Battle of Barrosa The Battle of Barrosa ( Chiclana , 5 March 1811 ) was part of an unsuccessful manoeuvre to break the siege of Cádiz in Spain during the Peninsular War . During the battle , a single British division defeated two French divisions and captured a regimental eagle . Cádiz had been invested by the French in early 1810 , leaving it accessible from the sea , but in March of the following year a reduction in the besieging army gave its garrison of Anglo - Spanish troops an opportunity to lift the siege . A large Allied strike - force was shipped south from Cádiz to Tarifa , and moved to engage the siege lines from the rear . The French , under the command of Marshal Victor , were aware of the Allied movement and redeployed to prepare a trap . Victor placed one division on the road to Cádiz , blocking the Allied line of march , while his two remaining divisions fell on the single Anglo - Portuguese rearguard division under the command of Sir Thomas Graham . Following a fierce battle on two fronts , the British succeeded in routing the attacking French forces . A lack of support from the larger Spanish contingent prevented an absolute victory , and the French were able to regroup and reoccupy their siege lines . Graham ' s tactical victory proved to have little strategic effect on the continuing war , to the extent that Victor was able to claim the battle as a French victory since the siege remained in force until finally being lifted on 24 August 1812 . Background . In January 1810 , the city of Cádiz , a major Allied harbour and the effective seat of Spanish government since the occupation of Madrid , was besieged by French troops of Marshal Soult ' s I Corps under the command of Marshal Victor . The city ' s garrison initially comprised only four battalion s of volunteers and recruits , but the Duke of Alburquerque ignored orders from the Spanish " Junta " and instead of attacking Victor ' s superior force , he brought his 10 , 000 men to reinforce the city . This allowed the city ' s defences to be fully manned . Under pressure from widespread protests and mob violence the ruling Spanish " Junta " resigned , and a five - man Regency was established to govern in its place . The Regency , recognising that Spain could only be saved with Allied aid , immediately asked the newly ennobled Arthur Wellesley , Viscount Wellington , to send reinforcements to Cádiz ; by mid - February , five Anglo - Portuguese battalions had landed , bringing the garrison up to 17 , 000 men and making the city effectively impregnable . Additional troops continued to arrive , and by May , the garrison was 26 , 000 strong , while the besieging French forces had risen to 25 , 000 . Although the siege tied up a large number of Spanish , British and Portuguese troops , Wellington accepted this as part of his strategy since a similar number of French troops were also engaged . However , in January 1811 , Victor ' s position began to deteriorate . Soult ordered Victor to send almost a third of his troops to support Soult ' s assault on Badajoz , reducing the besieging French army to around 15 , 000 men . Victor had little chance of making progress against the fortress city with a force of this strength , nor could he withdraw — the garrison of Cádiz , if let loose , was large enough to overrun the whole of Andalusia . Prelude to battle . Following Soult ' s appropriation of many of Victor ' s troops , the Allies sensed an opportunity to engage Marshal Victor in open battle and raise the siege of Cádiz . To that end , an Anglo - Spanish expedition was sent by sea from Cádiz south to Tarifa , with the intention of marching north to engage the French rear . This force comprised some 8 , 000 Spanish and 4 , 000 British troops , with the overall command ceded to the Spanish General Manuel la Peña , a political accommodation since he was widely regarded as incompetent . To coincide with la Peña ' s assault , it was arranged that General José Pascual de Zayas y Chacón would lead a force of 4 , 000 Spanish troops in a sally from Cádiz , via a pontoon bridge from the Isla de León . The British contingent — an Anglo - Portuguese division commanded by Lieutenant - General Sir Thomas Graham — sailed from Cádiz on 21 February 1811 , somewhat later than planned . Graham ' s forces were unable to land at Tarifa due to bad weather and were forced to sail on to Algeciras , where they disembarked on 23 February . Joined by a composite battalion of flank companies under Colonel Browne , the troops marched to Tarifa on 24 February , where they received a further reinforcement from the fortress garrison there . By 27 February , they were joined by la Peña ' s Spanish troops , who had left Cádiz three days after Graham and , despite encountering similar weather difficulties , had succeeded in landing at Tarifa . To further strengthen the Allied ranks , a force of Spanish irregulars under General Beguines had been ordered to come down from the Ronda mountains by 23 February and join the main Anglo - Spanish force . Unaware of the delays in sailing , Beguines had advanced as far as Medina - Sidonia in search of the Allied army ; unsupported , and embroiled in skirmishes with Victor ' s right flank , he returned to the mountains . General Cassagne , Victor ' s flank commander , informed the Marshal of the developing threat . Victor responded by sending three infantry battalions and a cavalry regiment to reinforce Cassagne , and ordering the fortification of Medina - Sidonia . Having concentrated , the combined Allied force began marching north towards Medina - Sidonia on 28 February , and la Peña now ordered Beguines ' s irregulars to join them at Casas Viejas . Once there , however , Beguines ' s scouts reported that Medina - Sidonia was held more strongly than had been anticipated . Rather than engaging the French and forcing Victor to weaken his siege by committing more of his troops to the town ' s defence , la Peña decided that the Allied army should march across country and join the road that ran from Tarifa , through Vejer and Chiclana , to Cádiz . This change of plan , combined with further bad weather and la Peña ' s insistence on marching only at night , meant the Allied force was now two days behind schedule . La Peña sent a message to Cádiz informing Zayas of the delay , but the dispatch was not received and on 3 March , Zayas launched his sally as arranged . A pontoon bridge was floated across the Santi Petri creek and a battalion sent across to establish a bridgehead prior to the arrival of the main force . Victor could not allow the Cádiz garrison , which still numbered about 13 , 000 men , to make a sortie against his lines while he was threatened from outside , so on the night of 3 – 4 March he sent six companies of " voltigeurs " to storm the bridgehead entrenchments and prevent a breakout . Zayas ' s battalion was ejected from its positions , with 300 Spanish casualties , and Zayas was forced to float the pontoon bridge back to the island for future use . Marshal Victor had , by now , received intelligence from a squadron of dragoon s that had been driven out of Vejer , informing him of the strong Anglo - Spanish force making its way up the western road from Tarifa . In conjunction with the aggressive action of the Cádiz garrison , this led him to conclude that the approaching troops were heading for Cádiz ; their line of march was therefore predictable , so he prepared a trap . General Eugene - Casimir Villatte ' s division was sent to block the neck of the peninsula on which the western road ran , preventing access to the Santi Petri creek and the Isla de Léon . Two other divisions , under the commands of Generals François Amable Ruffin and Jean François Leval , were ordered to conceal themselves in the thick Chiclana forest in position to attack the flank of the Allies as they engaged Villatte ' s division . After another night march , on 5 March the Allies reached a hill to the south east of Barrosa , the Cerro del Puerco ( also referred to as the Barrosa Ridge ) . Scouts reported the presence of Villatte ' s force , and la Peña ordered his vanguard division to advance . With the aid of a fresh sortie of Zayas ' s troops from Cádiz , and reinforced by a brigade of the Prince of Anglona ' s division , the Spanish drove Villatte ' s force across the Almanza Creek . La Peña refused his vanguard permission to pursue the retreating French , who were consequently able to regroup on the far side of the creek . Graham ' s Anglo - Portuguese division had remained behind on the Cerro del Puerco to defend the rear and right flank of la Peña ' s main force . Battle . Having opened up the route to Cádiz , la Peña instructed Graham to move his troops forward to Bermeja . However , on Graham ' s strenuous objections to vacating a position that would result in both an exposed flank and rear , a force of five Spanish battalions and Browne ' s battalion was left to hold the Barrosa Ridge . In addition , three Spanish and two King ' s German Legion ( KGL ) squadrons of cavalry , under the command of Colonel Samuel Whittingham , were sent to flank this rearguard force on the coast track . Graham ' s division then moved north as ordered — instead of descending from the heights on the coast road , they followed a path through a pine wood to the west of the ridge . This route was shorter and more practical for artillery , but the trees restricted visibility in all directions , meaning that they were effectively marching blind . French attack . Victor was disappointed that Villatte had failed to block the Cádiz road for longer , but he was still confident that his main force could drive the Allies into the sea . He could see that the bulk of the Spanish troops had taken station opposite Villatte and , on hearing reports that Barrosa Ridge was deserted , realised that here was an opportunity to take this commanding position . Ruffin was ordered to occupy the heights while Leval struck at Graham ' s troops in the woods , and three squadrons of dragoons were sent around the Cerro to take the coastal track . Victor ' s plan rapidly developed momentum . Ruffin ' s advance sufficed to send the five rearguard Spanish battalions running , leaving only Browne ' s battalion defending the ridge and , confronted by the French dragoons , Whittingham ' s cavalry decided to retire . Whittingham lent a single squadron of KGL hussar s to Browne to cover his retreat ; Browne initially positioned his battalion in the ruins of a chapel at the summit but , seeing Whittingham ' s retreat and spotting six French battalions advancing on his position , he had little choice but to give way and seek Graham ' s force in the woods . Barrosa Ridge fell unopposed as Victor had intended , and Ruffin emplaced a battery of artillery on the heights . Graham ' s response . Meanwhile , midway through his march to join la Peña ' s Spaniards , Graham received news from Spanish " guerrilleros " that French soldiers had emerged from the Chiclana forest . Riding to the rear of his marching columns , he witnessed the Spanish battalions retreating from the ridge , Ruffin ' s division climbing its slopes , and Leval ' s division approaching from the east . Realizing that the Allied force was in danger of being swamped , Graham disregarded his orders and turned his division to deal with the threats to his flank and rear . He ordered General Dilkes ' s brigade to retake the ridge while Colonel Wheatley ' s brigade was sent to see off Leval ' s force to the east . Because of the time it took to deploy a full brigade into battle formation , Graham knew he needed to delay the French . He therefore ordered Browne , who had rejoined the division , to turn his single " Flankers " battalion of 536 men around and advance up the slope of the Barrosa Ridge against the 4 , 000 men and artillery of Ruffin ' s division . Colonel Barnard , who led the light battalion of Wheatley ' s brigade , and Colonel Bushe , leading two light companies of Portuguese skirmisher s , were ordered to attack through the woods to hold up Leval ' s advance . Barrosa Ridge . Advancing up the ridge they had just abandoned , Browne ' s battalion came under intense fire from Ruffin ' s emplaced infantry and artillery . Within a few salvoes , half the battalion was gone and , unable to continue , Browne ' s men scattered amongst the cover provided by the slope and returned fire . Despite his success , Ruffin could not descend the hill to brush away the remnants of Browne ' s battalion , as Dilkes ' s brigade had by now emerged from the wood and was forming up at the base of the slope . Dilkes , instead of following Browne ' s route up the slope , advanced to the right where there was more cover and ground not visible to the French . As a result , the French artillery could not be brought to bear , and Dilkes ' s brigade managed to get near the top of the ridge without suffering serious loss . By this time , though , its formation had become disorganised , so Ruffin deployed four battalion columns in an attempt to sweep both Dilkes and the remaining " Flankers " back down the slope . Contrary to French expectations , the crude British line stopped the attacking columns in their tracks , and the two forces exchanged fire . Marshal Victor , by then himself on the crest of the ridge , brought up his reserve in two battalion columns of grenadiers . These columns were , as with the previous four , subjected to intense musket fire and were brought to a halt just metres from the British line . The first four columns had started to give ground , so Victor tried to disengage his reserves and bring them to their support . However , as the two grenadier columns attempted to move off from their stalled positions , they came under additional fire from the remnants of Browne ' s battalion , which had renewed its own advance . Prevented from rallying , the entire French force broke and fled to the valley below . Leval ' s advance . While Dilkes was moving on Ruffin ' s position on Barrosa Ridge , Barnard and the light companies advanced through the woods towards Leval ' s division . Unaware of the impending British assault , the French had taken no precautions and were advancing in two columns of march , with no forward line of " voltigeurs " . The unexpected appearance of British skirmishers caused such confusion that some French regiments , thinking there were cavalry present , formed square . These were prime targets for shrapnel rounds fired by the ten cannon under Major Duncan which , having made rapid progress through the woods , arrived in time to support the skirmish line . As the situation became clearer , the French organised themselves into their customary attacking formation — the ' column of divisions ' — all the time under fire from Barnard ' s light companies and Duncan ' s artillery . Finally , with the French now in their fighting columns and beginning their advance , Barnard was forced to draw back . Leval ' s men then encountered Bushe ' s companies of the 20th Portuguese , who supported the light battalion ' s retreat and kept the French engaged until Wheatley ' s brigade had formed up in line on the edge of the woods . The retreating light companies joined Wheatley ' s troops ; Leval ' s division of 3 , 800 men was now marching on an Anglo - Portuguese line of 1 , 400 men supported by cannon . Although they had the advantage in numbers , the French were under the impression that they were facing a superior force . Having been mauled by Barnard ' s and Bushe ' s light companies , and now facing the rolling volleys of the main British line , the French needed time to form from column into line themselves . However , Wheatley attacked as soon as the light companies cleared the field , and only one of Leval ' s battalions was able to even partially redeploy . The first French column Wheatley engaged broke after a single British volley . The 8th Ligne , part of this column , suffered about 50 percent casualties and lost its eagle . The capture of the eagle — the first to be won in battle by British forces in the Peninsular wars — cost Ensign Keogh of the 87th his life and was finally secured by Sergeant Patrick Masterson ( or Masterman , depending on source ) . As Wheatley ' s brigade moved forward , it encountered the only French battalion , from the 54th Ligne , that had begun to form line . It took three charges to break this battalion , which eventually fled towards the right where it encountered the remainder of Leval ' s fleeing division . French retreat . Ruffin ' s and Leval ' s divisions fled towards the Laguna del Puerco , where Victor succeeded in halting their disorganised rout . The Marshal deployed two or three relatively unscathed battalions to cover the reorganisation of his forces and secure their retreat , but Graham had also managed to call his exhausted men to order and he brought them , with Duncan ' s artillery , against Victor ' s new position . Morale in the re - formed French ranks was fragile ; when a squadron of KGL hussars rounded the Cerro and drove a squadron of French dragoons onto their infantry , the shock was too much to bear for the demoralised soldiers , who retreated in a sudden rush . Throughout the battle , la Peña steadfastly refused to support his Anglo - Portuguese allies . He learnt of the French advance at about the same time as Graham , and decided to entrench his full force on the isthmus defending the approach to the Isla de Léon . Learning of Graham ' s decision to engage the two French divisions , the Spanish commander was convinced that the French would win the day and so stayed in place ; Zayas repeatedly asked for leave to go to Graham ' s support , but le Peña denied permission each time . On hearing that the British had prevailed , la Peña further declined to pursue the retreating French , again over - riding the continued protestations of Zayas . Consequences . Furious at la Peña , the following morning Graham collected his wounded , gathered trophies from the field and marched into Cádiz ; snubbed , la Peña would later accuse Graham of losing the campaign for the Allies . It is almost certain that , had the Allies pushed the French positions either immediately after the battle or on the morning of 6 March , the siege would have been broken . Even though Victor had managed to rally his troops at Chiclana , panic was rife in the French lines . Fully expecting a renewed offensive , Victor had made plans to stall any Allied advance just long enough to blow up most of the besieging forts and to allow I Corps to retreat to Seville . Such was the French discomposure that , despite the Allied inactivity , one battery was destroyed without any signal being given . La Peña had determined not to heed plans from Graham and Admiral Keats to make a cautious advance against the French at Chiclana , and he even refused to send out cavalry scouts to find out what Victor was doing . After remaining entrenched at Bermeja during 5 – 6 March , the Spanish army crossed to the Isla de León the following day , leaving only Beguines ' s irregulars on the mainland . This force did manage to briefly secure Medina - Sidonia , but then returned to the Ronda mountains . By 8 March , just three days after the battle , Victor had reoccupied even the evacuated southern section of his lines and the siege was back in place . It would remain so for another eighteen months , until finally being abandoned on 24 August 1812 , when Soult ordered a general French retreat following the Allied victory at Salamanca . Despite the conduct of their commanding general , both the Spanish success at Almanza Creek and Graham ' s actions at Barrosa Ridge gave a much needed boost to Spanish morale . La Peña was subsequently arraigned for court - martial , mainly for his refusal to pursue the retreating French , where he was acquitted but relieved of command . At a time when Anglo - Spanish relations were already strained , Graham ' s criticism of his Spanish allies meant that it was no longer politic for him to remain in Cádiz , so he was transferred to Wellington ' s main army . Both tactically and in terms of the casualties inflicted , the battle was a British victory . Graham ' s troops had beaten a French force approaching twice their number despite having marched through the previous night and part of that day . The British lost approximately 1 , 240 men , including Portuguese and German contingents under Graham ' s command , while Victor lost around 2 , 380 . The Spanish suffered 300 – 400 casualties . Strategically , however , the failure of the Allies to follow up their victory allowed Victor to reoccupy his siege lines ; Cádiz was not relieved and the campaign effectively failed to achieve anything . Victor even claimed the battle as a French victory , since the positions of the opposing sides remained unchanged following the action . In November 1811 , the British Prince Regent commanded that a medal be struck to commemorate the " brilliant Victory obtained over the Enemy " ; this was awarded to the senior British officers present at the battle . Four Royal Navy ships have taken their names from the battle , as has the Sea Cadet Corps Unit , TS Barrosa , and the Barossa Valley in Australia . Unofficially , the training area at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst is also known as Barossa . References . Explanatory notes Citations