Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro

At the Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro (3–5 May 1811), the Anglo-Portuguese Army under Wellington checked an attempt by the French Army of Portugal under Marshal André Masséna to relieve the besieged city of Almeida.

A bloody stalemate was not the sort of battle that had been expected to follow André Masséna's expulsion from Portugal. His confidence and moral authority having been much boosted by holding the Lines of Torres Vedras, the spring of 1811 found Wellington intending to move over to the offensive, for which policy he had received de facto authorisation from his political masters in London, where talks of major reductions in the size of the army employed in Portugal had been replaced by promises of major reinforcements.

Supply difficulties, sickness amongst the troops and want of siege artillery ensured that in the short term no great strokes of strategy could be envisaged, but it was hoped that Almeida, Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajoz might be all recaptured, thereby opening the way for lightning strikes on such targets as Salamanca or Seville. In the event, however, success was limited, the story of the rest of 1811 essentially being one of failure and frustration.