Lines of Torres Vedras
Named after the nearby town of Torres Vedras, they were ordered by Arthur Wellesley, Viscount Wellington, constructed by Colonel Richard Fletcher and his Portuguese workers between November 1809 and September 1810, and used to stop Marshal Masséna's 1810 offensive.In March 1809, Marshal Soult led a new French expedition that advanced south to the city of Porto before being repulsed by Portuguese-British troops and forced to withdraw.He decided to strengthen the proposed evacuation area around the Fort of São Julião da Barra on the estuary of the River Tagus, near Lisbon.[5] Following the decision on the location, Lieutenant-Colonel Richard Fletcher ordered the work to begin on a network of interlocking fortifications, redoubts, escarpments, dams that flooded large areas, and other defences.[3] These defences were accompanied by a scorched earth policy to their north in which the inhabitants were told to leave their farms, destroying all food they could not take and anything else that may be useful to the French.The Lines were not continuous, as in the case of a defensive wall, but consisted of a series of mutually supporting forts and other defences that both guarded roads that the French could take and also covered each other’s flanks.In fact, the First Line was not the original plan, the work was only carried out because the defenders were given extra time due to the slow advance of the French Army.Wellington's first idea had been to construct the first line from Alhandra on the banks of the Tagus to Rio São Lourenço on the Atlantic coast, with advanced works at Torres Vedras, Sobral de Monte Agraço, and other commanding points.The chief defence consisted of the entrenched camp of the Fort of São Vicente, a little to the north of Torres Vedras, which dominated the paved road leading from Leiria to Lisbon.[3] In the event of failure even in the face of all these precautions, a very powerful line, 2 miles (3.2 km) long, was thrown up around the Fort of São Julião da Barra on the Tagus estuary to cover a retreat and any embarkation if it became necessary.[16] However, the French made no movement, and after holding out through February, when starvation really set in, Marshal Masséna ordered a retreat at the beginning of March 1811, taking a month to get to Spain.[18] The redoubts of the First Line did not require more than 20,000 men to defend them, which left the whole of the true field-army free not only to reinforce any threatened point but also to make counter-attacks.In 1911, two plaques were added to acknowledge the contributions of Richard Fletcher and of José Maria das Neves Costa, on whose original topographic maps Wellington based his plans for the Lines.[21] Substantial portions of the Lines survive today, albeit in most cases in a heavily decayed condition due to past removal of stones.With the bicentennial of the Lines fast approaching the six municipalities set up an inter-municipal platform to move things forward and decided to apply for funding through the EEA and Norway Grants programme.Work involved included removal of excess vegetation, creation or restoration of access, archaeological studies, setting up of information boards, establishment of walking routes, and a Visitors' Centre in each municipality.[23][24] The Leonel Trindade Municipal Museum, Torres Vedras in the centre of the town has a room dedicated to "The Lines" with a display of information boards and artefacts.
Peninsular WarAstorga1st Ciudad RodrigoBarquillaCôa River1st AlmeidaTrant's raidBussacoSobralOlivençaPombalRedinhaCasal NovoFoz de ArouceSabugalFuentes de Oñoro2nd AlmeidaEl BodónLisbonRoliçaVimeiroChavesGrijóAlmeidaFuentesDeOñoroTorres VedrasArthur Wellesley, Viscount WellingtonColonel Richard FletcherMarshal Masséna'sTreaty of FontainebleauGeneral JunotArthur WellesleyConvention of CintraMarshal SoultCuestaClaude VictorBattle of TalaveraFort of São Julião da BarraLieutenant-Colonel Richard FletchergulliesravinesrearguardredoubtsescarpmentsJohn Thomas JonesPortuguese ArmyRoyal EngineersSiege of AlmeidaList of forts of the Lines of Torres VedrasFort of ZambujalFort of São VicenteFort of Alqueidãoscorched earthcanister shotcannonballsAlhandraSobral de Monte AgraçoArrudaprecipiceabatisflotillagunboatsHill'sdivisionFort of SubserraPack'sLeith'sBritish Light DivisionLeiriaFort of CasaBucelasSerra da AguieiraFort of ArpimAlverca do RibatejoFort of MosqueiroFort of RibasFort of FeiraTapadaAnglo-Portuguese ArmyBattle of BuçacoVIII CorpsBattle of SobralAlmadaTrafariacampaignattrition warfareAlvercacombat readyordenançasguerrilla warfareMarquis of la RomanaForts of Serra da AguieiraNelson’s ColumnLondonHerculesMonument to the RestorersSintraVila Franca de Xiratopographic mapsDireção-Geral do Património CulturalEEA and Norway GrantsEuropean Union Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra AwardsFort of OlheirosLeonel Trindade Municipal Museum, Torres VedrasArruda dos VinhosWayback MachineDeath to the FrenchSharpe's GoldBernard CornwellSharpe's EscapeLines of WellingtonRaúl RuizValeria SarmientoArthur Conan DoyleMary BaloghLongford, Elizabethpublic domainFortescue, Sir John WilliamNapoleonic WarsThird CoalitionFourth CoalitionFifth CoalitionFrench Invasion of RussiaSixth CoalitionSeventh Coalitionclient states