Battle of Redinha

Battle of Redinha
Part of the Peninsular War
Battle of Redinha, 12 March 1811, by Henri Félix Emmanuel Philippoteaux.
Date 12 March 1811 Location River Soure, Portugal 40°03′N 8°38′W / 40.050°N 8.633°W / 40.050; -8.633 Result Indecisive Successful French Rearguard
Belligerents
French Empire	United Kingdom  Portugal
Commanders and leaders
Michel Ney	Viscount Wellington
Strength
7,000 6 guns[1]	25,000 12 guns[2]
Casualties and losses
150 to 229 killed, wounded or missing[2][3]	205 to 1,800 killed, wounded or missing[4][5]

Lisbon

Roliça

Vimeiro

Chaves

Braga

Grijó

Porto

Almeida

Bussaco

TorresVedras

Redinha

Sabugal

FuentesDeOñoro

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Peninsular war: Portugal
1807 1808 1809 1810 1811

The Battle of Redinha was a rearguard action which took place on March 12, 1811, during Masséna's retreat from Portugal, by a French division under Marshal Ney against a considerably larger Anglo-Portuguese force under Wellington. Challenging the Allies with only one or two divisions, Ney's 7,000 troops were pitched against 25,000 men. In a typical rearguard action, Ney delayed the Allied advance for a day and bought valuable time for the withdrawal of the main body of the French army.

Redinha was the second and most successful rearguard action fought during Masséna's retreat from the Lines of Torres Vedras in the spring of 1811. Having held off the British at Pombal on 11 March, Marshal Ney and the French rearguard had retreated to Redinha. Here he took up an apparently vulnerable position, with Mermet's division on a plateau south of the village, and Marchand's division north of the village on the far side of the Ancos River, linked by a narrow bridge, but Wellington was aware that he was close to much larger French formations, and proceeded very carefully.