Wellesley Wins Vimeiro: Peninsular War's First Victory
General Arthur Wellesley's Anglo-Portuguese force defeated a French army under Junot at Vimeiro, scoring the first Allied land victory of the Peninsular War. The battle demonstrated Wellesley's defensive tactics of using reverse-slope positions and disciplined volleys, methods he would refine over six years of campaigning that eventually drove Napoleon's armies from Iberia.
August 21, 1808
218 years ago
Key Figures & Places
Portugal
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United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
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United Kingdom
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Peninsular War
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Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
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Portuguese people
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Military of France
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Jean-Andoche Junot
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Battle of Vimeiro
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Vimeiro
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French
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Battle of Vimeiro
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United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
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Portuguese people
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Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
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French Armed Forces
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Jean-Andoche Junot
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Vimeiro
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Peninsular War
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French army's invasion of Portugal
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History of Portugal
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Portuguese Empire
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