Almeida. The battle which followed at Fuentes d'Onoro, south-east of
Almeida, was among the most hardly contested struggles in the whole
Peninsular war. It began on May 3, and, with a day's interval, concluded
on the 5th. The British remained masters of the field, and claimed a
somewhat doubtful victory, which at least secured the evacuation of
Almeida. The garrison of that fortress blew it up by night, and
succeeded, by masterly tactics, in joining the main French army with
little sacrifice of life.

Wellington returned to Badajoz, only to meet with disappointment.
General Cole, acting under Beresford, had retaken Olivenza; but Soult,
with a force of 23,000 men, was marching to succour Badajoz, when he was
encountered by Beresford at Albuera. Beresford's force was numerically
stronger than Soult's, but only 7,000 men were English, the rest being
mostly Spanish. Measured by the proportion of losses to men engaged on
both sides, this fight on May 16, 1811, must rank among the bloodiest on
record. In four hours nearly 7,000 of the allies and 8,000 French were
struck down. The decisive charge of the reserve was inspired and led by
Hardinge, afterwards Governor-General of India; the French were routed,
and Soult was checked, but little was gained by the victors.[48] The
siege of Badajoz, indeed, was renewed, but its progress was slow for
want of proper engines and artillery, and it was abandoned, after two
futile attempts, on June 11. By this time, Marmont had succeeded
Massena, and was carrying out Napoleon's grand plan for a junction with
Soult's army and a fresh irruption into Portugal. With marvellous
audacity, Wellington offered battle to both marshals, who, happily
ignorant of his weakness, declined it more than once. In truth, he was
never more nearly at the end of his resources than when he went into
winter quarters at the close of 1811, having failed to prevent Marmont
from provisioning Ciudad Rodrigo, and having narrowly escaped being
overwhelmed by a much superior force. His army was greatly reduced by
sickness, he was very ill-supplied from England, and he received no
loyal support from the Portuguese government. Moreover, the French had
apparently extended their hold on Spain, both in the eastern and
northern provinces, while it was reported that Napoleon himself, not
content with dictating orders from afar, would return to complete the
conquest of the Peninsula.

At this juncture, he must have been cheered by