Wellington's Battles in Europe: A Timeline Quiz

Battle of Rolica, 17 August 1808. With Napoleon in charge of Spain, in July 1808 Viscount Castlereagh, the secretary of war, advanced plans for a strengthening of British forces in Portugal under the command of Sir Hew Dalrymple. In the first week of August General Wellesley (as he was then) landed 16,000 troops at Mondego Bay and marched south towards Lisbon, trailing a smaller French force.

The British caught up with the French force on 17 August, forcing them to fall back onto a steep hill. After a number of attempts at storming this feature they eventually dislodged the French who quickly withdrew.

Army strengths: British and Portuguese 15,000, French 4,500. The British and Portuguese suffered 487 casualties, the French about 700.

Battle of Vimeiro, 21 August 1808. Four days after the action at Rolica, General Junot's army attacked Wellesley at Vimeiro. After failing to turn Wellesley's flank Junot sent two columns of troops to attack his centre, but these were beaten off by sustained gunfire from Wellesley's troops deployed in line. Another French flank attack was then beaten off and Junot retreated.

Army strengths: British and Portuguese 17,000, French 13,500. The British and Portuguese suffered 779 casualties, the French about 2,100.

The story of French attacks in column being beaten off by British troops deployed in line will become very familiar as you progress in this quiz!

Second Battle of Porto, 12 May 1809. After the defeat of Sir John Moore's British army at the Battle of Corunna in January 1809, Napoleon ordered Marshal Soult to invade Portugal. He seized Porto on the River Douro in late March but was unable to continue his offensive towards Lisbon. Wellesley marched north to Porto, but found all the bridges over the Douro destroyed and no boats available for him to cross over to the north bank.

However, a local person had hidden a small boat on the south bank, which ferried enough men over to fortify a small position. The French attacked this but were unable to take it, so Soult reinforced them with the troops that were guarding the boats on the north bank. The local citizenry immediately commandeered these to ferry more British troops over the river who attacked the French in the rear; the French fled.

Army strengths: British 22,500, French 13,000. The French lost about 600 casualties and 1,800 men captured while the British and Portuguese lost about 150 men.

It's said that Wellesley dined on Soult's uneaten breakfast!

Battle of Talavera, 27-28 July, 1809. After Soult had retreated from Portugal, Wellesley advanced into Spain to join up with Cuesta's Spanish army. They advanced to Talavera, 75 miles southwest of Madrid, where they encountered the French under Marshal Victor with the French king of Spain, Joseph Bonaparte, in nominal command.

The battle centered around a strategic hill, the Medellin. It was initially occupied by the British but the French attacked it repeatedly, taking and losing on two consecutive days. On a number of occasions attacking French columns broke and ran after being confronted by British troops emerging in line from cover.

On the third day the French left the field, leaving behind a large amount of artillery. However Wellesley was forced to retreat when Soult threatened his lines of supply with a force twice the size of his.

Army strengths: British and Spanish 55,000, French 46,000. The French lost 7,389 men, the British and Spanish 7,468.

Wellesley was subsequently created Viscount Wellington of Talavera.

Battle of Bussaco, 27 September, 1810. With the fortified towns of Cuidad Rodrigo and Almeida both in French hands, the way was clear for Marshal Masséna to march into Portugal and take Lisbon. Wellington was constructing the Lines of Torres Vedras, but as these were as yet incomplete he had to take delaying actions against the French. This culminated in the Battle of Busacco in September.

Wellington arranged his British and Portuguese army on a seven-mile long ridge that blocked the road to Lisbon, with the great majority of his men hidden behind the crest of the ridge. Thinking that he outnumbered Wellington, Masséna attacked this line five times with little result - again, British lines outgunned French columns. He withdrew from the field the next day, sending out scouts and patrols to investigate Wellington's position. Wellington, realising the danger of being outflanked, resumed his retreat to Lisbon; he reached the Lines of Torres Vedras in mid-October.

Masséna followed him but was unable to penetrate the Lines. His army spent the winter there, losing 25,000 men mainly to starvation and sickness; he retreated back into Spain in early 1811, finally relieving Portugal from the threat of invasion.

Army strengths: British and Portuguese 34,000, French about 50,000. The French suffered 4,508 casualties while the British and Portuguese lost 1,252. This was the first battle in which the reconstituted Portuguese Army took part, playing a prominent part.

Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro, 3-5 May, 1811. Wellington's forces were besieging the city of Almeida when Marshal Masséna made a determined attack to relieve the besieged city. At the center of Wellington's line was the village of Fuentes de Oñoro, which became the target of a strong frontal assault by Masséna on 3rd May. The fight lasted all day; the French initially took the village but were driven out after a strong charge by Wellingtons' men.

The armies spent the next day recovering, but a French reconnaissance mission found that Wellington's right flank was only weakly held by the 7th Division. Consequently early the next morning Masséna attacked there; it took prompt and brave action by the Light Division and the King's German Legion cavalry to cover the 7th Division's retreat to a stronger position. Given the failure of this attack Masséna ordered more attacks on Fuentes de Oñoro; again the village changed hands a number of times but at the end of the day it remained in British hands. After an ineffective artillery bombardment, Masséna retreated.

Army strengths: British and Portuguese 34,000, French 42,000. The French suffered about 2,800 casualties while the British and Portuguese lost about 1,800.

It's interesting to note that at the peak of the French attack on Wellington's right flank on 5th May Masséna sent orders for the Imperial Guard cavalry to join in the attack. This would probably have been decisive, but the Guard cavalry second-in-command refused to obey the order as it wasn't confirmed by the Guard commander. This was probably the nearest Wellington came to defeat in the entire Peninsular campaign.

Battle of Salamanca, 22 July 1812. By mid-1812 the French had been finally expelled from Portugal, and Wellington was marching to an important French supplies base at Salamanca. He was blocked by the French Marshall Marmont, and the two armies then commenced a kind of strange ballet, marching in parallel to each other looking for a tactical advantage.

On 22nd July, however, Marmont made the mistake of allowing the divisions in his army to become strung out, with a gap between the leading division and the remainder of his army. Wellington spotted this and immediately ordered an attack on this division; the British 3rd Division caught it by surprise and inflicted massive casualties. Wellington then ordered the British heavy cavalry to attack the following French Division; this charge was so successful that not only was this division destroyed but the one following it as well. French fortunes were not helped by both Marmont and his second-in-command both being badly wounded at the start of the battle.

Remaining French infantry took control of a prominent hill, the Greater Arapil, threatening Wellington's centre, but Wellington had the 6th Division in reserve and these fresh troops dislodged the French, who fled. Sadly a Spanish force that had been blocking the French retreat abandoned its post, otherwise a lot more prisoners would have been take,

Army strengths: British and Portuguese 49,000, French 50,000. The French suffered about 15,000 casualties (including 7,000 captured) while the British and Portuguese lost 5,000.

This was an awful defeat for the French, and it also demonstrated that Wellington could be tactically aware and that he could fight an attacking battle. This engagement was his masterpiece.

Battle of Vitoria, 21 June 1813. During 1823 the situation is Spain changed dramatically. The French had abandoned Andalusia in late 1812, and astute manoeuvering by Wellington forced the French army and King Joseph Bonaparte back towards the Spanish border. The latter had abandoned Madrid, but he ordered hid generals to make a "last stand" at Vitoria, north of the River Ebro.

The French drew up their army with the River Zadora on two sides, but they neglected to destroy many of the bridges spanning it. Wellington divided his army into four forces and attacked from three directions at once, facilitated by the intact bridges. These had all made significant progress, when a British attack in the rear of the French army's position brought about a total collapse of French morale and they fled in field. Many of them would have been captured if there had been British cavalry ready for this.

What happened next took the gloss off the day. King Joseph, his courtiers and staff and the French senior commanders had all been travelling with material looted from the Spanish during the six years they had occupied the country - gold, silver, works of art and so on. Much of the British army stopped dead in its tracks when they came upon the wagon train with all this treasure, and uncontrollable looting broke out.

Army strengths: British, Portuguese and Spanish (henceforth "the Allies") 75,000, French 60,000. The French suffered 7,970 casualties and lost 151 guns, while the Allies lost 5,158.

Soldiers of what was to become today's King's Royal Hussars took part in the looting and came away with King Joseph Bonaparte's silver chamber pot which they christened "The Emperor" . This is now used at officers' mess nights, when it is filled with champagne and passed around.

Battle of Sorauren, 28-30 July 1813. Following the Battle of Vitoria, a number of engagements took place in the Pyrenees as Wellington looked to invade France. The British army was besieging Pamplona when Marshal Soult sent a relief column of about 30,000 men through the Pyrenees to attack Soraunen.

Wellington with about 24,000 men occupied Oricain Ridge. The French, attacking in columns, lost many men to Wellington's lines of infantry in fierce fighting. The attacks failed and Soult decided to retreat before dawn on the 30th July. However, this movement was spotted by British pickets and Wellington attacked the retreating French columns, inflicting many casualties.

Army strengths: the Allies 24,000, French 30,000. The French suffered 4,000 casualties while the Allies lost 2,600.

Battle of the Bidassoa, 7 October 1813. Eventually Wellington arrived at the border with France at the River Bidassoa. The French had built strong defences along the river, and it looked like a hard nut to crack.

Again Wellington divided his army; one unit made a fake attack at Maya in the high mountains, another made a genuine attack at Vera in the foothills, and a third attacked at Hendaye on the coast. The latter attack encountered little resistance and was very successful, making a three-mile incursion into French territory. The attack at Vera was more difficult; the area was dominated by a large and heavily fortified mountain, La Rhune. The Light Division, however, launched a headlong attack uphill and managed to clear out the French troops from this well-fortified emplacement.

Army strengths: the Allies 89,000, French 62,000. The French suffered 1,676 casualties while the the Allies lost about 1,400. Lieutenant Colonel John Colborne of the Light Division with about 15 men encountered a column of 400 French soldiers and took them all prisoner by saying that they were surrounded.

Battle of Nivelle, 10 November 1813. In due course, Wellington arrived at the next river north from the Bidassoa, the River Nivelle. This was heavily fortified with Soult's army arraigned in front of the defences, but his army was understrength and the lines were long so they were very thinly manned.

Wellington again divided his forces, and chose on this occasion to make his major onslaught in the mountains rather than at the coast. This took Soult completely by surprise, and very quickly his army was split and in headlong retreat towards the fortress at Bayonne.

Army strengths: the Allies 50,000, French 18,000. The French suffered 4,500 casualties while the the Allies lost 5,500.

Battle of Orthez, 27 February 1814. Wellington left behind the besieged fortress of Bayonne and continued marching east. After four more river crossings he came up against the remnants of Soult's army, taking up a very strong position on a large ridge overlooking Orthez.

Wellington decided to attack this position from a number of directions, with the attacks synchronised to reach the top of the ridgeline at the same time. The fighting was fierce, with a number of the British advances being stalled especially on Soult's right flank. However Soult's left flank and centre were eventually dislodged, and with a British threat to cut off his line of retreat he decided to withdraw. This retreat became disorganised and many French soldiers were captured.

Army strengths: the Allies 44,000, French 35,000. The French suffered 3,985 casualties while the the Allies lost 2,174.

This was the only battle in which Wellington was hit and wounded, when a bullet or piece of grapeshot struck the hilt of his sword and forced it into his hip. Given his habit of placing himself in exposed places on the battlefield and the number of his aides and staff who were killed or seriously wounded in his immediate presence, he seems to have led a charmed life!

Battle of Toulouse, 10 April 1814. After being defeated at Orthez, Soult retreated to Toulouse with Wellington in pursuit.

Toulouse was in many ways an unfortunate battle. Soult had prepared his defences well, while Wellington adopted his usual multi-pronged attack methodology but had a bad day at the office and made a number of mistakes. He gave the task to the Spanish army of attacking one of the strongest of Soult's positions, but they were routed and beaten back. Meanwhile Picton of the Light Division decided to turn what was meant to be a feint attack into a real one, losing over 400 men. Then Beresford led the 4th Division on a long flank march during which they were exposed to heavy fire. However he managed to seize the heights outside the city so Soult retreated back behind the city walls.

Soult stayed in the city the next day but in the evening he withdrew due to a possible attack; this gave Wellington the opportunity of claiming the victory in a battle that he very nearly lost. The next day Wellington received the news that Napoleon had abdicated on 6th April, so the battle was pointless. However, Wellington had fought a nearly flawless campaign in Spain, because of which the French had to maintain a permanent garrison of about 250,000 men in the country.

Army strengths: the Allies 49,000, French 42,000. The French suffered 3,236 casualties while the Allies lost 4,558.

Battle of Quatre Bras, 16 June 1815. A year after abdicating, Napoleon had escaped from exile on Elba and reassumed the French throne. He decided to attack the British and Prussian armies in Belgium, hoping to defeat the, separately before they could combine forces. Marching north he attacked Blucher's Prussian army at Ligny while sending Marshall Ney and his 20,000 men seven miles west to attack about 10,000 of Wellington's forces who were controlling the strategically important crossroad at Quatre Bras.

Ney attacked the British and Dutch troops at Quatre Bras, driving them back. However, Wellington and bits of his army started arriving after marching overnight from Brussels, so he was able to reinforce his lines. A number of attacks by French heavy cavalry did a lot of damage owing to the non-arrival of Wellington's artillery but Picton led an advance which more-or-less brought the two armies back to where they started.

Blucher, meanwhile, had "had a damned good hiding" (Wellington's words), but rather than retreat eastwards towards Germany he retreated northwards to Wavre to keep in touch with Wellington. Wellington too retreated northwards in parallel to Blucher, to a ridge on the road to Brussels called Mont Saint-Jean near the village of Waterloo; he knew about this feature because he'd ridden around this part of the country some time beforehand. The previous night he'd said to the Duke of Richmond that he wouldn't be able to stop Napoleon at Quatre Bras but that he would stop him at Mont Saint-Jean.

Army strengths: Seventh Coalition (British, Dutch and Prussian) 34,000, French 20,000. The French suffered 4,200 casualties while the Coalition lost 5,200.

Battle of Waterloo, 18 June 1815. So it all comes down to the inevitable climax at Waterloo. Wellington lined up his troops on Mont Saint-Jean while Napoleon attacked his lines relentlessly. He started by attacking Wellington's right flank at the Hougoumont farm; this struggle lasted all day, absorbing more and more of his men. Then a French infantry attack on Wellington's centre-left nearly achieved a breakthrough - and cost the life of Picton - but was turned back by a British cavalry charge. The cavalry, however, chased their defeated enemy too far and was so badly mauled by fresh French cavalry that it took no further part in the action.

Ney then led a series of cavalry charges at Wellington's centre-right, but these achieved very little. Meanwhile Blucher's troops marching from Wavre were starting to make their presence felt, although Napoleon was claiming that these troops were French reinforcements. Eventually by the early evening the pressure exerted by the Prussians on the village of Placenoit on his right flank was so strong that he decided to attack Wellington with his Imperial Guard - regarded as invincible.

The Guard marched in column towards the centre-right of Wellington's line. As they approached the crest of the ridge, the lines of British soldiers - about 1,400 Foot Guards - sprang up and let loose volley after volley, catching the Guard in front and flank. The Guard staggered, stopped, and broke. Cries came up from the French army: "the Guard is retreating!", "we are betrayed", "every man for himself" - and in a matter of minutes the French army broke and fled. Wellington ordered a general advance, and that was that. However, as Wellington himself said, "it was the nearest run thing you ever saw in your life".

It was both Wellington's and Napoleon's last battle. Wellington became a crusty reactionary politician while Napoleon saw out his few remaining days in exile on Saint Helena, blaming everyone but himself for the defeat at Waterloo.

I spent four days walking the battlefields of Quatre Bras, Ligny, Wavre and Waterloo (the latter on the hottest day ever recorded in Belgium!). It was a fabulous experience, making the events of the battles very clear - it really helps to see the lie of the land!

Army strengths: Wellington 68,000, Blucher 50,000, French 73,000. The French suffered 25,000 casualties killed and wounded and 8,000 captured; Wellington lost 17,000 while Blucher lost 7,000.