Battle of Roliça

General Delaborde, numerically inferior, sought to slow the British advance toward Lisbon. He positioned himself on the heights of Roliça. Wellesley first attempted an encirclement, then a frontal attack. Despite tenacious resistance, the French were repulsed but withdrew in good order.

After the Portuguese uprising and the impending French defeat at Vimeiro, the United Kingdom landed an army in Portugal to support the insurrection. Roliça was the first direct clash. Delaborde's mission was to delay the enemy to allow Junot to regroup.

Delaborde used the steep terrain effectively, repelling several envelopment attempts. Wellesley finally concentrated his forces for a central breakthrough. The French retreated methodically, in good order.

Delaborde's disciplined retreat delayed the allied advance by a few days. However, it was Wellesley's first victory on Iberian soil and strengthened the credibility of British intervention.