 20 minutes and over an hour, the Army of Portugal remained leaderless.<\/p>\n

Cole’s 4th Division attacked Bonet’s division while Pack’s Portuguese assaulted the Greater Arapile. With the help of a 40-gun battery firing from the Greater Arapile, both attacks were repulsed by the French.<\/p>\n

Assuming command, general Clausel did his best to salvage the dire situation. He committed Sarrut’s division to shore up the wrecked left flank, then launched a dangerous counterattack at Cole’s 4th Division using his own and Bonet’s divisions, supported by Boyer’s dragoons. This attack brushed aside Cole’s survivors and struck the 6th Division in Wellington’s second line. Marshal Beresford reacted promptly to the developing threat and immediately sent Spry’s Portuguese brigade of the 5th Division to engage the French infantry, while Wellington moved the 1st and 7th Divisions to assist. After bitter resistance, the divisions of Clausel and Bonet were defeated and the French army began to retreat.<\/p>\n

As the rest of the French army streamed away, Ferey formed his division into a single three-deep line, with each flank covered by a battalion in square. Led by Clinton’s victorious 6th Division, the British came up to this formation and were initially repulsed. After ordering his artillery to crossfire through the centre of the French line, Wellington ordered a second assault. This attack broke Ferey’s division and killed its commander.<\/p>\n

Foy’s division covered the French retreat towards Alba de Tormes, where there was a bridge they could use to escape. Wellington, believing that the Alba de Tormes crossing was blocked by a Spanish battalion in a fortified castle, directed his pursuit along a different road. De Espana, however, had withdrawn the unit without informing Wellington, which allowed the French to escape. The Army of Portugal suffered 7,000 killed and wounded and 7,000 captured. Besides Marmont’s severe wounding, two divisional commanders were killed and another wounded. Half of the 5,214 Anglo-Allied losses came from the 4th and 6th Divisions. Cotton, Cole, and Leith were all wounded.<\/p>\n

Outcome<\/strong><\/p>\n

The battle established Wellington as an offensive general. It was said that he “defeated an army of 40,000 men in 40 minutes.” Six days after the battle, Foy wrote in his diary,<\/p>\n

“This battle is the most cleverly fought, the largest in scale, the most important in results, of any that the English have won in recent times. It brings up Lord Wellington’s reputation almost to the level of that of Marlborough. Up to this day we knew his prudence, his eye for choosing good positions, and the skill with which he used them. But at Salamanca he has shown himself a great and able master of manoeuvring. He kept his dispositions hidden nearly the whole day: he allowed us to develop our movement before he pronounced his own: he played a close game: he utilized the oblique order in the style of Frederick the Great.”<\/p>\n

The Battle of Salamanca was a damaging defeat for the French and while they regrouped, Anglo-Portuguese forces entered Madrid on 6th of August. The Siege of Burgos ensued, then in the autumn the Anglo-Portuguese retreated to Portugal when renewed French concentrations threatened to trap them.<\/p>\n

A failure by Spanish troops to guard a crucial escape route over the bridge at Alba de Tormes tainted the victory. This may have resulted from a misunderstanding between Spanish and British commanders. Subsequent pursuit failed to destroy or to capture the fleeing French.
\nAction at Garcia Hernandez
\nThe following day, Wellington’s King’s German Legion (KGL) heavy dragoons performed the astounding feat of “breaking a square” and overrunning a portion of the French rearguard at the Battle of Garcia Hernandez. Moreover, they accomplished this twice within a few minutes.<\/p>\n

Imperial Eagle<\/strong><\/p>\n

Two Imperial Eagles were captured at Salamanca. Ensign John Pratt of the Light Company of the 2nd Battalion 30th Foot took the Eagle of the 22nd Line Regiment, which is today on display in the Queen’s Lancashire Regiment Museum at Fulwood Barracks in Preston, Lancashire. The Eagle of the French 62nd Line (Thomi\u00e8res) was captured by Lieutenant Pearce of the 2nd Battalion 44th East Essex Regiment, a part of Lieutenant General Leith’s 5th Division.<\/p>\n

Cultural references<\/strong><\/p>\n

The battle is mentioned in Tolstoy’s novel War and Peace, Book 3 Chapter XXVI. Prior to the Battle of Borodino, Tolstoy describes Napoleon as receiving an aide-de-camp, Fabvier, who has just arrived with news of the Battle of Salamanca. “Fabvier told him of the heroism and devotion of his troops fighting at Salamanca, at the other end of Europe, but with one thought \u2013 to be worthy of their Emperor \u2013 but with one fear \u2013 to fail to please him. The result of that battle had been deplorable. Napoleon made ironic remarks during Fabvier’s account, as if he had not expected that matters could not go otherwise in his absence”.<\/p>\n

The battle features in Sharpe’s Sword by Bernard Cornwell, in which Richard Sharpe helps Wellington bring the French to battle by feeding a known French spy false information. Cornwell also duplicated Wellington’s tactics in this battle, in his retelling of Arthur’s victory at the Battle of Mount Badon, in The Warlord Chronicles.<\/p>\n

The battle is described in Suzanna Clarke’s Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, during the time that Jonathan Strange served under Lord Wellington.<\/p>\n

Salamanca Place, in Hobart, Tasmania, commemorates the battle. Mount Wellington is nearby.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Division Brigade Regiments and Others
\nFirst Division
\nMaj Gen Henry Campbell<\/p>\n

Fermor’s Brigade
\nCol Thomas W. Fermor<\/p>\n

1st Battalion, Coldstream Guards
\n1st Battalion, 3rd Guards
\n5th Battalion, 60th Foot (1 company)
\nWheatley’s Brigade
\nMaj Gen William Wheatley<\/p>\n

2nd Battalion, 24th Foot
\n1st Battalion, 42nd Foot
\n2nd Battalion, 58th Foot
\n1st Battalion, 79th Foot
\n5th Battalion, 60th Foot (1 company)
\nLowe’s Brigade
\nMaj Gen Baron Lowe (or von L\u00f6w)<\/p>\n

1st Line Battalion, King’s German Legion
\n2nd Line Battalion, King’s German Legion
\n5th Line Battalion, King’s German Legion
\nThird Division
\nMaj Gen Edward Pakenham<\/p>\n

Wallace’s Brigade
\nLt Col Alexander Wallace<\/p>\n

1st Battalion, 45th Foot: Lt Col Forbes (w), Maj Greenwell (w)
\n74th Foot
\n1st Battalion, 88th Foot: Maj Murphy (k)
\n5th Battalion, 60th Foot (3 companies): Lt Col Williams (w), Maj Galiffe (w)
\nJ. Campbell’s Brigade
\nLt Col James Campbell (w)<\/p>\n

1st Battalion, 5th Foot
\n2nd Battalion, 5th Foot: Lt Col Bird (w)
\n2nd Battalion, 83rd Foot
\n94th Foot
\nPower’s Portuguese Brigade (8th Brigade)
\nCol Manley Power<\/p>\n

9th and 21st Line, 12th Ca\u00e7adores
\nFourth Division
\nLt Gen Sir Galbraith Lowry Cole (w)<\/p>\n

W. Anson’s Brigade
\nMaj Gen William Anson<\/p>\n

3rd Battalion, 27th Foot
\n1st Battalion, 40th Foot
\n5th Battalion, 60th Foot (1 company)
\nEllis’ Brigade
\nLt Col Henry W. Ellis<\/p>\n

1st Battalion, 7th Foot
\n1st Battalion, 23rd Foot: Maj Dalmer (w)
\n1st Battalion, 48th Foot
\nBrunswick Oels (1 company)
\nStubbs’ Portuguese Brigade (9th Brigade)
\nCol George Stubbs<\/p>\n

11th and 23rd Line, 7th Ca\u00e7adores
\nFifth Division
\nLt Gen James Leith (w)
\nMaj Gen William H. Pringle<\/p>\n

Greville’s Brigade
\nLt Col James Greville<\/p>\n

3rd Battalion, 1st Foot: Lt Col Barnes (w)
\n1st Battalion, 9th Foot
\n1st Battalion, 38th Foot: Lt Col Miles (w)
\n2nd Battalion, 38th Foot
\nBrunswick Oels (1 company)
\nPringle’s Brigade
\nMaj Gen William H. Pringle<\/p>\n

1st Battalion, 4th Foot
\n2nd Battalion, 4th Foot
\n2nd Battalion, 30th Foot
\n2nd Battalion, 44th Foot: Lt Col Barlow (k)
\nBrunswick Oels (1 company)
\nSpry’s Portuguese Brigade (3rd Brigade)
\nBrig Gen William F. Spry<\/p>\n

3rd and 15th Line, 8th Ca\u00e7adores
\nSixth Division
\nMaj Gen Sir Henry Clinton<\/p>\n

Hulse’s Brigade
\nMaj Gen Hulse<\/p>\n

1st Battalion, 11th Foot: Lt Col Cuyler (w), Major McGregor (w)
\n2nd Battalion, 53rd Foot: Lt Col Bingham (w)
\n1st Battalion, 61st Foot
\n5th Battalion, 60th Foot (1 company)
\nHinde’s Brigade
\nCol Samuel Hinde<\/p>\n

2nd Foot: Lt Col Kingsbury (w)
\n1st Battalion, 32nd Foot
\n1st Battalion, 36th Foot
\nRezende’s Portuguese Brigade (7th Brigade)
\nBrig Gen Conde de Rezende<\/p>\n

8th and 12th Line, 9th Ca\u00e7adores
\nSeventh Division
\nMaj Gen John Hope<\/p>\n

Halkett’s Brigade
\nCol Colin Halkett<\/p>\n

1st Light Battalion, King’s German Legion
\n2nd Light Battalion, King’s German Legion
\nBrunswick Oels (7 companies)
\nDe Bernewitz’s Brigade
\nMaj Gen J.H. de Bernewitz (or von Bernewitz)<\/p>\n

51st Foot
\n68th Foot
\nChasseurs Britanniques
\nCollins’ Portuguese Brigade (6th Brigade)
\nCol Collins<\/p>\n

7th and 19th Line, 2nd Ca\u00e7adores
\nLight Division
\nMaj Gen Charles Baron von Alten<\/p>\n

Barnard’s Brigade
\nLt Col Andrew Barnard<\/p>\n

1st Battalion, 43rd Foot
\nparts of 2nd and 3rd Battalions, 95th Foot (4 companies)
\n1st Ca\u00e7adores
\nVandeleur’s Brigade
\nMaj Gen John O. Vandeleur<\/p>\n

1st Battalion, 52nd Foot
\n1st Battalion, 95th Foot (8 companies)
\n3rd Ca\u00e7adores
\nIndependent Units<\/p>\n

Pack’s Brigade (1st Brigade)
\nBrig Gen Denis Pack<\/p>\n

1st and 16th Line, 4th Ca\u00e7adores
\nBradford’s Brigade (10th Brigade)
\nBrig Gen Thomas Bradford<\/p>\n

13th and 24th Line, 5th Ca\u00e7adores
\nSpanish Division
\nMaj Gen Carlos de Espana<\/p>\n

2nd Battaion, Regiment Princesa
\nTiradores de Castilla
\nCa\u00e7adores de Castilla
\n2nd Battalion, Regiment Juan
\n3rd Battalion, 1st Seville
\none battery of 6-pounders
\nCavalry
\nLt Gen Sir John Stapleton Cotton (w)<\/p>\n

Le Marchant’s Brigade
\nMaj Gen John Gaspard Le Marchant (k)
\nCol William Ponsonby<\/p>\n

5th Dragoon Guards: Col William Ponsonby
\n3rd Dragoons
\n4th Dragoons: Col Lord Edward Somerset
\nG. Anson’s Brigade
\nMaj Gen George Anson<\/p>\n

11th Light Dragoons
\n12th (Prince of Wales’s) Light Dragoons
\n16th (Queen’s) Light Dragoons
\nvon Alten’s Brigade
\nMaj Gen Victor von Alten (w)<\/p>\n

14th Light Dragoons: Lt Col Hervey
\n1st Hussars, King’s German Legion
\nBock’s Brigade
\nMaj Gen Baron Bock<\/p>\n

1st Dragoons, King’s German Legion
\n2nd Dragoons, King’s German Legion
\nD’Urban’s Portuguese Brigade
\nBrig Gen Benjamin D`Urban<\/p>\n

1st Portuguese Dragoons
\n11th Portuguese Dragoons
\nJulian Sanchez’s Brigade
\nCol Julian Sanchez<\/p>\n

1st Lanceros Castilla
\n2nd Lanceros Castilla
\ntwo 4-pounders cannons
\nOther<\/p>\n

Artillery (54 guns)
\nLt Col Hoylet Framingham<\/p>\n

Ross\u00b4 Troop, Royal Horse Artillery
\nBull\u00b4s Troop, Royal Horse Artillery
\nMacDonald\u00b4s Troop, Royal Horse Artillery
\nLawson\u00b4s Battery, Field Artillery
\nGardiner\u00b4s Battery, Field Artillery
\nGreene\u00b4s Battery, Field Artillery
\nDouglas\u00b4s Battery, Field Artillery
\nMay\u00b4s Battery, Field Artillery
\nSympher\u00b4s Battery, King’s German Legion Artillery
\nArriaga Battery, Portuguese Artillery
\nFrench Army
\nMarshal Auguste de Marmont, Commander-in-Chief (w)
\nGD Jean Pierre Fran\u00e7ois Bonet (w)
\nGD Bertrand Clausel (w)<\/p>\n

Chief of Artillery: GB Louis Tirlet<\/p>\n

Division BrigadeRegiments and Others
\n1st Division
\nGB Maximilien Sebastien Foy<\/p>\n

Brigade Chemineau
\n6th Leger, two battalions
\n69th Ligne, two battalions
\nBrigade Desgraviers-Berthelot
\nGB Francois-Ganivet Desgraviers-Berthelot (mw)<\/p>\n

39th Ligne, two battalions
\n76th Ligne, two battalions
\n2nd Division
\nGD Bertrand Clausel<\/p>\n

Brigade Berlier
\n25th Leger, three battalions
\n27th Ligne, two battalions
\nBrigade Barbot
\n50th Ligne, three battalions
\n59th Ligne, two battalions
\n3rd Division
\nGD Claude Fran\u00e7ois Ferey (k)<\/p>\n

Brigade Menne
\n31st Leger, two battalions
\n26th Ligne, two battalions
\n2nd Brigade
\n47th Ligne, three battalions
\n70th Ligne, two battalions
\n4th Division
\nGD Jacques Thomas Sarrut<\/p>\n

Brigade Fririon
\n2nd Leger, three battalions
\n36th Ligne, three battalions
\n2nd Brigade
\n4th Leger, three battalions
\n130th Ligne (absent)
\n5th Division
\nGD Antoine Louis Popon de Maucune<\/p>\n

Brigade Arnaud
\n15th Ligne, three battalions
\n66th Ligne, two battalions
\nBrigade Montfort
\n82nd Ligne, two battalions
\n86th Linge, two battalions
\n6th Division
\nGD Antoine Fran\u00e7ois Brenier de Montmorand<\/p>\n

Brigade Taupin
\n17th Leger, two battalions
\n65th Ligne, three battalions
\n2nd Brigade
\n22nd Ligne, three battalions
\nRegiment de Prusse (remnants)
\n7th Division
\nGB Jean Guillaume Barth\u00e9lemy Thomi\u00e8res (k)<\/p>\n

Brigade Bont\u00e9
\n1st Ligne, three battalions
\n62nd Ligne, two battalions
\n2nd Brigade
\n101st Ligne, three battalions
\n23rd Leger (absent)
\n8th Division
\nGD Jean Pierre Fran\u00e7ois Bonet<\/p>\n

Brigade Gautier
\n118th Ligne, three battalions
\n119th Linge, three battalions
\n2nd Brigade
\n120th Ligne, three battalions
\n122nd Ligne, three battalions
\nCavalry<\/p>\n

Light Cavalry Division<\/p>\n

GB Jean-Baptiste T. Curto<\/p>\n

3rd Hussars, two squadrons
\n22nd Chasseurs, two squadrons
\n26th Chasseurs, two squadrons
\n28th Chasseurs, one squadron
\n13th Chasseurs, five squadrons
\n14th Chasseurs, four squadrons
\nDragoon Division<\/p>\n

GB Pierre T.J. Boyer<\/p>\n

6th Dragoons, two squadrons
\n11th Dragoons, two squadrons
\n15th Dragoons, two squadrons
\n25th Dragoons, two squadrons<\/p>\n

Sourced from Wikipedia<\/p>\n

22nd<\/strong> July Salamanca Day <\/strong><\/p>\n

The Annual Regimental Day of The Rifles.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Today is Salamanca Day \u2013 the annual Regimental Day of The Rifles. It celebrates the anniversary of the Allied victory at the Battle of Salamanca on the 22nd July 1812, which famously saw the Duke of Wellington\u2019s British and Portuguese army \u201cbeating 40,000 men in 40 minutes\u201d. Salamanca is of special significance to The Rifles, because every one of the forming regiments had at least one antecedent regiment present at the battle.<\/p>\n

The Devonshire and Dorsetshire Light Infantry were represented by the 11th Foot, the Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Light Infantry by the 61st Foot, The Light Infantry by the 32nd, 51st, 53rd and 68th Foot, and the Royal Green Jackets by the 43rd, 52nd and 60th Foot, and the 95th Rifles.<\/p>\n

Salamanca saw an evenly matched British and Portuguese army, composed of 48,500 men, doing battle with a French force nearly 50,000 strong. Wellington kept much of his force hidden from view behind a ridge, while deploying a screen of skirmishers from the 60th, 68th and 95th.<\/p>\n

The French army spread itself too thinly across an opposing ridge, meaning that each division was no longer able to support each other. Seizing the opportunity, Wellington declared \u201cBy God! That will do!\u201d and launched a full-scale attack.<\/p>\n

Caught out of position and by surprise, the French were forced back everywhere. A counter-attack by French cavalry was halted by the 53rd, who formed square. The spearhead of the Allied attack was led by the 11th and 61st, who pushed the French back up the slope in the face of very heavy resistance. Both regiments took over 65% casualties \u2013 the action earning the 11th the title \u201cThe Bloody Eleventh\u201d. The result was a decisive Anglo- Portuguese victory. The Allied total casualties were 5,173, while the French lost over 13,000 killed, wounded or captured.<\/p>\n

Salamanca marked the turning point in the Peninsula War \u2013 resulting in the permanent weakening of the French position in Spain. Salamanca should be remembered for the example it sets for hard fighting, disciplined infantry and excellent leadership \u2013 qualities that live on in The Rifles today. <\/p>\n

Credited to Elsbeth Mcphee,The RGJ \/Rifles Museum<\/p>\n

The Rifles<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

On this day 21st<\/sup> July in 1846, this beautiful illustration entitled, \u2018The Rifles\u2019 was published by Henry Graves and Co. At the bottom right corner are the names, Day and Haghe. Louis Haghe and William Day formed a partnership and became famous for lithographic printing. In 1838, Day and Haghe were appointed ‘Lithographers to the Queen’.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Battle of Salamanca saw an Anglo-Portuguese army under the Duke of Wellington defeat Marshal Auguste Marmont’s French forces among the hills around Arapiles, south of Salamanca, Spain on 22nd of July in 1812 during the Peninsular War. A Spanish division was also present but took no part in the battle.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[1226,1227,1228,1225,138,3868,420,1211],"class_list":["post-13189","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles","tag-1st-battalion","tag-43rd-foot","tag-95th-regiment-of-foot","tag-battle-of-salamanca","tag-peninsular-war","tag-salamanca-day","tag-the-rifles","tag-wellington","category-6-id","post-seq-1","post-parity-odd","meta-position-corners","fix"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.memorialatpeninsula.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13189","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.memorialatpeninsula.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.memorialatpeninsula.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.memorialatpeninsula.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.memorialatpeninsula.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13189"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.memorialatpeninsula.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13189\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.memorialatpeninsula.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13189"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.memorialatpeninsula.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13189"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.memorialatpeninsula.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13189"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}