 The action occurred during the Peninsular War, part of the Napoleonic Wars.The battle was fought near Altafulla, northeast of Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain.Only a few days earlier, on 18 January 1812, Eroles' 4,250-man force had wiped out an 850-strong French battalion of the 121st Line Infantry Regiment at the Col de Balaguer, southwest of Tarragona.