Battle of Majadahonda

Overview

The Battle of Majadahonda saw an Imperial French cavalry division led by Anne-François-Charles Trelliard attack two brigades of cavalry under Benjamin D'Urban and forming the advance guard of Arthur Wellesley, Earl of Wellington's army. Trelliard's leading brigade routed D'Urban's Portuguese horsemen and overran three British cannons. King's German Legion (KGL) cavalry led by Eberhardt Otto George von Bock intervened to halt the Imperial French horsemen, but were finally compelled to withdraw when Trelliard committed his second and third brigades to the contest. The Imperial French cavalry was unable to cope with a KGL infantry battalion defending a village and they withdrew at the approach of additional British cavalry and infantry. This Peninsular War action was fought near Majadahonda, which is located 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) northwest of Madrid.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

Fought sixteen kilometres northwest of Madrid during Wellington's advance following his capture of the city, Majadahonda was an engagement between the rival forces' advance guards. Trelliard's French cavalry initially gained the upper hand, routing D'Urban's Portuguese horsemen and seizing three British guns, but the intervention of King's German Legion cavalry under Bock and the presence of a KGL infantry battalion holding a village checked the French exploitation. The arrival of additional British cavalry and infantry persuaded Trelliard to withdraw. The action demonstrated the limitations of cavalry operating without adequate infantry support and underscored the vulnerability of Wellington's advance guard to a determined French mounted strike, even as the broader French position around Madrid remained untenable.

Tactics

Forces & casualties

Commanders (2)