Wellington watching his army, Crossing of the Douro river, 1809, The Second Battle of Porto, also known as the Battle of the Douro
Original illustration from British Battles on Land and Sea by Cassell, Petter, Galpin & Company circa 1880. Info from wiki: The Second Battle of Porto, also known as the Battle of the Douro, was a battle in which General Arthur Wellesley's Anglo-Portuguese Army defeated Marshal Nicolas Soult's French troops on 12 May 1809 and took back the city of Porto. After taking command of the British troops in Portugal on 22 April, Wellesley (later named 1st Duke of Wellington) immediately advanced on Porto and made a surprise crossing of the Douro River, approaching Porto where its defences were weak. Soult's late attempts to muster a defence were in vain. The French quickly abandoned the city in a disorderly retreat.[4] This battle ended the second French invasion of Portugal. Soult soon found his retreat route to the east blocked and was forced to destroy his guns and burn his baggage train.[4] Wellesley pursued the French army, but Soult's army escaped annihilation by fleeing through the mountains.
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Photo credit: © Historical Images Archive / Alamy / Afripics
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