Lines of Torres Vedras

The Lines of Torres Vedras were a system of forts, redoubts, roads and signal stations constructed north of Lisbon to protect the Portuguese capital from French invasion. Built largely in secrecy from 1809, the works used the broken terrain between the Atlantic and the Tagus to create successive defensive barriers.

When Masséna’s army reached the lines in October 1810 it found Wellington’s Anglo-Portuguese forces entrenched behind prepared positions. French attempts to remain nearby were undermined by lack of supplies, and Masséna eventually withdrew, leaving the lines as one of the decisive defensive achievements of the Peninsular War.