Battle of Valle de Monterrey

Overview

The Battle of the Monterrey Valley was fought during the Peninsular War outside Monterrei, Orense, in Spain. Resulting in a French victory, it took place in the early stages of Marshal Soult's Second French invasion of Portugal.

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

Significance

The Battle of Valle de Monterrey was an early engagement in Marshal Soult's Second French invasion of Portugal during the Peninsular War, fought outside Monterrei in the Orense region of Spain. The French victory cleared opposition along the invasion corridor at a critical opening stage of the campaign, supporting Soult's advance toward Portugal. The engagement pitted a substantially larger French force of roughly 22,000 troops against a combined Portuguese and allied force estimated between 4,000 and 10,000 men under Bernardim Freire de Andrade, Francisco da Silveira, and the Marquis of la Romana, a disparity that reflected the strategic pressure Soult was able to bring to bear at this point in the campaign.

Forces & casualties

Commanders (5)