page_title: Battle of Arzobispo
section_title: Assault
hierarchical_section_title: Battle of Arzobispo / Battle / Assault
caption_attribution_description: English: Dragoon and Sapper from the Grande Armée. From book of P.-M. Laurent de L`Ardeche «Histoire de Napoleon», 1843
context_page_description: The Battle of Arzobispo on 8 August 1809 saw two Imperial French corps commanded by Marshal Jean-de-Dieu Soult launch an assault crossing of the Tagus River against a Spanish force under José María de la Cueva, 14th Duke of Alburquerque. Alburquerque's troops rapidly retreated after suffering disproportionate losses, including 30 artillery pieces. El Puente del Arzobispo is located 36 kilometres southwest of Talavera de la Reina, Spain. The action occurred during the Peninsular War, part of a larger conflict known as the Napoleonic Wars.
  The Battle of Talavera in late July 1809 saw a victory by Arthur Wellesley's British army and Gregorio García de la Cuesta's Spanish army over the Imperial French army of King Joseph Bonaparte. Wellesley found that he was unable to exploit the triumph due to the failure of his logistical arrangements. Within a few days, Wellesley discovered that Soult's large French army was attempting to cut off his army from Portugal.
  Accordingly, the British and Spanish armies withdrew to the west, narrowly avoiding interception by Soult's forces. Alburquerque was left with 3,000 cavalry and 5,000 infantry to hold the bridge of Arzobispo.
context_section_description: Alburquerque posted one cavalry regiment at the river bank and only two or three battalions to hold the Arzobispo bridge and the artillery redoubt behind it. The rest of the infantry and cavalry were held well back from the river. Soult cleverly planned his assault to occur during the Spanish siesta. La Houssaye's dragoon division would spearhead the attack, followed in turn by Lorge's brigade, the II Corps cavalry, and the V Corps horsemen. The 4,000 troopers were trailed by Girard's division, of which one brigade would follow the cavalry and one brigade would rush the bridge if the cavalry attack succeeded. Gazan's division was ordered to support Girard, while the II Corps infantry waited in reserve. As soon as the assault commenced, the light artillery batteries were instructed to unlimber at the river bank and take the enemy guns under fire.
  About 1:30 PM on 8 August 1809, the 600 dragoons of General of Brigade Auguste-Jean-Gabriel de Caulaincourt's brigade burst out of cover, trotted down to the river bank, and splashed into the river. They rapidly navigated the deep part of the ford and soon reached the shallows on the south bank. The 1st Extremadura Hussar Regiment and an infantry battalion from the bridge defenders tried to oppose the French cavalry. Caulaincourt's troopers set upon the Spanish hussars and soon routed them. The victorious French horsemen regrouped and charged the infantry. With its adversaries galloping toward it, the battalion tried to form square, but was unable to close the rear face before the dragoons charged through the gap. As the square broke up, many Spanish foot soldiers were hewn down or surrendered.
  As Caulaincourt's dragoons disposed of their opponents, the mass of French cavalry poured across the ford behind them. At this moment Soult waved forward the infantry brigade assigned to attack the bridge. Led by the 1st Battalion of the 40th Line Infantry Regiment, the French dashed forward. They were aided by a crossfire of horse artillery pieces and skirmisher fire. Seeing that the French cavalry would soon cut them off, the Spanish infantry fired two badly-aimed volleys at their attackers and took to their heels. The redoubt and all its guns were captured by the French. Both of Girard's brigades reached the south bank with the loss of only a few men who lost their footing at the ford and drowned.
  Alburquerque frantically rallied his divisions to resist the sudden attack. Four battalions of infantry formed up across the highway about a mile south of the bridge while the cavalry hurriedly saddled their horses. As soon as his troopers were ready, Alburquerque flung them at the French without waiting to form them into proper regiments or lines. As a result, 2,500 Spanish cavalry charged into La Houssaye's dragoons in a great ill-formed mass. But Lorge's dragoons and the corps light cavalry units were across the river and quickly joined the melee. Within a short time Alburquerque's overmatched horsemen were defeated.
  Alburquerque bravely tried to turn the tables with his last intact unit, the 2nd Extremadura Hussars, but this effort collapsed and the Spanish cavalry scattered with their French counterparts in full pursuit. Seeing their cavalry supports routed, Bassecourt's infantry formations melted away. Retreating across the hills, the Spanish foot soldiers got away with few additional casualties. The chase ended when the French cavalry encountered one infantry and one cavalry division of Cuesta's army drawn up in battle formation across the Valdelacasa road.
caption: French dragoons in 1809
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