Battle of Tamames

Last updated

Battle of Tamames
Part of the Peninsular War
Date18 October 1809 [1]
Location 40°40′N6°06′W / 40.66°N 6.10°W / 40.66; -6.10
Result Spanish victory [1]
Belligerents
Flag of France.svg French Empire Flag of Spain (1785-1873, 1875-1931).svg  Spain
Commanders and leaders
Flag of France (1794-1815).svg Jean Marchand Flag of Spain (1785-1873, 1875-1931).svg Duke del Parque
Strength
11,000 [1] 21,000 [1]
Casualties and losses
1,300-1,400 killed or wounded [1] [2] 700-713 killed or wounded [1]
1 gun lost [2]
Peninsular war: Castile & Andalusia
Battle of Tamames
Invisible Square.svg
Invisible Square.svg
Mapscaleline.svg
100km
62miles
Tormes
12
Invisible Square.svg
11
Invisible Square.svg
Tamames
10
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
Invisible Square.svg
  current battle

The Battle of Tamames was lost by part of Marshal Michel Ney's French army under General of Division Jean Marchand in the Peninsular War. The French, advancing out of Salamanca, were met and defeated in battle by a Spanish army on 18 October 1809. [3]

Contents

Background

The Spanish campaign in late 1809 started with the Battle of Talavera.

Battle

The Spanish drew their forces in a defensive line on a low ridge above the village of Tamames. Despite being on defensive ground, the battle opened badly for the Spaniards under General del Parque, who resorted to severe measures to restore discipline. The Spanish cavalry was routed early on, but fire from del Parque's own infantry quickly brought their retreat to grief and directed them back into the fight. Spanish artillery positions similarly fell to the French but were retaken at bayonet point by del Parque's infantry.

The French attacked in massed columns but never in enough strength to dislodge the Spanish. The difficult ground meant that the French cavalry could not be deployed effectively.

Immediate French losses amounted to about 1,200 killed or wounded on the battlefield. A pursuit by the Spanish cavalry increased these losses twofold; the Spaniards captured the French colours and a 12-pounder.

Forces

The VI Corps under Marchand consisted of his own 1st Division (three battalions each of 6th Light, 39th, 69th and 76th Line), General of Division Maurice Mathieu's 2nd Division (three battalions each of 25th Light, 27th and 59th Line, and one battalion 50th Line), Brigadier general Jean Lorcet's Corps cavalry brigade (3rd Hussars, 15th Chasseurs, 15th and 25th Dragoons). There were about 9,000 infantry, 2,000 cavalry and 30 cannon.

Del Parque's army included Major general Martin de la Carrera's Vanguard, Maj-Gen Francisco Xavier Losada's 1st Division, Major general Conde de Belvedere's 2nd Division, Major general Francisco Ballasteros's 3rd Division, Major general Marquis de Castrofuerte's 5th Division and the Prince of Anglona's Cavalry Division. Altogether there were about 20,000 infantry, 1,400 cavalry and 30 artillery pieces.

The French lost 1,300 killed, wounded and captured. There were 23 officers killed and 55 wounded, including Lorcet. Del Parque's army suffered 713 killed and wounded and one gun captured.

Strategic picture

Del Parque begged the Duke of Wellington to join him in an attempt to overrun Leon and Old Castile. However, the British general refused. Wellington had found the Spanish completely uncooperative during the campaign which culminated in the Battle of Talavera and his subsequent retreat to Portugal. Marchand would avenge his defeat at the Battle of Alba de Tormes in November.

Aftermath

The Spanish campaign in late 1809 proceeded with the second Madrid offensive in the Battle of Ocaña.

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Bodart 1908, p. 413.
  2. 1 2 Smith 1998, pp. 333–334.
  3. Esdaile 2003, p. 216.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peninsular War</span> 1808–1814 war against Napoleon in Iberia

The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, 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 Uclés (1809)</span> 1809 Battle of the Peninsular War

The Battle of Uclés saw an Imperial French corps led by Marshal Claude Perrin Victor attack a Spanish force under Francisco Javier Venegas. The French easily crushed their outnumbered foes, capturing over half of the Spanish infantry. Uclés is located in the province of Cuenca 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) east of Tarancón and 100 kilometres (62 mi) southeast of Madrid. The action occurred during what is called the Peninsular War in English-speaking countries and the Spanish War of Independence in Spain. The war was part of a larger struggle known as the Napoleonic Wars.

<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.

The Battle of Ciudad Real was fought on 27 March 1809 and resulted in a French victory under General Sebastiani against the Spanish under General Conde de Cartojal.

<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 Tudela</span> 1808 battle of the Peninsular War

The Battle of Tudela 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, part of a wider conflict known as the Napoleonic Wars.

<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">Battle of Somosierra</span> 1808 Battle of the Peninsular War in Spain

The Battle of Somosierra took place on 30 November 1808, during the Peninsular War, when a combined Franco-Spanish-Polish force under the direct command of Napoleon Bonaparte forced a passage through a Spanish Division stationed at the Sierra de Guadarrama, which shielded Madrid from direct French attack. At the Somosierra mountain pass, 60 miles (97 km) north of Madrid, a heavily outnumbered Spanish detachment of regulars, volunteers and artillery under Benito de San Juan aimed to block Napoleon's advance on the Spanish capital. Napoleon overwhelmed the Spanish positions in a combined arms attack, sending the Polish Chevau-légers of the Imperial Guard at the Spanish guns while French infantry advanced up the slopes. The victory removed the last obstacle barring the road to Madrid, which fell several days later.

The Battle of Alcañiz resulted in the defeat of Major-General Louis Gabriel Suchet's French army on 23 May 1809 by a Spanish force under General Joaquín Blake y Joyes.

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.

The Battle of Belchite on 18 June 1809 saw a Franco-Polish corps led by Louis Gabriel Suchet fight a small Spanish army under Joaquín Blake y Joyes. Suchet's force won the battle when a lucky hit detonated a large part of the Spanish ammunition supply. The ensuing blast provoked Blake's soldiers into a panicky flight from the battlefield. The action was fought during the Peninsular War, part of the Napoleonic Wars. Belchite is located 40 kilometres (25 mi) southeast of Zaragoza.

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

In the First Battle of Porto the French under Marshal Soult defeated the Portuguese, under General Parreiras, outside the city of Porto during the Peninsular War. Soult followed up his success by storming the city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean Gabriel Marchand</span>

Jean Gabriel Marchand, 1st Count Marchand went from being an attorney to a company commander in the army of the First French Republic in 1791. He fought almost exclusively in Italy throughout the French Revolutionary Wars and served on the staffs of a number of generals. He participated in Napoleon Bonaparte's celebrated 1796-1797 Italian campaign. In 1799, he was with army commander Barthélemy Catherine Joubert when that general was killed at Novi. Promoted to general officer soon after, he transferred to the Rhine theater in 1800.

<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">Pierre-Louis Binet de Marcognet</span>

Pierre-Louis Binet de Marcognet joined the French army in 1781 as an officer cadet and fought in the American Revolutionary War. During the French Revolutionary Wars he fought in the Army of the Rhine and was wounded at First and Second Wissembourg. After being dismissed from the army for a year and a half for having noble blood, he resumed his military career and was wounded at Biberach and Kehl. Promoted to lead the 108th Line Infantry Demi-Brigade, he was in the thick of the fighting at Hohenlinden in 1800, where he was wounded and captured.

The Battle of Carpio or Battle of El Carpio took place at El Carpio, near Medina del Campo, Valladolid, on 23 November 1809, between a Spanish force of 19,000 men commanded by the Lieutenant-General Diego de Cañas y Portocarrero, Duke del Parque and a French force of 10,000 regulars and 1,700 cavalry under the General François Étienne de Kellermann during the Peninsular War. The French forces were defeated and forced to leave the town. In this struggle, died two distinguished Spanish leaders, Salvador de Molina and Colonel Juan Drimgold.

<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.

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

The Spanish Army of the Peninsular War refers to the Spanish military units that fought against France's Grande Armée during a period which coincided with what is also termed the Spanish War of Independence.

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

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.

Martín de La Carrera was a Spanish military commander.

References

Preceded by
Battle of Almonacid
Napoleonic Wars
Battle of Tamames
Succeeded by
Battle of Ocaña