Medina de Rioseco, July 14, 1808
The Battle of Medina de Rioseco, also known as the Battle of Moclín, was fought during the Peninsular
War on 14 July 1808 when a combined body of Spanish militia and regulars moved to rupture the
French line of communications to Madrid. General Joaquín Blake's Army of Galicia, under joint
command with General Gregorio de la Cuesta, was routed by Marshal Bessières after a badly
coordinated but stubborn fight against the French corps north of Valladolid.
Bessières exploited the poor coordination between Blake and Cuesta to defeat the Spaniards in detail, with Blake being ejected from a low ridge while Cuesta sat to the rear, and Cuesta failing to recapture the ridge with his own troops. The Army of Galicia was the only formation capable of threatening the French advance into Old Castile—Cuesta's command having been destroyed earlier at Cabezón—and its destruction marked a serious blow to Spain's national uprising. (Wikipedia entry)
Francisco Castaños and Theodor von
Reding, and the Imperial French Army's II corps d'observation de la
Gironde under General Pierre Dupont de l'Étang. The heaviest
fighting took place near Bailén (sometimes anglicized Baylen), a
village by the Guadalquivir river in the Jaén province of southern
Spain.
Bessières exploited the poor coordination between Blake and Cuesta to defeat the Spaniards in detail, with Blake being ejected from a low ridge while Cuesta sat to the rear, and Cuesta failing to recapture the ridge with his own troops. The Army of Galicia was the only formation capable of threatening the French advance into Old Castile—Cuesta's command having been destroyed earlier at Cabezón—and its destruction marked a serious blow to Spain's national uprising. (Wikipedia entry)
Bailen, July 19 1808
The
Battle of Bailén was fought in 1808 by the Spanish Army of
Andalusia, led by Generals
In
June 1808, following the widespread uprisings against the French
occupation of Spain, Napoleon organized French units into flying
columns to pacify Spain's major centres of resistance. One of these,
under General Dupont, was dispatched across the Sierra Morena and
south through Andalusia to the port of Cádiz where a French naval
squadron lay at the mercy of the Spanish. The Emperor was confident
that with 20,000 men, Dupont would crush any opposition encountered
on the way. Events proved otherwise, and after storming and
plundering Córdoba in July, Dupont retraced his steps to the north
of the province to await reinforcements. Meanwhile, General Castaños,
commanding the Spanish field army at San Roque, and General von
Reding, Governor of Málaga, travelled to Seville to negotiate with
the Seville Junta—a patriotic assembly committed to resisting the
French incursions—and to turn the province's combined forces
against the French.
Dupont's
failure to leave Andalusia proved disastrous. Between 16 and 19 July,
Spanish forces converged on the French positions stretched out along
villages on the Guadalquivir and attacked at several points, forcing
the confused French defenders to shift their divisions this way and
that. With Castaños pinning Dupont downstream at Andújar, Reding
successfully forced the river at Mengibar and seized Bailén,
interposing himself between the two wings of the French army. Caught
between Castaños and Reding, Dupont attempted vainly to break
through the Spanish line at Bailén in three bloody and desperate
charges, losing more than 2,500 men. (Wikipedia entry)
Espinosa de los Monteros, November 11, 1808
The Battle of Espinosa de los Monteros was fought on 10 and 11 November 1808 at the township of
Espinosa de los Monteros in the Cantabrian Mountains. It resulted in a French victory under General
Victor against Lieutenant General Joaquín Blake's Army of Galicia.
On the first day of the battle, Victor, seeking an easy victory to erase his humiliation at Valmaseda, launched a series of ill-advised attacks that were thrown back with heavy losses by the disciplined
regulars of General La Romana's Division of the North. By nightfall, Blake's positions still held. On the
morning of 11 November, Victor regained his composure and coordinated a massive French attack that
pierced Blake's left wing and drove the Spaniards from the field.
Although not a decisive defeat in itself, the hopeless confusion of the tattered and weary Spanish army, which had neither a government nor a military command structure to coordinate it, meant that Espinosa marked the deathblow to Blake's Army of Galicia. Blake, to his credit, led his remaining men through an heroic retreat west through the mountains, escaping, to Napoleon's disbelief, Soult's pursuit. However, when he arrived at León on 23 November, only 10,000 men remained under his banner. (Wikipedia entry)
The Battle of Tudela on 23 November 1808 saw an Imperial French army led by Marshal Jean Lannes attack a Spanish army under General Castaños. The battle resulted in the complete victory of the Imperial forces over their adversaries. The combat occurred near Tudela in Navarre, Spain during the Peninsular War.
Spanish casualties were estimated to be about 4,000 dead and 3,000 prisoners out of a total force of 33,000. The French and Poles lost no more than 600 dead and wounded out of a total of 30,000. This is one of the battles whose name was engraved on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.
The Dos de Mayo Uprising of 2 May 1808, followed by extensive uprisings throughout Spain, forced the French to pull back from their occupation of Spain to the Ebro River. There was an opportunity for the Spanish to finally expel the French altogether but this was missed due to their failure to appoint a Supreme Commander leaving the individual Spanish forces to operate independently.
These Spanish forces consisted of the army of General Joaquín Blake on the North coast, the army of General Francisco Javier Castaños around Tudela and the army of General José Rebolledo de Palafox around Zaragoza. Blake was active in attacking the French but his offensive near Bilbao was defeated at Pancorbo on 31 October 1808.
Napoleon’s strategy was to make a strong attack towards Burgos splitting off the army of Blake from the others and to outflank them by then swinging both north and south. It was in his interest that the Spanish maintain their exposed advanced positions. The French armies facing them were therefore
By the end of 1808, with the Spanish still holding most of Catalonia, with the exception of beseiged Barcelona, French general Gouvion St. Cyr was sent to gain control of the province.
In the Peninsular War, the Battle
of Medellín was fought on 28 March 1809 and resulted in a
victory of the French under Marshal Victoragainst
the Spanish under General Don Gregorio Garcia de la
Cuesta. The battle marked the first major effort by the French to
occupy Southern Spain, a feat mostly completed with the victory at
the Battle of Ocana later in the year.
On the first day of the battle, Victor, seeking an easy victory to erase his humiliation at Valmaseda, launched a series of ill-advised attacks that were thrown back with heavy losses by the disciplined
Although not a decisive defeat in itself, the hopeless confusion of the tattered and weary Spanish army, which had neither a government nor a military command structure to coordinate it, meant that Espinosa marked the deathblow to Blake's Army of Galicia. Blake, to his credit, led his remaining men through an heroic retreat west through the mountains, escaping, to Napoleon's disbelief, Soult's pursuit. However, when he arrived at León on 23 November, only 10,000 men remained under his banner. (Wikipedia entry)
Battle of Tudela, November 23, 1808
The Battle of Tudela on 23 November 1808 saw an Imperial French army led by Marshal Jean Lannes attack a Spanish army under General Castaños. The battle resulted in the complete victory of the Imperial forces over their adversaries. The combat occurred near Tudela in Navarre, Spain during the Peninsular War.Spanish casualties were estimated to be about 4,000 dead and 3,000 prisoners out of a total force of 33,000. The French and Poles lost no more than 600 dead and wounded out of a total of 30,000. This is one of the battles whose name was engraved on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.
The Dos de Mayo Uprising of 2 May 1808, followed by extensive uprisings throughout Spain, forced the French to pull back from their occupation of Spain to the Ebro River. There was an opportunity for the Spanish to finally expel the French altogether but this was missed due to their failure to appoint a Supreme Commander leaving the individual Spanish forces to operate independently.
These Spanish forces consisted of the army of General Joaquín Blake on the North coast, the army of General Francisco Javier Castaños around Tudela and the army of General José Rebolledo de Palafox around Zaragoza. Blake was active in attacking the French but his offensive near Bilbao was defeated at Pancorbo on 31 October 1808.
Napoleon’s strategy was to make a strong attack towards Burgos splitting off the army of Blake from the others and to outflank them by then swinging both north and south. It was in his interest that the Spanish maintain their exposed advanced positions. The French armies facing them were therefore
ordered not to attack. So from October to 21 November 1808, Marshal Bon-Adrien Jeannot de Moncey’s III Corps remained static in front of Castaños’s army.
The Spanish armies were however in a constant state of movement to no effect. For much of the time Castaños was ill leaving Palafox to direct operations. Palafox seems to have been indecisive on what course of action to take.
The battlefield was the area between Tudela and the neighbouring hills on the left. The Spanish front was deployed on the hills of Santa Barbara, Tudela, Torre Monreal, Santa Quiteria the top of Cabeza Malla (the hill where the retreat of San Juan de Calchetas was), and the villages of Urzante (now disappeared), Murchante, and Cascante. Separating the Spanish and the French was the Queiles River, a tributary of the Ebro.
The French advanced from the Cierzo hills that were in front of the Spanish lines towards the Spanish troops. (edited Wikipedia entry)
The Spanish armies were however in a constant state of movement to no effect. For much of the time Castaños was ill leaving Palafox to direct operations. Palafox seems to have been indecisive on what course of action to take.
The battlefield was the area between Tudela and the neighbouring hills on the left. The Spanish front was deployed on the hills of Santa Barbara, Tudela, Torre Monreal, Santa Quiteria the top of Cabeza Malla (the hill where the retreat of San Juan de Calchetas was), and the villages of Urzante (now disappeared), Murchante, and Cascante. Separating the Spanish and the French was the Queiles River, a tributary of the Ebro.
The French advanced from the Cierzo hills that were in front of the Spanish lines towards the Spanish troops. (edited Wikipedia entry)
Battle Of Valls, February 28, 1809
By the end of 1808, with the Spanish still holding most of Catalonia, with the exception of beseiged Barcelona, French general Gouvion St. Cyr was sent to gain control of the province.
Despite victories at Rosas, Cardadeu, the relief of Barcelona and Molins de Rei, after laying seige to Tarragona St. Cyr found himself in a difficult situation, having exhausted the surrounding ountryside of food and forage. Continually finding his communication lines cut by the somatenes he then learned that two Spanish armies were closing in on him.
Sriking first St. Cyr dispersed the Spanish center and left at Igualada on Feburary 17. The Spanish commander, General Reding, with the army of the right, gathered up the fugitives from this fight and then, realizing his communication with Tarragona was theratened marched towards that city. St. Cyr, in an attempt to cut him off, split his force, positioning a division across both of the main routes to Tarragona. But stealing a march in the night Reding came down from a smaller mountian road to surprise (and be surprised by!) Souham's division placed in Valls.
In the Peninsular War, the Battle
of Medellín was fought on 28 March 1809 and resulted in a
victory of the French under Marshal Victoragainst
the Spanish under General Don Gregorio Garcia de la
Cuesta. The battle marked the first major effort by the French to
occupy Southern Spain, a feat mostly completed with the victory at
the Battle of Ocana later in the year.
Victor began his southern drive with
the objective of destroying the Army of Estremadura, commanded by
General Cuesta, who was retreating in face of the French advance. On
the 27th of March, Cuesta was reinforced with 7,000 troops and
decided to meet the French in battle rather than continue to
withdraw.
The battlefield was just southeast of
the town of Medellín, roughly 300 km southwest of Madrid.
The Guadiana River ran along a west-east axis in the
northern edge of the battlefield, joined with the Hortiga River,
which ran along a north-south axis that precluded any Spanish
flanking maneuvers on the French right. Victor had roughly 17,500
troops while Cuesta possessed about 23,000. However, Victor had a
50-30 advantage in guns.
Both commanders arrayed their armies in
an unusual fashion, although Victor's setup seems to have been more
reasonable. The center of the French army, an infantry division under
General Eugene-Casimir Villatte, occupied the main road that led
from Medellín to Don Benitoin the southeast, whereas the wings,
commanded by Lasalle (the left) and Latour-Maubourg (the
right), stood much farther south and southeast. Each wing was
composed of a cavalry division and two infantry battalions filled
with German troops from the Confederation of the Rhine.
Apparently, Victor's intentions were to keep withdrawing his flanks
closer and closer to the center until a powerful counter-attack could
shatter the Spanish lines. Victor's reserve was an infantry division
under General François Ruffin, which would not take part in the
battle. Victor's innovative scheme can be sharply contrasted with
Cuesta's mistakes: Cuesta maintained no reserve and extended just
23,000 men, deployed in four ranks, into a four-mile arc from
Guadiana to Hortiga. His plan was to simply strike the French wings
and hope to catch the entire French army with their backs to Medellín
and the Guadiana River, which was exactly what Victor expected.
(Edited Wikipedia entry)
This scenario represents the battle after the point when Vilatte and the lead Spanish forces clashed south of Almansa
Creek. Vilatte, concerned about Zayas' force (which had crossed the boat bridge from the Isle of León and appeared on his flank) retreated with some difficulty over the Almansa Creek, taking up a new blocking position on the Cádiz road and La Peña, upon hearing of Victor's approach from the north, has positioned his forces to defend the bridgehead. The Spanish baggage train along with Béguines' brigade, are at the point of moving up to join La Peña's main force, while a Spanish/British rearguard force (Cruez Murgeon brigade) under the command of Graham occupies the Cerro de Puerco but is in the process of withdrawing (against the protestations of Browne, the commander of the British battalion included in this force). A KGL/Spanish cavalry force, under Whittingham, also covers the withdrawal.
Battle of Barrosa, March 5, 1811
Creek. Vilatte, concerned about Zayas' force (which had crossed the boat bridge from the Isle of León and appeared on his flank) retreated with some difficulty over the Almansa Creek, taking up a new blocking position on the Cádiz road and La Peña, upon hearing of Victor's approach from the north, has positioned his forces to defend the bridgehead. The Spanish baggage train along with Béguines' brigade, are at the point of moving up to join La Peña's main force, while a Spanish/British rearguard force (Cruez Murgeon brigade) under the command of Graham occupies the Cerro de Puerco but is in the process of withdrawing (against the protestations of Browne, the commander of the British battalion included in this force). A KGL/Spanish cavalry force, under Whittingham, also covers the withdrawal.
The British division under Graham is in the process of responding to La Peña's command to join him in the area south of the Almansa Creek, much against Graham's better judgement, by marching along a path through the pine forest north of the coastal road. They (like Peña) have also just received word from Spanish guerrillas that a large force of French have emerged from the north, threatening the rear.
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