| The fortress of Badajoz was invested on the 17th March when the first parallel trench was dug 200 yards from the outworks. Both Allied and French soldiers attempted to dig many trenches to impede each other during the exceptionally bad weather. No decisive achievement was effected by either side and as a result Wellington, with time running out because he was required elsewhere, gave the order to begin the assault at 7.30 a.m. on the morning of the 6th April. The attack was made particularly difficult by the breaches in the walls being filled with water and the earthwork at the top being defended by sword blades fixed into logs. Forty separate attacks were made but no Allied soldier was able to pass these barriers. Eventually an entry was gained to the castle elsewhere and the breaches were taken from behind. Of the 4,760 Allied casualties suffered during the siege 2,500 were lost at the breaches and more men were lost there in two hours than were lost at the battles of Busaco or Fuentes. |
