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Battle of Maguilla 1812

Battle of Maguilla: Knoe05
Image: Richard Knotel, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.

Key facts

Date11 June 1812Wikidata
Year1812Wikidata P585 (point in time)
Era19th century (1800–1913)derived from year
LocationSpainNatural Earth (modern borders)
ContinentEuropeNatural Earth
War / conflictPeninsular WarWikidata P361
ParticipantsFirst French Empire, United Kingdom of Great Britain and IrelandWikidata P710
Coordinates38.3675, -5.8375Wikidata P625

About the battle

In the Battle of Maguilla (11 June 1812) a British cavalry brigade led by Major General John Slade attacked a similar-sized French cavalry brigade commanded by General of Brigade Charles Lallemand. The British dragoons scored an initial success, routing the French dragoons and capturing a number of them. The British troopers recklessly galloped after their foes, losing all order. At length, the French reserve squadron charged into the British, followed by the French main body which rallied. With the tables turned, the French dragoons chased the British until the horses of both sides were too exhausted for the battle to continue. The action took place during the Peninsular War, near Maguilla, Spain, a distance of 17 kilometres (11 mi) northeast of Llerena.

The clash occurred during an indecisive campaign in Extremadura between an Allied corps under Rowland Hill and a French corps led by Jean-Baptiste Drouet, Comte d'Erlon. In early June 1812, Hill began to advance against d'Erlon's weaker force. At Maguilla, Slade encountered Lallemand's brigade and was beaten. Nevertheless, Hill's advance continued until d'Erlon was reinforced. Hill then withdrew to a strong position that d'Erlon did not dare to attack. Finally, Hill advanced again but did not force a battle.

Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Maguilla (revision 1370268773), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.

Location

38.3675, -5.8375 · Spain

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Further reading