Generals and Napoleon
Generals and Napoleon
John W. Viscardo
The Battle of Albuera: The Bloodiest Day of the Peninsular War (with Marcus Beresford) | Ep 129
51 minutes Posted Aug 30, 2025 at 10:14 am.
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Show notes

In this episode, we examine the Battle of Albuera (May 16, 1811), the bloodiest battles of the Peninsular War. British, Portuguese, and Spanish forces under Marshal Beresford faced the French Army led by Marshal Soult in a savage struggle marked by relentless infantry combat and catastrophic casualties.


Special guest Marcus Beresford breaks down Soult’s bold flanking attack, the desperate stand of British infantry under crushing fire, and the role of Spanish and Portuguese troops in holding the line. Learn why Albuera was a tactical stalemate but strategic Allied success, how it exposed both the strength and fragility of coalition warfare, and why veterans remembered it as one of the most brutal fights of the Napoleonic era.



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