Battle of Vittoria, 1813

Watercolour, possibly by Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas McNiven, 1814 (c).

Vittoria was the decisive battle of the Peninsular War (1808-1814). About 5,000 French soldiers were killed or wounded and 3,000 were taken prisoner. The Allied army under General Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington, suffered about 5,000 killed or wounded. Wellington's victory opened the way for the British, Portuguese and Spanish forces to invade France via the Pyrenees.

From a scrapbook of Lieutenant-General Molyneux.