Siege of San Sebastian

Siege of San Sebastian

Part of: Napoleonic Wars on the Iberian Peninsula

The Conquest of San Sebastian , Denis Dighton (1792–1827)

date	July 7th - September 8th, 1813
place	San Sebastian , Spain
output	French defeat, capture of the city

Parties to the conflict
France	United Kingdom Spain Portugal
Commander
Maréchal Soult , Général Louis Emmanuel Rey	General Arthur Wellesley , Lieutenant General Thomas Graham
Troop strength
3,600	18,000
losses
1,900 dead and wounded, 1,200 prisoners	5,300 killed, 3,800 wounded, 300 missing

The siege of San Sebastián was carried out from July 7th to September 8th, 1813 by troops under the command of General Arthur Wellesley . As a result, the northern Spanish city with its French garrison, commanded by Général Louis Emmanuel Rey , was conquered, then plundered and destroyed by fire.

Starting position

After the Battle of Vitoria had been won by the Allies on June 21, 1813, Wellington's army stood west of the Pyrenees with the French troops under Maréchal Nicolas Soult . In order to enable his troops to proceed further and to create a supply base for himself, he decided to besiege San Sebastián and take it.

Armed forces

The Général de brigade Rey had 3,000 men available as a garrison. These are made up of:

• a battalion of 22 ^e régiment d'infantry de ligne (22 Line Infantry Regiment)
• two battalions of the 64 ^e régiment d'infanterie de ligne (64th line infantry regiment)
• Parts of 1 ^he régiment d'infantry de ligne and 34 ^e régiment d'infantry de ligne
• a sapper company
• a pioneer company
• two artillery companies

The gun park consisted of a total of 97 guns .

The siege force was under the command of Lieutenant-General Thomas Graham . He had 11,000 men available:

• the 1st Division under Major-General Kenneth Howard
• the 5th Division under Major-General John Oswald
• the Portuguese Brigade under Brigadier-General Denis

The siege artillery consisted of 40 heavy guns.

prehistory

The city of San Sebastián (in Basque: Donostia ) had a total of 9,104 inhabitants in 1813.

In 1808, Emperor Napoleon put his older brother Joseph Bonaparte on the royal throne as Joseph I in Spain.

Francisco Amorós , whose French leanings have been mentioned many times, was appointed the city's first magistrate. Although the French and the new administration that depend on them were not appreciated by the population, the peace that prevailed until 1813 and the French troops in general were accepted. This relationship worsened, however, when, after the lost battle of Vitoria, the retreating French under the command of Général Rey and with them civilian refugees arrived in the city in June.

San Sebastián is located on a peninsula in the Bay of Biscay . The north-eastern front was protected by the mouth of the Urumea River. The southern ramparts were particularly strong, but the British siege engineers had found a weak point near the shore on the southeast corner of the city. An attack seemed possible from the south and the east at the same time, with the latter one would have to cross the river bed at low tide . The heavy batteries to fire the breaches were set up south of the city and in the dunes on the heights east of the estuary. Maritime forces were not available because the British Navy was busy with the blockade of the Vizcaya. For this reason, the French navy was able to regularly bring in material and reinforcements with smaller ships and take wounded and sick soldiers with them. Because of this, Wellington did not see itself in a position to eventually starve the city out. He therefore decided to attack the fortress and take it by storm.

First attack

On July 7th, the first parallel trenches began. Graham himself launched an unsuccessful attack on July 25th. In the following week, however, he had to concentrate on orders from Wellington to the defense of Maréchal Soult in the Battle of the Pyrenees. During this first attack on the city, the British recorded losses of 693 dead and wounded and 316 prisoners. The French had 58 killed and 258 wounded.

Attack on San Sebastián

Second attack

After Soult was pushed back across the French border, Wellington set about turning his attention back to San Sebastián on August 8th. At that time, however, Soult had already started to reinforce the city's defense forces with 3,600 men. These were parts of the "1 ^er régiment d'infanterie légère" (1st light infantry regiment), the 34 ^e régiment d'infanterie de ligne (34th line infantry regiment) and the 119 ^e régiment d'infanterie de ligne Graham's troops consisted of 18,000 soldiers. The British siege engineers selected the best places for the siege artillery from August 26th. On August 30, 15 heavy cannons in the south and 42 cannons of various calibres in the east began bombarding the ramparts. The larger breach was made in the southeast corner of the fortress, while the one in the east was considered secondary. Graham ordered the attack the following day. With due regard for the water level in the sea, the attack began on August 31 at 11:00 at low tide . The 5th Division attacked the breach in the south, the men had to overcome 180 meters before they reached the first trenches without serious resistance. Now, however, the French opened a murderous fire. The attackers pushed into the debris-filled aisles, but were repeatedly thrown back. In the meantime the French had erected a barricade behind the breach which the British could not conquer. The attackers' losses were extremely high here. Graham sent another 750 volunteers from the 1st and 4th Divisions, but they couldn't do anything either. A Portuguese brigade crossed the Urumea River to attack the eastern breach, but this attempt also failed. After two hours it turned out that the storm was a failure across the board. The survivors threw themselves to the ground to avoid the murderous defensive fire.

After Graham had consulted with his artillery commander, Alexander Dickson, it was decided to direct the fire of the artillery on the inner barricade, even if this would endanger his own people who were still in the breach. After the heavy cannons began to fire over the heads of the survivors of the attack, they initially panicked, but soon realized that the fire was having an effect on the barricade. With a loud roar they attacked, overcame the broken barricade and poured into the city. The French then withdrew to the fortress on Urgull Mountain. By noon the city was in the hands of the British and Portuguese. Rey and the survivors requested the terms of a surrender on September 5. On September 8th, military power was officially turned over to the British.

Looting and pillage of San Sebastian

After the storm, the soldiers, even NCOs and some officers, became a completely uncontrollable mass. For a whole week there was looted and treasure hunted, residents suspected of hiding money were tortured, women were raped and killed. According to one estimate, around 1,000 residents fell victim to this looting. There are a number of testimonies about these atrocities, 75 reports have been collected detailing the events of August 31st. The surviving witness Gabriel Serres reported:

"The attackers committed the worst atrocities, killing and injuring many people and raping most of the women"

The fire in the city broke out in several houses that evening and was undoubtedly the result of the attackers, although the British generals tried to blame the French for it.

The general opinion of the locals can be summed up in the testimony of resident Domingo de Echave, who overheard a British soldier who came out of a burning house say:

"" Vois cette maison en feu? Rappelez-vous, demain, elles seront toutes comme ça "(Do you see this house on fire? Remember, tomorrow everyone will look like this)"

Order could only be restored after seven days, only a handful of buildings remained intact. The rest of the city was completely destroyed, 600 buildings including the town hall and the registry office were cremated.

The city council and a number of the survivors met in Zubieta and decided to rebuild. A new council was then appointed by the Allies, who immediately demanded compensation from the British authorities for the damage caused. Wellington refused.

The tragedy is commemorated annually on August 31 with a candle procession.

Conclusion

The French garrison suffered 1900 casualties and 1200 men were taken prisoner. The attackers counted 1,200 dead, 3,800 injured and 300 missing. In the last attack alone, 856 men were killed and 1216 injured, 44 men were missing. Among the injured was 5th Division Commander Major General James Leith. The British engineer officer Sir Richard Fletcher, who was responsible for building the Torres Vedras lines , was killed during the siege.

Unclear about the events in San Sebastián, Soult ordered a liberation attack to relieve the city on August 31. This action was undone in the Battle of San Marcial . Now in possession of San Sebastián, Wellington Soult was able to push back to France. As a result, the Battle of Bidassoa was fought on October 7, and the Battle of Nivelle in November .

The French garrison from Pamplona left the city on October 30th.

Footnotes

1. ^ [1] Donostia San Sebastian (HISTORIA: EPOCA MODERNA) | Éditeur Eusko Media Fundazioa
2. ↑ [2] Declaraciones testificales juradas (Oath testimony of survivors) Éditeur Eusko Media Fundazioa

literature

• Javier et Asier Sada "Historia de San Sebastián" Editeur Rédaction Txertoa 1995 ISBN 84-7148-318-1
• Davis Chandler "Dictionary of Napoleonic Wars" Editeur Macmillan 1979
• Michael Glover "The Peninsular War 1807-1814" Éditeur Penguin 1974
• Digby Smith "The Napoleonic Wars Data Book" Greenhill 1998