Qualla: Siege of Badajoz (1812) https://qualla.com/siege-of-badajoz-1812 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/g/j/siege-of-badajoz-1812-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: Siege of Badajoz (1812) https://qualla.com/siege-of-badajoz-1812 Siege of Badajoz (1812): Introduction https://qualla.com/siege-of-badajoz-1812/ Photo credit Jakednb, CC BY-SA 3.0. When dawn came on April 7, 1812, the Duke of Wellington wept. Below the breached walls of Badajoz, British and Portuguese dead were piled so deep in the ditches that the survivors had climbed over their comrades' bodies to reach the ramparts. Blood, in the accounts of those who were there, ran like rivers through the trenches. In a few hours of fighting the night before, some 4,800 Allied soldiers had been killed or wounded -- and the horror was not yet over. What followed the victory would stain the reputation of one of history's finest armies.

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Image: Jakednb | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/e/y/g/j/siege-of-badajoz-1812-wp/eygj-siege-of-badajoz-1812-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Siege of Badajoz (1812): The Prize on the Frontier https://qualla.com/siege-of-badajoz-1812/ Photo credit Unknown author, Public domain. Badajoz commanded one of the most important invasion routes on the Iberian Peninsula, controlling the lines of communication between Wellington's base in Lisbon and the Spanish interior. After seizing Ciudad Rodrigo to the north in January 1812, Wellington turned south to this fr...

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]]> Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/e/y/g/j/siege-of-badajoz-1812-wp/eygj-siege-of-badajoz-1812-the-prize-on-the-frontier.mp3 0:06 2 full Siege of Badajoz (1812): Three Weeks in the Mud https://qualla.com/siege-of-badajoz-1812/ Photo credit Joeba, CC BY-SA 3.0. Wellington's army of 27,000 encircled Badajoz on March 17 and began the grueling work of siege engineering -- digging trenches, building earthworks, positioning heavy guns. Torrential rains turned the works into muddy channels and swept away bridging needed to bring forward siege...

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]]> Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/e/y/g/j/siege-of-badajoz-1812-wp/eygj-siege-of-badajoz-1812-three-weeks-in-the-mud.mp3 0:06 3 full Siege of Badajoz (1812): Into the Breach https://qualla.com/siege-of-badajoz-1812/ Photo credit Thomas Sutherland, Public domain. At 10 p.m. on April 6, three attacks went forward simultaneously. The men of the forlorn hope -- volunteers who knew they were likely to die -- led the 4th Division toward two breaches in the wall, while Alten's Light Division targeted a third. A French sentry raised the alarm, a...

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]]> Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/e/y/g/j/siege-of-badajoz-1812-wp/eygj-siege-of-badajoz-1812-into-the-breach.mp3 0:06 4 full Siege of Badajoz (1812): The Three Days After https://qualla.com/siege-of-badajoz-1812/ Photo credit Jakednb, CC BY-SA 3.0. What happened next haunts the siege's memory. Enraged by the slaughter they had endured, the surviving troops broke into houses, stores, and wine cellars. For three days, British soldiers rampaged through Badajoz, looting property, assaulting civilians, and threatening or shootin...

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]]> Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/e/y/g/j/siege-of-badajoz-1812-wp/eygj-siege-of-badajoz-1812-the-three-days-after.mp3 0:06 5 full Siege of Badajoz (1812): The Cost of Victory https://qualla.com/siege-of-badajoz-1812/ Photo credit Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0. In a letter to Lord Liverpool the following day, Wellington wrote that the storming "affords as strong an instance of the gallantry of our troops as has ever been displayed," but added: "I greatly hope that I shall never again be the instrument of putting them to such a test." Th...

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Image: Diego Delso | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/e/y/g/j/siege-of-badajoz-1812-wp/eygj-siege-of-badajoz-1812-the-cost-of-victory.mp3 0:06 6 full