Forces Involved
- See also: Battle of Vimeiro order of battle
After Roliça, Wellesley had established a position near Vimeiro. By holding the village, plus some ridges to the west, the British commander covered a beachhead at Maceira Bay a little further to the west. Since most of his reinforcements had arrived by August 20, Wellesley planned to advance south on Lisbon.
Eight independent infantry brigades under Rowland Hill, Ronald Fergusson, Miles Nightingall, Barnard Bowes, Catlin Craufurd, Henry Fane, Robert Anstruther and Wroth Acland formed the core of Wellesley's forces. Rounding out his force were 17 cannons, 240 light cavalry led by C. D. Taylor and about 2,000 Portuguese troops under Nicholas Trant, giving a total of 20,000 men.
Junot organized his 14,000-man force into two infantry divisions and the cavalry division of Pierre Margaron. The infantry division of Henri Delaborde contained the brigades of Antoine Brenier and Jean Thomières, while Louis Henri Loison's division included the brigades of Jean Solignac and Hugues Charlot. In addition, François Étienne de Kellermann commanded a 2,100-man reserve made up of four converged grenadier battalions. These units were created by taking the grenadier company from each of Junot's infantry battalions. The French took 23 cannons into battle with them.
Read more about this topic: Battle Of Vimeiro
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