At the
Siege of Burgos, September 19 to October 21, 1812, the Anglo-Portuguese army led by General
Marquess of WellingtonField Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, KP, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Anglo-Irish soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the nineteenth century....
failed to capture the castle of
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...
from its
FrenchThe French Empire
, also known as the Greater French Empire or First French Empire, but more commonly known as the Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I in France...
garrison under the command of
Brigadier GeneralBrigadier General is the lowest ranking General Officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of Colonel and Major General.The rank can be traced back to the militaries of Europe where a brigadier general, or simply a brigadier, would command a brigade in the field...
Jean Louis Dubreton.
Wellington's great victory at the
Battle of SalamancaThe Battle of Salamanca saw an Anglo-Hispano-Portuguese army under the Duke of Wellington defeat Marshal Auguste Marmont's French forces among the hills around Arapiles south of Salamanca, Spain on July 22 1812 during the Peninsular War....
on July 22, 1812 undermined the French position in Spain. On July 30, his army reached
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 :...
, northwest of Madrid. In a panic, King
Joseph Bonapartealign=right|Joseph-Napoléon Bonaparte, King of Naples and Sicily, King of Spain and the Indies, Comte de Survilliers was the elder brother of Napoleon I of France, who made him King of Naples and Sicily and later King of Spain as Joseph I of Spain...
ordered Marshal
Nicolas SoultNicolas Jean-de-Dieu Soult, 1st Duc de Dalmatie , the Hand of Iron, was a French general and statesman, named Marshal of the Empire in 1804. He was one of only six officers in French history to receive the distinction of Marshal General of France...
to abandon Andalusia in the south of Spain and join with him to resist the Allied forces.
At the
Siege of Burgos, September 19 to October 21, 1812, the Anglo-Portuguese army led by General
Marquess of WellingtonField Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, KP, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Anglo-Irish soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the nineteenth century....
failed to capture the castle of
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...
from its
FrenchThe French Empire
, also known as the Greater French Empire or First French Empire, but more commonly known as the Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I in France...
garrison under the command of
Brigadier GeneralBrigadier General is the lowest ranking General Officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of Colonel and Major General.The rank can be traced back to the militaries of Europe where a brigadier general, or simply a brigadier, would command a brigade in the field...
Jean Louis Dubreton.
Background
Wellington's great victory at the
Battle of SalamancaThe Battle of Salamanca saw an Anglo-Hispano-Portuguese army under the Duke of Wellington defeat Marshal Auguste Marmont's French forces among the hills around Arapiles south of Salamanca, Spain on July 22 1812 during the Peninsular War....
on July 22, 1812 undermined the French position in Spain. On July 30, his army reached
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 :...
, northwest of Madrid. In a panic, King
Joseph Bonapartealign=right|Joseph-Napoléon Bonaparte, King of Naples and Sicily, King of Spain and the Indies, Comte de Survilliers was the elder brother of Napoleon I of France, who made him King of Naples and Sicily and later King of Spain as Joseph I of Spain...
ordered Marshal
Nicolas SoultNicolas Jean-de-Dieu Soult, 1st Duc de Dalmatie , the Hand of Iron, was a French general and statesman, named Marshal of the Empire in 1804. He was one of only six officers in French history to receive the distinction of Marshal General of France...
to abandon Andalusia in the south of Spain and join with him to resist the Allied forces. At first, Soult refused to give up his petty kingdom in the south.
On August 11, Maj-Gen Anne François Treilliard's dragoon division fought an inconclusive skirmish with the Allies at the
Battle of MajadahondaIn the Battle of Majadahonda on August 11, 1812, an Allied cavalry force under Major-General George Bock and Brigadier-General Benjamin d'Urban fought a French cavalry division led by Major-General Anne François Treilliard to a draw...
northwest of Madrid. At first, the French dragoons routed Brig-Gen
Benjamin D'UrbanLieutenant-General Sir Benjamin d'Urban, GCB, KCH, KCTS was a British general and colonial administrator, who is best known for his frontier policy when he was the Governor in the Cape Colony .-Early career:...
's Portuguese cavalry. Reinforced by Maj-Gen George Bock's King's German Legion (KGL) heavy dragoons and some infantry, the Allies drove the French back. The next day, King Joseph evacuated
MadridMadrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. It is the third-most populous municipality in the European Union after Greater London and Berlin, and its metropolitan area is the third-most populous city by urban area in the European Union after Paris and London.The city is located on the river...
and the Anglo-Portuguese entered the city in triumph. On August 13, the Retiro forts surrendered to Wellington, yielding 2,000 prisoners, clothing, equipment and the eagles of the 13th Dragoons and the 51st Line Infantry Regiments.
Harassed by
SpanishSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
guerillas, Joseph retreated all the way to the east coast city of Valencia, which was held by Marshal
Louis SuchetLouis Gabriel Suchet, 1st Duc d'Albufera was a Marshal of France and one of Napoleon's most brilliant generals.-Early career:...
. Wellington knew that if Joseph and Soult joined forces, his position in central Spain would become perilous. He counted on the autumn rains keeping the
TagusFor the ancient Thessalian title, see TagusThe Tagus is the longest river on the Iberian Peninsula...
River high and preventing Joseph and Soult from threatening his southern flank. He also hoped that Spanish forces under Francisco Ballasteros and an Anglo-Sicilian force under Lieut-Gen Thomas Maitland would keep the French army busy in the south. He knew that the capture of Burgos would help secure his northern flank.
Siege
Accordingly, the 35,000-man Anglo-Portuguese army laid siege to the castle of Burgos on September 19. For heavy artillery, Wellington had only three 18-lb cannon and 1,300 rounds. Admiral Sir Home Popham of the Royal Navy offered to land more heavy guns at Santander, but Wellington declined to use this resource because he felt that he had limited time. After costly assaults at the sieges of
Ciudad RodrigoIn the Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo, the Duke of Wellington's Anglo-Portuguese Army seized the city from its French garrison under Brigadier General Baron Barrié on January 20, 1812 after a siege that started on January 7...
and
BadajozIn the Battle of Badajoz an Anglo-Portuguese army under the Earl of Wellington, besieged Badajoz, Spain and forced the surrender of the French garrison...
, he was loath to mount a massive attack.
Dubreton's 2,000-man garrison included 2 battalions of the 34th Line, 1 battalion of 130th Line, 1 artillery company and 1 sapper company. Throughout the siege, he conducted a highly aggressive defence. An assault captured the San Miguel hornwork on September 20, with 421
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
and 198
FrenchFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
casualties. Attacks on September 23 and 29 failed to carry the castle. Rain flooded the siege trenches. Mines were exploded under the walls, but with little effect.
At the time, the British army's sapper corps (then called Military Artificers) was ridiculously small. At Burgos, there were only 5 engineer officers and 8 sappers. One of the sappers was killed and other 7 wounded. Wellington wrote, "This is altogether the most difficult job I ever had in hand with such trifling means." Finally, on October 2, Wellington requested two 24-lb cannon from Santander, but they would fail to reach Burgos in time.
On August 25, Soult raised the
Siege of CadizThe 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...
and began to fall back to the northeast toward Valencia. Ballasteros refused to obey his orders to obstruct Soult's move. The 8,000 Anglo-Sicilians at Alicante on the east coast remained completely inert during this crisis. By October 3, Soult and Joseph joined and concentrated 61,000 Frenchmen and 84 artillery pieces for the retaking of Madrid. Defending Madrid and the line of the Tagus was Lieut-Gen
Rowland HillGeneral Rowland Hill, 1st Viscount Hill of Almaraz GCB, GCH served in the Napoleonic Wars as a trusted brigade, division and corps commander under the command of the Duke of Wellington. He became Commander-in-Chief of the British Army in 1829.-Early career:Educated at a school in Chester, Hill was...
with 31,000 Anglo-Portuguese and 12,000 Spaniards. Wellington was 150 miles north of Madrid at Burgos, dangerously separated from Hill's army. To make matters worse, the Tagus was not a serious military obstacle because of unexpectedly low water.
In the north, Maj-Gen
Joseph SouhamJoseph Souham was a French general who fought in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was born at Lubersac and died at Versailles.-French revolutionary years:...
's 41,000-man Army of Portugal was swollen to 53,000 by tranferring 6,500 infantry and 2,300 cavalry from the Army of the North and by 3,400 reinforcements from France. Souham began closing in on Wellington's outposts. Wellington later wrote, "I had no reason to believe the enemy were so strong till I saw them. Fortunately, they did not attack me: if they had, I must have been destroyed."
Aftermath
Wellington raised the siege of Burgos on October 21. He quietly slipped away, undetected by the French until late on October 22. The following day, the drawn
Battle of Venta del PozoIn the Battle of Venta del Pozo on October 23, 1812, an Anglo-German force led by Major-General Stapleton Cotton fought a rear-guard action against French cavalry under Major-Generals Jean-Baptiste Curto and Pierre Boyer.-Background:...
was fought. Wellington retreated to the southwest, closely pursued by Souham. Several actions occurred during the retreat including one at Tordesillas.
Meanwhile, after a clash at Tajuna, Hill evacuated Madrid and fell back to the west. Joseph re-entered the city on November 2. The retreat continued until the two Anglo-Portuguese armies joined in the neighborhood of
Alba de TormesAlba de Tormes is a municipality in the province of Salamanca, western Spain, part of the autonomous community of Castile-Leon. The town is on the River Tormes upstream from the city of Salamanca. Alba gave its name to one of Spain's most important dukedoms. St Teresa of Ávila died at a convent...
on November 8. On November 15, Soult's 80,000 Frenchmen faced Wellington's 65,000 Allies on the old
SalamancaSalamanca is a city in western Spain, the capital of the province of Salamanca, which belongs to the autonomous community of Castile and Leon...
battlefield. But Soult did not attack, so Wellington retired to
PortugalPortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east...
for the winter.
It appeared that all of Wellington's efforts in 1812 had been for nothing. Yet, his Anglo-Portuguese army had gained a moral ascendancy over the French that it would never relinquish. The stage was set for the decisive campaign and
Battle of VitoriaAt the Battle of Vitoria an allied British, Portuguese, and Spanish army under General Arthur Wellesley broke the French army under Joseph Bonaparte and Marshal Jean-Baptiste Jourdan near Vitoria in Spain, leading to eventual victory in the Peninsular War.-Background:In July 1812, after the Battle...
in 1813.