Combat of Navas de Membrillo
1811 battle during the Peninsular War
The combat of Navas de Membrillo took place on 29 December 1811 near Mérida, Spain, and saw the British light cavalry of General Rowland Hill assault a small Imperial French force led by Captain Neveux. During the action, the French soldiers formed in square inflicted a sharp defeat to the British cavalrymen. This engagement is considered by historian Ian Fletcher as "one of the more disappointing cavalry episodes in the Peninsula".
Background
On the last days of 1812, Arthur Wellesley, Viscount Wellington, commander-in-chief of the Anglo-Portuguese army, wanted to distract the French forces commanded by Marshal Jean-de-Dieu Soult, which were occupied by the Siege of Tarifa. Thus, he asked Major-General Rowland Hill to lead a raid against the French 5th Infantry Division of General Ludwik Mateusz Dembowski located at Mérida. Hill went to Spain with 12,000 men on December 27 and reached the village of La Rocca at 30 kilometers of Mérida the next day. At the same time and looking for food supplies, a small French force advanced in this direction. This force was made up of three companies of the French 88th Infantry Regiment under Captain Neveux and a detachment of hussars, for a total of around 400 men.
Battle
On 29 December, Hill's vanguard fell on the detachment of French hussars near the village of Navas de Membrillo. The hussars quickly informed Captain Neveux who decided to retreat towards Mérida.
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