Trant's Raid was the Portuguese recapture of the city of Coimbra from the French on 6 October 1810 during the Peninsular War. The assault was undertaken by a Portuguese militia led by Colonel Nicholas Trant, an Irish officer in the British Army.[2]
Trant's Raid | |||||||
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Part of the Peninsular War | |||||||
Coimbra | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Portugal | French Empire | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Nicholas Trant | André Masséna | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
4,000 Portuguese militia | Unknown | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
3 killed 26 wounded |
8 killed 4,000 captured |
Marshal André Masséna's army had captured Coimbra and established a base there. On 7 October Trant and 4,000 Portuguese militia recaptured the city. French losses were 8 killed and 400 able-bodied soldiers captured. About 3,500 sick and wounded, plus several hundred medical and service personnel also surrendered.[citation needed] Trant's losses were only 3 men killed and another 26 men wounded.[citation needed]
As the new governor of the city, he remained in possession of the city all winter while the French carried out their futile blockade of the Lines of Torres Vedras[3]