Battle of Fuengirola

Last updated

Battle of Fuengirola
Part of the Peninsular War
Bitwa pod Fuengirola3.jpg
A painting of the battle by January Suchodolski
Date15 October 1810
Location 36°32′30″N4°37′30″W / 36.54167°N 4.62500°W / 36.54167; -4.62500
Result Franco-Polish victory
Belligerents
Banner of the Duchy of Warsaw.svg Duchy of Warsaw
Flag of France (1794-1815).svg  France
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
Flag of Spain (1785-1873, 1875-1931).svg  Spain
Commanders and leaders
Banner of the Duchy of Warsaw.svg Franciszek Młokosiewicz Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Lord Blayney  (POW)
Strength
400 (Warsaw)
57 (France)
3,501 (United Kingdom)
1,000 (Spain)
2 ship of the lines
2 frigates
5 gunboats
Several brigs and sloops
Casualties and losses
20 killed
100 wounded
65 killed
70 wounded
200 captured
1 gunboat sunk
Peninsular War: Siege of Cádiz
Battle of Fuengirola
Invisible Square.svg
Invisible Square.svg
Mapscaleline.svg
150km
100miles
Tarifa
7
Invisible Square.svg
Bornos
6
Invisible Square.svg
Zújar
5
Invisible Square.svg
Barrosa
4
Invisible Square.svg
Baza
3
Invisible Square.svg
Fuengirola
2
  current battle

The Battle of Fuengirola was a military engagement of the Peninsular War fought on 15 October 1810 between a 457-strong Franco-Polish garrison at the Sohail Castle near Fuengirola and a much larger Anglo-Spanish field force of 4,501 men led by Andrew Blayney, 11th Baron Blayney. Blayney's troops conducted an amphibious assault under the cover of an offshore artillery bombardment against the garrison of Sohail Castle, which consisted of troops from the army of the Duchy of Warsaw and the French Imperial Army.

Contents

The defenders ultimately managed to frustrate the attacking forces' attempts to capture the castle before a joint Franco-Polish assault captured Blayney and forced his men to re-embark in disarray. The British and Spanish suffered 335 men killed, wounded or captured while the Franco-Polish defenders suffered 120 casualties. Several of the Polish officers involved in the battle were subsequently awarded the Legion of Honour by Napoleon.

Background

The Spanish town of Fuengirola has been an important centre of trade since the Middle Ages. To defend it against a seaborne invasion, the Moors constructed Sohail Castle on a hill between the Mediterranean and the Fuengirola River. During the Peninsular War, the Costa del Sol area Fuengirola was located in was considered of secondary importance by both sides, being occupied by the French Imperial Army with little opposition. Until 1810, there was little Spanish guerrilla activity in the region. As such, after suffering losses in the Spanish interior, a number of units of the army of the Duchy of Warsaw were sent there in October 1810 to serve as a garrison and to rest.[ citation needed ]

After they arrived, Sohail Castle was manned by 150 Polish soldiers from the 4th Infantry Regiment and 11 French dragoons. The Poles were led by Captain Franciszek Młokosiewicz. A number of similar detachments were garrisoned in the nearby towns of Mijas (where 60 infantrymen under Lieutenant Eustachy Chełmicki were stationed) and Alhaurin (where 200 infantrymen and 40 dragoons under Major Bronisz were stationed). All three detachments were part of the IV Corps under the command of Horace François Bastien Sébastiani de La Porta, who was stationed at Málaga. The IV Corps numbered roughly 10,000 men and were stationed in southern Andalusia to prevent local Spanish guerrillas from receiving supplies from Gibraltar.[ citation needed ]

In the autumn of 1810, Major-General Andrew Blayney, 11th Baron Blayney decided to lead an expeditionary force from Gibraltar towards Málaga and seize it in a surprise attack, with the beaches near Sohail Castle appearing to be a perfect landing place for his forces. Spanish guerrillas had informed the British about the weakness of the castle's garrison and their lack of reserves. In October 1810, Blayney gathered a field force consisting of the 2/89th Regiment of Foot, a battalion of French deserters, a Royal Artillery unit, Royal Navy gun crews and the Spanish Army's Toledo Regiment. This force numbered approximately 1,700 men, excluding Royal Navy personnel. They boarded a small fleet consisting of two frigates, (HMS Topaze and HMS Sparrowhawk), five gunboats, several brigs and transport sloops.[ citation needed ]

Battle

On 14 October 1810, Blayney's field force reached Cala Moral Bay, about two miles southwest from Fuengirola. His infantry disembarked, and were joined on the beach by a small number of Spanish guerrillas. Blayney led his force northeast along the shore while his fleet sailed parallel toward Fuengirola. At 2:00 pm they arrived in front of Sohail Castle and Blayney sent an emissary to convince Młokosiewicz to surrender. Młokosiewicz refused, and in response the British fleet offshore initiated a naval bombardment of the castle.[ citation needed ]

Despite their numerical inferiority, the Polish garrison in Sohail Castle continued to hold out and even returned fire using two cannon, sinking a British gunboat and leading the other gunboats to withdraw out of range. Under the cover of artillery fire from Topaze and Sparrowhawk, Blayney ordered a frontal attack on the castle walls. However, after Major Grant, the commander of 2/89th Regiment of Foot, was killed in action, Blayney ordered a general retreat. Under the cover of night, he landed his guns and British engineers constructed two artillery emplacements near Sohail Castle, which they planned to use to destroy the walls. In the meantime, the Polish garrison at Mijas, alerted by the artillery bombardment, snuck through British lines and joined up with the castle's defenders. The garrison at Alhaurin was also alerted and in the morning of 15 October marched to Mijas, where it clashed with a 450-strong force of Spanish and German troops sent there by Blayney, dispersing it with a bayonet charge.[ citation needed ]

On the morning of 15 October, the British artillery bombardment intensified and destroyed one of Sohail Castle's towers. Around 2:00 pm, HMS Rodney and a Spanish Navy ship of the line arrived at Fuengirola, bringing 932 men of the 1/82nd Regiment of Foot. To counter these new arrivals, Młokosiewicz decided to carry out a surprise attack on the British artillery positions. Leaving the castle guarded mostly by wounded soldiers, he led 130 soldiers in a sally, taking the besiegers by surprise. Despite their numerical superiority, Spanish troops protecting the British artillery positions retreated in disorder. After capturing the guns, the Poles turned them away from the castle and started shelling the British. Although their artillery fire mostly missed its targets, as there were no trained artillery officers among the Poles, it made the regrouping of nearby British troops much more difficult.[ citation needed ]

After about half an hour, Blayney managed to reorganise his troops on the beach and ordered an assault against the artillery positions occupied by Polish troops. The outnumbered defenders blew up the gunpowder supplies of their guns and withdrew towards the castle. However, before Blayney's forces could push any further, they were attacked on their left flank by the 200-strong Polish garrison at Alhaurin that had just arrived on the battlefield. They distracted the attackers long enough to let Młokosiewicz regroup his withdrawing force and strike the right flank of the British line. This near-simultaneous attack, supported by approximately 30 French cavalrymen from the 21st Dragoon Regiment, surprised the British, who soon began to waver. After Blayney was taken prisoner by the Poles, his subordinates sounded the retreat and started a chaotic re-embarcation under the fire from Polish troops using capturing artillery. [1]

Aftermath

The British and Spanish had suffered 335 men killed, wounded or captured while the Franco-Polish defenders suffered 20 killed and 100 wounded. Several of the Polish officers involved in the battle were subsequently awarded the Legion of Honour by Napoleon. The battle, along with the battles of Maida and Albuera, was one of the few instances during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars where British and Polish troops fought against each other.[ citation needed ]

In his memoirs, Blayney downplayed the importance of the battle and claimed he had been captured by a member of the Society of United Irishmen instead of Poles. He remained in captivity for four years, and his captured sabre is currently on display at the Czartoryski Museum in Kraków. Some British military historians claimed that the battle was decided by the timely arrival of a French relief force under Sébastiani's command from Málaga. However, Sébastiani's own report to Jean-de-Dieu Soult attests that his column reached Fuengirola on the morning of 16 October, some time after the fight. [2]

Notes

  1. Elting 1997, pp. 380–381.
  2. Juan Antonio Martín Ruiz's Breve historia de Fuengirola, Editorial Sarriá, 2000, pp. 62–63.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peninsular War</span> 1807–1814 war against Napoleon in Iberia

The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain, it is considered to overlap with the Spanish War of Independence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Almonacid</span> 1809 battle of the Peninsular War

The Battle of Almonacid was fought on 11 August 1809 during the Peninsular War between Sébastiani's IV Corps of the French Peninsular Army, which King Joseph of Spain had withdrawn from the Battle of Talavera to defend Madrid, and the Spanish Army of La Mancha under General Venegas. After the decisive charges of Polish uhlans, the battle resulted in a French victory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fuengirola</span> Place in Andalusia, Spain

Fuengirola is a city on the Costa del Sol in the province of Málaga in the autonomous community of Andalusia in southern Spain. It is located on the central coast of the province and integrated into the region of the Costa del Sol and the Commonwealth of Municipalities of the Costa del Sol Occidental.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Warsaw (1939)</span> Part of the German invasion of Poland

The siege of Warsaw in 1939 was fought between the Polish Warsaw Army garrisoned and entrenched in Warsaw and the invading German Army.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Talavera</span> 1809 battle of the Peninsular War

The Battle of Talavera was fought just outside the town of Talavera de la Reina, Spain some 120 kilometres (75 mi) southwest of Madrid, during the Peninsular War. At Talavera, a British army under Sir Arthur Wellesley combined with a Spanish army under General Cuesta fought in operations against French-occupied Madrid. At nightfall, the French army withdrew a short distance after several of its attacks had been repulsed; the allies, having suffered comparable casualties to the French, made no attempt to pursue.

The 89th Regiment of Foot was a regiment of the British Army, raised on 3 December 1793. Under the Childers Reforms the regiment amalgamated with the 87th Regiment of Foot to form the Princess Victoria's in 1881.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew Blayney, 11th Baron Blayney</span>

Lieutenant General Andrew Thomas Blayney, 11th Baron Blayney was an Anglo-Irish peer. He ruled the Blayney estate at Castleblayney, County Monaghan for fifty years from 1784 to 1834, and was one of the most illustrious soldiers ever to come from County Monaghan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Warsaw (1831)</span> Russian victory in the November Uprising

The battle of Warsaw, also known as the battle and storming of Warsaw, was fought in September 1831 between Imperial Russia and Poland. After a two-day assault on the city's western fortifications, the Polish defences collapsed and the city was evacuated. It was the largest battle and the final episode of the Polish–Russian War of 1830–31, a conflict that became better known as the November Uprising.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Third siege of Girona (Peninsular War)</span> 1809 Siege during the Peninsular War

The third siege of Girona occurred in northern Catalonia, Spain from 6 May to 12 December 1809, during the Napoleonic Wars. A significant event of the Peninsular War, France's Grande Armée lay siege to the town of Girona for seven months. Girona was strategically important because it controlled the main road between France and Spain.

The Battle of Villafranca del Bierzo took place on 17 March 1809, during the French occupation of León in the Peninsular War. After a bloody four-hour siege the small and isolated French garrison at Villafranca surrendered to Spanish regulars under Brigadier José de Mendizábal and General Pedro Caro, 3rd Marquis of la Romana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Cádiz</span> 1810–1812 siege during the Peninsular War

The siege of Cádiz was a siege of the large Spanish naval base of Cádiz by a French army from 5 February 1810 to 24 August 1812 during the Peninsular War. Following the occupation of Seville, Cádiz became the Spanish seat of power, and was targeted by 70,000 French troops under the command of the Marshals Claude Victor and Nicolas Jean-de-Dieu Soult for one of the most important sieges of the war. Defending the city were 2,000 Spanish troops who, as the siege progressed, received aid from 10,000 Spanish reinforcements as well as British and Portuguese troops.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louis Emmanuel Rey</span> 18/19th-century French soldier

Louis Emmanuel Rey was a French soldier. He joined the French royal army and won rapid promotion to general officer during the French Revolutionary Wars. He continued to serve the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. He fought in the Peninsular War and led a tenacious defense of San Sebastián, Spain in 1813. His is one of the names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">François Xavier de Schwarz</span>

François Xavier de Schwarz or François-Xavier-Nicolas Schwartz was born in Baden but joined the French army in 1776. He became a cavalry officer during the French Revolutionary Wars, fighting with the 2nd Hussar Regiment in numerous actions including Jemappes, Fleurus, and Neuwied. After being captured in an abortive invasion of Ireland, he was promoted to command the 5th Hussar Regiment. He led the unit in the War of the Second Coalition, most notably at Hohenlinden and in the subsequent pursuit of the Austrians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean-Pierre-Antoine Rey</span>

Jean-Pierre-Antoine Rey commanded a famous French infantry regiment during the Napoleonic Wars and became a general officer in 1808. He led an infantry brigade in a number of actions in Spain and France. His brother Louis Emmanuel Rey was a French general of brigade who also served in Spain during the Peninsular War. Since most sources do not distinguish between the generals named Rey, the two are easily confused.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Saguntum</span> 1811 battle during the Peninsular War

The Battle of Saguntum saw the Imperial French Army of Aragon under Marshal Louis Gabriel Suchet fighting a Spanish army led by Captain General Joaquín Blake. The Spanish attempt to raise the siege of the Sagunto Castle failed when the French, Italians, and Poles drove their troops off the battlefield in rout. The action took place during the Peninsular War, part of the Napoleonic Wars. Sagunto lies a short distance from the east coast of Spain, about 30 kilometres (19 mi) north of Valencia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Baza</span> 1810 battle during the Peninsular War

In the Battle of Baza on 4 November 1810 an Imperial French force commanded by General Milhaud fought a Spanish corps led by General Blake. When the Spanish commander allowed his forces to get spread out, Milhaud attacked with his cavalry and crushed Blake's vanguard with heavy losses. The Spanish force retreated into the province of Murcia. Baza is located on Route 342 about 80 kilometres (50 mi) north of Almería. The battle occurred during the Peninsular War, part of the Napoleonic Wars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Franciszek Młokosiewicz</span>

Franciszek Młokosiewicz was a Polish officer who served during the Napoleonic Wars and the November Uprising. He served in the Army of the Duchy of Warsaw and participated in the Battle of Fuengirola.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Roses (1808)</span> 1808 siege during the Peninsular War

The siege of Roses or siege of Rosas from 7 November to 5 December 1808 saw an Imperial French corps led by Laurent Gouvion Saint-Cyr invest a Catalan and Spanish garrison commanded by Peter O'Daly. After a siege lasting a month in which the haven and town of Roses was captured and the nearby Trinity Castle invested by over 13,000 French and Italian infantry, artillery and cavalry with heavy siege trains on the hills above, the citadel was surrendered to the Napoleonic forces. Roses (Rosas) is located 43 kilometres (27 mi) northeast of Girona, Catalonia, Spain. The action occurred during the Peninsular War, part of the Napoleonic Wars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Invasion of Naples (1806)</span> 1806 invasion during the War of the Third Coalition

The Invasion of Naples was a front during the War of the Third Coalition, in 1806, when an army of the French Empire led by Marshal André Masséna marched from Northern Italy into the Kingdom of Naples, an ally of the Coalition against France ruled by King Ferdinand IV. The Neapolitan army was defeated at Campo Tenese and rapidly disintegrated. The invasion was eventually successful despite some setbacks, including the prolonged Siege of Gaeta, the British victory at Maida, and a stubborn guerrilla war by the peasantry against the French. Total success eluded the French because Ferdinand withdrew to his domain in Sicily, where he was protected by the Royal Navy and a British Army garrison. In 1806, Emperor Napoleon appointed his brother Joseph Bonaparte to rule over Southern Italy as king.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dutch Brigade (Peninsular War)</span> Military unit

The Dutch Brigade was a unit of the Royal Army of the Kingdom of Holland. King Louis Bonaparte sent the brigade in September 1808, to take part in the Peninsular War on the French side at the request of his brother Emperor Napoleon of France. The brigade was under the command of Major-General David Hendrik Chassé and was made part of the so-called "German Division". The Division also consisted of units from the Nassau, the Baden and other German allies of the French empire commanded by the French general Leval. It was, in turn, part of the IVth French Corps commanded by Marshals Lefebvre and Sébastiani, and was later part of the Marshal Victor's Ist Corps. The brigade distinguished itself initially in several major battles, and was later employed mainly in counter-guerrilla warfare. After the annexation of the Kingdom of Holland by the French empire in 1810, the brigade was formally decommissioned and its members, now French subjects, absorbed into the French 123rd Line Infantry Regiment, and later into the 130th Line Infantry Regiment. The other battalions of the 123rd remained in the Netherlands and were later reassigned to the Russian campaign of 1812.

References

Further reading