Battle of The Gebora - Background

Background

Despite his partial victory over Marshal Masséna in Portugal at the Battle of Bussaco in September 1810, Viscount Wellington was forced by Masséna's manoeuvres to retreat behind the extensive lines of Torres Vedras, a series of forts defending the Portuguese capital of Lisbon. By 10 October 1810, only the British light division and a few cavalry patrols remained outside the defensive lines, while Masséna's Army of Portugal concentrated around Sobral, seemingly in preparation to attack the lines. After a fierce skirmish on 14 October, the French dug themselves in rather than launch a full-scale assault, remaining entrenched for a month before withdrawing to a position between Santarém and Rio Maior.

Napoleon had previously sent dispatches to Marshal Soult, commander of the Army of the South, urging him to send assistance to Masséna in Portugal. However, the Emperor's orders, which called for only a small force, were based on outdated intelligence, and the situation had changed considerably by the time Soult received them. 30,000 Allied troops and six major fortresses now stood between the French army and the Portuguese capital, making an attack against Lisbon virtually impossible. Nevertheless compelled to act, Soult instead gathered an army of 20,000 men, mainly from V Corps, and launched an expedition into Extremadura with the aim of capturing the Spanish fortress at Badajoz and thereby drawing some of the Allied forces away from Masséna and the Lines of Torres Vedras.

Soult divided his army into two contingents and advanced into Extremadura via the two main passes leading from Andalusia into the Guadiana valley, with the intention of rejoining at Almendralejo. One of the columns, commanded by General Marie Victor Latour-Maubourg, met little resistance on its march; on 3 January 1811, the column was confronted by 2,500 Spanish and Portuguese cavalry near Usagre, but that force was only a screen covering the retreat beyond the Guadiana of a Spanish infantry division commanded by General Mendizabal. Latour-Maubourg was therefore able to take position near Almendralejo and await the arrival of the second French column.

That second column, commanded by Soult and including General Honoré Gazan's V Corps division, was escorting the French siege-train and therefore had to take a longer, more practicable route into Extremadura. Bad weather and the desertion of the Spanish drivers caused the artillery train to become separated from the escorting infantry, a problem that was further complicated when the column was threatened by 5,000 Spanish troops under General Francisco Ballesteros. When confronted by Marshal Mortier, Ballesteros retreated without suffering serious harm but remained a threat to the rear of the French column. For this reason, Soult directed Gazan's infantry to head off the Spanish force and protect the delayed siege-train, while he himself continued onward to Almendralejo with his cavalry. As a result, Soult finally joined Latour-Maubourg on 6 January with only a fraction of his original column and no heavy artillery.