April 10th, 1814 - The Battle of Toulouse

Conflict: The Peninsular War

Combatants: British/Spanish vs. French

Location: France

Outcome: Anglo-Spanish victory

After driving Napoleon's armies out of Spain, Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington, marched into France in pursuit. An Anglo-Spanish assault on the city of Toulouse, though suffering heavy casualties, drove the French out. The French took about 3,000 casualties. The Anglo-Spanish forces suffered 4,600 casualties. Napoleon abdicated the next day.

Battle of Toulouse by Henri Louis Dupray

Points of Interest:

• Toulouse was the final battle of the Peninsular War.

• Napoleon accepted exile on the island of Elba following his abdication.

Sir Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington by Thomas Lawrence

Napoleon I of France by Andrea Appiani

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sources:

Dupuy, Trevor N., Johnson, Curt, & Bongard, David L. (1992). The Harper's Encyclopedia of Military Biography. New York: Castle Books (HarperCollins).

Dupuy, R. Ernest & Dupuy, Trevor N. (1993). The Harper's Encyclopedia of Military History. New York: HarperCollins.

Eggenberger, David (1985). An Encyclopedia of Battles: Accounts of Over 1,560 Battles from 1479 B.C. to the Present. New York: Dover Publications, Inc.

Haythornthwaite, Philip J. (1990). The Napoleonic Source Book. New York: Facts on File.