What was the last major battle of the Peninsular War?

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The Battle of Toulouse was the last major battle of the Peninsular War. It was fought on 10 April 1814, when the Anglo-Portuguese and Spanish army under the Duke of Wellington attacked Marshal Soult's French forces in and around Toulouse in southern France.

The battle came after Wellington had driven the French army out of the Iberian Peninsula and pursued it across the Pyrenees. Soult defended fortified positions on the city's eastern heights, and the fighting was especially severe for the Spanish troops and several Allied divisions. Wellington's army eventually forced the French to withdraw from Toulouse.

Napoleon had abdicated in early April, but news of the surrender had not yet fully reached the armies. Toulouse was therefore fought after Napoleon's political collapse, making it a striking example of how slowly battlefield communications travelled. Wellington entered the city on 12 April, and an armistice followed soon afterward.

The Battle of Bayonne on 14 April was the final significant action of the wider campaign, but Toulouse is conventionally identified as the last major battle of the Peninsular War.

Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Aug. 2026

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