Battle of Valls

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Battle of Valls
The Battle of Valls on the Pont de Goi
The Battle of Valls on the Pont de Goi
date February 25, 1809
place Valls , Catalonia ( Spain )
output Victory of the Napoleonic troops
Parties to the conflict

France 1804First empire France

Spain 1785Spain Spain

Commander

France 1804First empire Gouvion Saint-Cyr

Spain 1785Spain Theodor von Reding

Troop strength
13,000 men 11,000 men
losses

1,000 dead and wounded

1,400 dead and wounded
1,600 prisoners

The Battle of Valls took place on February 25, 1809 during the Spanish War of Independence against Napoleon at the Pont de Goi , a bridge over the Francolí near the Catalan city ​​of Valls .

The Franco-Italian troops under Marshal Gouvion de Saint-Cyr and the Spanish troops under the Swiss General Theodor von Reding faced each other. The Spanish troops were defeated by Saint-Cyr. General Reding suffered a serious wound as a result of which he died on April 23, 1809.

course

On the night of February 24th, Reding and his vanguard crossed the Francolí over the Goi bridge. But after he had collided with parts of Souham's division on the early morning of the 25th , Reding became unsure, retreated over the bridge to the right bank of the river and built a defensive line of battle there. This allowed the initially surprised French to prepare. Saint-Cyr called in the Italian Pinos Division , which was ten kilometers away in Pla de Santa Maria and was now ready to go on the offensive with superior forces.

With a skirmish across the river, Saint-Cyr kept the Spanish busy until the French forces united around 3:00 p.m. Saint-Cyr had his troops advance in three columns, two from Pinos division and one from Souham division. Despite tough resistance, the French forced the passage through a well-coordinated action with cavalry and strong artillery fire.

The Spanish forces were defeated and scattered and fled towards Tarragona . The French captured all of the Spanish artillery and entered Reus . They besieged Tarragona until March 20th. The plague broke out in the city and claimed many lives among the garrison and residents.

General Reding had been wounded by five sword blows in the battle. He died on April 23, 1809 in Tarragona of wound fever as a result of the wound he had suffered.

gallery

literature

  • David G. Chandler: The Campaigns of Napoleon. Scribner, New York NY 1995, ISBN 0-02-523660-1 .
  • David Gates: The Spanish Ulcer. A History of the Peninsular War. Reprinted edition. Da Capo Press, Cambridge MA 2001, ISBN 0-306-81083-2 .
  • Digby Smith : The Greenhill Napoleonic Wars Data Book. Greenhill Books et al., London et al. 1998, ISBN 1-85367-276-9 .