Battle of Albuera, Spain, 1811
One of the hardest ever infantry battles. The three battalions of the Fusilier Brigade attacked nine French ones. According to Napier (historian), ‘The fuzileer battalions, struck by the iron tempest, reeled and staggered like sinking ships; but suddenly ... they closed on their terrible enemies ... Nothing could stop that astonishing infantry.’ The attack decided the battle. The 23rd suffered 340 casualties and ALBUHERA became a battle honour. For a full account of the Royal Welch Fusiliers role in the Battle of Albuera see the excellent ‘Dragon Rampant: The Royal Welch Fusiliers at War 1793 to 1815’ by Don Graves. The book is available from the RWF Museum Web bookshop at a reduced price. rwfmuseum.org.uk
One of the hardest ever infantry battles. The three battalions of the Fusilier Brigade attacked nine French ones. According to Napier (historian), ‘The fuzileer battalions, struck by the iron tempest, reeled and staggered like sinking ships; but suddenly ... they closed on their terrible enemies ... Nothing could stop that astonishing infantry.’ The attack decided the battle. The 23rd suffered 340 casualties and ALBUHERA became a battle honour. For a full account of the Royal Welch Fusiliers role in the Battle of Albuera see the excellent ‘Dragon Rampant: The Royal Welch Fusiliers at War 1793 to 1815’ by Don Graves. The book is available from the RWF Museum Web bookshop at a reduced price. rwfmuseum.org.uk
During the battle, otherwise known as 'Bloody Albuera', the 23rd suffered a huge amount of casualties. Here are some 23rd Royal Welch Fusilier buttons found on the battlefield. They really do bring us at an almost touching distance from the history of this regiment
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