Battle of Venta del Pozo
Bailen - Saragossa ( 1808) - Vimeiro - Saragossa (1809 ) - La Coruna - Torres Vedras - Valls - Oporto - Talavera - Ocaña - Ciudad Rodrigo (1810 ) - Buçaco - Gévora - Fuentes de Oñoro - La Albuera - Tarragona (1811 ) - Ciudad Rodrigo (1812 ) - Badajoz (1812 ) - Salamanca - García Hernández - Venta del Pozo - Vitoria
In the battle of Venta del Pozo ( inn to the fountain ) on 23 October 1812 fought a British- German force under Major-General Stapleton Cotton against French cavalry under Major - Generals Curto and Pierre Boyer with the result of a tactical tie.
Background
The Anglo- Portuguese army of the Duke of Wellington ended the unsuccessful siege of Burgos on 21 October 1812 and moved to the southwest back in the direction of Torquemada. Wellington's army of 35,000 men was followed by the army of Portugal, under Major - General Joseph Souham, which had been reinforced to 53,000 men.
Armies
Cottons rearguard consisted inter alia of Colonel Colin Halkett King's German Legion (KGL ) Brigade (1st and 2nd light battalion KGL), Maj-Gen George Anson's light cavalry brigade (11th, 12th and 16th Light Dragoons ) Maj-Gen George Bock's heavy cavalry brigade (1st and 2nd King's German Legion Dragoons ) and Norman Ramsay RHA ( Royal Horse Artillery ) troops with six guns. Cotton's strength was 2800 men.
Curto ` Light Cavalry Division consisted of the 3rd Hussars and the 13th, 14th, 22nd, 26th and 28th Chasseurs. Boyers Dragoon Division was composed of the 6th, 11th, 15th and 25th Dragoons. Brig- Gen Faverots Brigade ( 15th Chasseurs, Duchy of Berg Light Cavalry and Gendarmes ) also rode with the vanguard. The French were among 3200 men.
Battle
On October 23, Cotton presented his cavalry on to a stone bridge where the main road crossed a deep, dry river bed. He planned here an ambush for the French vanguard basket. Anson's cavalry would retire over the bridge and presumably the French would follow. After some French squadrons had crossed the bridge, should Ramsay's guns opened fire and Bocks dragoons attack them.
The plan failed, as Anson's brigade turned off to the wrong way, after they had left the bridge. The Light Dragoons stopped exactly at the place where they blocked both Ramsay's guns, and Bocks planned attack zone. The French cavalry rushed over the bridge and quickly a static mass of riders, the smashing each other with sabers developed. After a few minutes, even Boyers dragoons pressed forward on a flank on the river bed and reinforced the fray. The British cavalry retreated in considerable disorder.
The French pursuers soon met on Halkett two battalions, which were placed in squares. Curto and Boyer drove the attack continues, but the KGL infantry stood firm and added the French heavy losses. Cottons two cavalry brigades formed up again behind the infantry and attacked again in the fighting. During the rest of the day fighting a rearguard action, supported by a furious cavalry use the 1st and 2nd Dragoons and the 1st Hussars developed over several kilometers.
Carl von Hodenberg recalled: " ... the use was carried out with so much momentum that we were immediately mixed completely - friend and foe were almost indistinguishable .... the ground was littered with the French, and we also had extremely high losses. "
But the British- German troops managed to stop the French rider and escape intact. Cotton distinguished himself in an outstanding manner through his " self-control, judgment and courage " from.
Wellington had observed these exemplary retreat. He sent the German light infantry his thanks and a double portion of rum
The Allies were among 165 killed and wounded, besides 65 prisoners. The French lost between 200 ( Smith) and 300 ( Glover ) man.
Comment
Venta del Pozo was the example of a disciplined and properly conducted campaign by combined troops (infantry, cavalry and artillery ), who were thus able to maintain a superior number of cavalry at bay. The two German battalions wore the award Venta del Pozo to 1918 in its subsequent uses in the Hanoverian and Prussian armies ..