Siege of Badajoz (1812)

Siege Of Badajoz (1812)

In the Siege of Badajoz (16 March – 6 April 1812), the Anglo-Portuguese Army, under the Earl of Wellington, besieged Badajoz, Spain and forced the surrender of the French garrison.

The siege was one of the bloodiest in the Napoleonic Wars and was considered a costly victory by the British, with some 3,000 Allied soldiers killed in a few short hours of intense fighting as the siege drew to an end. Enraged at the huge amount of casualties they took in seizing the city, the troops broke into houses and stores consuming vast quantities of liquor with many of them then going on a rampage. Ignoring or threatening their officers commands to desist, and even killing several, the troops massacred as many as 4,000 Spanish civilians. It took three days before the men were brought back into order.