Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo, storming the fortress, 19 January 1812
Illustration from The life and times of the late duke of Wellington published by John Tallis & Co circa 1853. Info from wiki: In the Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo, (7–20 January 1812) the Viscount Wellington's Anglo-Portuguese Army besieged the city's French garrison under General of Brigade Jean Léonard Barrié. After two breaches were blasted in the walls by British heavy artillery, the fortress was successfully stormed on the evening of 19 January 1812. After breaking into the city, British troops went on a rampage for several hours before order was restored. Wellington's army suffered casualties of about 1,700 men including two generals killed. Strategically, the fall of the fortress opened the northern gateway into French-dominated Spain from British-held Portugal. An earlier Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo occurred in 1810 when the French captured the city from Spanish forces. Wellington received an earldom and a generous pension from the British. The Spanish made him Duque de Ciudad Rodrigo.[6] The capture of Ciudad Rodrigo opened up the possibility of a northern invasion corridor from Portugal into Spain. It also allowed Wellington to proceed to Badajoz on the southern corridor, whose taking would be a much more bloody affair.
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Photo credit: © Historical Images Archive / Alamy / Afripics
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