ALMEIDA  , a

town of north-eastern Portugal, in the district of Guarda and formerly included in the province of Beira; situated in hilly country between the river Cba, a tributary of the Douro, and the river Turones, a branch of the Agueda . Pop . (19o0) 2330 . Almeida was long one of the principal frontier fortresses of Portugal . It was captured by the Spaniards in 1762 . During the Peninsular War (q.v.), the country between the C8a and the Spanish fortress of Ciudad Rodrigo, 25 M . E.S.E., was the scene of hard fighting . Almeida was taken by the French in 181o, and its recapture, by the allied British and Portuguese forces under Lord Wellington, was only effected after a relieving force under Marshal Massena had been defeated at Fuentes d'Onor (or Fuentes de Ofioro), 13 M . S.S.E . The battle was fought on the 5th of May 1811 and the fortress fell five.days later .