In the Battle of Vimeiro (sometimes shown as "Vimiera" or "Vimeira" in contemporary British texts) on 21 August 1808, the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English ...

under General Arthur Wellesley (who later became the Duke of Wellington) defeated the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...

under Major-General

Jean-Andoche Junot Jean-Andoche Junot, 1st Duke of Abrantes (24 September 1771 – 29 July 1813) was a French military officer during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. Biography Early life Junot was born in Bussy-le-Grand, Côte-d'Or, so ...

near the village of

Vimeiro Vimeiro () is a freguesia (civil parish) in the municipality of Lourinhã in west-central Portugal. It is in the District of Lisboa. The population in 2011 was 1,470,Lisbon,

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, In recognized minority languages of Portugal: :* mwl, República Pertuesa is a country located on the Iberian Peninsula, in Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Macaronesian ...

during the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spai ...

. This battle put an end to the first French invasion of Portugal. Four days after the

Battle of Roliça In the Battle of Roliça (17 August 1808) an Anglo-Portuguese army under Sir Arthur Wellesley defeated an outnumbered Imperial French division under General of Division Henri François Delaborde, near the village of Roliça in Portugal. T ...

, Wellesley's army was attacked by a French army under General Junot near the village of Vimeiro. The battle began as a battle of manoeuvre, with French troops attempting to outflank the British left, but Wellesley was able to redeploy his army to face the assault. Meanwhile, Junot sent in two central columns but these were forced back by sustained volleys from troops in line. Soon afterwards, the flanking attack was beaten off and Junot retreated towards

Torres Vedras Torres Vedras () is a municipality in the Portuguese district of Lisbon, approximately north of the capital Lisbon in the Oeste region, in the Centro of Portugal. The population was 83,075, in an area of . History In 1148, Afonso I too ...

, having lost 2,000 men and 13 cannon, compared to 700 Anglo-Portuguese losses. No pursuit was attempted because Wellesley was superseded by Sir Harry Burrard and then Sir Hew Dalrymple (one having arrived during the battle, the second soon after).

Background

The British intervention started with the

Prelude

After Roliça, Wellesley had established a position near Vimeiro. By holding the village, plus some ridges to the west, the British commander covered a beachhead at Maceira Bay a little further to the west. Since most of his reinforcements had arrived by 20 August, Wellesley planned to advance south on Lisbon. Eight independent infantry brigades under

Rowland Hill Sir Rowland Hill, KCB, FRS (3 December 1795 – 27 August 1879) was an English teacher, inventor and social reformer. He campaigned for a comprehensive reform of the postal system, based on the concept of Uniform Penny Post and his sol ...

Ronald Craufurd Ferguson Sir Ronald Craufurd Ferguson (8 February 1773 – 10 April 1841), was a Scottish officer in the British Army and a Member of Parliament for the constituencies of Dysart Burghs and for Nottingham. Biography Ronald was second son of William Fer ...

Miles Nightingall General Sir Miles Nightingall KCB (25 December 1768 – 12 September 1829) was a British Army officer. He sat in the House of Commons as a Tory from 1820 to 1829. Military career Nightingall entered the army in 1787. He served in India and in En ...

, Barnard Foord Bowes,

Catlin Craufurd Catlin may refer to: People with the surname *Albertus W. Catlin (1868–1933), US Marine Corps Brigadier General & Medal of Honor recipient *Charles L. Catlin (1842-1901), American lawyer and politician *David Catlin (born 1952), American mathemat ...

, Henry Fane, Robert Anstruther and

Wroth Acland Lieutenant-General Sir Wroth Palmer Acland KCB (16 March 1770 – 8 March 1816) was an English soldier, notable for his role in the Peninsular War. Biography Acland was the 12th child of Arthur Palmer Acland, of Fairfield House, Somerset, and ...

formed the core of Wellesley's forces. Rounding out his force were 17 cannons, 240 light cavalry led by C. D. Taylor and about 2,000 Portuguese troops under

Nicholas Trant Nicholas Trant (1769-1839) was a British Army officer of Irish descent who led Portuguese irregular troops in several actions during the Peninsular War. His best known exploits were the recapture of Coimbra from the French in October 1810 and the s ...

, giving a total of 20,000 men. Junot organised his 14,000-man force into two infantry divisions and a cavalry division under

Pierre Margaron Pierre Margaron (1 May 1765 – 16 December 1824) led the French cavalry at the Battle of Vimeiro in 1808. He joined a volunteer battalion in 1792. He rose in rank during the French Revolutionary Wars until he commanded a heavy cavalry regiment in ...

Henri François Delaborde Henri-François Delaborde (21 December 17643 February 1833) was a French general in the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars. Early career He was the son of a baker of Dijon. In 1783, Delaborde joined the ''Regiment of Condé Dra ...

's infantry division contained two brigades under Antoine François Brenier and Jean Guillaume Barthélemy Thomières, while

Louis Henri Loison Louis Henri Loison (16 May 1771 – 30 December 1816) briefly joined the French Army in 1787 and after the French Revolution became a junior officer. Blessed with military talent and courage, he rapidly rose to general officer rank during th ...

's division included two brigades commanded by

Jean-Baptiste Solignac Jean-Baptiste Solignac (15 March 1773 in Millau – 11 November 1850 in Montpellier) was a French general, and the brother-in-law of Marshal Jean-Baptiste Jourdan. He took part in the French Revolutionary, Napoleonic, and Portuguese Civil Wa ...

and Hugues Charlot. In addition,

François Étienne de Kellermann François Étienne de Kellermann, 2nd Duke of Valmy (4 August 1770 – 2 June 1835) was a French cavalry general noted for his daring and skillful exploits during the Napoleonic Wars. He was the son of François Christophe de Kellermann and the fa ...

commanded a 2,100-man reserve made up of four converged grenadier battalions. These units were created by taking the grenadier company from each of Junot's infantry battalions. The French took 23 cannons into battle with them. Wellesley placed Anstruther's and Fane's brigades in front of Vimeiro, with Acland's men in support. At first, his five remaining brigades held only the western ridge. Junot planned to send Thomières, Solignac and Charlot's infantry brigades to capture Vimeiro, while Brenier's 4,300-man brigade and some dragoons swung in a wide flanking manoeuvre to seize an empty ridge to the northeast of the village. Wellesley detected Brenier's move and switched Nightingall, Ferguson and Bowes to the northeastern ridge. Once Junot realised that British troops occupied the ridge, he sent Solignac's brigade to the right to assist Brenier's attack. The French commander decided to launch his attack on the town immediately, instead of waiting for his flanking move to develop.

Battle

All the preliminary moves and countermoves caused a series of uncoordinated French attacks. First, Thomières' 2,100-man brigade approached the British position. Supported by three cannons and screened by skirmishers, the brigade was formed into a column of companies. The first company of 120 men formed in a three-deep line would have a front rank 40 men wide. All the other companies formed behind the first company, making the entire brigade about 40 files wide and 48 ranks deep. According to French doctrine, as soon as the enemy main position was found, the companies would peel off to the right or left to form a firing line many companies wide and only three files deep. On the other hand, French commanders often pressed home attacks while in column, depending entirely upon their skirmishers and artillery to provide the necessary fire support. To counter the French skirmishers, Fane detached four companies of riflemen (

60th Regiment of Foot 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

95th Rifles The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army formed in January 1800 as the "Experimental Corps of Riflemen" to provide sharpshooters, scouts, and skirmishers. They were soon renamed the "Rifle ...

). These outnumbered and outfought the French skirmishers, who fell back to the sides of the brigade column. Without their skirmishers in front of them, the French column blundered into the 945 men of the 50th Regiment. At , the British, formed into a two-deep line, opened fire. Several companies of the 50th began wheeling inward toward both flanks of the hapless French column. Unable to properly deploy into firing line and unwilling to face the deadly enfilade fire, the French infantry suddenly bolted to the rear, leaving their three cannons to be captured. Soon after, a similar fate overtook Charlot's brigade. In a very narrow column, it struck one battalion of Anstruther's brigade, which had been hidden behind a crest. Before they could deploy, the French were taken in flank by a second battalion. Unable to effectively reply to the devastating British volley fire, Charlot's men soon ran away. Seeing the battle going against him, Junot committed his grenadier reserve to the attack. The first two battalions attacked the same area as the previous units and were thrown back. Kellermann swung the final two grenadier battalions wide to the right and succeeded in breaking into Vimeiro. But, counterattacked by units from Anstruther and Acland, these Frenchmen also fell back. Colonel Taylor's

20th Light Dragoons The 20th Regiment of Light Dragoons was a cavalry regiment of the British Army. History The regiment was raised as the 20th (Jamaica) Regiment of (Light) Dragoons in 1792; it was deployed to Jamaica in 1795 during the Second Maroon War. The reg ...

pounced on Kellermann's retreating grenadiers and routed them. Excited by their easy success, the British horsemen charged out of control. They soon came up against Margaron's French cavalry division and were routed in their turn. Taylor was killed and the British horsemen lost about one man in four. As Brenier's men had been delayed by taking a longer road to circumvent the narrow ravines, Solignac attacked the northeast ridge. This brigade changed tactics deploying in an attack formation with three battalions abreast. Even so, each battalion formed a column one company wide and eight companies deep. If the French intended to form into line once the enemy position was detected, they waited too long. They marched into the volley fire of Nightingall and Ferguson's brigades before they could deploy. Smashed by British volleys, Solignac's men fled. Brenier's brigade, marching to the sound of battle, came on four battalions abreast. At first they enjoyed success when they surprised and drove back two British battalions. These units had let down their guard after overpowering Solignac. Victorious, the French pressed on in column, but soon ran into the 29th Regiment in line and were stopped. The 29th was joined by the other two units, who had quickly rallied. Together, the volley fire of the three British battalions soon routed Brenier's men. Though Wellesley urged him to pursue, Burrard declined to interfere with the subsequent French retreat. General Brenier was wounded in this attack and captured by the 71st Highlanders.

Aftermath

The British intervention proceeded with the Evacuation of La Romana's division.

Vimeiro

After the French defeat, Dalrymple gave the French more generous terms than they could have hoped for. Under the terms of the ''

Convention of Sintra The Convention of Cintra (or Sintra) was an agreement signed on 30 August 1808, during the Peninsular War. By the agreement, the defeated French were allowed to evacuate their troops from Portugal without further conflict. The Convention was sign ...

'', the defeated army was transported back to France by the British navy, complete with its loot, guns and equipment. The Convention of Sintra caused an outcry in Britain. An official enquiry exonerated all three men but both the military establishment and public opinion blamed Dalrymple and Burrard. Both men were given administrative posts and neither had a field command again. Wellesley, who had bitterly opposed the agreement, was returned to active command in Spain and Portugal.

Notes

References

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vimeiro, Battle Of

Battle of Vimeiro In the Battle of Vimeiro (sometimes shown as "Vimiera" or "Vimeira" in contemporary British texts) on 21 August 1808, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, British under General Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Arthur Wel ...

August 1808 events Battles involving France Battles involving Portugal Battles involving the United Kingdom Battles of the Napoleonic Wars Battles of the Peninsular War