Battle of Arroyo dos Molinos

Infobox Military Conflict


caption=
conflict=Battle of Arroyo dos Molinos
partof=Peninsular War
date=28 October, 1811
place=Arroyo dos Molinos, near Alcuéscar, Spain
result=Anglo-Portuguese victory
combatant1=flagicon|United Kingdom Britain
flagicon|Portugal|1707 Portugal
flagicon|Spain|1785 Spain
combatant2=flagicon|France France
commander1=flagicon|United Kingdom Rowland Hill
commander2=Jean-Baptiste Girard
strength1=9,000 British, Portuguese and Spanish
strength2=6,000
casualties1=80 dead or wounded
casualties2=1,000 dead or wounded
1,400 captured

The Battle of Arroyo dos Molinos took place on 28 October, 1811 during the Peninsula War. An allied force under General Rowland Hill defeated and forced the withdrawal of a French force under General Jean-Baptiste Girard, forcing the latter's dismissal by the Emperor Napoleon.

Background

In the middle of October, 1811 a French division under the command of Jean-Baptiste Girard crossed the River Guardiana at Mérida and campaigned in Northern Extremadura. [cite book |title=Wellington's Campaign |last=Robinson |pages=p. 201 ] Major-General Rowland Hill consulted with General Wellington and received permission to pursue Girard with his Second Division. Upon learning that the French had halted at the village of Arroyo dos Molinos, near Alcuéscar, Hill force-marched his troops for three days in poor weather so as to catch the French before they moved on.

By the evening of the 27 October, Hill's forces had reached a point four miles from the French at Arroyo dos Molinos, and had the area around the enemy surrounded. The 71st (Highland) Regiment of Foot was ordered to occupy the village of Alcuéscar, three miles from Arroyo. During the night there was a violent hail-storm, and on the following morning the weather was still so foul that the French pickets on duty had their backs turned so as to gain some reprieve from the wind and rain - it was from this direction that Hill's forces attacked at dawn on the 28th.cite book |title=Wellington's Campaign |last=Robinson |pages=p. 202 ]

The French 34th and 40th Regiments suffered extremely heavy losses during the battle, and to Marshal Soult's relief the eagle standards of the two regiments were not lost to the British. He wrote to Napoleon;

On 5 November a jubilant Hill (who would be made a Knight of the Bath for Arroyo dos Molinos) wrote to his sister;

Order of Battle

British

In no particular order;
*Second Division
**First Brigade (Howard's)
***9th (East Norfolk) Regiment of Foot [cite book |title=Historical Record of the Ninth |last=Cannon |pages=p. 134 ]
***24th (The 2nd Warwickshire) Regiment of Foot
***50th (Queen's Own) Regiment of Foot
***One company, 5th Battalion, 60th (Royal American) Regiment of Foot
***71st (Highland) Regiment of Foot
***92nd (Gordon Highlanders) Regiment of Foot

**Third Brigade (Wilson's)
***28th (North Gloucestershire) Regiment of Foot
***2nd Battalion, 34th (Cumberland) Regiment of Foot
***2nd Battalion, 39th (Dorsetshire) Regiment of Foot
***One company, 5th Battalion, 60th (Royal American) Regiment of Foot

*Cavalry: 'D Brigade' (Long's)
**9th Light Dragoons
**13th Light Dragoons
**2nd Hussars King's German Legion

Citations

References

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