Battle of Bornos (1811)
Battle of Bornos (1811) | |||||||
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Part of Peninsular War | |||||||
Francisco Ballesteros outwitted the French in fall 1811. | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
French Empire | Kingdom of Spain | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Jean Pierre Semellé | Francisco Ballesteros | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
2,300 | unknown | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
900 | unknown |
The Battle of Bornos on 5 November 1811 saw a
Background
In the fall of 1811, the British navy transported
Battle
To trap Ballesteros, Soult organized three columns under
Godinot tried to march on Tarifa but his troops were bombarded by British warships as they marched on the coast road. Giving up the attempt, he withdrew to Seville. Blamed for the operation's failure, Godinot later committed suicide. On 5 November, Ballesteros marched to Bornos where he surprised Semellé, who commanded 1,500 men of the 16th Light Infantry and a French-allied Juramentados battalion. Semellé and the 16th Light cut their way out of the trap, but the Juramentados either surrendered<[2] or defected en masse during the fighting. The 16th Light suffered 100 casualties in the combat. Since Semellé commanded 2,300 men, including 1,500 French, presumably the lost Juramentados battalion counted 800 men. Ballesteros led a force consisting of both regular and irregular elements. Spanish strengths and casualties in the action were not given.[4]
Second Bornos
A second Battle of Bornos occurred on 31 May 1812 when Ballesteros surprised Nicolas François Conroux's troops in the town. The outnumbered French fought back effectively and drove off the Spanish troops with serious losses.[5]
Notes
- ^ Gates 2002, p. 277.
- ^ a b c Rickard 2008.
- ^ Gates 2002, p. 504.
- ^ Smith 1998, pp. 368–369.
- ^ Gates 2002, p. 361.
References
- Gates, David (2002). The Spanish Ulcer: A History of the Peninsular War. London: Pimlico. ISBN 0-7126-9730-6.
- Rickard, J. (2008). "Combat of Bornos, 5 November 1811". Archived from the original on 30 December 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
- Smith, Digby (1998). The Napoleonic Wars Data Book. London: Greenhill. ISBN 1-85367-276-9.
External links
- Media related to Battle of Bornos (1811) at Wikimedia Commons