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In the Battle of Tordesillas or Battle of Villa Muriel or Battle of Palencia between 25 and 29 October 1812, a French army led by Joseph Souham pushed back an Anglo-Portuguese-Spanish army commanded by Arthur Wellesley, Marquess Wellington. After its failed Siege of Burgos, the 35,000-man Allied army withdrew to the west, pursued by Souham's 53,000 French soldiers. On 23 October, French cavalry attacked the Allied rear guard in the inconclusive Battle of Venta del Pozo. The Allies pulled back behind the Pisuerga and Carrión Rivers and took up a defensive position. Beginning on the 25th there were clashes at Palencia and Villamuriel de Cerrato as Souham sought to turn the Allied north flank. Wellington then adopted an unorthodox defensive position, prompting Souham to pause for two days. The stalemate was broken on 29 October when a party of naked French soldiers swam the Duero River at Tordesillas with their weapons on a raft. Upon reaching the far bank, they took up their guns and routed the Brunswick defenders of a key bridge. With an intact bridge in French hands, Wellington was forced to continue his retreat toward Portugal. Meanwhile, Wellington's subordinate Rowland Hill withdrew from Madrid. The two British commanders united their armies near Alba de Tormes on 8 November. By this time the combined French armies were led by Nicolas Soult. Though 80,000 French faced 65,000 Allies on the old Salamanca battlefield neither commander initiated a battle, whereupon Wellington began a withdrawal. After a retreat in miserable conditions during which hundreds of soldiers were captured of died of hunger and exposure, the Allied army went into winter quarters. The actions were fought during the Peninsular War, part of the Napoleonic Wars. ==Background== On 22 July 1812, General Arthur Wellesley, Marquess Wellington's won a great victory over Marshal Auguste Marmont's Army of Portugal at the Battle of Salamanca. Marmont was badly wounded, two of his division commanders were killed, and his army severely mauled with 10,000 killed and wounded. An additional 4,000 soldiers, 20 cannons, two eagles, and six colors were captured for Allied losses of 4,762 men.〔Smith (1998), 380-381〕 King Joseph Bonaparte evacuated Madrid and its forts surrendered to the Allies on 13 August.〔Smith (1998), 385-386〕 One major consequence of Salamanca was that Marshal Nicolas Soult raised the two and one-half year Siege of Cadiz on 25 August 1812 and abandoned the province of Andalusia.〔Smith (1998), 389〕 Hoping to exploit the summer's successes, Wellington began the Siege of Burgos on 19 September 1812. Burgos' 2,000-man garrison was led by General of Brigade Jean-Louis Dubreton who supervised a very able and aggressive defense. During their futile siege, the Allies suffered 2,100 casualties before withdrawing on 21 October.〔Smith (1998), 397〕 While Wellington was attempting to reduce Burgos, the French reacted promptly to the crisis. To oppose his 35,000-man army, General of Division Joseph Souham assembled 53,000 men in the north of Spain. This force included 41,000 men of the reconstituted Army of Portugal, 6,500 infantry and 2,300 cavalry from the Army of the North, and a 3,400-man brigade from Bayonne.〔Glover (2001), 213〕 In the south, Soult and Joseph advanced on Madrid with 61,000 soldiers and 84 guns. To oppose these masses, Lieutenant General Rowland Hill had 31,000 Anglo-Portuguese and 12,000 Spaniards.〔Glover (2001), 211-212〕 Wellington's host included 24,000 Anglo-Portuguese and 12,000 Spanish troops under General José María Santocildes.〔Gates (2002), 371〕 Wellington stole a march on Souham and the Frenchman did not discover the Allied retreat until late on 22 October. Souham immediately launched almost 6,000 cavalry in pursuit of his enemies. On the 23rd, the Allied main body crossed the Pisuerga River at Torquemada and spread out to defend the west bank. The same day, the French cavalry fought Wellington's rear guard〔Glover (2001), 214〕 in the drawn Battle of Venta del Pozo. The Allies counted 230 casualties while the French lost about 200 men.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Battle of Tordesillas (1812)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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