André Masséna

On 17 April 1810 Napoleon designated Masséna to break the stalemate of the Peninsular War and entrusted him with the reconquest of Portugal. This third French invasion followed the failures of Junot in 1808 and Soult in 1809, and Masséna was given the Army of Portugal, formed from the corps of Ney, Reynier and Junot. Theoretically over 130,000 strong, it could field only about 60,000 men for the invasion because of the lack of cooperation from his subordinates, supply problems and unstable communications in a resource-poor area infested by guerrillas. He had openly told the Emperor of his lack of enthusiasm for the task, and he seemed physically and morally diminished.

After waiting for the harvest to resupply, Masséna took Ciudad Rodrigo on 10 July and Almeida on 27 August, then entered Portugal in September. Wellington retreated towards Lisbon, destroying the crops, and on 27 September repelled the French assaults from a height at Bussaco. Recognising the futility of attacking head-on, Masséna outflanked the defences and resumed his march on Lisbon, while Wellington withdrew with his army intact.

Before Lisbon he came up against the lines of Torres Vedras. The Allies were supplied by sea, but the French army, halted before the fortifications, became increasingly trapped in a logistical crisis. After idling in front of the lines for over a month, Masséna abandoned the siege on 14 November and fell back on Santarém, where he remained in difficult conditions until 6 March 1811, then withdrew by way of Almeida to Salamanca, arriving on 10 April. He also quarrelled violently with Ney and, infuriated, relieved him of his command and sent him back to France.

At Fuentes de Oñoro on 3 May 1811 Masséna succeeded in exploiting a weakness in Wellington's line, but the inaction of Lepic's cavalry and Bessières' refusal to support him forced him to withdraw. Deeply disappointed by the failure of the invasion, Napoleon openly expressed his discontent, and on 11 May 1811 Masséna handed over his command to Marmont, ending his career in the field.

Assessments of the campaign diverge. Richard Humble criticises his decision to attack the Anglo-Portuguese lines head-on at Bussaco as one of the most disappointing performances of his career. Donald Horward defends him, writing that the strategy of the invasion had been dictated by Napoleon and implemented by his staff and corps commanders, and that his army was abandoned within sight of its goal.

The campaign also raises the question of how the war was waged. In southern Italy in 1806 Masséna harshly suppressed revolts, devastated occupied territories and adopted measures that sometimes resulted in mass executions; the insurgent leader Fra Diavolo was hanged and the town of Lauria was destroyed in a massacre by French troops. As an author, he published in 1816 a work on the events in Provence in March and April 1815, while the Mémoires de Masséna published in 1849-1850 were in fact written by General Jean-Baptiste-Frédéric Koch.