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| Battle of Pombal | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of thePeninsular War | |||||||
 | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 French Empire |  United Kingdom Portugal | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Michel Ney | Viscount WellingtonLuís do Rego | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 9,340 | 16,000 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 63 | 37[1] | ||||||
 | |||||||
TheBattle of Pombal (March 11, 1811) was a sharp but ultimately indecisive skirmish fought at theeponymous town duringMarshal Masséna's retreat from theLines of Torres Vedras, the first in a series of laudedrearguard actions fought byMichel Ney. The French were pursued byWellington and hisBritish-Portuguese army but the Allied advance was energetically contested by Ney's efforts, preventing Wellington from crushing Masséna's army when it was critically vulnerable.
At Pombal, Ney turned part of his rearguard to face the larger Anglo-Portuguese forces and checked their advance, before withdrawing to rejoin the main body of Masséna's army.
Unable to break the Lines of Torres Vedras, Ney was given charge of the rear-guard while the main body of the French army withdrew fromPortugal. The rear-guard consisted of Mermet's and Marchand's divisions.
Marshal Ney deceived the British, maneuvering his troops so that Wellington believed that the French were about to return to Torres Vedras, and thus he suspended an offensive operation for several hours, giving Masséna a huge running start.
When it became clear to Wellington that he had been deceived, the British-Portuguese leftTorres Vedras and began a pursuit. The British-Portuguese caught up with Ney at the town of Pombal.
Informed of the approaching British columns, Ney withdrew Marchand's troops but left Mermet's division deployed nearby on the heights beyond Pombal, with a single battalion left behind in the town'scastle. Wellington ordered George Elder's battalion of the 3rd Portuguese Caçadores and 2 companies of 95th Rifles to charge across the bridge and occupy the town, with the rest of the Light Division to which they belonged gradually coming up behind in support.
As the Allied vanguard was clearing the entrance to the town in a heated struggle, Ney realized his troops risked being overwhelmed and quickly came down the heights with 4 battalions of the 6th Light and 69th line infantry, driving the Caçadores and Rifle companies back across theArunca River. Ney is reported to have addressed the 6th Light: "Chasseurs, you are losing your beautiful reputation, and you will dishonor yourselves forever if you do not drive the enemy out of Pombal. Come on! Those who are brave, with me!"[citation needed]
The Light Division commanded byWilliam Erskine hurried forward to support its van, followed by the 3rd and 4th Divisions, and gradually began to engage the French. Ney ordered the main road through Pombal to be barricaded, put the town to the torch and then withdrew his men. This caused the Allied columns the rest of the day to clear through, while the French then retired without further incident.[1]
Despite his success, Ney promptly set fire to the town of Pombal and continued his retreat on the right bank of the Arunca. The next action would be theBattle of Redinha.
British general SirThomas Picton was impressed by Ney's actions, as the former was able to observe the latter's deceiving movements, claiming that it was a "perfect lesson in the art of war".[2]
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Media related toBattle of Pombal at Wikimedia Commons| Preceded by Battle of Barrosa | Napoleonic Wars Battle of Pombal | Succeeded by Battle of Redinha |