Battle of Miajadas

Last updated

Battle of Miajadas
Part of Peninsular War
Le general comte de Lasalle menant une charge de sa cavalerie.jpg
General Count de Lasalle, one of the most talented French cavalry commanders, led the pursuit of the Spanish army ahead of his cavalry division.
Date21 March 1809
Location 39°9′4.57″N5°54′30.28″W / 39.1512694°N 5.9084111°W / 39.1512694; -5.9084111
Result Spanish victory
Belligerents
Flag of France.svg French Empire Flag of Spain (1785-1873, 1875-1931).svg Kingdom of Spain
Commanders and leaders
Jacques Gervais Subervie Juan Henestrosa
Strength
1 regiment 2 regiments
Casualties and losses
132-150 low
Peninsular war: Castile & Andalusia
Battle of Miajadas
Invisible Square.svg
Invisible Square.svg
Mapscaleline.svg
100km
62miles
Tormes
12
Invisible Square.svg
11
Invisible Square.svg
Tamames
10
Invisible Square.svg
9
Invisible Square.svg
8
Invisible Square.svg
Talavera
7
Invisible Square.svg
Alcántara
6
Invisible Square.svg
Medellín
5
Invisible Square.svg
Ciudad Real
4
Invisible Square.svg
3
Invisible Square.svg
2
  current battle

The battle of Miajadas took place on 21 March 1809 in Miajadas, Spain, and saw the Spanish cavalry led by General Henestrosa ambush the 10th French Horse Chasseurs Regiment commanded by Colonel Subervie. The French troopers suffered heavy losses when the two Spanish cavalry regiments charged them by the flank.

Contents

Background

After defeating the Anglo-Spanish armies, Napoleon went back to France in January 1809 to face Austria. Before he left, he asked his brother Joseph Bonaparte, King of Spain, to take control of Andalusia. The I Corps of Marshal Claude-Victor Perrin was in charge of this operation. It comprised three infantry divisions under Generals of Division François Amable Ruffin, Eugène-Casimir Villatte and Jean François Leval, two cavalry divisions commanded by Antoine Charles Louis de Lasalle and Victor de Fay de La Tour-Maubourg as well as the artillery under General of Division Alexandre-Antoine Hureau de Sénarmont. In all, there were 20,000 men and 50 guns. [1]

The campaign started on 15 March 1809. The French army crossed the Tagus River on several points and converged on Almaraz, defended by the Spanish Army of Extremadura led by Captain-General Gregorio García de la Cuesta. Duke del Parque's forces were drubbed at Mesas de Ibor by Leval's German division. These defeat forced La Cuesta to withdraw on the line of the Guadiana. During the retreat, the Spanish cavalry under General Henestrosa was assigned to the rearguard. On the other side, General Lasalle led the French pursuit ahead of his cavalry division, which was made up of the 5th and 10th Horse Chasseurs Regiments, the 2nd Hussars Regiment and the 9th Dragoons Regiment. [2]

On 20 March, a first clash occurred at Berrocal between the 5th Chasseurs and the Spanish Carabiniers. The carabiniers were repelled with heavy losses by the French cavalrymen which lost 10 killed and 15 wounded. [3] However, Rickard called the action a Spanish victory. [4] The next day, while La Cuesta's withdrawing continued, Henestrosa decided to ambush his French pursuers. [5]

Action

On that day, preceding the rest of Lasalle's division, the 10th French Horse Chasseurs Regiment under the command of Colonel Subervie arrived near the village of Miajadas, without suspecting the presence of the Spanish rearguard. Seeing this isolated regiment, Henestrosa put a small detachment of cavalry in front of Miajadas to lure his opponents and hid his own units, the Almanza and Infante Cavalry Regiments, on each side of the road. Subervie commit himself into the trap and charged the few Spanish cavalrymen positioned outside the village. [4] The Spanish cavalry in ambush charged immediately and quickly got the better of the 10th Chasseurs which suffered significant losses during the unequal fight. Then, Henestrosa was able to withdraw without being engaged by Lasalle who had just arrived on the battlefield with the rest of his division. [5]

Result

At the end of the action, the 10th Chasseurs had 63 killed and 70 wounded according to Anglo-Spanish sources [5]  · [4] while the French authors gave 62 killed including one officer. [5] A third source reported 150 French casualties and noticed that Spanish losses were "very low". [6] Hourtoulle said that French dead bodies were "horribly mutilated" and added that "a serious bloody check had been contracted by Lasalle's division; this debt, the enemies are going to paid it soon". [5]

The setback of Miajadas forced Lasalle to release the pursuit, giving time to la Cuesta to receive reinforcements. Made confident by the success of his rearguard, the Spanish general positioned his army on the heights of Medellín where the French arrived on 23 March at the morning. The ensuing battle was at first favourable to the Spanish but soon turned into disaster. On the left, Lasalle's cavalry butchered his Spanish counterpart and cut down vigorously the fleeing defenders, avenging the chasseurs of the 10th Regiment who had died at Miajadas. [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

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

The Battle of Ocaña was fought on 19 November 1809 between French forces under Marshal Jean-de-Dieu Soult against the Spanish army under General Juan Carlos de Aréizaga, which suffered its greatest single defeat in the Peninsular War.

<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carabinier</span> Type of light cavalry armed with a carbine

A carabinier is in principle a soldier armed with a carbine, musket, or rifle, which became commonplace by the beginning of the Napoleonic Wars in Europe. The word is derived from the identical French word carabinier.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antoine Charles Louis de Lasalle</span> French cavalry general (1775–1809)

Antoine-Charles-Louis, Comte de Lasalle was a French cavalry general during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Often called "The Hussar General," he first gained fame for his role in the Capitulation of Stettin. Throughout his short career, he became known as a daring adventurer and was credited with many exploits, fighting on every front. He was killed at the Battle of Wagram.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacques Gervais, baron Subervie</span> French general and politician (1776–1856)

Jacques Gervais, baron Subervie was a French general and politician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Medina de Rioseco</span> 1808 Battle in Peninsular War

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.

In the Peninsular War, the Battle of Medellín was fought on 28 March 1809 and resulted in a victory of the French under Marshal Victor against 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Cabezón</span> 1808 battle in Peninsular War

The Battle of Cabezón was an engagement early in the Peninsular War on 12 June 1808 between Spain's Army of Castile, under Cuesta, based at Valladolid, and detachments of Marshal Bessières' French Army Corps under generals General Lasalle and Merle. Lasalle occupied Valladolid without opposition that same evening.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Alba de Tormes</span> 1809 battle during the Peninsular War

In the Battle of Alba de Tormes on 28 November 1809, an Imperial French corps commanded by François Étienne de Kellermann attacked a Spanish army led by Diego de Cañas y Portocarrero, Duke del Parque. Finding the Spanish army in the midst of crossing the Tormes River, Kellermann did not wait for his infantry under Jean Gabriel Marchand to arrive, but led the French cavalry in a series of charges that routed the Spanish units on the near bank with heavy losses. Del Parque's army was forced to take refuge in the mountains that winter. Alba de Tormes is 21 kilometres (13 mi) southeast of Salamanca, Spain. The action occurred during the Peninsular War, part of the Napoleonic Wars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Étienne Marie Antoine Champion de Nansouty</span> French cavalry commander during the French Revolutionary Wars

Étienne-Marie-Antoine Champion, comte de Nansouty was a French cavalry commander during the French Revolutionary Wars who rose to the rank of General of Division in 1803 and subsequently held important military commands during the Napoleonic Wars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Étienne Tardif de Pommeroux de Bordesoulle</span>

Étienne Tardif de Pommeroux, comte de Bordesoulle was a French nobleman and soldier, who fought in the Napoleonic Wars and the Spanish expedition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacob François Marulaz</span>

Jacob François Marulaz or Marola, born 6 November 1769, died 10 June 1842, joined the Army of the Kingdom of France as a cavalry trooper and rose to become a field officer during the French Revolutionary Wars. Under the First French Empire, he became a general officer and fought under Emperor Napoleon I of France in two notable campaigns.

The II Cavalry Corps of the Grande Armée was a French military unit that existed during the Napoleonic Wars. It was first formed in December 1806, but only enjoyed a brief existence under Marshal Jean-Baptiste Bessières. The II Cavalry Corps was reconstituted for the invasion of Russia in 1812 and commanded by General Louis-Pierre Montbrun who was killed in battle, as was his successor a few hours later. During the War of the Sixth Coalition, General Horace François Bastien Sébastiani de La Porta led the II Cavalry Corps in 1813, while General Antoine-Louis Decrest de Saint-Germain led the corps in 1814. During the Hundred Days, Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte raised the corps again and entrusted it to General Rémi Joseph Isidore Exelmans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">José Miguel de la Cueva, 14th Duke of Alburquerque</span> Spanish general and ambassador (1775-1811)

General José Miguel de la Cueva y de la Cerda, 14th Duke of Alburquerque (1775–1811) was an aristocrat, diplomat, and senior Spanish officer in the Peninsular War.

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

The Battle of Arzobispo on 8 August 1809 saw two Imperial French corps commanded by Marshal Jean-de-Dieu Soult launch an assault crossing of the Tagus River against a Spanish force under José María de la Cueva, 14th Duke of Alburquerque. Alburquerque's troops rapidly retreated after suffering disproportionate losses, including 30 artillery pieces. El Puente del Arzobispo is located 36 kilometres (22 mi) southwest of Talavera de la Reina, Spain. The action occurred during the Peninsular War, part of a larger conflict known as the Napoleonic Wars.

The V Cavalry Corps of the Grande Armée was a French military unit that existed during the Napoleonic Wars. The corps was created in 1813 and fought until 1814. Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte first organized the corps during the summer armistice in 1813 and it fought at Dresden and Leipzig. General Samuel-François Lhéritier led the corps at first but was replaced by General Pierre Claude Pajol. After Pajol was wounded at Leipzig, General Édouard Jean Baptiste Milhaud commanded the corps at Hanau in 1813 and at Brienne, La Rothière, Mormant, Fère-Champenoise, and Paris in 1814.

The Reserve Cavalry Corps or Cavalry Reserve of the Grande Armée was a French military unit that existed during the Napoleonic Wars. In 1805, Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte appointed Marshal Joachim Murat to command all the cavalry divisions that were not directly attached to the army corps. During the Ulm campaign, Murat led his horsemen in successfully hunting down many Austrian units that escaped the capitulation of Ulm, before fighting at Austerlitz in December 1805. Under Murat, the Cavalry Reserve played a prominent role in the destruction of the Prussian armies after the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt in 1806. In 1812, the Reserve Cavalry Corps was split up into the I, II, III, and IV Cavalry Corps for the French invasion of Russia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cavalry Regiment El Rey</span> The oldest cavalry regiment in the Spanish army

The Cavalry Regiment El Rey is the oldest cavalry regiment in the Spanish Army, distinguishing itself on several occasions during the Peninsular War. They are best known for their charge at the Battle of Talavera where they dealt the decisive blow against General Jean François Leval's German Division.

The combat of Mesas de Ibor was a French victory during the Peninsular War at which the Spanish troops under General Duke del Parque were defeated by Leval's division, made up of German battalions.

Juan de la Cruz Fernández de Henestrosa y Horcasitas (1765–1831) was a Spanish military commander.

References

  1. Hourtoulle & Girbal 1979, pp. 209–215, 218.
  2. Hourtoulle & Girbal 1979, p. 215.
  3. Hourtoulle & Girbal 1979, pp. 215–216.
  4. 1 2 3 Rickard 2008.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Hourtoulle & Girbal 1979, p. 216.
  6. Borreill 2005.
  7. Hourtoulle & Girbal 1979, pp. 222–223.

Bibliography