Albuera 1811: The Bloodiest Battle of the Peninsular War

On 16 May 1811, the small town of Albuera was the setting for one of the Peninsular War’s most bloody and desperate battles. A combined Spanish, British and Portuguese force of more than 30,000 men, under the command of Lord Beresford, stubbornly blocked the march of the French field marshal Soult, who was trying to reach the fortress of Badajoz, 12 miles north.

Beresford, who defended himself with his bare hands against a Polish lancer, was victorious, but at the cost of 6,000 Allied death...