Andalusia Andalusia Andalusia ' onMouseout='HidePop("92024")' href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Sierra_Morena">Sierra Morena
The Sierra Morena is a mountain range which stretches for 400 km East-West across southern Spain, forming the border of the central plateau of Iberia, and providing the watershed between the valleys of the Guadiana to the north and the Guadalquivir to the south.Situated within the province of...
, hoping for help from Madrid. General Gobert's division set out from Madrid on July 2, aiming to succour Dupont's beleaguered forces. However, only one brigade of his division ultimately reached Dupont, the rest being needed to hold the road north against the guerrillas.
Dupont retreated fitfully in the sweltering heat, impeded by 500 wagons of loot and 1,200 ill. A French
surgeonIn medicine, a surgeon is a person who performs surgery. Surgery is a broad category of invasive medical treatment that involves the cutting of a body, whether human or animal, for a specific reason such to remove a diseased organ or to repair a tear or breakage. Surgeons may be medical doctors,...
remarked: "Our little army carried enough baggage for 150,000 men. Mere captains required wagons drawn by four mules. We counted more than 50 chariots per battalion, the result of the plunder of Cordoba. All our movements were impeded. We owed our defeat to the greed of our generals."
Vedel crosses the Sierra
Napoleon and the French strategists, anxious about their communications with Bayonne and wary of a British descent upon a
Biscayan coastThe Bay of Biscay or the Cantabrian Sea is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea...
already in open revolt, initially prioritized operations in the north of Spain. In mid-June General Lasalle's victory at
CabezónThe Battle of Cabezón was an engagement early in the Peninsular War on June 12, 1808 between a small Spanish militia force and a detachment of Marshal Bessières' French Army Corps under General Lasalle....
simplified matters tremendously; with the Spanish militias around
Valladolid||-||} is a historic city and municipality in north-central Spain, upon the Pisuerga River and within the Ribera del Duero wine-making region. It is the capital of the province of Valladolid and of the autonomous community of Castile and Leon.- Etymology :...
destroyed and much of
Old CastileOld Castile is a historic region of Spain, which included territory that later corresponded to the provinces of politically, Santander , Burgos, Logroño , Soria, Segovia, Ávila, Valladolid, Palencia....
overrun, Savary shifted his gaze south and resolved to reopen communications with Dupont in Andalusia. Apart from the menace in the north, Napoleon was most anxious to secure the Andalusian provinces, where the traditional, rural peasantry was expected to resist Joseph's rule. On June 19 General Vedel with the
2nd DivisionThe French 2 Infantry Division was one of the oldest divisions of the French army.-Heads of the 2 Infantry Division:* 22/03/1815: Division General Donzelot*.*1870: General Martineau des Chenez*....
was dispatched south from Toledo to force a passage over the
Sierra MorenaThe Sierra Morena is a mountain range which stretches for 400 km East-West across southern Spain, forming the border of the central plateau of Iberia, and providing the watershed between the valleys of the Guadiana to the north and the Guadalquivir to the south.Situated within the province of...
, hold the mountains from the guerrillas, and link up with Dupont, pacifying
Castile-La ManchaCastile-La Mancha is an autonomous community of Spain.Castile-La Mancha is bordered by Castile and León, Madrid, Aragon, Valencia, Murcia, Andalusia, and Extremadura...
along the way.
Vedel set out with 6,000 men, 700 horse, and 12 guns, to which were added on the march small detachments under Generals Roize and Ligier-Belair. The column raced across the plains, encountering no resistance, although stragglers were seized and cut down by the locals. Reaching the sierra on June 26, the column found a detachment of Spanish regulars, smugglers, and guerrillas with six guns under Lieutenant-Colonel Valdecanos blocking the
Peurta del Rey. Vedel's troops stormed the ridge and overran the enemy cannon, losing 17 dead or wounded, and pushed south over the mountains toward
La CarolinaLa Carolina is a city located in the province of Jaén, Spain. According to the 2006 census , the city has a population of 15576 inhabitants....
. The next day they encountered a detachment of Dupont's troops preparing to attack these same passes from the south side. With this junction, communications between Dupont and Madrid were reestablished after a month of silence.
Confused orders
Vedel carried new orders from Madrid and Bayonne: Dupont was instructed to stop his march on Cádiz and fall back north-eastwards on the mountains (a fait accompli), watching the Spanish movements in Andalusia while awaiting reinforcements (to be released upon the capitulation of Saragossa and Valencia.) But for a time Moncey was simply nowhere to be found. At length his defeat at the gates of Valencia surfaced; 17,000 Spaniards under the Conde de Cervellón massed victoriously around that city, and all prospects evaporated of Moncey's corps pivoting west from Valencia toward
GranadaGranada is a city and the capital of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain.- Overview :The city of Granada is placed at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence of three rivers, Beiro, Darro and Genil, at an elevation of 738 metres above sea...
and coupling with Dupont in a two-pronged invasion of Andalusia. Nor were troops forthcoming from
AragonAragon is an autonomous community of Spain. Located in northeastern Spain, the region comprises three provinces from north to south: Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel. Its capital is Zaragoza .Aragon's northern province of Huesca borders France and is positioned in the middle of the Pyrenees...
, as Saragossa shook off repeated French assaults and vowed to fight to the death. Meanwhile, Savary set to work preparing for the arrival of Joseph in his new capital. Many of the scattered French formations were drawn back around Madrid for security; Dupont was ordered to remain close at hand to succor the capital if Bessières' campaign in the north took a turn for the worse and Spanish armies appeared on the horizon.
Yet at no time was Dupont's Andalusian expedition altogether scrapped. Savary continued to issue vague orders promising reinforcements at an undisclosed date while Napoleon fumed at the prospect of abandoning even
AndújarAndújar , a town of southern Spain, in the province of Jaén; on the right bank of the river Guadalquivir and the Madrid-Córdoba railway. Pop...
to the Spaniards. With events hanging in the air, Dupont chose to hold his ground along the
GuadalquivirThe Guadalquivir is the second longest river in Spain , and the longest in Andalusia. The Guadalquivir is 657 kilometers long and drains an area of about 58,000 square kilometers...
, sacking and occupying the town of
BailénBailen 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 the provincial capital of Jaén, instead of completing his retrograde movement to the strong positions atop the sierra's defiles. Napoleon wrote lightly, "even if he suffers a setback, ...he will just have to come back over the Sierra."
A precarious position
While Dupont lingered at Andújar with two divisions (Generals Barbou and Fresia), attempting to master the strategic Madrid—Seville highway and the wide plains which it crossed, Castaños' four divisions advanced steadily from the south and guerrillas from Granada marched to bar the road to the sierra and La Mancha beyond. Vedel's division was posted east to Bailén with a view to guarding these nearby mountain passes and on July 1 Vedel was forced to dispatch a brigade under General Cassagne to curb the advance of the guerrillas on Jaén and La Carolina, stretching the French line still further east. Meanwhile, General Liger-Belair with 1,500 men moved into a forward post at Mengibar, a village on the south bank of the Guadalquivir. At Andújar a tower by the river was fortified and small
field worksFortifications are military constructions and buildings designed for defense in warfare and military bases. Humans have constructed defensive works for many thousands of years, in a variety of increasingly complex designs...
constructed on the south bank to forestall an enemy crossing, but, the Guadalquivir being fordable at so many points, and open to fire from the surrounding hills, Dupont's defences did not inspire much confidence. Cassagne, after driving the guerrillas off in rout, returned to Bailén on July 5 with 200 dead or wounded and nothing to show for his exertion—the Spaniards having plundered the towns of all provisions.
Glimmers of the long-promised reinforcements appeared at last: Generals Gobert and Lefranc passed the
Puerta del Rey July 15, leaving behind a strong garrison in the Morena, and descended into Andalusia with their remaining infantry and
cuirassierCuirassiers were mounted cavalry soldiers equipped with armour and firearms, first appearing in late 15th-century Europe. They were the successors of the medieval armoured knights...
s. Dupont now had over 20,000 men idling along the Guadalquivir while the Spaniards massed and approached. But supplies were scarce and the Spanish peasants had deserted their fields, obliging Dupont's wearied men to bring in the harvest, grind the grain, and bake their own rations; 600 men fell ill during their fortnight's stay by drinking the putrid waters of the Guadalquivir. According to French testimony, "The situation was terrible. Every night, we heard armed peasants roaming around us, drawn to our goods, and every night, we expected to be assassinated."
Early fighting
On July 9 General La Peña's division took up a position extending from Carpio to
PorcuñasPorcuna is a village and municipality in the province of Jaén in Andalusia, Spain, 42 km from Jaén and 50 km from Córdoba. The primary occupation of the 6,990 inhabitants is olive growing...
and the Army of Andalusia began a number of demonstrations against the French. From west to east along the Guadalquivir, Castaños with 14,000 men (La Peña and Jones) approached Dupont at Andujar, Coupigny advanced his division to Villa Nueva, and Reding prepared to force a passage at Mengibar and swing north to Bailén, outflanking the French and cutting Dupont's line of retreat to the mountains. Marching east to Jaén, Reding delivered a strong attack against the French right wing between July 2 and July 3, sending the 3rd Swiss regiment into the teeth of Cassagne's brigade. The Spaniards were forced back (losing 1,500 casualties according to
General FoyMaximilien Sébastien Foy was a French military leader, statesman and writer.-Revolution:He was born in Ham, Somme, and educated in the military school of La Fere, and made sub-lieutenant of artillery in 1792. He was present at the battles of Valmy and Jemappes, and in 1793 obtained a company, as...
), but the isolated French brigade felt its danger and on the 4th Cassagne fell back over the Guadalquivir to Bailén, leaving only a few
companiesA company is a military unit, typically consisting of 75-200 soldiers. Most companies are formed of three to five platoons although the exact number may vary by country, unit type, and structure...
to guard the ferry at Mengibar.
Reding assaulted Mengibar anew on July 13 and drove Ligier-Belair from the village after a hard fight; at the appearance of Vedel's division, however, the Spanish column quietly drew back and French infantry reclaimed the town. The next day Coupigny tested the grounds at Villa Neuva and engaged the French piquets opposite him in a sharp skirmish. Castaños reached the heights at Arjonilla on July 15 and, setting up a battery on a ridge overlooking Andújar, opened a vigorous fire on Dupont. At the same time, 1,600–4,000 skirmishers and irregulars under
ColonelColonel is a military rank of a commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every country in the world. It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
De la CruzJuan de la Cruz Mourgeón y Achet was a Spanish general and colonial administrator. He fought in the Spanish War of Independence against the French, and in the Viceroyalty of New Granada against rebels supporting independence...
forded the river near
MarmolejoMarmolejo is a city located in the province of Jaén, Spain. According to the 2005 census , the city has a population of 7605 inhabitants.-External links:* - Sistema de Información Multiterritorial de Andalucía...
and attacked towards Dupont's rear, but were handily repulsed by a French battalion and dispersed into the hills. Alarmed by this show of force, Dupont called on Vedel to release a battalion or even a brigade to his assistance, and Vedel, judging that Mengibar was not seriously threatened, set out in the night with his entire division. The arrival of Vedel with this sizeable force put an end to the threat at Andújar but gravely imperilled left the French right wing (Mengibar—Bailén—La Carolina), leaving Ligier-Belair, opposite the intrepid Reding, seriously denuded of troops.
Battle
On July 16, Dupont and Vedel, expecting a desperate struggle for Andújar, found Castaños and Coupigny merely repeating the previous day's noisy demonstrations without seriously attempting a passage. Reding, however, was on the move: making a
feintFeint is a French term that entered English from the discipline of fencing. Feints are maneuvers designed to distract or mislead, done by giving the impression that a certain maneuver will take place, while in fact another, or even none, will...
toward the Mengibar
ferryA ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
with his sharpshooters, the Swiss forded the river upstream at Rincon and, encircling Mengibar, crushed the French battalions under Ligier-Belair. General Gobert, rushing forth from Bailén to plug the gap, was shot in the head and later died of the wound, and his counterattack, carried on by Brigadier-General Dufour, collapsed under the weight of the Spaniards. Distracting Reding with repeated charges from his cuirassiers, Dufour disengaged his men and fell back onto Bailén.
Alerted to the loss of Mengibar, Dupont hesitated once again. Unwilling to take advantage of Vedel's presence to engage in a trial of strength with Castaños—a successful attack on the Arjonilla might have turned the Spanish line in return and allowed Dupont to swing across the rear of Coupigny and Reding—Dupont hunkered down at Andújar and ordered Vedel's weary division back to Bailén to prevent the collapse of the right wing.
The right wings disengage
The fighting around Mengibar then took a curious turn: Reding, having finally gained the north bank and turned the French flank, suddenly retreated to the other side of the river, perhaps feeling isolated with his lone division. At the same time, guerrillas under Colonel Valdecanos made an unwelcome appearance on Dufour's flank, scattering his outposts and menacing the road to the
Puerta del Rey. Dufour, conscious of the danger to the mountain passes, set off to confront the Spanish flankers at
GuarrománGuarromán is a city located in the province of Jaén, Spain. According to the 2006 census , the city has a population of 2904 inhabitants....
and La Carolina. Consequently, when Vedel, by another tiring night march, retraced his steps to Bailén, he found the position oddly deserted of both friend and foe.
When his reconnaissance parties made no contact with the enemy at the Guadalquivir, Vedel concluded that Reding had shifted his division to another point along the line. Dufour sent back alarming reports from Guarromán, convincing Vedel that 10,000 Spaniards—perhaps Reding's division, he warned—were marching on the mountains to their rear. This was too much. Gathering his exhausted division, Vedel hurried to Dufour's aid on July 17, arriving at Santa Carolina the next day. Dufour's fatal blunder was soon revealed. Vedel discovered that the small band of irregulars roaming about were not at all the threat Dufour had described; for the third time the Spaniards had stolen a march from him, and Reding still hovered somewhere around Mengibar, out of sight. Worse yet, an enormous gap now existed between Dupont and Vedel, and not a single battalion remained to prevent Reding from seizing the
central positionThe strategy of the central position was a key strategy used by Napoleon in the Napoleonic Wars. It involved attacking of two cooperating armies at their hinge, swinging around to fight one until it fled, then turning to face the other. The strategy allowed the use of a smaller force to defeat a...
at Bailén.
Trapped
News of Vedel's ill-advised movements reached Dupont at noon on July 18 and convinced him of the need to fall back on Bailén, recall Vedel there as well, and concentrate his dangerously scattered army: "I do not care to occupy Andujar. That post is of no consequence." Judging it best to conceal his departure if possible from Castaños' menacing columns across the river, and needing time to prepare his wagons and carriages, Dupont postponed the retreat till nightfall. Meanwhile, Reding, calling up Coupigny's division from Villa Nueva, had crossed at Mengibar on July 17 and handily seized the deserted Bailén,
bivouacingA bivouac traditionally refers to a military encampment made with tents or improvised shelters, usually without shelter or protection from enemy fire or such a site where a camp may be built. It is also commonly used to describe a variety of improvised camp sites such as those used in scouting and...
there the night and preparing to swing west towards Dupont's—and what he assumed to be Vedel's (oblivious as he was to the latter's recent movements)—positions in the morning.
Vedel quit La Carolina at 5:00 a.m. July 18 and rushed the remains of the bone-weary French right wing south-west toward Bailén, unwittingly bearing down on Reding's rear. Both armies were now north of the Guadalquivir and staggered in a curious position: Dupont between Castaños and Reding; Reding between Dupont and Vedel. At Guarromán, scarcely two leagues from Bailén, Vedel rested his troops for a few hours—"he could not refuse this," says General Foy, "after three days and three nights of incessant marching"—while patrols shot west to
LinharesLinhares is the name of a municipality in the state of Espírito Santo, Brazil, 135 km north of the state capital, Vitória . It is the largest municipality by area in the state, at 9,501.604 km², and has a population of 130,901 people Linhares is the name of a municipality in the state of...
to secure his rear. Aware neither that Dupont was preparing to move in his direction, nor that Vedel was now in fact drawing in behind him, Reding, posting a few battalions to hold Bailén from whatever French formations might remain in the east, set off with his two divisions westwards July 18, intending to surround Andújar from the rear and smash Dupont against Castaños.
Dupont slipped away from Andújar unobserved and at dawn July 19, his
vanguardA vanguard is the forward element of an advancing military tactical formation...
under Brigadier Chabert made contact with Reding's leading elements (veterans of the Walloon Guard) just shy of Bailén. Though caught off guard, Reding reacted "with promptitude and skill," dissolving his columns and drawing up a defensive line with 20 guns in an
oliveThe Olive is a species of a small tree in the family Oleaceae, native to the coastal areas of the eastern Mediterranean Basin, from Lebanon, Syria and the maritime parts of Turkey and northern Iran at the south end of the Caspian Sea...
grove intersected with deep ravines, about two miles from Dupont's main body. Badly underestimating the force before him, Chabert charged his 3,000 men into Reding's two divisions and was
enfiladedEnfilade and defilade are concepts in military tactics used to describe a military formation's exposure to enemy fire. In addition, enfilade fire is used to describe gunfire directed against an "enfiladed" formation or position...
and repulsed with heavy losses. Dupont, following with the main body of the convoy at two leagues' distance, halted the bloodied vanguard, posted General Barbou to defend the rear against any pursuit by Castaños, and ordered all other formations to the fore in an attempt to crack Reding's line.
Expecting to be overtaken and crushed by Castaños' columns at any moment—one division under La Peña had already crossed to Andújar in pursuit and approached steadily—Dupont committed his troops piecemeal, without massing a reserve. As one historian observes, "his troops...were both exhausted and strung out, and to commit them to battle in dribs and drabs was foolhardy in the extreme." Brigadiers Chabert and Dupré led an infantry brigade and the chasseurs against the left wing, held by the Walloon Guards, but no ground was gained and Dupré fell mortally wounded at the head of his troops. Dupont's scattered guns were laboriously formed into batteries to support the attack only to be knocked out by the heavier Spanish artillery once the firing began. On the right, opposite Reding's militias and Swiss regulars, a fierce and desperate attack bent back the Spanish line. The cuirassiers trampled an enemy infantry regiment and sabred the gunners, but the Spaniards, extending their line and maintaining a constant fire, compelled the French to abandon the captured guns and fall back.
Fresh troops came up at 10:00 a.m. and Dupont immediately launched a second attack, with General Pannetier's brigade leading the charge. One last formation joined them; d'Augier's marines of the Imperial Guard, possibly the best troops present: "They were only three hundred men, but they were three hundred whom no fears could ever make falter." Dupont, himself wounded in the hip, grouped his worn out regiments around the Guard battalion in a last effort to break through to Bailén. At this point reserves may have pierced the badly-shaken Spanish line: Dupont had none, his efforts slackened, and, despite the Guard's valiant strives, French troops were forced back down the slope for the third time. Two final blows sealed the French fate: first, Dupont's Swiss regiments, originally in Spanish service, defected, arms and baggage, to their former masters; and lastly, Castaños' force finally arrived, overtaking Barbou along the Rumblar (a small tributary flowing from the Morena into the Guadalquivir), with La Peña's division sounding its guns and preparing to storm the French rearguard. The day was won.
Closing moves
An unexpected Spanish reinforcement appeared suddenly in the last minutes of the battle, slipping south out of the foothills along the Rumblar and taking up positions among the rocks on the French left flank: Colonel de la Cruz. Driven off into the mountains in the attack of July 16, de la Cruz had regrouped 2,000 sharpshooters at Peñas del Moral and climbed back down towards the battle, directed by the sound of firing. Dupont was now hopelessly surrounded on three sides.
Towards noon, as Dupont's guns went quiet, Vedel continued from Guarromán onto Bailén and observed napping troops which he assumed to be Dupont's vanguard returning from Andújar—in fact they were Reding's Spaniards. Vedel and Reding prepared for battle, the latter pulling up Legrange's cuirassiers, Cassagne's legion, and Dufour's brigade for the attack. On the Spanish side, Reding deployed Coupigny's division to meet the threat, with an Irish battalion and two guns on a knoll leading up to the mountains; a regiment of regular troops, the
Órdenes militares, at the San Cristóbal
monasteryMonastery , a term derived from the Greek word μοναστήριον, neut. of μοναστήριος - monasterios denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer Monastery (plural: monasteries), a term derived from the Greek word μοναστήριον, neut. of μοναστήριος - monasterios...
; militia in support; and the other battalions drawn up behind, in the centre. Two Spanish officers approached Vedel under a flag of truce, announcing that Dupont had been badly defeated and had proposed to suspend arms; the Frenchman replied, "Tell your General, that I care nothing about that, and that I am going to attack him."
Vedel directed Cassagne's legion, supported by Boussard's
dragoonDragoons were originally infantrymen deployed by horse, but later became cavalry. They were therefore trained in horse riding as well as infantry fighting skills. Dragoon regiments were established in most European armies during the late 17th and early 18th centuries...
s, against the Irish position on the knoll. While Cassagne grappled the Irish, Boussard raced around the enemy flank and rear, trampled part of Coussigny's militia regiment, and enveloped the knoll. Their guns lost, the Irish battalion surrendered, and Vedel's men took the knoll and 1,500 prisoners. Meanwhile, Colonel Roche's column struck the Spanish strongpoint at San Cristóbal, possession of which was necessary if Vedel hoped to turn Coupigny and force open a path to Dupont. But here the Spanish regulars under Colonel Francisco Soler held their line obstinately and all attacks failed.
Capitulation
After the arrival of Castaños Dupont decided to sign a truce. After learning this, Vedel withdrew to the mountains. Spanish commanders threatened to massacre the French soldiers if this formation did not surrender, and Dupont compelled Vedel to return and lay down his arms. Dupont and his staff officers were transported on
Royal NavyThe Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of HM Armed Forces . From the beginning of the 18th century until well into the 20th century, it was the most powerful navy in the world, playing a key part in establishing the British Empire as the dominant world power from 1815 until the early...
to
RochefortRochefort is a commune in south-western France, a seaport on the Atlantic Ocean. It is a sub-prefecture of the Charente-Maritime département.-History:...
harbour after the Spanish
junta in Seville refused to honour the pact under which the French were to be repatriated via Cádiz.
The rank-and-file were led aboard prison-ships converted for the purpose and removed to squalid camps on
CabreraCabrera means goatherd in Spanish. It may refer to:Places:* Cabrera, Balearic Islands* Cabrera, a town in the northeast of the Dominican RepublicPersons:* Al Cabrera , Spanish baseball player...
and the
Canary IslandsThe Canary Islands are a Spanish archipelago which, in turn, forms one of the Spanish Autonomous Communities and an Outermost Region of the European Union. The archipelago is located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the disputed border between Morocco and the...
between 1809 and 1813. A small portion was eventually transferred to milder imprisonment in England. One group, languishing in the floating prison hulks in the
Bay of CádizThe Bay of Cádiz is a body of water adjacent to the southwestern coast of Spain. It touches the following municipalities in the province of Cádiz: Cádiz, San Fernando, Puerto Réal, El Puerto de Santa Maria, and Rota...
, rose up in 1811 and overwhelmed their captors, cutting the mooring cables and floating to the safety of the French lines
surroundingThe Siege of Cádiz a siege of the large Spanish naval base of Cádiz by a French army from February 5, 1810 to August 24, 1812 during the Peninsular War. Following the occupation of Madrid on March 23 1808, Cádiz became the Spanish seat of power, and was targeted by 60,000 French troops under the...
the city. Only 1,500 of the French prisoners were released or relocated, or escaped their island-prisons, during the Napoleonic wars. Fewer than half the prisoners ever returned home; most died in cruel captivity. On July 6, 1814, the remaining survivors returned to France: the last of Bailén.
Aftermath
The Spanish victory at Bailén signalled to the armies of Europe that the French, long considered invincible, could be beaten—a fact that eventually persuaded the
Austrian EmpireThe Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire founded on a remnant of the Holy Roman Empire centered on what is today's Austria that officially lasted from 1804 to 1867...
to initiate the
War of the Fifth CoalitionThe War of the Fifth Coalition, fought in the year 1809, pitted a coalition of the Austrian Empire and the United Kingdom against Napoleon's French Empire and Bavaria. Major engagements between France and Austria, the main participants, unfolded over much of Central Europe from April to July, with...
against Napoleon:
To commemorate a victory so rich in symbolic and
propagandaPropaganda is communication aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position. As opposed to impartially providing information, propaganda in its most basic sense, presents information primarily to influence an audience...
value, the Seville Junta instituted the
Medalla de Bailén. The
British press avidly publicized the event and printed Castaños' victory statements across Europe:
The defeat mortified Napoleon. The Emperor treated Dupont's capitulation as a personal affront and a blight on the
Imperial honourHonour or Honor , is the evaluation of a person's trustworthiness and social status based on that individual's espousals and actions. Honour is deemed exactly what determines a person's character: whether or not the person reflects honesty, respect, integrity, or fairness...
, pursuing a ruthless
vendettaA feud is a long-running argument or fight between parties—often, through guilt by association, groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one party perceives itself to have been attacked, insulted or wronged by another...
against all those involved:
Dupont and Vedel returned to Paris in disgrace and were duly
court-martialA court-martial is a military court. These military courts can determine punishments for members of the military subject to military law who are found guilty or may dismiss the charges based on the evidence and the case presented. Most militaries maintain a court-martial system to try cases in...
ed, deprived of rank and title, and imprisoned at
Fort de JouxThe Fort de Joux or Château de Joux is a castle, transformed into a fort, located in La Cluse-et-Mijoux, in the Doubs département, in the Jura mountains of France. It commands the mountain pass "Cluse de Pontarlier"....
for their role in the disaster. (Dupont was not paroled until the
restorationThe Bourbon Restoration is the name given to the restored Bourbon Kingdom of France which existed from 1814 until the July Revolution of 1830, with the interval of the "Hundred Days" from Napoleon Bonaparte's return from Elba to the Battle of Waterloo in 1814–15. The regime was a constitutional...
of
Louis XVIIILouis XVIII , Louis Stanislas Xavier de France, was King of France and Navarre from 1814 to 1824, omitting the Hundred Days in 1815. Louis XVIII spent twenty-three years in exile, from 1791 to 1814, due to the French Revolution, and was exiled again in 1815, upon the return of Napoleon Bonaparte...
; indeed, rumours persisted that he had been quietly assassinated in captivity.) None of the commanding officers, however slight their share of the responsibility, escaped without retribution: Napoleon held that his army in Spain had been "commanded by postal inspectors rather than generals." In January 1809, the Emperor halted a parade in
Valladolid||-||} is a historic city and municipality in north-central Spain, upon the Pisuerga River and within the Ribera del Duero wine-making region. It is the capital of the province of Valladolid and of the autonomous community of Castile and Leon.- Etymology :...
when he recognized Dupont's
chief of staffA chief of staff, also known as a principal staff officer, is the coordinator of the supporting staff and primary aide to an important individual, such as an Office of the Prime Minister-Civilian:*Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister...
among the commanders, scolding the unfortunate officer in full view of the troops and ordering him off the square. According to General Foy, Napoleon began his tirade: "What, general! did not your hand wither up when you signed that infamous capitulation?" Years later, Napoleon opened an
inquiryA Public inquiry is an official review of events or actions ordered by a government. A public inquiry differs from a Royal Commission in that a public inquiry accepts evidence and conducts its hearings in a more public forum and focuses on a more specific occurrence...
into the Convention of Andujar under the mandate of the
Imperial High CourtA supreme court is in some jurisdictions the highest judicial body within that jurisdiction's court system, whose rulings are not subject to further review by another court. The designations for such courts differ among jurisdictions...
,
in cameraIn camera is a legal term meaning "in private". It is also sometimes termed in chambers or in curia.In camera describes court cases to which the public and press are not admitted...
, which turned out yet another proclamation against Dupont. An Imperial decree dated May 1, 1812 prohibited any field commander to treat for capitulation and declared every unauthorized surrender a criminal act punishable by
deathCapital punishment or the death penalty, is the execution of a person by judicial process as a punishment for an offense. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences....
.
Apart from the blow to French prestige, Bailén threw the French invasion forces—faltering after their failure to secure Gerona,
ZaragozaThe First Siege of Saragossa was a bloody struggle in the Peninsular War. A French army under General Lefebvre besieged, repeatedly stormed, and was repulsed from the Spanish city of Saragossa over the summer of 1808....
,
ValenciaThe First Battle of Valencia was an attack on the Spanish city of Valencia on June 26, 1808, early in the Peninsular War. Marshal Moncey's French Imperial troops failed to take the city by storm and retreated upon Madrid, leaving much of eastern Spain unconquered and beyond the reach of...
, Barcelona, and
SantanderThe port city of Santander is the capital of the autonomous community of Cantabria situated on the north coast of Spain between Asturias and the Basque Country . Population in 2007 was about 184,000. Just over a third of Cantabrians live in Santander...
, and with the country rapidly arming and mobilizing against them—into panic and disarray. With the sudden loss of 20,000 troops, Napoleon's military machine abruptly fell apart. On Savary's advice, Joseph fled from the openly hostile capital; joining him on the highway were
BessièresJean-Baptiste Bessières, 1st Duc d' Istria , was a Marshal of France of the Napoleonic Era.-Biography:Bessières was born in Prayssac near Cahors in southern France...
and Moncey, who drew the French corps north from Madrid and continued past
BurgosBurgos is a city of northern Spain, at the edge of the central plateau, with about 178,000 inhabitants in the city proper and another 15,000 in its suburbs. It is the capital of the province of Burgos, in the autonomous community of Castile and Léon...
in what became a wholesale retreat. The French did not halt until they were safely over the Ebro, where they could set up secure defensive positions along the north bank and wait out events. From his makeshift headquarters at Vitoria, Joseph wrote to his brother gloomily: "I repeat that we have not a single Spanish supporter. The whole nation is exasperated and determined to fight." Napoleon, furious and dismayed, remarked that to cross the Ebro was "tantamount to evacuating Spain."
Napoleon had considered the
Spanish Bourbon regime'sThe Age of Enlightenment came to Spain in the eighteenth century with a new Bourbon dynasty after the decay of the Spanish economy, bureaucracy, and empire in the latter years of the former Habsburg dynasty...
old,
regular armyIn contemporary use, the term Regular Army refers to the full-time active component of the United States Army, as opposed to the Army Reserve or the Army National Guard. -Civil War:...
, for all its proud traditions hearkening back to the glorious
tercioThe Tercio , also known as Tercio Español, was a Renaissance era military formation similar to and derivative of the Swiss pike square and was a term used to describe a mixed infantry formation of about 3,000 pikemen, swordsmen and arquebusiers in a mutually supportive formation; it was also...
s, to be "the worst in Europe," while the new militia formations were dismissed as packs of "bandits led by monks." Castaños himself conceded that the greater part of his troops had been "raw and inexperienced; but they were Spaniards, and Spaniards are heroes." However, as Spain's military and political situation deteriorated dramatically in the face of a second French invasion in 1809, subsequent efforts to fashion armies capable of reproducing Bailén were far less successful. In the following years, attempts to meet the French in open fields with corps severely deficient in training, leadership, and equipment led to frequent defeat. This "
Bailén syndrome" haunted Spain for the duration of the war:
Castaños was himself routed by
Marshal LannesJean Lannes, 1st Duc de Montebello, 1st Sovereign Prince de Sievers was a Marshal of France. He was one of Napoleon's most daring and talented generals. Napoleon once commented on Lannes: "I found him a pygmy and left him a giant"...
at
TudelaThe Battle of Tudela was a battle of the Peninsular War fought on November 23, 1808 near Tudela, Spain. The battle resulted in the victory of the French and Poles under Marshal Lannes against the Spanish under General Castaños....
in November, while Reding was ridden down and trampled by the French cavalry at
VallsThe Battle of Valls was fought on 25 February 1809, during the Peninsular War between a French force under Marshal Gouvion Saint-Cyr and a Spanish force under General Reding. Fought near the town of Valls in Catalonia Spain, the battle ended in a French victory...
in 1809 and died of his wounds. Marshal Soult overran much of Andalusia the following year and on January 21, 1810, his men recovered the lost
EaglesFrench Imperial Eagle refers to the figure of an eagle on a staff carried into battle as a standard by the Grande Armée of Napoleon I during the Napoleonic Wars....
from the
cathedralA cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
of Bailén. Before long, only Cádiz remained in Spanish hands, and a difficult war lay ahead to drive the invader from Spain.
Further reading
- Bueno, José María Uniformes españoles de la Guerra de Independencia Aldaba, 1989, ISBN 8486629209.
- Esdaile, Charles J. The Spanish Army in the Peninsular War Manchester University Press, 1988, ISBN 0719025389.
- Oman, Sir Charles A History of the Peninsular War: 1807-09: From the Treaty of Fontainebleau to the Battle of Corunna Greenhill Books, 1995, ISBN 1853672149.
- Partridge, Richard Battle Studies in the Peninsula May 1808 - January 1809 Constable and Robinson, 1998, ISBN 0094776202.
External links