Qualla: Battle of Rolica https://qualla.com/battle-of-rolica en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:17 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/e/y/c/r/battle-of-rolica-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: Battle of Rolica https://qualla.com/battle-of-rolica Battle of Rolica: Introduction https://qualla.com/battle-of-rolica/ Photo credit James Grant, Public domain. Colonel George Lake knew the order had not been given. On 17 August 1808, with French musket fire raking down from the rocky hilltop above the village of Rolica, he charged his 29th Regiment of Foot up a narrow gully anyway. It cost him his life and most of his men. But that reckless dash up the boulder-strewn defile triggered a general assault that won the day, and with it began Britain's long, grinding campaign to drive Napoleon from the Iberian Peninsula. This was the Battle of Rolica, the very first engagement of the British Army in the Peninsular War, and the opening act in a conflict that would consume the next six years.

Read more: Battle of Rolica on Qualla

Image: James Grant | Public domain

]]> Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/e/y/c/r/battle-of-rolica-wp/eycr-battle-of-rolica-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Battle of Rolica: An Ambitious General in a Hurry https://qualla.com/battle-of-rolica/ Photo credit Unknown author, Public domain. Arthur Wellesley, the future Duke of Wellington, had every reason to move fast. He had landed his 16,000 troops at Mondego Bay in early August, choosing the spot because students from Coimbra University had seized the local fort, making it safe. But Wellesley knew reinforcements ...

Read more: Battle of Rolica on Qualla

Image: Unknown author | Public domain

]]> Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/e/y/c/r/battle-of-rolica-wp/eycr-battle-of-rolica-an-ambitious-general-in-a-hurry.mp3 0:06 2 full Battle of Rolica: A Horseshoe of Steep Hills https://qualla.com/battle-of-rolica/ Photo credit Alta Falisa, CC BY-SA 4.0. The village of Rolica sits in the center of a horseshoe-shaped ridge of steep, wooded hills, roughly a mile wide and two miles deep, with its open end pointing northeast toward Obidos. General Henri Delaborde had positioned his 4,000 French troops at the northern edge of this nat...

Read more: Battle of Rolica on Qualla

Image: Alta Falisa | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/e/y/c/r/battle-of-rolica-wp/eycr-battle-of-rolica-a-horseshoe-of-steep-hills.mp3 0:06 3 full Battle of Rolica: The Fight on the Rock Face https://qualla.com/battle-of-rolica/ Photo credit Alta Falisa, CC BY-SA 4.0. Wellesley's plan was a double envelopment. He sent Colonel Trant and the Portuguese to the west, a stronger force under Ferguson to the east, and kept his main body in the center to make noise and fix the French in place. Starting at nine in the morning, he tried the maneuver twi...

Read more: Battle of Rolica on Qualla

Image: Alta Falisa | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/e/y/c/r/battle-of-rolica-wp/eycr-battle-of-rolica-the-fight-on-the-rock-face.mp3 0:06 4 full Battle of Rolica: Victory and What Followed https://qualla.com/battle-of-rolica/ Photo credit Tschubby, CC BY-SA 3.0. The Anglo-Portuguese won at the cost of 487 casualties, while the French lost 700 men and three of their five guns. Delaborde himself took a wound. It was a small engagement by Napoleonic standards, but its significance outweighed the numbers. Wellesley had proven that British in...

Read more: Battle of Rolica on Qualla

Image: Tschubby | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/e/y/c/r/battle-of-rolica-wp/eycr-battle-of-rolica-victory-and-what-followed.mp3 0:06 5 full