Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
1810–1812

In 1810, a newly enlarged French army under Marshal André Masséna invaded Portugal. British opinion was negative and there were suggestions to evacuate Portugal. Instead, Lord Wellington first slowed the French at Buçaco; he then prevented them from taking the Lisbon Peninsula by the construction of massive earthworks, known as the Lines of Torres Vedras, which had been assembled in complete secrecy with their flanks guarded by the Royal Navy. The baffled and starving French invasion forces retreated after six months. Wellington's pursuit was hindered by a series of reverses inflicted by Marshal Ney in a much-lauded rear guard campaign.

In 1811, Masséna returned toward Portugal to relieve Almeida; Wellington narrowly checked the French at the Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro. Simultaneously, his subordinate, Viscount Beresford, fought Soult's 'Army of the South' to a bloody stalemate at the Battle of Albuera in May. Wellington was promoted to full general on 31 July for his services. The French abandoned Almeida, avoiding British pursuit, but retained the twin Spanish fortresses of Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajoz, the 'Keys' guarding the roads through the mountain passes into Portugal.

In 1812, Wellington finally captured Ciudad Rodrigo via a rapid movement as the French went into winter quarters, storming it before they could react. He then moved south quickly, besieged the fortress of Badajoz for a month and captured it during the night on 6 April 1812. On viewing the aftermath of the Storming of Badajoz, Wellington lost his composure and cried at the sight of the British dead in the breaches.

His army now was a veteran British force reinforced by units of the retrained Portuguese army. Campaigning in Spain, he was made Earl of Wellington in the county of Somerset on 22 February 1812. He routed the French at the Battle of Salamanca, taking advantage of a minor French mispositioning. The victory liberated the Spanish capital of Madrid. He was later made Marquess of Wellington, in the said county on 18 August 1812.

Wellington attempted to take the vital fortress of Burgos, which linked Madrid to France. He failed, due in part to a lack of siege guns, forcing him into a headlong retreat with the loss of over 2,000 casualties.

The French abandoned Andalusia, and combined the troops of Soult and Marmont. Thus combined, the French outnumbered the British, putting the British forces in a precarious position. Wellington withdrew his army and, joined by the smaller corps under the command of Rowland Hill, which had been moved to Madrid, began to retreat to Portugal. Marshal Soult declined to attack.
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