July 28th, 1809 - The Battle of Talavera de la Reina

Conflict: Peninsular War

Combatants: Anglo-Spanish vs. French

Location: Spain

Outcome: Strategic British victory

On July 28th of 1809, Sir Arthur Wellesley, with 54,000 British and Spanish troops, clashed with 47,000 French troops under command of Claude Victor near Talavera de la Reina. A long and inconclusive battle ended with the French army withdrawing to Madrid. The French had taken 7,400 casualties; the Allies 6,500.

Le 3rd Foot Guards à la bataille de Talavera, le 28 juillet 1809 by an unknown artist

Points of Interest:

• Despite the presence of over 35,000 troops at Talavera, the Spanish left most of the fighting to Wellesley's 16,000 British soldiers.

• Wellesley's was made Viscount of Wellington for his victory at Talavera.

Claude Victor Perrin by an unknown artist

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

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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.