Battle of Alcántara
1809 CE.
Shown on the map at 39.722°, -6.890°.
The Battle of Alcántara was fought on 14 May 1809 during the Peninsular War. It saw a French division led by Marshal Claude Perrin Victor attack an Anglo-Portuguese force comprising the British Army's Loyal Lusitanian Legion (LLL) and Portuguese militia under Colonel William Mayne. After a three hours skirmish, the French stormed across the Alcántara Bridge and forced the Portuguese to retreat. The battle was fought near Alcántara, Spain, a city situated on the Tagus river near the Portuguese border, 285 kilometres (177 mi) west-southwest of Madrid. While Marshal Nicolas Soult invaded northern Portugal in early 1809, two other French forces stood ready to cooperate in the subjugation of Portugal. Pierre Belon Lapisse's division lurked near Ciudad Rodrigo while Victor's I Corps operated in the Tagus valley. A weak force under Robert Wilson watched Lapisse while Alexander Randoll Mackenzie's Anglo-Portuguese corps kept an eye on Victor. After being outgeneraled by Wilson, Lapisse marched south to join Victor.
Text from the Wikipedia article Battle of Alcántara (1809), licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.