Battle of Barrosa

The Battle of Chiclana, 5th March 1811 by Louis-François Lejeune (1824)

Date	5 March 1811
Location	Playa de la Barrosa, near Cádiz, Spain
Result	Tactical allied victory Strategically indecisive

Belligerents

French Empire

Commanders and leaders

Marshal Victor

Strength

5,200 British and Portuguese
c. 10,000 Spanish

10,160

Casualties and losses

1,240 killed or wounded (British and Portuguese)
300–400 Spanish

c. 2,380 killed or wounded

Coordinates: 36°22′19″N 6°10′35″W / 36.3719°N 6.1765°W / 36.3719; -6.1765

The Battle of Barrosa (Chiclana, 5 March 1811) was part of an unsuccessful manoeuvre to break the siege of Cádiz in Spain during the Peninsular War. During the battle, a single British division defeated two French divisions and captured a regimental eagle.

Cádiz had been invested by the French in early 1810, leaving it accessible from the sea, but in March of the following year a reduction in the besieging army gave its garrison of British and Spanish troops an opportunity to lift the siege. A large Allied strike force was shipped south from Cádiz to Tarifa, and moved to engage the siege lines from the rear. The French, under the command of Marshal Victor, were aware of the Allied movement and redeployed to prepare a trap. Victor placed one division on the road to Cádiz, blocking the Allied line of march, while his two remaining divisions fell on the single Anglo-Portuguese rearguard division under the command of Sir Thomas Graham.

Following a fierce battle on two fronts, the British succeeded in routing the attacking French forces. A lack of support from the larger Spanish contingent prevented an absolute victory, and the French were able to regroup and reoccupy their siege lines. Graham's tactical victory proved to have little strategic effect on the continuing war, to the extent that Victor was able to claim the battle as a French victory since the siege remained in force until finally being lifted on 24 August 1812.

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