Europe 1812: Battle of Salamanca

Taking advantage of Napoleon’s war with Russia, the British commander Wellington led his Anglo-Portuguese Army deeper into Spain and routed the opposing French army near Salamanca. In the wake of this victory, Wellington temporarily liberated Madrid, damaging French prestige and forcing them to evacuate southern Spain.

Main Events

28 Jun 1812 General Confederation of the Kingdom of Poland

On 26 June 1812 the Sejm of the Duchy of Warsaw met and two days later formally proclaimed the full restoration of Poland as the General Confederation of the Kingdom of Poland. Prince Adam Kazimierz Czartoryski, the Marshal of the Sejm, was made Marshal of the confederation. Although Napoleon supported the confederation—and allowed for a degree of Polish administration in the vast territories it claimed in Russia—he rejected the restoration of the Kingdom of Poland on the basis that the war with Russia had not yet been won.in wikipedia

1 Jul 1812 Lithuanian Provisional Governing Commission

On 28 June 1812 French forces captured Vilnius and three days later, on Napoleon’s orders, the Lithuanian Provisional Governing Commission was established to oversee the Russian provinces of Vilnius, Grodno, Minsk and Białystok. This was a temporary measure that helped raise Lithuanian armed forces and provision Napoleon’s troops until a peace treaty was concluded with Russia. On 14 July the commission was formally subordinated to the Council of the General Confederation of the Kingdom of Poland, but attempts to restore Poland–Lithuania would collapse when the Russians retook Vilnius in December.in wikipedia

18 Jul 1812 Treaty of Örebro

On 18 July 1812 Britain signed the Treaties of Örebro with Russia and Sweden, formally ending the Anglo-Russian War (1807–12) and the Anglo-Swedish War (1810–12). The Anglo-Russian War had been a limited naval war that had been pushed on Russia by its alliance with France, while the Anglo-Swedish War had been a bloodless conflict that had also been forced on by France. When France occupied Swedish Pomerania and invaded Russia in 1812, the rationale for both wars ended.in wikipedia

22 Jul 1812 Battle of Salamanca

In June 1812 Arthur Wellesley, Earl of Wellington, led the 48,000-strong Anglo-Portuguese Army across the Agueda river into northern Spain and seized control of Salamanca. His advance north was blocked by a similarly-sized French army under Auguste de Marmont, who continued to shadow Wellington’s army and threaten his supply lines, even as French reinforcements arrived. After several weeks of maneuvering, Marmont, believing the Allies were retreating, attempted to outflank them by marching south of Salamanca and Wellington, noticing that the French lines had become overextended, attacked. In a sharp, 40-minute encounter, the French lost 14,000 killed, wounded, and captured for 5,000 Allied losses and were forced into a general retreat, temporarily breaking their power in northern Spain.in wikipedia