Battle of Brihuega
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Brihuega took place on 8 December 1710 in the War of the Spanish Succession
, during the allied retreat from Madrid to Barcelona
. The British
rearguard
under Lord Stanhope
was cut off
within the town of Brihuega
and overwhelmed by a Franco-Spanish army under the duc de Vendôme
.
(July 27) and the Battle of Saragossa
(August 20) allowed the Grand Alliance army supporting Archduke Charles
to occupy Madrid
for the second time. On 21 September the Archduke—Charles III of Spain, according to the Allies—entered his prospective capital. But the invasion of 1710 proved to be a repetition of the invasion of 1706: The Alliance's 23,000 men, reduced by a loss of 2,000 in the actions at Almenara and Saragossa, by constant skirmishes with the guerrilleros
, and by disease, were unequal to the task of holding their conquests and occupying the two Castiles. The Portuguese were unable to offer help.
The Bourbon army was rapidly refitted and reorganized by French general the duc de Vendôme, who was lent to Philip V's
service by the latter's grandfather, the Sun King
. Spanish volunteers and regular units were joined by the Irish brigade
and by French troops secretly directed to enter Spanish service.
Madrid emptied, deserted by all except the poorest of its inhabitants, and the Grand Alliance's position became untenable. On 9 November the Alliance evacuated the city and embarked on a retreat to Catalonia. Leaving behind the main body of the army, the Archduke advanced with a guard of 2,000 cavalry, hurrying back to Barcelona. The rest of the army marched in two detachments, the division being imposed on them by difficulty of foraging. General Guido Starhemberg
marched ahead with the main body of 12,000 men, a day's march ahead of the British troops, 5,000 men under Lord Stanhope
. This division of forces invited disaster in the presence of the duc de Vendôme, a capable and resourceful leader.
with his troops, and pursued the retreating British army with a speed perhaps never equalled in such a season and in such a country. The forty one year old Frenchman led his Franco-Spanish army day and night. He swam, at the head of his cavalry, the flooding torrent of Henares
, and in a few days overtook Stanhope, who was at Brihuega with the left wing of the Grand Alliance army.
"Nobody with me," said the British general, "imagined that they had any foot within some days' march of us and our misfortune is owing to the incredible diligence which their army made." Stanhope had barely enough time to send off a messenger to the centre of the army, which was some leagues from Brihuega, before Vendôme was upon him on the evening of 8 December. The next morning the town was invested on every side.
Blasting the walls of Brihuega with heavy cannon
, a mine was sprung under one of the gates. The British kept up a terrible fire till their powder was spent. They then fought desperately against overwhelming odds as Vendôme's men stormed the city with bayonet
s fixed and began to take the town by bloody close quarters fighting, street by street. The British set fire to the buildings which their assailants had taken but in vain. The British general saw that further resistance would produce only a useless carnage. He concluded a capitulation and his army became prisoners of war on honourable terms.
, after which Starhemberg continued the allied retreat.
The British troops did not remain in captivity for long before they were exchanged and sent home in October 1711.
War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was fought among several European powers, including a divided Spain, over the possible unification of the Kingdoms of Spain and France under one Bourbon monarch. As France and Spain were among the most powerful states of Europe, such a unification would have...
, during the allied retreat from Madrid to Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
. The British
Kingdom of Great Britain
The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
rearguard
Rearguard
Rearguard may refer to:* A military detachment protecting the rear of a larger military formation, especially when retreating from a pursuing enemy force. * Rear Guard , a computer game released in 1982...
under Lord Stanhope
James Stanhope, 1st Earl Stanhope
James Stanhope, 1st Earl Stanhope PC was a British statesman and soldier who effectively served as Chief Minister between 1717 and 1721. He is probably best remembered for his service during War of the Spanish Succession...
was cut off
Strategy of the central position
The strategy of the central position was a key strategy used by Napoleon in the Napoleonic Wars. It involved attacking 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...
within the town of Brihuega
Brihuega
Brihuega is a municipality located in the province of Guadalajara, Spain. According to the 2007 census , the municipality has a population of 2,835 inhabitants....
and overwhelmed by a Franco-Spanish army under the duc de Vendôme
Louis Joseph, duc de Vendôme
Louis Joseph de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme was a French military commander during the War of the Grand Alliance and War of the Spanish Succession, Marshal of France.-Biography:...
.
Prelude
In 1710, victories at the Battle of AlmenaraBattle of Almenara
The Battle of Almenar took place on 27 July 1710 in the War of the Spanish Succession, between the troops of Phillip V and the Archduke Charles. Philip V's army having been defeated was forced to evacuate Catalonia and regroup behind the Ebro.- Prelude :...
(July 27) and the Battle of Saragossa
Battle of Saragossa
The Battle of Saragossa took place on 20 August, 1710, between the Spanish-Bourbon army commanded by the Marquis de Bay and a multinational army led by the Austrian commander Guido Starhemberg during the War of the Spanish Succession.-Prelude:...
(August 20) allowed the Grand Alliance army supporting Archduke Charles
Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles VI was the penultimate Habsburg sovereign of the Habsburg Empire. He succeeded his elder brother, Joseph I, as Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia , Hungary and Croatia , Archduke of Austria, etc., in 1711...
to occupy 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...
for the second time. On 21 September the Archduke—Charles III of Spain, according to the Allies—entered his prospective capital. But the invasion of 1710 proved to be a repetition of the invasion of 1706: The Alliance's 23,000 men, reduced by a loss of 2,000 in the actions at Almenara and Saragossa, by constant skirmishes with the guerrilleros
Guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare and refers to conflicts in which a small group of combatants including, but not limited to, armed civilians use military tactics, such as ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and...
, and by disease, were unequal to the task of holding their conquests and occupying the two Castiles. The Portuguese were unable to offer help.
The Bourbon army was rapidly refitted and reorganized by French general the duc de Vendôme, who was lent to Philip V's
Philip V of Spain
Philip V was King of Spain from 15 November 1700 to 15 January 1724, when he abdicated in favor of his son Louis, and from 6 September 1724, when he assumed the throne again upon his son's death, to his death.Before his reign, Philip occupied an exalted place in the royal family of France as a...
service by the latter's grandfather, the Sun King
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
. Spanish volunteers and regular units were joined by the Irish brigade
Irish Brigade (French)
The Irish Brigade was a brigade in the French army composed of Irish exiles, led by Robert Reid. It was formed in May 1690 when five Jacobite regiments were sent from Ireland to France in return for a larger force of French infantry who were sent to fight in the Williamite war in Ireland...
and by French troops secretly directed to enter Spanish service.
Madrid emptied, deserted by all except the poorest of its inhabitants, and the Grand Alliance's position became untenable. On 9 November the Alliance evacuated the city and embarked on a retreat to Catalonia. Leaving behind the main body of the army, the Archduke advanced with a guard of 2,000 cavalry, hurrying back to Barcelona. The rest of the army marched in two detachments, the division being imposed on them by difficulty of foraging. General Guido Starhemberg
Guido Starhemberg
Guido Wald Rüdiger, count of Starhemberg; was an Austrian military officer.He was a cousin of Ernst Rüdiger von Starhemberg , the famous commander of Vienna during the Turkish siege of 1683, and acted as his ADC during the siege...
marched ahead with the main body of 12,000 men, a day's march ahead of the British troops, 5,000 men under Lord Stanhope
James Stanhope, 1st Earl Stanhope
James Stanhope, 1st Earl Stanhope PC was a British statesman and soldier who effectively served as Chief Minister between 1717 and 1721. He is probably best remembered for his service during War of the Spanish Succession...
. This division of forces invited disaster in the presence of the duc de Vendôme, a capable and resourceful leader.
The battle
Vendôme set out from TalaveraTalavera
Talavera may refer to the following:Places* Talavera de la Reina, a city in Toledo province, Spain, where two battles took place:** Battle of Talavera, during the Peninsular War** Battle of Talavera de la Reina , during the Spanish Civil War...
with his troops, and pursued the retreating British army with a speed perhaps never equalled in such a season and in such a country. The forty one year old Frenchman led his Franco-Spanish army day and night. He swam, at the head of his cavalry, the flooding torrent of Henares
Henares
The Henares is a river in Spain, tributary of the Jarama. It has its source in the Sierra Ministra, in the village of Horna, near Sigüenza, in the province of Guadalajara....
, and in a few days overtook Stanhope, who was at Brihuega with the left wing of the Grand Alliance army.
"Nobody with me," said the British general, "imagined that they had any foot within some days' march of us and our misfortune is owing to the incredible diligence which their army made." Stanhope had barely enough time to send off a messenger to the centre of the army, which was some leagues from Brihuega, before Vendôme was upon him on the evening of 8 December. The next morning the town was invested on every side.
Blasting the walls of Brihuega with heavy cannon
Cannon
A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
, a mine was sprung under one of the gates. The British kept up a terrible fire till their powder was spent. They then fought desperately against overwhelming odds as Vendôme's men stormed the city with bayonet
Bayonet
A bayonet is a knife, dagger, sword, or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit in, on, over or underneath the muzzle of a rifle, musket or similar weapon, effectively turning the gun into a spear...
s fixed and began to take the town by bloody close quarters fighting, street by street. The British set fire to the buildings which their assailants had taken but in vain. The British general saw that further resistance would produce only a useless carnage. He concluded a capitulation and his army became prisoners of war on honourable terms.
Aftermath
Scarcely had Vendôme signed the capitulation, when he learned that Staremberg was marching to the relief of Stanhope. On December 10 the two met in the bloody battle of VillaviciosaBattle of Villaviciosa
The Battle of Villaviciosa took place on December 10, 1710, between the Franco-Spanish army led by Louis Joseph, Duke of Vendôme and Philip V of Spain and the Habsburg-Allied army commanded by the Austrian Guido Starhemberg during the War of the Spanish Succession, one day after the decisive...
, after which Starhemberg continued the allied retreat.
The British troops did not remain in captivity for long before they were exchanged and sent home in October 1711.