Thande
Donor
I add this proviso because the vast majority of PODs about the Peninsular War posted by Britons usually include the obligatory rant about how crap the Spanish army was, and thus may justifiably be ignored by our Spanish members 
Anyway, what if Rafael Menacho hadn't been killed on the ramparts of Badajoz by a lucky French shot, and the Spanish had successfully held Badajoz against the French in 1811?
I think this is a reasonable assumption to draw, as Soult knew that Masséna had been defeated in Portugal and his demand for a surrender from the Spanish after breaching Badajoz's walls was essentially a bluff. If Menacho had remained in command rather than Inaz, Spanish morale would probably have been high enough to organise a successful defence of the breach against the French, and Soult probably wouldn't have much time to try many attempts before having to retreat due to events elsewhere.
So what are the knock-on effects of this - for one thing, it means Britain doesn't have to make the three costly sieges of Badajoz to get it back, and it considerably weakens the French position in the Peninsula. Could this make matters bad enough to persuade Napoleon not to invade Russia in order to support the French armies in Spain? If not, does this result in the French being pushed out of Spain earlier than OTL?
Anyway, what if Rafael Menacho hadn't been killed on the ramparts of Badajoz by a lucky French shot, and the Spanish had successfully held Badajoz against the French in 1811?
I think this is a reasonable assumption to draw, as Soult knew that Masséna had been defeated in Portugal and his demand for a surrender from the Spanish after breaching Badajoz's walls was essentially a bluff. If Menacho had remained in command rather than Inaz, Spanish morale would probably have been high enough to organise a successful defence of the breach against the French, and Soult probably wouldn't have much time to try many attempts before having to retreat due to events elsewhere.
So what are the knock-on effects of this - for one thing, it means Britain doesn't have to make the three costly sieges of Badajoz to get it back, and it considerably weakens the French position in the Peninsula. Could this make matters bad enough to persuade Napoleon not to invade Russia in order to support the French armies in Spain? If not, does this result in the French being pushed out of Spain earlier than OTL?