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Battle of Bussaco

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"Busaco" redirects here. For the ghost town in Indiana, seeBusaco, Indiana.

Battle of Bussaco
Part ofPeninsular War

Plan of the battle of Bussaco
Date27 September 1810[1]
Location
Bussaco,nearLuso,Portugal
40°20′N8°20′W/ 40.333°N 8.333°W/40.333; -8.333
Result Anglo-Portuguese victory[1]
Belligerents
United Kingdom
Kingdom of PortugalPortugal		 France
Commanders and leaders
United Kingdom of Great Britain and IrelandViscount Wellington
Kingdom of PortugalLuís do Rego		 First French EmpireAndré Masséna
First French EmpireMichel Ney
First French EmpireJean Reynier
Strength
32,000[1]–35,765[2] 45,774[2]–58,000[1]
Casualties and losses
1,300[3][1]–1,356[2]dead or wounded 2,456[2]–4,500[3][1]dead or wounded
class=notpageimage|
Peninsular war: Portugal
1807 1808180918101811

TheBattle of Buçaco(pronounced[buˈsaku]) orBussaco,fought on 27 September 1810 during thePeninsular Warin the Portuguese mountain range ofSerra do Buçaco,resulted in the defeat of French forces byLord Wellington'sAnglo-Portuguese Army.[4][5]

Having occupied the heights ofBussaco(a 10-mile (16 km) long ridge located at 40°20'40 "N, 8°20'15" W) with 25,000 British and the same number of Portuguese, Wellington was attacked five times successively by 65,000 French underMarshalAndré Masséna.Masséna was uncertain as to the disposition and strength of the opposing forces because Wellington deployed them on thereverse slopeof the ridge, where they could neither be easily seen nor easily softened up with artillery. The actual assaults were delivered by the corps of MarshalMichel NeyandGeneral of Division(Major General)Jean Reynier,but after much fierce fighting they failed to dislodge the allied forces and were driven off after having lost 4,500 men against 1,250 Anglo-Portuguese casualties. However, Wellington was ultimately forced to withdraw to the Lines of Torres Vedrasafter his positions were outflanked by Masséna's troops.

Background[edit]

See also:Battle of Bussaco order of battle

TheThird Portuguese campaignhad started with the construction of theLines of Torres Vedrasand theSiege of Ciudad Rodrigo.

Operations[edit]

In 1810,Emperor Napoleon Iordered Masséna to drive the British from Portugal. Accordingly, the French marshal began theSiege of Ciudad Rodrigoin April. The Spanish garrison held out until 9 July when the fortress fell. TheBattle of the Côawas fought soon after. TheSiege of Almeidaended suddenly with a massive explosion of the fortress magazine on 26 August. With all obstacles cleared from their path, the French could march onLisbonin strength.

It was important to delay the French until the defences being built around Lisbon, theLines of Torres Vedras,could be completed. Using selective demolition of bridges and roads, ViscountWellingtonrestricted the choice of routes the French could use and slowed the advance of the French troops. At the end of September, they met Wellington's army drawn up on the ridge of Bussaco.

The ridge, which at its highest rises to 549 metres, lies at right angles to the main road toCoimbraand thence toLisbon,providing one of the few and certainly the best defensive position on the French route of march.

Allied organisation[edit]

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Wellington had brought together six British infantry divisions:

In addition, the newly re-trained (by the British under the direction of Lieutenant GeneralWilliam Carr Beresford)Portuguese Armysupplied a two-brigade Portuguese infantry division under Maj Gen John Hamilton, and three independent Portuguese brigades led by Brig GenDenis Pack,Brig Gen Alexander Campbell and Brig Gen John Coleman.

Brig GenGeorge De Grey,Brig GenJohn Slade,Brig GenGeorge Ansonand Brig GenHenry Faneled four British cavalry brigades, plus four regiments of Portuguese cavalry. In batteries of six guns apiece, there were six British (Ross RHA,Bull RHA,Thompson, Lawson, two unknown), twoKing's German Legion(Rettberg, Cleeves) and five Portuguese (Rozierres, Da Cunha Preto, Da Silva, Freira, Sousa) batteries under Brig Gen Edward Howorth.[6][7]

The Anglo Portuguese army numbered 50,000, with 50% Portuguese troops.

French organisation[edit]

Masséna's army of 60,000 included the II Corps under Reynier, the VI Corps led by Ney, the VIII Corps under MGJean Andoche Junotand a cavalry reserve led by MGLouis Pierre, Count Montbrun.The divisions of MGPierre Hugues Victoire Merleand MGÉtienne Heudelet de Bierremade up Reynier's corps. Ney's corps had three divisions under MGsJean Marchand,Julien MermetandLouis Loison.Junot had the divisions of MGBertrand Clauseland MGJean-Baptiste Solignac.Each French corps contained the standard brigade of light cavalry.General of Brigade(BG)Jean Baptiste Eblé,Masséna's artillery chief, commanded 112 guns.[8]

Plans[edit]

Mountains and National Palace of Bussaco

Wellington posted his army along the crest of Bussaco Ridge, facing east. To improve his lateral communications, he had previously ordered his four officers from theRoyal Corps of Engineers[9]to cut a road that ran the length of the ridge on the reverse slope. Cole held the left (north) flank. Next came Craufurd, Spencer, Picton and Leith. Hill held the right (south) flank with Hamilton's men attached.[10]

Masséna, believing he easily outnumbered the British and goaded by Ney and other officers to attack the British position rather than go around it, ordered a reconnaissance of the steep ridge. Very few of Wellington's troops were visible, as they remained on the reverse slope and were ordered not to light cooking fires. The French General planned to send Reynier at the centre of the ridge, which he believed to be the British right flank. Once the II Corps attack showed some signs of success, Masséna would launch Ney's corps at the British along the main road. The VIII Corps stood behind the VI Corps in reserve. While Ney announced that he was ready to attack and conquer, Reynier suddenly had second thoughts, predicting his attack would be beaten.[11]

Battle[edit]

II Corps attack[edit]

Reynier's troops struck in the early morning mist. Heudelet sent his leading brigade straight up the slope in a formation one company wide and eight battalions deep. When the leading regiment reached the top of the ridge, they found themselves facing the74th Footand two Portuguese battalions in line, plus 12 cannon. The French tried to change formation from column into a line. Pelet says, "The column began to deploy as if at an exercise."[12]But the Allies brought intense musketry to bear. Soon, the French infantrymen were thrown into confusion. However, they clung to a precarious toehold on the ridge.

Several hundred yards to the north, Merle's division thrust up the ridge in a similar formation. Picton hurriedly massed his defenders by using the ridgetop road. Met at the crest by the88th Footand the45th Footand two Portuguese battalions in a concave line, the French tried unsuccessfully to deploy into line. Crushed by converging fire, the French fled down the slope.[13]Merle was wounded while General of BrigadeJean François Graindorgefell mortally wounded.[14]Wellington rode up toColonelAlexander Wallace of the 88th and remarked, "Wallace, I have never witnessed a more gallant charge."[15]

Seeing Heudelet's second brigade standing immobile at the foot of the ridge, Reynier rode up to BGMaximilien Foyand demanded an immediate attack. With the Allies out of position after defeating the first two attacks, Foy hit a weak spot in their defences. Fortuitously, the French struck the least prepared unit in the Allied army—a Portuguese militia unit—and routed it. But the morning mist cleared, revealing no enemies in front of the British right flank. Wellington had already ordered Leith to shift his men to the north to assist Picton. Before Foy's men could consolidate their gain, they were attacked by the9th Footand38th Footof Leith and some of Picton's men.[16]The French were swept off the ridge and Foy wounded.[14]After seeing this rout, Heudelet's other brigade withdrew to the base of the ridge.

VI Corps attack[edit]

Hearing gunfire, Ney assumed Reynier's men were enjoying success and ordered an attack. In this sector, the main highway climbed a long spur past the hamlets of Moura and Sula to reach the crest at the Convent of Bussaco. Against a very heavy British skirmish line, Loison's division fought its way forward. Near the crest, 1,800 men of the43rdand52ndinfantry regiments lay down waiting. As Loison's leading brigade approached the convent grounds, the two British units stood up, fired a terrific volley at point blank range and charged with the bayonet.[15]The French brigade collapsed and fled leaving BG Édouard Simon, their commander, wounded and a prisoner.[12]

A short time later and slightly further south, Loison's second brigade under BGClaude François Fereyran into a close-range fire from two batteries plus Anglo-Portuguese musketry. This unit was also routed. A final thrust by BGAntoine Louis Popon de Maucune's brigade of Marchand's division met defeat when it ran into Denis Pack's Portuguese brigade. The two sides occupied the rest of the day in vigorous skirmishing, but the French did not try to attack in force again.[16]

Aftermath[edit]

The French suffered 522 dead, 3,612 wounded, and 364 captured. The Allied losses numbered 200 dead, 1,001 wounded, and 51 missing. The British and Portuguese each lost exactly 626 men.[16]

Masséna now realised the size of Wellington's forces and the strength of his defensive position, so that afternoon he had sent cavalry patrols to reconnoitre both ends of the Bussaco ridge, looking for a way round the position. The French army was withdrawn towards Mortagoa, with fires lit in the woods to offer some camouflage to the troops’ departure. Massena issued orders on the evening of the 28th which would send his army along the Sardaõ road via Boialvo, outflanking Wellington’s position to the North of the Bussaco ridge, and opening up the main road from Oporto to Coimbra.[17]

Wellington, after spending the night in the convent, and finding his position turned, resumed the leisurely retreat of his army towards the, still being constructed,Lines of Torres Vedras.[18]He reached these in good order by 10 October.

Continuing to advance, Masséna had left his sick and wounded troops atCoimbra,where a few days later, they fell into the hands of the Portuguese.[18]

This was the first major battle of the Peninsular War in which units of the reconstitutedPortuguese Armyfought, where the Portuguese troops played a prominent part and the victory served as a great morale boost to the inexperienced troops.

TheThird Portuguese campaignproceeded with the probing of the Lines in theBattle of Sobralon 14 October. Masséna found them too strong to attack and withdrew into winter quarters. Deprived of food for his men and harried by Anglo-Portuguese hit-and-run tactics, he lost a further 25,000 men captured or dead from starvation or sickness before he retreated into Spain early in 1811. This finally freed Portugal from French occupation except for the fortress ofAlmeida,near the frontier. During the retreat, several actions were fought, including theBattle of Sabugal.

Notes[edit]

  1. ^abcdefBodart 1908,p. 420.
  2. ^abcdClodfelter 2008,p. 165.
  3. ^abGlover 1971,p. 139.
  4. ^Ellingham, Fisher & Kenyon 2002,p. 63.
  5. ^Wheeler & Opello 2010,p. 63.
  6. ^Glover 1971,pp. 375–376.
  7. ^Horward 1973,pp. 523–528.
  8. ^Horward 1973,pp. 517–522.
  9. ^Porter 1889,p. 262.
  10. ^Zimmermann 1978,pp. 28–29.
  11. ^Horward 1973,p. 176.
  12. ^abHorward 1973,p. 179.
  13. ^Glover 1971,p. 137.
  14. ^abHorward 1973,p. 180.
  15. ^abGlover 1971,p. 138.
  16. ^abcZimmermann 1978,p. 30.
  17. ^White 2019,p. 171.
  18. ^abPorter 1889,p. 263.

References[edit]

  • Bodart, Gaston (1908).Militär-historisches Kriegs-Lexikon (1618-1905).Retrieved26 May2021.
  • Clodfelter, M. (2008).Warfare and armed conflicts: a statistical encyclopedia of casualty and other figures, 1494-2007.Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland.ISBN978-0786433193.
  • Ellingham, Mark; Fisher, John; Kenyon, Graham (2002).Rough Guide to Portugal.
  • Glover, Michael (1971).Wellington's Peninsular Victories.Macmillan.ISBN0-330-02789-1.
  • Horward, Donald (1973). Pelet, Jean Jacques (ed.).The French Campaign in Portugal, 1810–1811.Univ. of Minnesota Press.
  • Porter, Maj Gen Whitworth (1889).History of the Corps of Royal Engineers Vol I.Chatham: The Institution of Royal Engineers.
  • Wheeler, Douglas L.; Opello, Walter C. (2010).Historical Dictionary of Portugal.
  • White, Kenton (2019).The Key to Lisbon.Warwick, England: Helion & Company.ISBN978-1-911628-52-1.
  • Zimmermann, Dick (1978).The Battle of Bussaco.Wargamer's Digest.

Further reading[edit]

  • Chartrand, Rene (2001).Bussaco 1810: Wellington defeats Napoleon's Marshals.Osprey Publishing.ISBN1-84176-310-1.
  • Duque, José Matos (2012).A Batalha do Buçaco - 15 dias da história de Portugal.Quartzo Editora.ISBN978-989-97003-0-7.
  • Museu Militar do Bussaco - edição comemorativa do centenário 1910-2010.Quartzo Editora/DHCM. 2010.ISBN978-972-8347-10-9.

In fiction[edit]

  • Under Wellington's CommandbyG.A. Hentyincludes a section on the Battle of Bussaco (sp. 'Busaco' in the text).
  • Sharpe's EscapebyBernard Cornwellcovers the battle.
  • Stranger from the SeabyWinston Grahamfeatures a visit to the front line by Ross Poldark, who is on a government fact-finding mission.

External links[edit]

Preceded by
Siege of Almeida (1810) 		Napoleonic Wars
Battle of Bussaco 		Succeeded by
Battle of the Gebora
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