Battle of Salamanca

The context

The Peninsular War began with the French and Spanish invasion of Portugal in 1807. The following year, Napoleon turned on his Spanish ally, placing his brother Joseph on the Spanish throne.

An expeditionary force commanded by Lieutenant-General Arthur Wellesley was despatched to Portugal and enjoyed initial success, defeating the French at Vimeiro in August 1808. By 1812, Wellesley had secured Lisbon behind the Lines of Torres Vedras and then driven French troops from Portugal. His successes in Iberia led him to being made Viscount and then Earl of Wellington.

The beginning of 1812 saw Wellington take the offensive into Spain. The town of Ciudad Rodrigo was taken on 8 January and, following a costly assault, the formidable fortress of Badajoz fell to the allied force of Britain, Spain and Portugal on 6 April.

There were 230,000 French troops in Spain at this time, but they were divided between five armies, and Napoleon’s imminent campaign against Russia meant that reinforcements were not available. 

Isolating Marmont

Wellington had ensured French forces were held in place by Spanish regular and guerrilla actions that pinned them down throughout the Peninsula.

The battle

By 22 July 1812, the two armies were west of Salamanca. Skirmishes broke out around two flat-topped hills that dominated the area, known as the Greater and Lesser Arapiles. The British occupied the Lesser, while the French had the Greater.

As the armies continued to move south-west, with Marshal Marmont attempting to block Wellington’s route to Portugal, Wellington’s forces remained hidden behind ridges north east of the Lesser Arapile.

Marmont’s mistake

Marmont believed he knew his enemy. Wellington was a defensive general and would not be attacked on ground not of his own choosing. When Marmont noticed dust clouds created by Wellington’s baggage train, he believed his whole army to be in retreat. He instantly ordered three divisions to sweep quickly westwards to cut off Wellington’s escape.

Hammer blows

Wellington immediately seized his opportunity. Realising that Marmont had overstretched his forces, he launched a series of hammer blows against the French columns. Major-General Edward Pakenham’s 3rd Division surprised Marmont’s left wing, which was shattered.

Wellington then unleashed Major-General John Gaspard Le Marchant’s cavalry brigades, causing further havoc among French lines and accounting for ‘40,000 Frenchmen in 40 minutes’. Le Marchant himself was killed trying to break a French square.

The consequences

Marshal Marmont’s army lost at least 14,000 men and 20 guns, while allied losses were around half as many. The French defeat would have been even more disastrous had the Spanish garrison not abandoned the river crossing at Alba de Tormes. Much to Wellington’s annoyance, the French were allowed to escape to safety.

An attacking commander

Salamanca proved that Wellington had the ability to manoeuvre and attack in the open field. His reputation as a mainly defensive general was destroyed. The outstanding victory gave the British and their allies a psychological superiority over the French that would last throughout the remainder of the war.

Following the victory at Salamanca, Wellington was able to liberate Madrid. Joseph Bonaparte’s authority in Spain was undermined and Spanish guerrillas were encouraged to increase their operations against the weakened French garrisons.

Turning point

The victory persuaded the British government that the war was worth pursuing, and the subsequent Battle of Vitoria in June 1813 showed the Russians, Prussians and Austrians that Napoleon could be defeated.

When Wellington entered France in October 1813, Napoleon was soon forced to abdicate. Salamanca had been one of the key turning points.