Roliça: A home for a battle

It is the battle itself that gives the centre its reason for being

Anyone entering the Battle of Roliça Interpretation Centre soon realises that the building is only the starting point. Housed in the former Columbeira primary school, the centre uses panels, audiovisual displays, virtual reality and life-size replicas of Portuguese, British and French soldiers to help visitors understand a battle fought just a short distance away. Rather than simply displaying objects, it seeks to reconstruct an event, inviting visitors to see the surrounding landscape as an integral part of the exhibition. The centre is also the starting point for the Battle of Roliça Trail, allowing the visit to continue across the very ground where the fighting took place.

But it is the battle itself that gives the centre its reason for being. Fought on 17 August 1808, during the First French Invasion, it was the first major land engagement between the Anglo-Portuguese forces commanded by Sir Arthur Wellesley and the French army under General Henri-François Delaborde. Although the French managed to withdraw in good order, achieving their objective of delaying the Allied advance, the battle marked the beginning of the campaign that would eventually lead to the expulsion of Napoleon’s troops from Portugal. It was also the first step in the military career that would make Wellesley the future Duke of Wellington, victor of Waterloo only a few years later.

The Battle of Roliça

On 17 August 1808, the hills of Roliça became the scene of the first major land engagement between the British expeditionary force, commanded by Sir Arthur Wellesley, and the French troops of General Henri-François Delaborde. The French objective was not to win the battle, but to gain time. Outnumbered, Delaborde sought to delay the Allied advance, allowing General Junot to concentrate his forces for the defence of Lisbon.

With his knowledge of the terrain, the French commander chose a succession of positions in the hills around Columbeira, forcing the Allies to attack in particularly difficult conditions. Wellesley responded with an enveloping manoeuvre: while the centre pressed the French positions, two columns attempted to outflank them on either side. The French withdrawal from their first defensive line, however, meant that the entire operation had to be repeated against an even stronger position.

It was during this second attack that one of the most dramatic episodes of the battle took place. The British 29th Regiment advanced too quickly through one of the ravines, briefly broke through the French lines and found itself isolated. Its commander, Lieutenant-Colonel George Lake, was killed, and the regiment suffered heavy casualties before support could reach it. The incident became one of the most memorable episodes of the battle.

By late afternoon, faced with mounting pressure from the Anglo-Portuguese forces, Delaborde ordered a disciplined withdrawal and succeeded in preserving the bulk of his army. Tactically, he had accomplished his mission of delaying the enemy; strategically, the victory belonged to Wellesley. Roliça was the first Allied victory of the Peninsular War on Portuguese soil and the beginning of a campaign that would continue only days later at Vimeiro, further establishing the military reputation of the future Duke of Wellington.