Badajoz, Siege of

Costly British victory over Napoleonic forces in the Peninsular War March–April 1812.

Badajoz, a Spanish city some 400 km/250 mi southwest of Madrid, was an important fortress on the border with Portugal, which the Spanish surrendered to the French February 1811. It was recaptured by the Duke of Wellington at a cost of some 5,000 casualties.

The British tried but failed to recover the fortress May–June 1811 and the Duke of Wellington laid siege to the fortress 17 March 1812. He launched a full-scale assault 6 April; the main force attacked two breaches in the walls while diversionary attacks took place elsewhere. The main assault failed, with 2,000 British dead, and was abandoned. One of the diversionary attacks succeeded in scaling the wall at the second attempt, and a second took one of the bastions. The fortress surrendered the following day; the British troops exacted harsh revenge for the heavy casualties they had sustained, looting the town for three days before order was restored.