Battle of Maida 1806
![Philip James de Loutherbourg[1] ↑ The Battle of Maida, the 4 of July 1806 published 1 June 1810. Royal Collection Trust. Retrieved on 9 May](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Maidabattle.jpg){kind=link}
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 4 July 1806 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1806 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
| Era | 19th century (1800–1913) | derived from year |
| Location | Italy | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | War of the Third Coalition | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 38.8500, 16.3667 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Maida was fought on 4 July 1806 between the British and French armies outside Maida, Calabria during the Napoleonic Wars. John Stuart led a British expeditionary force of 5,236 troops to victory over a force of approximately 5,400 French troops under Jean Reynier, inflicting heavy losses while incurring light casualties. The battle demonstrated the effectiveness of the double-line formation employed by Stuart against the triple line used by Reynier; two ranks in linear formation allowed the British to stretch a longer line and deliver more powerful volleys.
In February 1806, the French invaded and overran the Kingdom of Naples, forcing King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies and his government to flee to Sicily. The Calabrians revolted against the French and Stuart's expeditionary force tried to exploit the unrest by raiding the coast. While ashore, the British encountered Reynier's division and the two sides engaged in battle. 19th-century British historians presented the engagement as a typical fight between French columns and British lines. This view of the battle has been called into doubt by modern historians who argue that the French deployed into lines. Nobody questions the result which was a one-sided British victory.
Following the battle, Stuart captured several isolated French garrisons in Calabria and was transported back to Sicily by the Royal Navy.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Maida (revision 1373233507), 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.
Nearby battles
- Battle of Numistro 210 BC · 15 km
- Siege of Amantea 1806 · 41 km
- Battle of Nicotera 1282 · 50 km
- Battles of Kroton 204 BC · 70 km
- Battle of Seminara (1503) 1503 · 72 km
- Battle of Seminara 1495 · 72 km
Other battles of the War of the Third Coalition
- Battle of Schöngrabern 1805
- Battle of Steyr 1805
- Battle of Verona (1805) 1805
- Battle of Wertingen 1805
- Battle of Wischau 1805
- Battle of Campo Tenese 1806
- Siege of Gaeta (1806) 1806
All 18 battles of the War of the Third Coalition →
Browse more: battles in Italy · Europe · 19th century battles