267:. Despite this he forced the allies to retreat to the Lines of Torres Vedras, where a stalemate ensued for several months. Masséna’s troops were gathered around Sobral de Monte Agraço but he found the line of defences, centered on the Fort of Alqueidão, to be impregnable. He eventually had to retreat due to lack of food and supplies, withdrawing to the Spanish border. However, works on the Lines continued after the French withdrawal, with 152 works eventually being completed.
295:
48:
401:
348:
771:
373:
360:
The Fort of Simplício (Number 16) was the closest of the three forts to
Alqueidão, a short distance to its south. It had a garrison of 300 men, with seven cannon and one howitzer. It was particularly well-sited to bombard the French troops from their rear should they break through and start to march
274:
in the 2nd section or district of the first of the Lines of Torres Vedras and designated No. 14 in the numbering system used for all of the works carried out on the lines. Work on
Alqueidão began on 4 November 1809. Wellington’s headquarters were close by in the village of Pêro Negro, and, because of
256:. By October of the following year 126 forts, redoubts and other defences forming three lines of defence had been constructed over 80 kilometres, reinforcing the natural obstacles that the land offered and making maximum use of the existing topography.
343:
In the immediate vicinity of the Fort of
Alqueidão are three other forts, Machado, Novo, and Simplício, which exchanged crossfire with the Fort of Alqueidão and were connected by a military road that allowed the circulation of people and goods.
334:
Restoration work at the same time included removing trees so that the commanding position of the fort could better be appreciated. In addition a concrete viewing platform was added, highlighting locations of other forts in the Lines.
235:
troops and also to provide a route for his own evacuation should it be necessary. Work on the Fort of
Alqueidão, as part of the first Line of defence, began on November 8, 1809, at more or less the same time as improvements to the
302:
The Fort of
Alqueidão had a garrison of 1,590 men, and was equipped with 24 cannon, believed to be 14 12-pounder artillery, six 9-pouders, and four 6-pounders. The troops were Portuguese, under the command of the British
208:
signed between France and Spain in
October 1807, which provided for the invasion and subsequent division of Portuguese territory into three kingdoms, French troops under the command of
369:
Southwest of the Fort of
Alqueidão, the Fort of Machado (Number 17) had room for 460 soldiers and was equipped with three 12-pounder cannon, three 9-pounders and one 6-pounder.
535:
327:. The archaeological studies not only added to the understanding of the construction techniques used but also discovered that the site had been first occupied during the
231:
However, the threat of further invasions by the French led
Wellington, on October 20, 1809, to order the construction of defensive lines in order to protect Lisbon from
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The fort is at 439 meters above sea level, on top of the Monte Agraço mountain range, and occupies an area of 3.5 hectares. It was part of a group of seven forts and
775:
319:
As part of a programme of restoration to celebrate the bicentennial of the Lines, archaeological exploration was carried out between 2008 and 2011, using
389:(New Fort: Number 152) served as an advanced defence for Alqueidão. It had a garrison of 250 men with four 12-pounder cannon and two 6-pounders.
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A view of Forte Novo. In building the Lines of Torres Vedras it was common to incorporate existing hilltop windmills in their design
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639:"Forte do Monte Agraço (Obra Grande) / Forte do Alqueidão / Grande Reduto do Sobral / Forte Grande da Serra"
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The lines of Torres Vedras : the cornerstone of
Wellington's strategy in the Peninsular War, 1809-1812
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The lines of Torres Vedras : the cornerstone of
Wellington's strategy in the Peninsular War, 1809-1812
323:. This resulted in the identification of the sites of the Governor’s Barracks, a warehouse, a cistern, and
216:, at the time known as Arthur Wellesley, landed in Portugal and defeated French troops at the Battles of
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entered Portugal, which requested support from the British. In July 1808 troops commanded by the
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196:(1807–14). The fort played a major role in stopping the advance of Napoleonic troops.
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its commanding position, the fort served as the command post for the Lines. Using an
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184:. It was one of the first and one of the largest of 152 military works known as the
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who was both a general in the British army and a marshal of the Portuguese army.
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543:. PILT – Plataforma Intermunicipal para as Linhas de Torres. 2011. p. 120.
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A 1ª E A 2ª LINHAS DE TORRES: A VALORIZAÇÃO DO PATRIMÓNIO E O TURISMO CULTURAL
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168:(Big Fort), is located about 2 kilometres south of the parish of
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SIPA: Sistema de Informação para o Património Arquitetónico
456:. Lisbon: British Historical Society, Portugal. p. 51.
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to the north of the same town and the Atlantic coast.
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signalling system, the fort could communicate with the
581:"The Lines of Torres Vedras – An Impregnable Citadel?"
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Noivo, Marco António do Carmo Gomes (February 2010).
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298:Part of the original road used to supply the fort
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474:. Lisbon: British Historical Society, Portugal.
240:, close to Lisbon, and construction of the new
537:Lines of Torres Vedras Historical Trail: Guide
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415:List of forts of the Lines of Torres Vedras
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385:Slightly to the north of Alqueidão, the
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470:Norris, A. H.; Bremner, R. W. (1986).
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452:Norris, A. H.; Bremner, R. W. (1986).
351:The Fort of Simplício: powder magazine
782:Friends of the Lines of Torres Vedras
746:Friends of the Lines of Torres Vedras
721:Friends of the Lines of Torres Vedras
588:Friends of the Lines of Torres Vedras
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514:. Frontline Books. pp. 130–148.
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224:. This forced Junot to negotiate the
188:that were built in 1809-10 to defend
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259:A new French invasion was headed by
776:Forte do Monte Agraço (Obra Grande)
671:Rota Histórica das Linhas de Torres
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489:. Frontline Books. pp. 42–64.
248:, under the overall supervision of
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29:Forte do Alqueidão (Forte Grande)
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441:. Lisbon: University of Lisbon.
37:Sobral de Monte Agraço in
121:Preserved and partly restored.
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787:View of the fort from a drone
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16:19th-century fort in Portugal
361:in the direction of Lisbon.
305:Brigadier-General Denis Pack
52:Remains of a powder magazine
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287:and from there to both the
238:Fort of São Julião da Barra
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472:The Lines of Torres Vedras
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186:Lines of Torres Vedras
174:Sobral de Monte Agraço
170:Sobral de Monte Agraço
742:"Fort 152 Forte Novo"
510:Grehan, John (2015).
485:Grehan, John (2015).
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321:EEA and Norway Grants
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778:at Wikimedia Commons
692:"Forte do Simplício"
614:"Forte do Alqueidão"
233:Napoléon Bonaparte's
226:Convention of Cintra
79:38.98722°N 9.15111°W
289:Fort of São Vicente
242:Fort of São Vicente
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717:"Forte do Machado"
560:on 9 February 2019
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339:Neighbouring forts
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214:Duke of Wellington
143:Duke of Wellington
84:38.98722; -9.15111
802:Forts in Portugal
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550:978-989-8398-16-1
356:Fort of Simplício
309:William Beresford
277:optical telegraph
162:Fort of Alqueidão
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126:Site history
108:Open to
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192:during the
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58:Coordinates
796:Categories
421:References
387:Forte Novo
381:Forte Novo
67:38°59′14″N
176:, in the
118:Condition
70:9°09′04″W
751:26 April
726:26 April
701:26 April
676:24 April
648:25 April
623:25 April
593:25 April
564:24 April
393:See also
329:Iron Age
325:armories
272:redoubts
182:Portugal
39:Portugal
222:Vimeiro
200:History
134:1809-10
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218:Roliça
190:Lisbon
584:(PDF)
558:(PDF)
541:(PDF)
131:Built
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650:2019
625:2019
595:2019
566:2019
545:ISBN
516:ISBN
491:ISBN
220:and
160:The
149:Fate
113:Yes.
98:Fort
95:Type
244:at
180:of
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
