Battle of Sagunto

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The Battle of Sagunto was part of the Napoleonic Wars in Spain and included the siege of the old Saguntum fortress beginning on September 23, 1811 , the failed attempt at relief in the Battle of Murviedro by the Spanish (October 25, 1811) and the capture of the Sagunto fortress on October 26th by the French. The victory enabled the advance on Valencia, which fell into French hands on January 9, 1812.

prehistory

Under the command of General Louis Gabriel Suchet , the French army in Catalonia successfully completed the siege of Tortosa on January 2, 1811 and the siege of Tarragona on June 29, 1811. In these battles the French had lost around 4,300 soldiers, but were able to incapacitate two thirds of the opposing army of Catalonia, i.e. around 15,000 Spanish soldiers. The successful conquest of Tarragona brought Suchet to the position of Marshal of France . On July 27th, the first French troops reached Sagunto, initially defending only 2,500 Spaniards. The siege of Figueras , operated at the same time by Suchet, ended on August 19th with the Spanish surrender. On August 25th, Marshal Louis-Alexandre Berthier , the French commander in Aragon and Western Catalonia, ordered the invasion of Valencia to begin.

Louis Gabriel Suchet

Marshal Suchet had his approximately 30,000-strong army advance from Morella and Teruel in two columns towards Valencia on September 13th . To cover his rear connections, he left about 7,000 men in Lerida , Montserrat and Tarragona. The French had left their siege park in Tortosa and assumed they could surprise and capture Valencia if they advanced fast enough. On September 15, three French columns began to advance south. Two days later, Suchet passed the left column at Peñiscola , leaving a battalion and a few hussars behind. On September 19, the middle column, Palombini's division, merged with the left column. General Blake sent the vanguard of General José Obispo’s division to block Harispe’s division at the Barraques Pass. Harispe realized the intention and took an east side road to avoid the troops under Obispo. Harispe's troops marched further down the valley of the Mijares River to the coast to join the other two columns. In Cabanes, Suchet's army united with the divisions of Harispe and Palombini (Italians), so that he had around 26,000 men. On September 21, the French reached Villarreal, two days later they were in Almenara, close to Sagunto. Sagunto Castle was perched on a rocky hill south of the Rio Palancia. The citadel had a strong defensive wall, which was protected on the sea side by cliffs. The small town of Murviedro to the west of it had about 6000 inhabitants at that time. In 1811 Murviedro was renamed San Fernando de Sagunto and then generally named after the ancient name Sagunto.

Spanish relief plan

Atlas Guerra Ind.jpg

The Spanish junta in Cadiz had appointed General Joaquin Blake as captain general of Catalonia , and the troops of Murcia, Valencia and Aragon were subordinate to him. A Spanish relief army with about 25,300 men gathered in Valencia to relieve the garrison. Blake's veterans from the Battle of Albuera formed the 2nd Army Corps (Army of Valencia) under General O'Donnell, Lieutenant General Nicolas de Mahy y Romo led the 3rd Army Corps (Army of Murcia) and the 4th Reserve Corps was led by General Lardizábal . The Spanish army withdrew to Valencia after the arrival of the French and left only five battalions (about 2700 men) with 17 guns and 3 heavy howitzers under the command of Colonel Luis Maria Andriani to defend the castle of Saguntum.

General Blake reached Sagunto on July 12th with his expeditionary army, but only a small part of his troops were adequately equipped and trained. In addition, diseases weakened the fighting strength of his troops. His ambitious plan was to attack Suchet's army south of Saguntum and detain him while the rest of the troops were to make a flanking march that would encompass the French right wing. For the frontal attack he chose the veterans under Lardizábal and Zayas, which should be supported by half of the Valencian cavalry under General Caro and the Reserve Division under General Velasco. A total of around 10,500 men were to lead the main attack, supported by three batteries.

Siege of Saguntum, September 23 - October 26, 1811

Saguntum Castle

On September 23, the approximately 26,000-strong French army arrived at Saguntum. Marshal Suchet decided that he could not risk an attack on Valencia until he captured Saguntum and began the siege. General Habert's division camped in the north on the heights of Cabeçol close to Murviedro, then crossed the Rio Palancia, erected barricades and began to enclose the castle hill. General Harispe's division camped south of Murviedro at the foot of the heights of Gausa. The Neapolitan division under General Palombini camped in the northwest between Petrés and Gilet in the northwest and blocked the road to Aragon. But the siege equipment was still missing, which was necessary for an attack on the citadel . The Spaniards had rebuilt the defensive wall around the long, narrow hill and divided it into four sections with transverse walls. At the western end of the hill, opposite the slightest slope, they had installed a new battery of guns, while the San Fernando battery was at the top of the hill. At the east end of the hill were the two batteries Menacho and Doyle. The reinforcement of the French siege ring made rapid progress. The first attack took place on the night of September 27-28. The French had found gaps in the northern wall where the Spanish had not yet replaced the old wooden wall with masonry. Two columns of 300 men each were deployed for the first attack, and another 300 soldiers were held in reserve in Murviedro. The two columns reached the old cistern, about 120 meters from the identified weak point on the wall, without being discovered at first. In the battle that followed, some departments were even able to climb the wall several times, but were unable to maintain their positions anywhere. The French also deployed their reserves in vain, as a result of which the total number of those involved in the attack rose to 900 men. Suchet only suspended the attack shortly before dawn. The French had lost 247 dead during the attack, while the Spanish, despite the fierce fighting, only left 15 dead and 30 wounded. Fort Oropesa was stormed on October 10th and 11th, the first heavy artillery arrived on October 12th. The French had used the last three weeks to prepare the anchorages for the incoming batteries. Their work could go on almost unhindered because of the complete lack of heavy artillery among the Spaniards.

On October 16, all of the siege artillery had arrived and anchored, and the bombing of the fortress began. The French artillery breached the southwestern side of the walls on the afternoon of October 18, and that evening Suchet ordered a second assault. This attack made less progress than the first because the French engineers had misjudged the situation. In the breach, the stone blocks that had broken out represented a major obstacle. The French could not get close to the breach and had to break off the attack after losing 300 men.

The slow advance of the siege put General Blake, the commander of the Spanish army in Valencia, under pressure. At first he had no intention of relieving the besieged because he was of the opinion that his army was not up to the French in the field. In mid-October, however, he had to decide to relieve himself in order not to be deposed by the junta . In addition, the army of Murcia under General Mahy, which was marching through Cuenca , was expected on the left wing. On October 23, the advance guard of the Spaniards advanced to Liria , about 30 kilometers south of Sagunto, but the bulk of the Spanish army was still encamped near Valencia and was only pushed to Sagunto the following day. On the night of October 24th, Blake moved into his headquarters in El Puig, about 10 km south of Sagunto. General Jose Zayas' division took longer than expected to reach El Puig because of the poor roads. In the west, General Juan Caro camped with three cavalry brigades between Puig and the Cartuja de Ara Christi monastery. Farther to the left, Lardizábal's troops and 3,000 men settled on the Cartuja plain. In the evening, the officers met at Blake's headquarters in El Puig and received orders to attack the following day.

French Army of Catalonia

Marshal Louis Gabriel Suchet

1st Division , General Louis François Félix Musnier , 4,829 men

  • Brigadier General Louis Benoît Robert
  • Brigadier General Florentin Ficatier

2nd Division , General Jean Isidore Harispe , 4,762 men

3rd Division , General Pierre-Joseph Habert , 3,459 men

  • Brigadier General Louis François Élie Pelletier, Count Montmarie
  • Brigadier General Nicolas Bronikowski

Italian Division , General Giuseppe Federico Palombini 7600 men

  • Brigadier General Vertigier Saint Paul
  • Brigadier General Éloi Charles Balathier
  • Neapolitan Brigade: General Claude Antoine Compère

Total about 25,500 men

Reserve Division General Honoré Charles Reille

  • Brigadier General Claude Marie Joseph Pannetier, 2834 men
  • Brigadier General Jean Raymond Charles Bourke, 3961 man
  • Cavalry: 800 men
  • Artillery: 1153 men

Division General Filippo Severoli , 4,370 men

Total about 13,100 men

Spanish army

General Joaquín Blake y Joyes

1st Army Corps

2nd Army Corps Lieutenant General Carlos O'Donnell

  • General José Miranda's division, 3964 men
  • Division General José Obispo, 3400 men
  • General Pedro Villacampa's division, 3352 men
  • General Velasco Reserve Division, 3,670 men
  • Cavalry: General San Juan de Caro, 1721 men

3rd Army Corps Lieutenant General Nicolás de Mahy y Romo

Sagunto Garrison

  • 2663 under Colonel Luis Maria Andriani

Valencia garrison

  • Artillery: 1,654 men
  • Sappers: 421 men

Total about 28,500 men

Battle of Murviedro on October 25, 1811

The Spaniards attacked at 8 a.m. on October 25. The battlefield was lined with olive and mulberry trees. At the beginning of the battle, this impeded the arrival of the Spaniards, but made an orderly retreat possible after the defeat. In total, Blake threw 10,500 Spaniards against the left wing and about 16,000 men against the French right wing. In the center of the Spaniards, General Carlos O'Donnell with his divisions Villacampa and Miranda attacked, while on the right the Obispo division was to enter later. The Spanish middle meeting stood behind the two small hills of El Germanells. The Miranda division was deployed with its division between El Germanells and Rafelbuñol. The left wing under General Mahy and San Juan had to support O'Donnell's attack, while two more Murcia battalions under Colonel O'Ronan reinforced the center between the Miranda and Obispo divisions. On the left wing of the Spaniards, about 14,300 men and 1,700 horsemen were gradually concentrated, supported by 14 guns. In the east, by the sea, an English corvette with 18 cannons and 7 Spanish gunboats provided fire protection. Marshal Suchet threw around 17,000 men at the enemy. He gave the order to the Italian brigade (4 battalions) under Balathier and two battalions of the 117th line regiment of Habert's division to maintain the blockade of Sagunto. In addition, 3 Neapolitan battalions of the Compère division were stationed in Gilet in order to be able to intervene immediately in the event of any flank attacks by the Blake Army. As the senior officer, General Chlopicki took command of the right wing, where Robert's brigade occupied a strong position supported by dragoons. General Harispe was supposed to move a brigade to the right to protect the road to Liria and later to prevent the Spaniards from retreating to Valencia. On his left wing as far as the sea, Suchet placed Habert's division with about 3,000 soldiers, including two squadrons of Dragoons. In the Val de Jesus the troops held out under Major General Harispe, his avant-garde formed 3 squadrons of hussars, and between the infantry he placed his artillery. General Palombini and four Italian battalions stood ready as reinforcements behind Harispe's division. In between were three cuirassier squadrons commanded by General Boussart. The total number of men in the Val de Jesus was around 10,000.

The Spanish corps under Lardizábal advanced in two columns, one along the Camino Real towards Hostaletz and the second column towards the hills next to the Val de Jesús. Zaya's division tried to close the gap along the coast by advancing at Puçol on the right flank. Suchet still believed that most of the Spanish infantry would attack along the Camino Real de Valencia. The bulk of the French were supposed to withstand the Spanish attack in La Val de Jesus. Suchet tried to secure the hills towards which Lardizábal's troops were heading in good time and dispatched the hussars of Harispe's division. Lardizábal had already occupied the hills and secured them with his artillery. The right wing attack was led by the Zayas (2500 men) and Lardizabal (3000 men) divisions. These were supported by General Velasco (2500 men) and 1200 horsemen under General Loy and General Caro as well as three artillery batteries.

Blake believed that Suchet would attack across the gorge of Bétera a Santo Espiritu in order to use the hinterland of the Sierra Calderona for his cavalry. In contrast, General Miranda and his division (3900 men) were brought into the meeting on the right flank of the left wing between El Germanells and Rafelbuñol. At the center were the divisions of Generals Miranda (3900 men) and Villacampa (3350 men), General San Juan led 800 Murcian riders. The division under General Obispo (3400 men) initially remained in Náquera as a reserve. The left wing of the Spaniards consisted of the Murcian Brigades of the Reserve Division under General Mahy, which were led by Generals Creagh and the Conde de Montijo (4,600 men).

The first movements of the Spaniards gave hope to lead the battle successfully. Meanwhile, Suchet continued his siege of Sagunto, ignoring the movements that were taking place on the main battlefield. Suchet deployed Habert and Harispe's division in the middle of the main section on the approximately 5 km wide line between the Mediterranean and the heights of Santo Espiritu. The French had initially evacuated Puçol when the Zaya division advanced. A kilometer behind O'Donnell's forces, the Reserve Division under Lieutenant General Mahy advanced and pulled his brigades to the left. Brigadier General Robert was ordered to defend the Bétera a Santo Espiritu ravine at all costs. For this he had eight battalions and one dragoon regiment, including the 44th line regiment. The 1500 Neapolitans under General Compère, who controlled the road to Segorbe , came down between Petrés and Gilet, protecting the French right flank. When Mahy's division began to deliver skirmishes to the French troops , the Poles under Chlopicki countered with an attack. The Robert Brigade broke through the lines of the Villacampa division and threw them back to their original positions.

The French soon began powerful counterattacks on the enemy center, which was about 3 kilometers in length. On the left flank, under Villacampa, the Spaniards achieved some advantages and pushed the Chlopicki brigade back. When Suchet realized that the Spaniards were also threatening his right wing, two battalions of the 44th Line Regiment (Harispe Division) were moved to the danger point as reinforcements. General Palombini, who was in the second meeting, was ordered to intervene with his brigades in the middle. The Italian dragoons were now deployed against the left flank of the Miranda division while the 44th line regiment broke into the Spanish lines. Within a few minutes the whole Spanish front was shaken. When storming the ridge, which ended in a bayonet attack, General Paris was seriously injured and General Harispe's horse was killed. Even so, Harispe was able to secure the hill for the French and the Spaniards had to withdraw. The Spaniards under Lardizábal tried to regain the lost hills after his cavalry commanded by General Caro was able to repel the French hussars. Parts of Obispo's division that fought on the extreme left were sent back to the center. At this point, Suchet decided to use the cuirassiers under General Boussart for the attack. The cavalry attacked the Spanish center and split the Spanish battle line in two.

In the western section, too, the turn in favor of the French occurred, the Poles under Chlopicki attacked the Spanish Reserve Division under General Mahy. Spanish Generals Loy and Caro were wounded and taken prisoner. O'Donnell sent the Villacampa division to meet the French under Robert. This exposed Miranda's flank, which was immediately attacked by the French. The left wing of the Lardizábal corps soon had the main French power against them and ordered a retreat. He tried to cover against the French cavalry squares to form and moved a division to Puch from. The rest followed in order, without trying to secure the right wing, which was still undefeated before Puçol, by setting up again. The French realignment lasted long enough to allow Blake to withdraw in an orderly fashion. Both sides lost around 1,000 dead and wounded, but the Spaniards also lost 5,000 prisoners as well as 12 cannons and 4 flags. Suchet's army then pursued the Spaniards to Valencia.

consequences

Siege of Valencia

On October 26, the day after the battle, the French artillery resumed shelling at Sagunto. Suchet wanted to take advantage of the demotivation of the Spaniards after the defeat of the relief army and called on the governor of the square, Andriani, to surrender. He was shown the captured Spanish flags and important prisoners, and he was made aware of the impossibility of being able to save his garrison in any way. Andriani accepted Suchet's request and signed the surrender at 9 a.m. on the night of October 26th. About 2570 men withdrew from the fortress and went into captivity. After 34 days, the siege of Sagunto ended with a complete victory for the French.

Until the arrival of two divisions, which came as reinforcements from Pampluna and a third, which Marshal Marmont of Salamanca was to send, Suchet remained defensive against the isolated attacks of the enemy. But when General Reille's reserve corps had arrived, Suchet's army marched across the Guadalaviar to the Rio Turia . The city of Valencia was only completely enclosed on December 26th, and on January 9th, 1812 Blake surrendered with 19,000 men. Marshal Suchet received the title of Duke of Albuféra from the Emperor.

literature

  • Streffleurs military magazine 1818 , issue 7, pp. 3–50 and issue 8, pp. 115–130, Vienna 1818
  • Nick Lipscombe: Wellington's Eastern Front: The Campaign on the East Coast of Spain 1810-1814 , Pen and Sword Books 2016
  • Oman, Charles (1996) [1914]. A History of the Peninsular War Volume V. 5. Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania: Stackpole. ISBN 1-85367-225-4
  • Maréchal Suchet: Mémoires du Maréchal Suchet, Duc d'Albufera, sur ses campagnes en Espagne . Paris 1828, Imprimerie de Firmin Didot.