Battle of Albuera order of battle

This is the order of battle for the Battle of Albuera (16 May 1811). The Battle of Albuera was an engagement of the Peninsular War, fought between a mixed British, Spanish, and Portuguese corps and elements of the French Armée du Midi (Army of the South). It took place at the small Spanish village of Albuera, about 12 miles (20 km) south of the frontier fortress-town of Badajoz, Spain. Marshal Sir William Beresford had been given the task of reconstructing the Portuguese army since February 1809.[1] He temporarily took command of General Rowland Hill's corps while Hill was recovering from illness,[2] and was granted overall command of the Allied army at Albuera by the Spanish generals, Joaquín Blake y Joyes and Francisco Castaños.[3]

Abbreviations used

Military rank

Other

Allied army

Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Army: Marshal William C. Beresford

Anglo-Portuguese Forces

Division Brigade Regiments and Others
2nd Division


    Maj-Gen William Stewart
    (5,460 total)

1st Brigade


    Lt-Col John Colborne
    (2,066 total)

2nd Brigade


    Maj-Gen Daniel Hoghton
    (1,651 total)

3rd Brigade


    Lt-Col Alexander Abercrombie
    (1,597 total)

Divisional light troops 3 companies, 5th Battalion, 60th Regiment of Foot (146)
4th Division


    Maj-Gen Lowry Cole
    (5,107 total)

1st Brigade


    Lt-Col Sir William Myers
    (2,015 total)

2nd Brigade


    Lt-Col James Kemmis
    (165 total)

One company each of

(165)

Portuguese Brigade


    Brig-Gen William Harvey
    (2,927 total)

  • 11th Portuguese Line Regiment (2 bns, 1,154)
  • 23rd Portuguese Line Regiment (2 bns, 1,201)
  • Lusitanian Legion (1 Bn, 572)
Hamilton's Division


    Maj-Gen John Hamilton
    (4,819 total)

1st Brigade


    Brig-Gen Archibald Campbell
    (2,390 total)

  • 4th Portuguese Line Regiment (2 bns, 1,271)
  • 10th Portuguese Line Regiment (2 bns, 1,119)
2nd Brigade


    Brig-Gen A. Luiz Fonseca
    (2,429 total)

  • 2nd Portuguese Line Regiment (2 bns, 1,225)
  • 14th Portuguese Line Regiment (2 bns, 1,204)
Independent Brigades


    (2,483 total)

KGL brigade


    Maj-Gen Charles Alten
    (1,098 total)

  • 1st Light Battalion KGL (588)
  • 2nd Light Battalion KGL (510)
Collins's Brigade


    Col Richard Collins
    (1,385 total)

  • 5th Portuguese Line Regiment (2 bns, 985)
  • 5th Caçadores (1 bn, 400)
Cavalry


    Maj-Gen William Lumley
    (2,013 total)

Heavy Brigade


    Col the Hon George de Grey
    (761 total)

Portuguese Cavalry Brigade


    Col Loftus William Otway
    (849 total)

  • 1st Portuguese Dragoons (327)
  • 7th Portuguese Dragoons (314)
  • 5th Portuguese Dragoons (1 sqn, 104)
  • 8th Portuguese Dragoons (1 sqn, 104)
Unbrigaded


    (403 total)

Artillery


    Maj Alexander Dickson
    (32 guns, 768 men total)

British batteries


    (8 guns, 225 men)

KGL Batteries


    (12 guns, 292 men)

  • Cleeve's Battery, KGA (5 × 6 pdr, 1 × 5.5" howitzer)[5]
  • Sympher's Battery, KGA (5 × 6 pdr, 1 × 5.5" howitzer)
Portuguese batteries


    (12 guns, 221 men)

  • Braun's Portuguese Battery (6 × 9 pdr)[5]
  • Arriaga's Portuguese Battery (6 × 9 pdr)
Total Anglo-Portuguese Forces: 20,650 (17,869 infantry, 2,013 cavalry, 768 artillery, 32 guns)
Sources: Unless specified, numbers taken from Oman (1911, Appendix XV).

Spanish Forces

Commander-in-Chief of the Spanish Forces: Gen Joaquín Blake y Joyes

4th Army

Commander-in-Chief: Gen Joaquín Blake y Joyes

Division Brigade Regiments and Others[6]
Vanguard Division


    Gen José de Lardizábal
    (2,398 total)

1st Brigade


    Brig-Gen Casinos

  • 1st Murcia
  • 2nd Murcia
  • Fijo Milicia Provincial de Canarias
2nd Brigade


    Brig-Gen Gouvea-Casinos

  • 2/2nd León
  • Campo Mayor
  • Cazadores Reunidos
3rd Division


    Gen Francisco Ballesteros
    (3,525 total)

1st Brigade


    Brig-Gen Gouvea-Asensio

  • Provincial Compañias de Catalanes
  • 2nd Cazadores de Barbastro
  • Pravia
2nd Brigade


    Brig-Gen Carvajal

  • Lena
  • Castropol
  • Cangas de Tineo
  • Infiesto
4th Division


    Gen José Zayas
    (4,882 total)

1st Brigade


    Brig-Gen Cruz-Murgeon

  • 2nd Reales Guardias de España
  • 4th Reales Guardias de España
  • 2nd Irlanda
  • 3rd Irlanda
  • Patria
2nd Brigade


    Brig-Gen Polo

  • Imperiales de Toledo
  • Legión de Estranjeros
  • Ciudad Rodrigo
  • 1st Reales Guardias Walonas
Cavalry


    (1,165 total)

4th Army Cavalry Brigade


    Brig-Gen Loy

  • Granaderos de Fernando VII
  • Granaderos a Caballo
  • Escuadron Provincial de Instrucción
  • Provisional de Santiago
  • Husares de Castilla
Artillery[7]


4th Army


5th Army

1 battery, 8 guns


1 battery, 6 guns

5th Army

Commander-in-Chief: Gen Francisco Castaños

Division Brigade Regiments and Others[6]
Infantry


    (2,398 total)

Carlos de España's Brigade


    Gen Carlos de España

  • Immemorial de Rey
  • 1st Zamora
  • 2nd Zamora
  • Voluntarios de Navarra
Cavalry


    (721 total)

5th Army Cavalry Brigade


    Brig-Gen Penne-Villemur

  • Reales Carabineros de la Guardia
  • La Reina
  • Borbón
  • Lusitania
  • 2nd Algarve
  • Husares de Estremadura
  • Cazadores de Sevilla
Artillery


    (62 total)

  • Miranda's Battery (6 × 4 pdr)
Total Spanish Forces: 14,531 (12,583 infantry, 1,886 cavalry, 62 artillery, 6 guns)
Sources: Unless specified, numbers taken from Oman (1911, Appendix XV).

French Armée du Midi (Army of the South)

Commander-in-Chief: Marshal Jean-de-Dieu Soult

V Corps d'Armée

GD Jean-Baptiste Girard

Division Brigade Regiments and Others
1st Division


    GD Jean-Baptiste Girard
    (4,253 total)

1st Brigade


    GB Michel Veilande
    (1,852 total)

  • 34th Ligne (2 bns, 953)
  • 88th Ligne (2 bns, 899)
2nd Brigade


    GB Pepin
    (2,401 total)

  • 40th Ligne (2 bns, 812)
  • 64th Ligne (3 bns, 1,589)
2nd Division


    GD Honoré Gazan
    (4,183 total)

1st Brigade


    GB Jean-Pierre Maransin
    (1,526 total)

  • 21st Légère (2 bns, 788)
  • 100th Ligne (2 bns, 738)
2nd Brigade


    GB Sylvestre-Brayer
    (2,657 total)

  • 28th Légère (3 bns, 1,367)
  • 103rd Ligne (3 bns, 1,290)
Independent Brigades


    (10,578 total)

Werlé's Brigade


    GB François Werlé
    (5,621 total)

  • 12th Légère (3 bns, 2,164)
  • 55th Ligne (3 bns, 1,815)
  • 58th Ligne (3 bns, 1,642)
Godinot's Brigade


    GB Nicolas Godinot
    (3,924 total)

  • 16th Légère (3 bns, 1,673)
  • 51st Ligne (3 bns, 2,251)
Grenadiers Réunis


    (1,033 total)

Grenadier companies of
  • 45th Ligne
  • 63rd Ligne
  • 95th Ligne
  • 4th Vistula
Cavalry Division


    GD Latour-Maubourg
    (4,012 total)

1st Brigade


    GB André Briche
    (823 total)

  • 2nd Hussars (305)
  • 10th Hussars (262)
  • 21st Chasseurs à Cheval (256)
2nd Brigade


    GB André François Bron
    (1,093 total)

  • 4th Dragoons (406)
  • 20th Dragoons (266)
  • 26th Dragoons (421)
3rd Brigade


    GB Joseph Bouvier des Éclaz
    (879 total)

  • 14th Dragoons (316)
  • 17th Dragoons (314)
  • 27th Dragoons (249)
Unbrigaded


    (1,217 total)

Artillery


    Charles-Étienne-François Ruty
    (48 guns, 1,243 men total)

  • 3rd Horse Artillery (2 batteries, 12 × 6 pdr)
  • 5th Horse Artillery (3 batteries, 18 × 6 pdr)
  • 6th Foot Artillery (3 batteries, 18 × 8 pdr)
Total French Forces: 24,269 (19,014 infantry, 4,012 cavalry, 1,243 artillery, 48 guns)
Sources: Unless specified, numbers taken from Oman (1911, Appendix XVI).

Notes

  1. ^ Gates 1986, p. 147.
  2. ^ Weller 1962, p. 151.
  3. ^ Weller 1962, p. 171.
  4. ^ "The Peninsular War | the English Cemetery at Elvas".
  5. ^ a b c Lipscombe (2010), pp. 217-219
  6. ^ a b Lipscombe (2010), Appendix 4
  7. ^ The Nafziger Collection of Orders of Battle

References

  • Gates, David (1986), The Spanish Ulcer: A History of the Peninsular War, Pimlico (published 2002), ISBN 0-7126-9730-6;