28 July 1809, evening
The charge in the valley
Victor then pushes Ruffin’s men into the valley between the Medellín and the Segurilla, and Wellesley orders Anson’s cavalry brigade to drive them back. The 1st Hussars of the King’s German Legion advance at a steady pace, but the 23rd Light Dragoons break into a gallop and ride into a hidden ravine. Those who clear it ride past the French infantry squares into Beaumont’s cavalry behind, and lose 102 killed and wounded and 105 captured before they cut their way out.
The French attacks end there, and Joseph and Jourdan never commit their reserve. In the morning the allies find that the French have withdrawn, leaving their wounded and two brigades of guns. The French have lost about 7,390 men and 17 guns, the British between 5,363 and 6,268, a quarter of their force, and the Spaniards several hundred to 1,200. Many wounded die when the dry grass of the battlefield catches fire.
Wellesley is made Viscount Wellington of Talavera. With Soult coming south behind him with 30,000 men, he leaves Talavera on 4 August, and by 20 August his whole army is back across the mountains.
Medal for Wellesley’s victory at Talavera by Louis Lafitte, 1809Wikimedia Commons, Louis Lafitte, CC0 (Penning voor de overwinning door Arthur Wellesley, de Hertog van Wellington van de slag bij Talavera in 1809 1809 barcode 800000087818.jpg)
Sources
- Charles Oman, A History of the Peninsular War, vol. II (1903).
- Andrew Field, Talavera: Wellington’s First Victory in Spain (2006).
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