Battle of the Côa

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v • d • e
Peninsular War

Portugal, 1810–1811
Astorga – Ciudad Rodrigo – 1st Almeida – River Côa – Bussaco – Torres Vedras – Sabugal – Fuentes de Onoro – 2nd Almeida

The Battle of the River Côa (July 24, 1810) occurred during the Peninsular War period of the Napoleonic Wars. It took place in the valley of the Côa River. It was the first significant battle for the new army of 65,000 men controlled by Marshal André Masséna, as the French prepared for their third invasion of Portugal.

As the British forces were outnumbered here, on July 22, General Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington sent Brigadier-General Robert Craufurd a letter, saying that he (Wellington) was "not desirous of engaging in an affair beyond the Coa." On July 24, Craufurd, with 4,200 infantry, 800 cavalry, and six guns, was surprised by the sight of 20,000 troops under Marshal Michel Ney. Rather than retreat and cross the river as ordered by Wellington, Craufurd chose to engage the French. Both sides wanted the narrow stone bridge, which was the only way to cross the Côa for several miles.

[edit] Battle Details

British forces engaged were:

  • Lieut-Col Sydney Beckwith's 1st Brigade
    • 1/43rd Foot,
    • half 1/95th Foot Rifles,
    • 3rd Portuguese Light battalion
  • Lieut-Col Robert Barclay's 2nd Brigade
    • 1/52nd Foot,
    • half 1/95th Foot,
    • 1st Portuguese Light bn.
  • Brig-Gen George Anson's cavalry brigade
    • 16th Light Dragoons
    • 1st King's German Legion Hussars
  • a battery of Royal Horse Artillery.

The engaged units of Ney's VI Corps included:

  • Maj-Gen Julien Mermet's infantry division (7,600)
    • the 25th Light (2 bns.) and 27th Line (3 bns.) under Brig-Gen Martial Maison-Rouge
    • the 50th Line and 59th Line (3 bns. each) under Brig-Gen Mathieu Delabassé.
  • Maj-Gen Louis Loison's infantry division (6,800),
    • the Legion du Midi (1 bn.), Hanoverian Legion (2 bns.) and 26th Line (3 bns.) under Brig-Gen Edouard Simon
    • the 32nd Light (1 bn.), 66th Line (3 bns.) and 82nd Line (2 bns.) under Brig-Gen Claude Ferey.
  • Brig-Gen Auguste Lamotte's cavalry brigade (1,000)
    • 3rd Hussars and 15th Chasseurs of the VI Corps cavalry.
  • Brig-Gen Charles Gardanne's cavalry brigade (1,300)
    • 15th and 25th Dragoons from the cavalry reserve.
  • four foot and two horse artillery batteries

During the first Siege of Almeida, Craufurd held back much superior numbers of Frenchmen in a well-managed war of outposts. However, on July 24 he committed a serious tactical error by choosing to fight with an unfordable river at his back while badly outnumbered. When he decided to retreat across the single bridge, a cart overturned, blocking the road just as Ney's main attack was delivered. Despite this, the soldiers of Craufurd's elite Light Division fought brilliantly until the road was cleared and the cavalry and artillery got away. The retreat to the bridge was impeded by a large number of stone walls, and in one incident, a company of the 43rd had to push over a ten-foot wall, to escape.

After Craufurd's men had safely crossed the Côa, Ney unwisely tried to storm the bridge. The French were repulsed with heavy losses. Total French casualties for the day were 117 killed and 414 wounded. The British lost 36 killed, 189 wounded and 83 missing. Shortly after this battle, the fortress of Almeida fell to the French. The next action in the campaign would be the Battle of Bussaco on September 27.

[edit] References

  • Glover, Michael, The Peninsular Wat 1807-1814 Penguin, 1974.
  • Horward, Donald, The French Campaign in Portugal 1810-1811: An Account by Jean Jacques Pelet Univ. of Minnesota, 1973.
  • Smith, Digby, The Napoleonic Wars Data Book Greenhill, 1998.

[edit] External links


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