Torres Strait
the strait which separates Australia from New Guinea, being about 80 miles across. It is crowded with islands, shoals, and reefs, rendering its navigation difficult. gal in the province of Estremadura; on the Sizandro, 30 miles N. of Lisbon; celelines of defense behind which Wellington lines of defense behind which Wellington retired after the vain effort to hold the Portuguese frontier against the French. miles from Alhambra on the Tagus to the sea at the mouth of the Sizandro; the second, from 6 to 10 miles behind, from Quintella on the Tagus to the mouth of the St. Lorenza, a distance of 24 miles.
The third, much shorter, lay S. W. of Lisbon, at the very mouth of the Tagus, and was meant as a cover if embarka- tion were necessary. The whole lines tion were necessary. consisted of 152 redoubts, with 534 pieces of ordnance and 34,125 men. The "great work at Monte Agraca" had a perimeter of 2,435 feet, an armament of 25 guns, and a garrison of 1,590 infantry. The allies entered the retreat which the foresight Wellington had provided in October, 1810, and held the French at Bay till March, 1811. The enemy then retired, and Wellington issued on his career as the liberator of the peninsula.
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