Battle of Braga (1809) 1809
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 20 March 1809 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1809 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
| Era | 19th century (1800–1913) | derived from year |
| Location | Portugal | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Peninsular War | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | First French Empire, Kingdom of Portugal | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 41.5442, -8.4219 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Braga or Battle of Póvoa de Lanhoso or Battle of Carvalho d'Este (20 March 1809) saw an Imperial French corps led by Marshal Jean-de-Dieu Soult attack a Portuguese army commanded by Baron Eben. When Soult's professional soldiers attacked, the Portuguese at first fought back but soon ran away. The French slaughtered large numbers of their opponents, who were mostly badly disciplined and poorly armed militia. The action was part of the second invasion of Portugal, during the Peninsular War.
After the Battle of Corunna and the British evacuation of northwest Spain, Soult turned his attention to the invasion of Portugal. Fighting their way through swarms of Spanish guerillas, Soult's troops crossed the border into Portugal in early March 1809. After capturing Chaves, Soult's II Corps encountered a horde of unruly militiamen who had just assassinated their commander. The subsequent easy French victory did not discourage the Portuguese resistance. Meanwhile, another Portuguese army was gathering to defend Porto.
Braga is situated about 45 kilometres (28 mi) north-northeast of Porto (Oporto).
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Braga (1809) (revision 1376911109), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle of Cerneja 1139 · 35 km
- Battle of Ponte Ferreira 1832 · 41 km
- Battle of the Bridge of Amarante 1809 · 42 km
- Siege of Porto 1832 · 47 km
- First Battle of Porto 1809 · 47 km
- Second Battle of Porto 1809 · 47 km
Other battles of the Peninsular War
- First Siege of Girona (Peninsular War) 1808
- Second Siege of Girona (Peninsular War) 1808
- Siege of Roses (1808) 1808
- Siege of Zaragoza (1808) 1808
- Siege of Zaragoza (1809) 1808
- Battle of Alba de Tormes 1809
- Battle of Alcañiz 1809
- Battle of Alcántara (1809) 1809
- Battle of Almonacid 1809
- Battle of Arzobispo 1809
All 124 battles of the Peninsular War →
Browse more: battles in Portugal · Europe · 19th century battles