Battle of Villafranca (1809)

Battle of Villafranca del Bierzo
	Part of the Peninsular War
	Villafranca del Bierzo Battle of Villafranca (1809) (Spain)
Date	17 March 1809
Location	Near Villafranca del Bierzo, Spain42°36′N 6°49′W / 42.600°N 6.817°W
Result	Spanish victory
Belligerents
French Empire	Spain
Commanders and leaders
unknown	General La Romana
Strength
1,200	3,800-6,000; 6 guns
Casualties and losses
700 killed; 575 captured	Unknown

Peninsular war: Second French invasion

100km
62miles

Sanpayo

6

Grijó

5

Porto

4

Braga

3

Villafranca

2

Chaves

1

current battle

The Battle of Villafranca del Bierzo took place on 17 March 1809, during the

Pedro Caro, 3rd Marquis of la Romana.^[1]

Background

In 1809 Spanish military operations in northern Spain were marked by sporadic efforts to expel

Tuy and withdrew from guerrilla-infested southern Galicia.^[2]

One remaining Spanish formation, General

Pedro Caro, 3rd Marquis of la Romana's division of regular infantry, established itself in Asturias and harassed the French in León and Galicia, capturing Imperial troops and supplies with impunity. In March, elements of the unit, armed with a French 12-pound gun and munitions recovered from an abandoned post at Ponferrada, struck at French communications with Madrid by attacking the French post at Villafranca.^{[citation needed}

]

The battle

The vanguard of the attack was formed of some 1,500 men of the Zaragoza and Zamora regiments under Mendizábal. On the 17 March they entered the plaza at Villafranca and closed in on the French entrenched in the castle. A costly battle broke out that claimed the lives of several Spanish officers. After four hours of fighting the French agreed to surrender.^[citation needed]

One authority^[who?] credited General La Romana with 3,800 Spanish troops and six artillery pieces. This force included two battalions each of the Princesa and Asturias^{[citation needed]} Infantry Regiments. The 1,200-man French force included one battalion of the 6th Light Infantry Regiment plus several hundred sick and wounded soldiers. The French lost 700 killed and wounded plus another 574 unwounded men captured. Spanish losses are not known.^[3] A second historian wrote that the Spanish had 6,000 men.^[2]