Battle of Somosierra
 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (May 2023) |
| Battle of Somosierra | |
|---|---|
| Part of the Somosierra Pass, Community of Madrid, Spain 41°09′N 3°35′W / 41.150°N 3.583°W | |
| Result | Franco-Polish victory[1] |
France
Spain
Duchy of Warsaw
Spain Benito de San Juan
The Battle of Somosierra took place on 30 November 1808, during the
Background
Napoleon's invasion of Spain had started with the Battle of Zornoza. By late November 1808 the French Grande Armée had overwhelmed and destroyed both wings of the Spanish popular army. To complete his reconquest of Spain, Napoleon advanced on Madrid with 40,000 men. General San Juan mustered an ad hoc army of militia, reservists and various regular regiments still reeling from earlier defeats – in all about 12,000 men – to defend Madrid. In order to screen the many approaches to the city, San Juan dispersed his already greatly outnumbered forces. Under his orders, 9,000 men were sent west to guard the Guadarrama pass while 3,000 occupied an advanced post at Sepúlveda, leaving only 9,000 men and 16 guns on the heights of Somosierra. The nature of the terrain and the tenacity of the Spaniards initially worked in their favor.
On the evening of 28 November the brigade at Sepúlveda made up of the 3rd Battalion of the
Battle
Because the Spanish forces could not easily be outflanked by infantry movement, and Napoleon was impatient to proceed, he ordered his
Some authors have assumed that Napoleon had gone out of his mind in ordering the Poles to charge batteries of 16 cannon over several kilometers of extremely difficult terrain.[3] Others however, think Napoleon ordered only the closest battery to be taken, in order to open the way for his infantry, and that Kozietulski had misunderstood the order.[4] No matter – once the charge had begun, and the chevaux-légers found themselves under fire from the second battery, they had no choice but to press the attack, as the horses went to the highest speed and were unable to stop. They took the second and third batteries but only a few chevaux-légers reached the last battery, and the Spanish attempted to recapture it. It was then that Napoleon saw his chance and immediately committed the other squadrons.
Benito de San Juan had 16 cannons at his disposal, arranged in four batteries. Some accounts, based mostly on recollections of French officers, assume that the Spaniards placed all their guns at the peak of Somosierra pass. However, with a range of 600–800 metres, the cannons, deployed in this fashion, could not have struck much of the French army—and there were reports that Napoleon himself was at times under artillery fire. The first battery defended the entrance to the Somosierra pass, the next two covered the pass at its angles and the fourth, only, stood by the heights. It was assumed that all batteries had four cannons, and later theories that the pass was too narrow for that to be possible should be treated as legends. 13th Bulletin of the Army of Spain mentioned that chevau-légers were commanded by Gen.
The charge was led by Kozietulski, but he lost his horse after taking the first battery. The squadron was then joined by Lt. Andrzej Niegolewski, who had previously been on reconnaissance with his soldiers. The charge was continued under Dziewanowski, and when he fell from his horse after taking the third battery he was replaced by Piotr Krasiński. The charge that continued to the last battery was led by Niegolewski, who miraculously survived a fierce attack by Spanish troops – he received nine wounds from bayonets and two carbine shots to the head.
According to many memoirs of veterans of the battle, Kozietulski led his men in a charge with the official cry Vive l'Empereur. However, popular legend has it that the true battle cry was the Polish Naprzód psiekrwie, Cesarz patrzy – Forward dammit, the Emperor is watching.[5] Cf. word of Cambronne
When the fourth battery was taken Napoleon ordered his Chasseurs of the Guard and the 1st squadron of Poles led by Tomasz Łubieński to resume the attack and drive the Spaniards from the Pass. Łubieński tried to give himself the whole glory, minimizing the role of the third squadron (while Niegolewski tried to show that he had taken the cannons and Łubieński had therefore had it easy, as the Spanish were shooting at him "with candies").
Charge effects
The 13th bulletin of the Army of Spain mentioned the lead role of the Polish chevaux-légers. Only a cavalry charge was able to take all four batteries, even if French infantry was close enough to press their attack, and caused the en-masse retreat of Spanish Andalusian irregular militia and, in effect, the retreat of the whole army. Spanish artillerymen preferred to die rather than abandon their position – but no Polish account mentioned any fight with Spanish militia. Militiamen just left their position after seeing how seemingly easily the Poles took the artillery positions – however, in the smoke they could not see just how few Poles were on the top.
Aftermath
Napoleon's invasion of Spain ended successfully with the French occupation of Madrid.
Moore was killed at the end of the Corunna campaign, that commenced with the Battle of Cardedeu.
The next battle Napoleon commanded personally was the Battle of Teugen-Hausen on 19 April 1809.
Madrid
San Juan raced his army back to Madrid.[citation needed] Although the victory at Somosierra was more accurately the result of a combined infantry and cavalry attack, with the infantry bearing the heavier fighting, later accounts – Napoleon's included – placed all the emphasis on the Polish charge. San Juan was later killed by his own men.[6] French patrols reached the outskirts of Madrid on 1 December. The Junta made a half-hearted and futile attempt to defend the capital, and on 4 December a devastating French artillery barrage brought the Spanish defence to grief. Spaniards surrendered their remaining 2,500 regulars; the 20,000 civilians under their banner dispersed; and the French entered Madrid for the second time that year.
In popular culture
The Battle of Somosierra is commemorated on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Warsaw, with the inscription "SOMOSIERRA 30 XI 1808".
See also
Notes
- ^ Unit registers showed that the squadron numbered 125.
References
- ^ a b c d e Bodart 1908, p. 391.
- ^ Esdaile 2003, p. 109.
- ^ Regan 2000.
- ^ Bielecki 1989.
- ^ Nieuważny 2006.
- ^ Somosierra 2021.
Bibliography
- Bielecki, Robert (1989). Somosierra 1808. Warszawa: Wydawnictwa Ministerstwa Obrony Narodowej. ISBN 83-11-07620-0.
- Bodart, Gaston (1908). Militär-historisches Kriegs-Lexikon (1618-1905). Retrieved 17 May 2021.
- Esdaile, Charles J. (2003). The Peninsular War. Palgrave MacMillan. ISBN 9781403962317. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
- Gómez de Arteche y Moro, José (1878). Guerra de Independencia Historia Militar Vol III.
- Nieuważny, Andrzej (2006). "Najpiękniejsza z szarż (The Most Beautiful of Cavalry charges)". Rzeczpospolita (in Polish). 123 (2006–05–27).
- Regan, Geoffrey (2000). Great military blunders. 4 Books. ISBN 978-0-7522-1844-1.
- Somosierra (2021). "Batalla de Somosierra - Entre 1809-1810". sites.google.com. Archived from the original on 14 March 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
Further reading
- Bauer, Frank (2008). Somosierra 30. November 1808. Durchbruch nach Madrid (in German). Potsdam: Edition König und Vaterland.
- Napoleonistyka (2020). "Battle of Somosierra Pass". Archived from the original on 6 October 2020. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
External links
Media related to Battle of Somosierra at Wikimedia Commons
| Preceded by Battle of Tudela |
Napoleonic Wars Battle of Somosierra |
Succeeded by Second siege of Zaragoza |