surrendering only after French artillery opened a breach in the walls and their infantry were poised for an assault. The Spanish suffered 461 killed and 994 wounded, while 4,000 men and 118 cannon were captured. Ney's VI Corps lost 180 killed and over 1,000 wounded during the siege. The French soldiery then pillaged the city. The siege delayed Marshal André Masséna's invasion of Portugal by a month.
The British General Wellington began his 1812 campaign by taking Ciudad Rodrigo by storm on the night of January 19, 1812 – January 20, 1812 after preparatory operations lasting about 10 days. In these clashes, the British captured the Greater Teson on January 8 and the Lesser Teson on January 16. Meanwhile, two breaches in the walls had been opened by Wellington's twenty-three 24-lb and four 18-lb siege guns under the command of Captain Alexander Dickson. Major-General Thomas Picton's 3rd Division assaulted the "greater" breach while Robert Craufurd's Light Division attacked the "lesser" breach. Allied losses in the siege were 195 killed and 916 wounded, although amongst the dead were Maj-Gens Henry Mackinnon and Craufurd. The 2,000-man French garrison under Brig-Gen Barrié lost 529 killed and wounded, while the rest were captured. The French Army of Portugal lost its entire siege train among the 142 captured cannon. There were two cannons embedded in the wall of the "greater" breach that caused most casualties in the storming. The 88th Connaught Rangers Regiment took one of the guns while the 45th Nottingham shire Regiment took the other. The victory was marred when the British rank and file thoroughly sacked the city, despite the efforts of their officers. The capture of Ciudad Rodrigo allowed Wellington to proceed to Badajoz, whose taking was a much more bloody affair.
In 1812, the then-Viscount Wellington (later created a Duke) was rewarded for his victorious liberation of Spain with the hereditary Spanish ducal victory title of Duque de Ciudad
