
Online Collection
Battle of Talavera, 1809
Watercolour by Richard Simkin, 1900 (c).
The 40th (2nd Somersetshire) Regiment of Foot clash with French infantry.
The Battle of Talavera took place to the southwest of Madrid during the Peninsular War (1808-1814). An Anglo-Spanish army of 50,000 men commanded by Sir Arthur Wellesley and the Spanish General Gregorio de la Cuesta, faced 46,000 Frenchmen under Marshal Claude Victor and the French King of Spain, Joseph Bonaparte. One of the bloodiest battles of the war, Talavera was something of a stalemate. Although the French withdrew from the field, Wellesley was forced to return with his force to Portugal after another French army under Marshal Soult threatened his lines of communication. Further operations were also restricted by the lack of co-operation between the British and their Spanish allies.
NAM Accession Number
NAM. 1959-09-70-1
Copyright/Ownership
National Army Museum, Out of Copyright
Location
National Army Museum, Study collection
Object URL
https://collection.nam.ac.uk/detail.php?acc=1959-09-70-1