Battle of Alba de Tormes
Battle of Alba de Tormes | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of Peninsular War | |||||||
Marshal Nicolas Jean-de-Dieu Soult at the battle | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
French Empire | Kingdom of Spain | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
François Kellermann |
Duke del Parque | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
12,000[1] | 18,000[1] | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
600[1] | 4,000[1] |
In the Battle of Alba de Tormes on 28 November 1809,
The Spanish
Background
The Spanish campaign in late 1809 had started with the Battle of Talavera.
By the summer of 1809, the Spanish
Undeterred by the fact that
In the fall of 1809, Del Parque's Army of the Left numbered 52,192 men in one cavalry and six infantry divisions.
With Marshal Michel Ney on leave, Jean Gabriel Marchand assumed command of the VI Corps, based at Salamanca. The corps had been forced to quit Galicia earlier in 1809 and had been involved in the operations in the aftermath of the Battle of Talavera in July. After hard campaigning and a lack of reinforcements, VI Corps was not in a good condition to fight. Furthermore, Marchand's talents were not equal to those of his absent chief. Del Parque advanced from Ciudad Rodrigo in late September[7] with the divisions of La Carrera, Losada, Belveder, and Anglona. Filled with scorn for his Spanish adversaries, an overconfident Marchand advanced on the village of Tamames, 56 kilometres (35 mi) southwest of Salamanca. In the Battle of Tamames on 18 October 1809, the French suffered an embarrassing defeat.[8] This source also listed Ballesteros' division in the Spanish order of battle. The French lost 1,400 killed and wounded out of 14,000 soldiers and 14 guns. Spanish casualties were only 700 out of 21,500 men and 18 cannons. After the battle, Del Parque was joined by Ballesteros's division, giving him 30,000 troops. As the Spanish advanced, Marchand abandoned Salamanca and Del Parque's men occupied the city on 25 October.[9]
Marchand retreated north to the town of
Albuquerque managed to pin down some French troops near Talavera as planned, but when he found out that Aréizaga's army had been cut to pieces at the Battle of Ocaña on 19 November, he wisely withdrew out of reach of the French. Meanwhile, Del Parque heard of the march of Godinot's and General of Brigade Pierre-Louis Binet de Marcognet's brigades toward Madrid. Though he had been instructed to join Albuquerque, he instead moved on Salamanca again, hustling one of the VI Corps brigades out of Alba de Tormes.[11] Del Parque occupied Salamanca on 20 November.[12] The French general withdrew behind the Duero and again rendezvoused with Kellermann. Hoping to get between Kellermann and Madrid, Del Parque thrust toward Medina del Campo. On 23 November at that town, Marcognet's brigade returned from Segovia while General of Brigade Mathieu Delabassée's brigade arrived from Tordesillas. At this moment, Del Parque's columns hove into view and there was a skirmish at El Carpio. The French horsemen initially drove back the Spanish cavalry but were repulsed by Ballesteros' steady foot soldiers fighting in squares. This event prompted Marcognet and Delabassée to retreat.[13]
On 24 November, Kellermann massed 16,000 French troops on the Duero near Valdestillas. Badly outnumbered, the French prepared to defend themselves. But on this day the Army of the Left received news of the Ocaña disaster.[2] Understanding that this dire event meant that the French could spare plenty of soldiers to track down his army, Del Parque bolted to the south, intending to shelter in the mountains of central Spain.[14] On 25 November, Del Parque slipped away so suddenly that Kellermann did not even begin his pursuit until the next day. For two days, the French were unable to catch up with their adversaries. But on the afternoon of 28 November, their light cavalry found the Army of the Left camped at Alba de Tormes.[2]
Battle
Believing that he was out of Kellermann's reach, Del Parque grew careless. He allowed his army to camp in a bad position astride the Tormes River. The divisions of Ballesteros and Castrofuerte bivouacked on the east bank while the divisions of Anglona, La Carrera, Losada, and Belveder were in the town and on the west bank. Since the cavalry pickets were posted too close the camp, they did not give adequate warning of the arrival of the French. Riding with his light cavalry advance guard, Kellermann determined to attack at once. He feared that if he waited for Marchand's infantry, the Spanish would have time to establish a defensive line behind the Tormes. The decision meant that unsupported French cavalry would be attacking a much larger force of Spanish cavalry, infantry, and artillery.[2]
The reinforced VI Corps included Marchand's 1st Division, General of Division
La Carrera's division consisted of three battalions each of the Principe and Zaragosa Line Infantry Regiments, one battalion each of the Barbastro, 1st Catalonia, 2nd Catalonia, and Gerona Light Infantry Regiments, one battalion each of the Vitoria, Escolares de Leon, Monforte de Lemos, and Muerte Volunteer Regiments, and one foot artillery battery. Losada's division included two battalions each of the Leon and Voluntarios de Corona Line Infantry and Galicia Provincial Grenadier Militia, one battalion each of the 1st Aragon and 2nd Aragon Light Infantry, two battalions of the Betanzos Volunteer Regiment, one battalion each of the Del General, 1st La Union, 2nd La Union, and Orense Volunteer Regiments, one company of National Guards, and one foot artillery battery.[12][16] This source identified which regular units were line or light infantry, or heavy cavalry or dragoons.[17]
Belveder's division comprised the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the Rey, Seville, Toledo, and Zamora Line Infantry, two battalions each of the foreign Hibernia Line and Lovera Volunteer Regiments, one battalion each of the Voluntaros de Navarre Light Infantry, and Santiago Volunteer Regiments, and one foot artillery battery. Anglona's division had the regular 2nd Reyna (Cavalry or Dragoon), 5th Borbon Cavalry, 6th Sagunto Dragoon, and Provisional Regiments, the volunteer Llerena Horse Grenadiers and Ciudad Rodrigo Cazadores, and one horse artillery battery.[16]
Ballesteros's division consisted of three battalions of the Navarra Line Infantry and two battalions of the Princesa Line Infantry Regiments, one battalion each of the Oviedo Militia and the Candas y Luanco, Cangas de Tineo, Castropol, Covadonga, Grado, Infiesto, Lena, Pravia, and Villaviciosa Volunteer Regiments, and one foot artillery battery. Castrofuertes's division was made up of one battalion each of the Tiradores de Ciudad Rodrigo, 2nd Ciudad Rodrigo, and Ferdinand VII Volunteer Regiments, and Leon, Lagroño, Toro, and Valladolid Militia, and one artillery battery. One battalion formed Del Parque's headquarters guard. Mahy's 4th Division was detached from the army at the time of the battle.[16]
The Spanish divisions on the east bank hastily formed front against the French, with La Carrera's division holding the left flank, Belveder's the center, and Losada's the right flank. The 1,200 sabers belonging to the Prince of Anglona covered the entire front. To face the threat, Del Parque put as few as 18,000 men[18] or as many as 21,300 infantry, 1,500 cavalry and 18 artillery pieces in line.[12]
Kellermann quickly formed his eight regiments in four lines, with Lorcet's two light cavalry regiments in the first line and the six dragoon regiments in the three supporting lines. Storming forward, the 3,000 horsemen burst through Anglona's cavalry and crashed into the Spanish right-center. The attack broke up all of Losada's and part of Belveder's formations. About 2,000 Spaniards threw down their muskets and surrendered, the rest fled across the bridge. The French also seized a battery of artillery. Del Parque was unable to bring up his other two divisions because the span was packed with panicked soldiers. Instead, he deployed them along the river to cover the retreat of the others.[18]
During the crisis, the men in La Carrera's and part of Belveder's divisions were able to form into brigade squares. Kellermann organized a second attack against the unbroken squares but the Spanish soldiers held steady and repelled the French cavalry. Since his infantry were still far in the rear, Kellermann tried to fix the enemy squares in place by launching partial charges. For two and a half hours, this tactic succeeded in pinning down the Spanish soldiers on the west bank. Marchand's infantry and artillery finally appeared on the horizon. Realizing that his men would be annihilated by a combined arms attack, La Carrera ordered an immediate retreat. The French cavalry rushed forward and inflicted further losses, but most of the Spanish troops got away over the bridge in the fading light. Marchand's leading brigade cleared some of Losada's rallied men out of the town of Alba and captured two more artillery pieces.[18]
Results
Del Parque ordered his army to retreat under cover of darkness. During the operation, a group of panicky horsemen caused a stampede in the marching columns and the three divisions that fought were badly scattered while other soldiers deserted.[19] The Spanish suffered 3,000 killed, wounded, and captured, plus nine cannon, five colors, and most of their baggage train. The French suffered between 300 and 600 killed or wounded in the action, including General of Brigade Jean-Auguste Carrié de Boissy wounded.[12]
Del Parque established his winter headquarters at San Martín de Trevejo in the Sierra de Gata and began reassembling his troops. He had led 32,000 men at Alba de Tormes, but a month later could only gather 26,000 soldiers. This suggests that 3,000 men deserted the colors after the battle. Worse was to follow. In the desolate district where the army was quartered, the starving troops were sometimes forced to subsist on acorns. By mid-January, 9,000 died or were rendered unfit by hunger and illness.[19]
The Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington wrote in disgust,
I declare that if they had preserved their two armies, or even one of them, the cause was safe. But no! Nothing will answer excepting to fight great battles in plains, in which their defeat is as certain as the commencement of the battle.[20]
The repercussions of the Ocaña and Alba de Tormes defeats were disastrous for the Spanish cause. With the Spanish armies severely weakened, Andalusia was exposed to French invasion. Wellington, who as late as 14 November was optimistic, now became anxious that the French might invade Portugal.[21]
Aftermath
The guerilla war proceeded till the end of the Peninsular war.
The Spanish conventional warfare proceeded till the end of the Peninsular war.
Napoleon had ended his invasion of Spain with the occupation of Madrid.
The Second Portuguese campaign had ended with the French retreat out of Portugal.
The Revolution under siege started with the Siege of Cádiz.
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f Bodart 1908, p. 415.
- ^ a b c d e Oman 1902c, p. 99.
- ^ Rickard, J. "Battle of Alba de Tormes, 28 November 1809". HistoryofWar.org. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
- ^ Gates 2002, p. 194.
- ^ Gates 2002, pp. 194–196.
- ^ Gates 2002, p. 494.
- ^ Gates 2002, p. 196.
- ^ Smith 1998, pp. 333–334.
- ^ Gates 2002, pp. 197–199.
- ^ Gates 2002, p. 199.
- ^ Oman 1902c, p. 97.
- ^ a b c d e Smith 1998, p. 336.
- ^ Oman 1902c, p. 98.
- ^ Gates 2002, p. 204.
- ^ Oman 1902c, pp. 535, 538.
- ^ a b c Oman 1902c, p. 527.
- ^ Pivka 1979, pp. 239–242.
- ^ a b c Oman 1902c, p. 100.
- ^ a b Oman 1902c, p. 101.
- ^ Glover 2001, p. 116.
- ^ Gates 2002, pp. 205–206.
References
- Bodart, Gaston (1908). Militär-historisches Kriegs-Lexikon (1618-1905). Retrieved 22 May 2021.
- Gates, David (2002). The Spanish Ulcer: A History of the Peninsular War. London: Pimlico. ISBN 0-7126-9730-6.
- Glover, Michael (2001). The Peninsular War 1807–1814. London: Penguin. ISBN 0-141-39041-7.
- Oman, Sir Charles William Chadwick (1902c). A History of the Peninsular War. Vol. III. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
- Pivka, Otto von (1979). Armies of the Napoleonic Era. New York, NY: Taplinger Publishing. ISBN 0-8008-5471-3.
- Smith, Digby (1998). The Napoleonic Wars Data Book. London: Greenhill. ISBN 1-85367-276-9.
External links
- Battle of Alba de Tormes
- Media related to Battle of Alba de Tormes at Wikimedia Commons
Preceded by Battle of Ocaña |
Napoleonic Wars Battle of Alba de Tormes |
Succeeded by Siege of Cádiz |