Battle of Pombal

Battle context

The Battle of Pombal was the first in a series of rearguard actions fought by Michel Ney during Marshal Masséna's retreat from the Lines of Torres Vedras in 1811. The engagement was indecisive, but its operational consequence was significant: Ney's energetic resistance checked Wellington's pursuit and prevented the Allied army from destroying Masséna's force at a moment when it was critically vulnerable. The French were substantially outnumbered, with Wellington's British-Portuguese army fielding roughly 16,000 troops against approximately 9,340 French. That Masséna's army survived the retreat in any cohesive form owed considerably to the contested rearguard fighting that began at Pombal.