099 Campo Mayor: The French Siege - WDS Bonaparte's Peninsular War

Campo Mayor: The French Siege - The Portuguese garrison of 300 militia a company of artillery and perhaps another 300 ill-equipped Ordenanca under Major Jose Talaya were determined to hold the fortress town of Campo Mayor against a French army under Mortier. Although the defences hadn't been improved since the War of the Spanish Succession a century earlier, the Portuguese withstood the French bombardment for seven days before surrendering on 21st March. A British relief army under Beresford arrived on the morning of the 25th, too late to relieve the garrison but in time to prevent the French from removing all the guns or dismantling the fortifications.