Battle of Perpignan (1793) | |||||||
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Part of the War of the Pyrenees | |||||||
Plan of Perpignan fortress with south up. | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
France | Spain | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Louis-Charles de Flers | Antonio Ricardos | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
12,000 | 15,000 | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
800 | 1,000 |
The Battle of Perpignan or Battle of Niel(fr:Bataille de Perpignan) on 17 July 1793 saw the French Army of the Eastern Pyrenees led by Louis-Charles de Flers defending against an offensive by the Spanish Army of Catalonia commanded by Antonio Ricardos. The French turned back the Spanish attacks and forced their opponents to pull back. Perpignan is now the capital of Pyrénées Orientales department, but in 1793 was the chief city of Roussillon province. The action was fought during the War of the Pyrenees, part of the War of the First Coalition.
Captain General Ricardos and his Spanish army defeated the French in a skirmish at Céret on 20 April 1793. [1] The Spanish beat Louis-Charles de Flers and the Army of the Eastern Pyrenees at the Battle of Mas Deu on 19 May. After this success, Ricardos turned back and invested the Fort de Bellegarde. [2] The Siege of Bellegarde lasted from 23 May until 24 June when the French garrison's 1,450 survivors capitulated. [3] During the siege, the Spanish army captured the Fort de Bains on 3 June and the Fort de la Garde on 5 June. [4] While the Spanish reduced Bellegarde, de Flers was busy trying to turn his raw recruits into soldiers. He was able to secure the services of trained coastal gunners to man his artillery. He had a number of field fortifications built to defend the area. [5]
The French troops defending the area included: [6]
With the fortress captured, Ricardos turned his attention to De Flers' army which was holding Perpignan. On 17 July 1793, the Spanish commander split his 15,000 available troops into five columns. He intended for the columns to envelop Perpignan on all sides. The first column on the far right was directed to seize Cabestany on the southeast side of Perpignan. The second column, led by Jerónimo Girón-Moctezuma, Marquis de las Amarillas, was ordered to advance via Canohès and Nyls to Orles, southwest of the city. The third column was to move from Thuir and Trouillas to seize Pézilla-la-Rivière on the Têt River. The fourth and fifth columns were instructed to cross the Têt at Millas. From there, the fourth column was to strike east to Saint-Estève. The fifth column under Luis Firmín de Carvajal, Conde de la Unión would thrust northeast to capture a key bridge near Rivesaltes. [5]
Initially, all the Spanish columns made progress. The third column seized some important hills near Orles. But the Marquis de las Amarillas' column got held up and failed to support the third column. De Flers saw an opportunity and fell on the isolated third column in strength, driving it back. Conde de la Unión's column turned back to help and was able to stabilize the line for a while. However, the French launched another attack and routed the Spanish soldiers. [5]
The French lost 800 killed and wounded out of 12,000 men. The Spanish captured one gun. Despite the victory, two National Guard battalions were disbanded for trying to surrender and 600 more soldiers deserted the colors. In the fighting near Nyls, the Spanish lost 31 killed, 131 wounded, and three captured. [7] However, it is estimated that a total of 1,000 Spanish troops became casualties during the battle. The Spanish army was defeated because its columns were not within supporting distance of one another. This allowed de Flers to take advantage of the third column's isolation. [5]
The Second Battle of Boulou was a battle in the War of the Pyrenees, part of the French Revolutionary Wars. This battle saw the French Army of the Eastern Pyrenees led by Jacques François Dugommier attacking the joint Spanish-Portuguese Army of Catalonia under Luis Fermín de Carvajal, Conde de la Unión. Dugommier's decisive victory resulted in the French regaining nearly all the land they lost to the Kingdom of Spain in 1793. Le Boulou is on the modern A9 highway, 20 kilometres (12 mi) south of the department capital at Perpignan and 7 kilometres (4 mi) north of Le Perthus on the France–Spain border.
The Battle of Sant Llorenç de la Muga was fought on 13 August 1794 between an attacking Spanish–Portuguese army led by the Conde de la Unión and a French army commanded by Jacques François Dugommier. The local French defenders headed by Pierre Augereau and Dominique Pérignon repulsed the allies. The Spanish garrison of Fort de Bellegarde surrendered a month later.
The War of the Pyrenees, also known as War of Roussillon or War of the Convention, was the Pyrenean front of the First Coalition's war against the First French Republic. It pitted Revolutionary France against the kingdoms of Spain and Portugal from March 1793 to July 1795 during the French Revolutionary Wars.
Luis Fermín de Carvajal, 1st Count of la Unión became a general officer in the army of the Kingdom of Spain. In 1794 during the French Revolutionary Wars, he commanded the Spanish Army in a mostly unsuccessful effort to hold back the army of the First French Republic. He died in battle fighting the French.
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Luc Siméon Auguste Dagobert de Fontenille was a French general of the French Revolutionary Wars.
The Army of the Eastern Pyrenees was one of the French Revolutionary armies. It fought against the Kingdom of Spain in Roussillon, the Cerdanya and Catalonia during the War of the Pyrenees. This army and the Army of the Western Pyrenees were formed by splitting the original Army of the Pyrenees at the end of April 1793 soon after the war started. Shortly after the Peace of Basel on 22 July 1795, the fighting ended and the army was dissolved on 12 October that same year. Many of its units and generals were transferred to join the Army of Italy and fought under Napoleon Bonaparte in 1796.
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The siege of Bellegarde commenced on 23 May 1793 and ended on 24 June 1793 when Colonel Boisbrulé's French garrison surrendered the Fort de Bellegarde to a Spanish army under the command of Antonio Ricardos. The capture of the fort gave Spain control of an important road through the Pyrenees. The siege took place during the War of the Pyrenees, part of the French Revolutionary Wars. Fort de Bellegarde is on a height overlooking the border town of Le Perthus, which lies on the modern A9 autoroute and Autovía A-7.
Eustache Charles Joseph d'Aoust was a general officer during the French Revolutionary Wars.
Antonio Ricardos Carrillo de Albornoz was a Spanish general. He joined the army of the Kingdom of Spain and fought against Habsburg Austria, the Portugal, and the First French Republic during a long military career. By embracing the Spanish Enlightenment, he earned the displeasure of conservative elements of society. He played an active role in reforming the Spanish military. Upon the outbreak of the War of the Pyrenees in 1793, the king sent him to command in Catalonia. He invaded Roussillon where he won several victories over the French. After his death in early 1794, the war went badly for Spain.
At the Battle of Peyrestortes in the War of the Pyrenees, soldiers of the First French Republic defeated a Spanish army that had invaded Roussillon and was attempting to capture Perpignan. The Spanish army of Antonio Ricardos had occupied part of Roussillon and made an abortive attempt to seize the fortress of Perpignan in July 1793. At the end of August, the Spanish commander sent two divisions on a sweep around the western side of Perpignan in an attempt to isolate the fortress and choke it off from resupply. After an initial Spanish success, the French army commander Hilarion Paul Puget de Barbantane, lost his nerve and fled from the area.
Louis-Charles de La Motte-Ango, vicomte de Flers joined the French Royal army and rose in rank to become a general officer in the French Revolutionary Wars. After serving in the Austrian Netherlands, he was appointed to command the Army of the Eastern Pyrenees. His army suffered several defeats in May and June 1793, but he rallied his troops to win a defensive victory at the Battle of Perpignan in July. The all-powerful Representatives-on-mission arrested him in August 1793 for a minor setback and sent him to Paris under arrest. The Committee of Public Safety executed him by guillotine on trumped up charges in the last days of the Reign of Terror. De Flers is one of the names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe.
Jerónimo Morejón Girón-Moctezuma, 3rd Marquis de las Amarillas, born 7 June 1741 at Málaga and died 17 October 1819 at Seville, became a general officer in the army of the Kingdom of Spain and commanded division-sized combat units during the War of the Pyrenees in 1793 and 1794. Though he attained high rank, he displayed limited military talent. Shortly after succeeding to the top command of the Army of Catalonia, he was dismissed for blunders made on the battlefield.
Juan Courten y Gonzalez was a Spanish military officer. He began his career in the War of the Austrian Succession at the age of 14. Courten fought in the Spanish–Portuguese War (1761–1763), the Invasion of Algiers in 1775, and the Great Siege of Gibraltar. He was the last Spanish governor of Oran in 1792. As a lieutenant general, he led an infantry division during the War of the Pyrenees against the First French Republic in several actions including Perpignan, Peyrestortes, Truillas, Boulou, and the Black Mountain. He was appointed Captain General of Aragon in 1795.
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The siege of Perpignan was a siege during the Catalan Revolt.
Hilarion-Paul-François-Bienvenu du Puget de Barbantane disgraced himself during the French Revolutionary Wars by abandoning the Army of the Eastern Pyrenees during a crisis. A nobleman, he was made colonel of the Aunis infantry regiment in 1788. He was promoted general of brigade in 1791 and general of division the following year. He intrigued to obtain command of the Army of the Eastern Pyrenees and got his wish when Louis-Charles de Flers was dismissed in August 1793. When the Spanish commander Antonio Ricardos surrounded Perpignan with a chain of fortified camps, Barbantane panicked and fled the city, going absent without leave.
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42°41′55″N2°53′44″E / 42.6986°N 2.8956°E