Trant's raid

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Trant's Raid
Part of the Peninsular War

Coimbra
Date6 October 1810 [1]
Location
Coimbra, Portugal
40°12′N 8°25′W / 40.200°N 8.417°W / 40.200; -8.417
Result Portuguese victory
Belligerents
Portugal France French Empire
Commanders and leaders
United Kingdom Nicholas Trant France André Masséna
Strength
4,000 Portuguese militia Unknown
Casualties and losses
3 killed
26 wounded
8 killed
4,000 captured
Map
200km
125miles
V
e
d
r
a
s
T
o
r
r
e
s
Fuentes de Oñoro
8
Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro May 1811
Sabugal
7
Battle of Sabugal April 1811
6
Battle of Redinha March 1811
Lisbon
5
Torres Vedras protects Lisbon
Bussaco
4
Battle of Bussaco September 1810
Almeida
3
Siege of Almeida July 1810 3.1 Blockade of Almeida April 1811
Ciudad Rodrigo
2
Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo April 1810
Astorga
1
Siege of Astorga March April 1810
Third French invasion:
1
Siege of Astorga March April 1810
2
Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo April 1810
3
Siege of Almeida July 1810
3.1 Blockade of Almeida April 1811
4
Battle of Bussaco September 1810
5
Torres Vedras protects Lisbon
6
Battle of Redinha March 1811
7
Battle of Sabugal April 1811
8
Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro May 1811

Trant's Raid was the Portuguese recapture of the city of Coimbra from the French on 6 October 1810 during the Peninsular War. The assault was undertaken by a Portuguese militia led by Colonel Nicholas Trant, an Irish officer in the British Army.[2]

Battle[edit]

Marshal André Masséna's army had captured Coimbra and established a base there. On 7 October Trant and 4,000 Portuguese militia recaptured the city. French losses were 8 killed and 400 able-bodied soldiers captured. About 3,500 sick and wounded, plus several hundred medical and service personnel also surrendered.[citation needed] Trant's losses were only 3 men killed and another 26 men wounded.[citation needed]

Aftermath[edit]

As the new governor of the city, he remained in possession of the city all winter while the French carried out their futile blockade of the Lines of Torres Vedras[3]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Smith 1998, p. 348.
  2. ^ Cobbett 1810, pp. 1051–1055.
  3. ^ Smith 1998, p. 378.

References[edit]

  • Cobbett (1810). Cobbett's Political Register. Cox and Baylis.
  • Smith, Digby (1998). The Napoleonic Wars Data Book. Greenhill. ISBN 1853672769.

External links[edit]