Battle of Almonacid
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Almonacid was fought on August 11, 1809 during the Peninsular War
between Sébastiani's IV Corps of the French Peninsular Army, which had withdrawn from the Battle of Talavera to defend Madrid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
uhlan
s, the battle resulted in a French victory.
, general Venegas was animated by his small secured advantage. Assuming that the French did not have more than 14,000 men, he led to the army of La Mancha towards Toledo
, reuniting all forces on 10 August in Almonacid
. It consisted of 22,000 infantry, more than 3,000 horses and 29 pieces of artillery. The army was organized in five divisions commanded respectively by D. Luis Lacy, D. Gaspar de Vigodet
, D. Pedro Agustín Girón
, D. Francisco González de Castejón and D. Tomás de Zeraín. They exerted the position of Major Cavalry and general of the infantry, D. Miguel de los Ríos and Marquess of Gelo, and those of Commander-in-chief of Artillery and Engineers, Brigadier
is D. Antonio de la Cruz and D. Juan Bouligni. Believing they had achieved victory, that was not respected any of the rules established in the regulations to stand out in time military, mainly, being so next the enemy that the previous day had passed through Toledo and the fords of Añover de Tajo
, settling down the same day 20 August, in the immediate town of Nambroca
, one league from Almonacid.
The Spanish caudillo, after listening to the opinion of the rest of generals, in agreement with him in spite of knowing to the retirement of the allied army from Talavera de la Reina towards Extremadura
, had determined to attack the French 12 August to give rest to his troops; but those were anticipated, appearing against the positions of the Spaniards to five and average in the morning of 11 August, with 26,000 infantry, 4,000 horses and 40 pieces of IV the Body to the control of Sebastiani, and of the one of Reserve to the orders of Dessolles and of Joseph Bonaparte
in person. The army of La Mancha was placed hastily in front of Almonacid and in both flanks: the Vigodet division, a little delayed, in the extreme right, with great part of the cavalry; they followed by its left, the Castejón division, established on the hill of Utrera
, the Zeraín division to its side covering the call hill Santo, and the one of Lacy, next to the Guazalate stream; 3ª, (of Girón), was distributed between the height of the Cerrojones, it carried far left and true key of all the front line, and the hill de la Cruz or of the castle, call thus by the ruins del that is becoming in its top, to serve as reserve.
with Polish and German divisions attacked the Spanish left wing. The poorly reinforced battalions of Bailén
and Jaén
, of 3ª Division, twice repelled the Poles, but the Polish division, encouraged by the Germans who arrived later, was able to overwhelm the position of the Cerrojones. This victory was somewhat pyrrhic; the three Polish regiments that constituted the division lost 47 officers and high-ranking officials, supported its right in a great picture that advanced by the level one on the foot of that one hill, carrying out a bypassing on the extreme left, without [could prevent it a load of the riders of Fernando VII and Granada
, directed by colonel D. Antonio Zea and commander D. Nicholas Chacón (died in this load captain D. Francisco Grove). 1ª division, to be able to do in front of the Germans, had to back down somewhat and to be placed oblique to the rear suffering itself some time, but as then the center and the right backed down already as well, undertaken by the remaining enemy forces, supported by the reserve, that with Dessolles and Jose Bonaparte finished arriving at the battlefield, it was itself also forced to take refuge in the hill of the Castle.
). Also died on the battlefield the lieutenant colonel of the same Body Don Alvaro Chacón), maintained with great energy, distinguishing itself by its serenity and boldness the regiments of Jerez de la Frontera
, Córdoba
and Spanish Guards, guidance the second by its colonel Brigadier
Don Francisco Carvajal; but the cavalry of its right did not take the initiated load ahead to contain to the French and these were able to carry out their attack with all happiness, and as 5ª division yielded the field in the same way, the enemy in also occupying the town and the hill of the Castle did not take much, not being able the Spanish troops to resist in him the terrible rain of projectiles that of all parts went the French artillery. He took part with much opportunity at the fight, preventing that the defeat was of course immediate and disastrous, the Vigodet division, that executed with great quickness and ability front a change, protected by the alive fire of our guns, containing therefore the persecution of the dispersed troops of the center and happening soon with the same order to the left, where the divisions Polish and German threatened to surround the line completely and to cut retirement. There 2ª was against again Division to the advance of the winners, who tried then to throughout break that one unexpected obstacle that he prevented to remove to major divided from its triumph, loading a great mass them of French cavalry, the terrible dragoons of Milhaud, for its left, and in that one last period of the battle the troops of Vigodet crowned of glory, competing the three arms in value and self-denial; the artillery, that made fire during withdrawal, covering with shrapnel the imperial column heads; the cavalry, formed by riders of different Bodies that went reuniting of the dispersed ones, even imposing with its firm attitude to very the superior of the enemy; and the infantry maintaining itself imperturbable in the middle of the violent fire that received and from the confusion and disorder that around reigned to his (a squad of grenadiers of Provincial of Round sent by the lieutenant Don Antonio Espinosa, making end towards the enemy riders with the pierced bayonet, was able to stop them and until taking of her hands a tube, that his head nailed. The artillery second lieutenant, Don Juan Montenegro also managed to heroically save a piece of his battery) and sacrificing itself by his comrades-in-arms; only the unfortunate accident of the blast of ammunition carriers, frightening the horses, produced some disorder that took advantage of the enemy, harassing and harassing more of near the last steps, to stab a few soldiers and to take some pieces.
, and the payable army could take the highway from Andalusia
and arrive in good order at Manzanares
; but running there the unfounded voice of which the opposites were in Valdepeñas
(Ciudad Real), dispersed many Bodies, not stopping until Sierra Morena
. The losses of the Spaniards did not pass of 4,000 men, between deads, hurt and prisoners, counting enters the first the 1ª, infantry regiment commander of Spain division, Don Vicente Martínez
, and between the seconds, colonel of dragoons of Granada Don Diego Ballesteros, that was prisoner (to commemorate this feat of arms was created by Real Order of 30 May 1816, a decoration with the following inscription in center: "By Fernando VII", and in its contour: "In Almonacid, 11 of August of 1809").
Spain°N date=June 2009°W
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War was a war between France and the allied powers of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars. The war began when French and Spanish armies crossed Spain and invaded Portugal in 1807. Then, in 1808, France turned on its...
between Sébastiani's IV Corps of the French Peninsular Army, which had withdrawn from the Battle of Talavera to defend Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, and the Spanish Army of La Mancha
La Mancha
La Mancha is a natural and historical region or greater comarca located on an arid, fertile, elevated plateau of central Spain, south of Madrid, stretching between the Montes de Toledo and the western spurs of the Serrania de Cuenca. It is bounded on the south by the Sierra Morena and on the north...
under General Venegas. After the decisive charges of Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
uhlan
Uhlan
Uhlans were Polish light cavalry armed with lances, sabres and pistols. The title was later used by lancer regiments in the Russian, Prussian, and Austrian armies....
s, the battle resulted in a French victory.
Preparation
After the battle of AranjuezMutiny of Aranjuez
The Mutiny of Aranjuez, or Motín de Aranjuez as it is known in Spain, was an early nineteenth century popular uprising against King Charles IV, which managed to overthrow him and place his son, Ferdinand VII, on the throne...
, general Venegas was animated by his small secured advantage. Assuming that the French did not have more than 14,000 men, he led to the army of La Mancha towards Toledo
Toledo, Spain
Toledo's Alcázar became renowned in the 19th and 20th centuries as a military academy. At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 its garrison was famously besieged by Republican forces.-Economy:...
, reuniting all forces on 10 August in Almonacid
Almonacid de Toledo
Almonacid de Toledo is a municipality located in the province of Toledo, Castile-La Mancha, Spain. According to the 2006 census , the municipality has a population of 813 inhabitants....
. It consisted of 22,000 infantry, more than 3,000 horses and 29 pieces of artillery. The army was organized in five divisions commanded respectively by D. Luis Lacy, D. Gaspar de Vigodet
Gaspar de Vigodet
Gaspar de Vigodet was a Spanish military with French roots and last Royalist Governor of Montevideo....
, D. Pedro Agustín Girón
Pedro Agustín Girón
Pedro Agustín Girón, 4th Marquis de las Amarilas, Duque of Ahumada was a Spanish military officer and politician. The son of a general, he fought against the French during the French Revolutionary Wars. During the Napoleonic Wars he became a general officer and again fought the French...
, D. Francisco González de Castejón and D. Tomás de Zeraín. They exerted the position of Major Cavalry and general of the infantry, D. Miguel de los Ríos and Marquess of Gelo, and those of Commander-in-chief of Artillery and Engineers, Brigadier
Brigadier
Brigadier is a senior military rank, the meaning of which is somewhat different in different military services. The brigadier rank is generally superior to the rank of colonel, and subordinate to major general....
is D. Antonio de la Cruz and D. Juan Bouligni. Believing they had achieved victory, that was not respected any of the rules established in the regulations to stand out in time military, mainly, being so next the enemy that the previous day had passed through Toledo and the fords of Añover de Tajo
Añover de Tajo
Añover de Tajo is a municipality located in the province of Toledo, Castile-La Mancha, Spain. According to the 2006 census , the municipality has a population of 5095 inhabitants....
, settling down the same day 20 August, in the immediate town of Nambroca
Nambroca
Nambroca is a municipality located in the province of Toledo, Castile-La Mancha, Spain....
, one league from Almonacid.
Previous movements
Extremadura
Extremadura is an autonomous community of western Spain whose capital city is Mérida. Its component provinces are Cáceres and Badajoz. It is bordered by Portugal to the west...
, had determined to attack the French 12 August to give rest to his troops; but those were anticipated, appearing against the positions of the Spaniards to five and average in the morning of 11 August, with 26,000 infantry, 4,000 horses and 40 pieces of IV the Body to the control of Sebastiani, and of the one of Reserve to the orders of Dessolles and of Joseph Bonaparte
Joseph Bonaparte
Joseph-Napoléon Bonaparte was the elder brother of Napoleon Bonaparte, who made him King of Naples and Sicily , and later King of Spain...
in person. The army of La Mancha was placed hastily in front of Almonacid and in both flanks: the Vigodet division, a little delayed, in the extreme right, with great part of the cavalry; they followed by its left, the Castejón division, established on the hill of Utrera
Utrera
Utrera is a municipality in south-west Spain. It is in the province of Seville, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. As of 2008 it has a population close to 50,202....
, the Zeraín division to its side covering the call hill Santo, and the one of Lacy, next to the Guazalate stream; 3ª, (of Girón), was distributed between the height of the Cerrojones, it carried far left and true key of all the front line, and the hill de la Cruz or of the castle, call thus by the ruins del that is becoming in its top, to serve as reserve.
First attacks
After a very violent fire of artillery, well answered by the Spaniards, General LewalJules Louis Lewal
Jules Louis Lewal was a French general.-Biography:He was born in Paris; entered the army in 1846; served in the Italian campaign of 1859, with the French troops in Mexico , and, after cooperation with Adolphe Niel in the army reforms, in the Franco-Prussian War...
with Polish and German divisions attacked the Spanish left wing. The poorly reinforced battalions of Bailén
Bailen
Bailen may refer to:* Bailén, a town in Jaén, Spain* Battle of Bailén of 1808* General Emilio Aguinaldo, Cavite, a town in the Philippines, which was formerly known as Bailen...
and Jaén
Jaén, Spain
Jaén is a city in south-central Spain, the name is derived from the Arabic word Jayyan, . It is the capital of the province of Jaén. It is located in the autonomous community of Andalusia....
, of 3ª Division, twice repelled the Poles, but the Polish division, encouraged by the Germans who arrived later, was able to overwhelm the position of the Cerrojones. This victory was somewhat pyrrhic; the three Polish regiments that constituted the division lost 47 officers and high-ranking officials, supported its right in a great picture that advanced by the level one on the foot of that one hill, carrying out a bypassing on the extreme left, without [could prevent it a load of the riders of Fernando VII and Granada
Granada
Granada is a city and the capital of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence of three rivers, the Beiro, the Darro and the Genil. It sits at an elevation of 738 metres above sea...
, directed by colonel D. Antonio Zea and commander D. Nicholas Chacón (died in this load captain D. Francisco Grove). 1ª division, to be able to do in front of the Germans, had to back down somewhat and to be placed oblique to the rear suffering itself some time, but as then the center and the right backed down already as well, undertaken by the remaining enemy forces, supported by the reserve, that with Dessolles and Jose Bonaparte finished arriving at the battlefield, it was itself also forced to take refuge in the hill of the Castle.
Battle commences
4ª division, very robust fought by numerous enemy artillery, whose fire answered only one A battery horse (its head the lieutenant colonel, captain of Artillery, Don Jose Chacón, fell in a moment mortally wounded and died on 13 August in TemblequeTembleque
Tembleque is also a coconut dessert pudding from Puerto Rico.Tembleque is made by cooking coconut milk or coconut cream with milk, salt, cornstarch, and sugar with spices such as cloves, cinnamon, vanilla, and nutmeg...
). Also died on the battlefield the lieutenant colonel of the same Body Don Alvaro Chacón), maintained with great energy, distinguishing itself by its serenity and boldness the regiments of Jerez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera is a municipality in the province of Cádiz in the autonomous community of Andalusia, in southwestern Spain, situated midway between the sea and the mountains. , the city, the largest in the province, had 208,896 inhabitants; it is the fifth largest in Andalusia...
, Córdoba
Córdoba, Spain
-History:The first trace of human presence in the area are remains of a Neanderthal Man, dating to c. 32,000 BC. In the 8th century BC, during the ancient Tartessos period, a pre-urban settlement existed. The population gradually learned copper and silver metallurgy...
and Spanish Guards, guidance the second by its colonel Brigadier
Brigadier
Brigadier is a senior military rank, the meaning of which is somewhat different in different military services. The brigadier rank is generally superior to the rank of colonel, and subordinate to major general....
Don Francisco Carvajal; but the cavalry of its right did not take the initiated load ahead to contain to the French and these were able to carry out their attack with all happiness, and as 5ª division yielded the field in the same way, the enemy in also occupying the town and the hill of the Castle did not take much, not being able the Spanish troops to resist in him the terrible rain of projectiles that of all parts went the French artillery. He took part with much opportunity at the fight, preventing that the defeat was of course immediate and disastrous, the Vigodet division, that executed with great quickness and ability front a change, protected by the alive fire of our guns, containing therefore the persecution of the dispersed troops of the center and happening soon with the same order to the left, where the divisions Polish and German threatened to surround the line completely and to cut retirement. There 2ª was against again Division to the advance of the winners, who tried then to throughout break that one unexpected obstacle that he prevented to remove to major divided from its triumph, loading a great mass them of French cavalry, the terrible dragoons of Milhaud, for its left, and in that one last period of the battle the troops of Vigodet crowned of glory, competing the three arms in value and self-denial; the artillery, that made fire during withdrawal, covering with shrapnel the imperial column heads; the cavalry, formed by riders of different Bodies that went reuniting of the dispersed ones, even imposing with its firm attitude to very the superior of the enemy; and the infantry maintaining itself imperturbable in the middle of the violent fire that received and from the confusion and disorder that around reigned to his (a squad of grenadiers of Provincial of Round sent by the lieutenant Don Antonio Espinosa, making end towards the enemy riders with the pierced bayonet, was able to stop them and until taking of her hands a tube, that his head nailed. The artillery second lieutenant, Don Juan Montenegro also managed to heroically save a piece of his battery) and sacrificing itself by his comrades-in-arms; only the unfortunate accident of the blast of ammunition carriers, frightening the horses, produced some disorder that took advantage of the enemy, harassing and harassing more of near the last steps, to stab a few soldiers and to take some pieces.
End of the battle
The imperial ones, that had already taken 2,500 losses, did not take to the active persecution beyond MoraMora, Spain
Mora is a town and municipality in Toledo province, in the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha, Spain. The area is most famous for the abandoned ruins of the San Marcos de Yegros monastery of the Order of Santiago, located northeast of the town of Mora about 10 km on the Calle de los...
, and the payable army could take the highway from Andalusia
Andalusia
Andalusia is the most populous and the second largest in area of the autonomous communities of Spain. The Andalusian autonomous community is officially recognised as a nationality of Spain. The territory is divided into eight provinces: Huelva, Seville, Cádiz, Córdoba, Málaga, Jaén, Granada and...
and arrive in good order at Manzanares
Manzanares, Ciudad Real
Manzanares, Ciudad Real is a municipality in Ciudad Real, Castile-La Mancha, Spain. It has a population of 19,186 . It is located near the Autovía A-4 ....
; but running there the unfounded voice of which the opposites were in Valdepeñas
Valdepeñas
Valdepeñas is a municipality in the province of Ciudad Real, in the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha, Spain. It is also the seat of the judicial district that covers the localities of Moral de Calatrava, Santa Cruz de Mudela, Viso del Marqués, Torrenueva, Castellar de Santiago and...
(Ciudad Real), dispersed many Bodies, not stopping until Sierra Morena
Sierra Morena
The Sierra Morena is one of the main systems of mountain ranges in Spain.It stretches for 400 kilometres East-West across southern Spain, forming the southern border of the Meseta Central plateau of the Iberian Peninsula, and providing the watershed between the valleys of the Guadiana to the...
. The losses of the Spaniards did not pass of 4,000 men, between deads, hurt and prisoners, counting enters the first the 1ª, infantry regiment commander of Spain division, Don Vicente Martínez
Vicente Martínez
Vicente Martinez is a Spanish painter.Martinez presented his work for the first time in public in 1997 and has participated in numerous individual and collective expositions throughout the country.- External links :*...
, and between the seconds, colonel of dragoons of Granada Don Diego Ballesteros, that was prisoner (to commemorate this feat of arms was created by Real Order of 30 May 1816, a decoration with the following inscription in center: "By Fernando VII", and in its contour: "In Almonacid, 11 of August of 1809").
External links
- Details of the Battale of Almonacid in Spanish
Spain°N date=June 2009°W