The Battle of Santarem was a battle of the Peninsular War fought in early May 1811 between France and Portugal. The French marshal Jean-Andre Massena and an army of nearly 8,000 French troops defeated a Portuguese army of 1,990 Portuguese troops under Vicente Figueiredo at the supply base of Santarem in Extremadura, with only 190 losses.
Background[]
In May 1811, a month after his first incursion into Extremadura, Marshal Jean-Andre Massena and his 7,700-strong Armee du Portugal moved into Extremadura from Beira. The French again halted northwest of Santarem, and gained the opportunity to intercept Vicente Figueiredo's 1,990 Portuguese troops as they moved south to link up with the Lisbon garrison. The French attacked the Portuguese before they could reach reinforcements, expecting an easy victory.
Battle[]
The battle
The French Chasseurs a Cheval on the right flank of the French army were ordered to take out the Portuguese artillery as a prelude raid to the battle, charging the artillery and routing them. Soon, Portuguese infantry arrived and the Chasseurs fled after a hail of bullets. The Chasseurs once stopped to return fire before fleeing back to their positions, as they were now bloodied and slightly tired. As the Portuguese infantry charged in, the fresh French left wing cavalry charged them and overwhelmed them, routing the Portuguese army. The French cavalry pursued, and 1,790 Portuguese were killed. During the battle, not one French soldier fired a shot nor was shot at; apart from a few grapeshot volleys from Portuguese cannon, the battle was almost all in the hands of France's cavalry.
Aftermath[]
Despite his perfect victory, Massena again withdrew to Beira to replenish his forces with replacements and resupply his experienced veterans. He also added Beiran militia units to his force, making his army larger and more fit for the conquest of Lisbon. Eventually, he decided that he would instead move on weaker Portuguese cities to cut Lisbon off from reinforcements and British aid.