Editing Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro (section)

==Consequences==
Wellington had repelled Napoleon's Army of Portugal, inflicting a great number of casualties, and was able to continue his blockade of Almeida. The numbers of losses vary according to different sources, from 2,200{{sfn|Weller|1969|p=166}}{{sfn|Paget|1996|p=133}}{{sfn|Oman|1911|p=340}} to 2,800 French compared to the loss of 1,800 British–Portuguese, while another historian stated there were 2,800 French and 1,800 British–Portuguese losses.{{sfn|Smith|1998|pp=358–361}} However, he acknowledged how dangerous the situation had been, saying later, "If [[Napoleon|Boney]] had been there, we should have been beat."{{sfn|Glover|2001|p=155}} Russian historian [[Oleg Sokolov]] noted that Wellington had committed a serious strategic error by following the French into northern Portugal, and that this decision could have had grievous consequences for the British–Portuguese. Sokolov adds that, despite the various setbacks that he encountered before and during the battle, Masséna was still able to check Wellington's position at Fuentes de Oñoro.{{sfn|Sokolov|2005|p=455}} Wellington himself did not mark the battle as a victory; he also considered that he had unnecessarily extended his line, putting the 7th Division and Light Division in danger.

Two nights after Masséna's withdrawal, [[Antoine François Brenier de Montmorand|Antoine Brenier]]'s 1,400-man French garrison of [[Almeida, Portugal|Almeida]] slipped through the British–Portuguese lines during the night. About 360 French troops were captured, but the rest escaped when their British pursuers ran into a French ambush. This fiasco was blamed on Erskine and others. An infuriated Wellington wrote, "I have never been so much distressed by any military event as by the escape of even a man of them."{{sfn|Glover|2001|p=155}}

On reaching Ciudad Rodrigo, Masséna was recalled to Paris by a furious Napoleon to explain his actions (although Napoleon had issued the order to return prior to the battle). He was replaced by Marshal [[Auguste Marmont]]. Masséna set off for France with a vast sum of gold, looted from Portugal and Spain. The defeated French marshal complained that Wellington "had not left him one black hair on his body—he had turned grey all over."{{sfn|Glover|2001|p=149}}

This battle also included a notable [[friendly fire]] incident when a French infantry unit mistook their allies, the {{ill|Hanoverian Legion|fr|Légion hanovrienne}}, for an English battalion and opened fire on them. The unfortunate Hanoverians retreated hastily past the village, leaving over 100 dead.{{sfn|napoleonistyka|2021}} The confusion came about because the Hanoverian Legion wore red coats, and in the smoke and heat of battle the finer details of uniforms that might have distinguished them from British line infantry were easily overlooked.

Wellington commended his troops for their generosity after the battle, writing, "The village of Fuentes de Oñoro having been the field of battle the other day, and not having been much improved by this circumstance, they immediately and voluntarily subscribed to raise a sum of money, to be given to the inhabitants as a compensation for the damage which their properties have sustained in the contest."{{sfn|Glover|2001|p=151}}

The battle is included in the list of French victories on the [[Arc de Triomphe]] as FUENTE D'OŨORO, despite being a tactical draw and strategic defeat.