The Battle of Arzobispo on 8 August 1809 saw two Imperial French corps commanded by Marshal Jean-de-Dieu Soult launch an assault crossing of the Tagus River against a Spanish force under José María de la Cueva, 14th Duke of Alburquerque. Alburquerque's troops rapidly retreated after suffering disproportionate losses, including 30 artillery pieces. El Puente del Arzobispo (The Archbishop's Bridge) is located southwest of Talavera de la Reina, Spain. The action occurred during the Peninsular War, part of a larger conflict known as the Napoleonic Wars.
The Battle of Talavera in late July 1809 saw a victory by Arthur Wellesley's British army and Gregorio García de la Cuesta's Spanish army over the Imperial French army of King Joseph Bonaparte. Wellesley (soon to be known as Wellington) found that he was unable to exploit the triumph due to the failure of his logistical arrangements. Within a few days, Wellesley discovered that Soult's large French army was attempting to cut off his army from Portugal.
Accordingly, the British and Spanish armies withdrew to the west, narrowly avoiding interception by Soult's forces. Alburquerque was left with 3,000 cavalry and 5,000 infantry to hold the bridge of Arzobispo. Because their position was so strong, the Spanish were lulled into a false sense of security. Meanwhile, French officers found and secretly reconnoitered a hidden ford near the bridge. Achieving tactical surprise, the French cavalry plunged across the ford during the Spanish siesta, followed by the infantry of Marshal Édouard Mortier's V Corps. Before Alburquerque could react, his cavalry was routed and one of his infantry battalions crushed. During the pursuit, Soult's horsemen not only seized 16 Spanish guns, but also recaptured at least 14 of the 17 French artillery pieces lost at Talavera.
Background
French offensive
Though the Anglo-Spanish armies triumphed over King Joseph Bonaparte's army at the Battle of Talavera on 27 and 28 July 1809, the butcher's bill was steep. The British counted 5,365 casualties, including 3,915 wounded while Gregorio García de la Cuesta's Spanish army lost only 400 to 500 men killed and wounded. The battle's losers suffered more; a total of 7,268 Frenchmen were casualties. On the morning of 29 July, General Robert Craufurd's Light Infantry Brigade and a battery of Royal Horse Artillery arrived in the British camp after an epic forced march. Even so, General Wellesley's army was in no shape to exploit its victory. The soldiers were on one-third rations due to the collapse of the supply system and the medical officers were unable to care for the thousands of wounded men. With few wagons and carts, Wellesley was unable to bring supplies forward from his base at Plasencia or evacuate his wounded. The British commander received intelligence that a French force was moving down from the north, but he assumed that there were only about 15,000 French troops. As it happened, the threat was much worse than Wellesley imagined.
On 12 June 1809, Emperor Napoleon ordered Marshal Soult to take command of the II Corps, V Corps, and VI Corps and move against the British army. It took some time to assemble this host but on 27 July, Marshal Mortier's 16,916-man V Corps and 1,853 dragoons set out from Salamanca toward the south. On the 29th, Soult's own II Corps received a convoy of artillery to replace the guns lost in the 1809 Portugal Campaign. Thus equipped, the 18,740-strong II Corps marched south on the 30th. Marshal Michel Ney and the 12,500-man VI Corps followed on 31 July, after dropping off a brigade of 3,200 men. Napoleon insisted that Soult keep his corps closed up to avoid defeat in detail. At most, about 10,000 French Imperial soldiers under General of Division François Étienne de Kellermann were left behind to defend León. Soult was aware that the Spanish and Portuguese could bring 20,000 men against Kellermann. But he accepted the risk because he understood that Wellesley's British army was the main objective.