Division of the North
| Division of the North | |
|---|---|
Joaquín Blake y Joyes |
The Division of the North (Spanish: División del Norte) was a Spanish infantry division that existed in 1808.
After Caro y Sureda learned about the outbreak of the
Return to Spain
While the Division was in Denmark, the Peninsular War broke out on 2 May 1808. Once Caro y Sureda learned of the changed situation, he made plans with the British to return the Division to Spain. The Marquis contacted Rear-Admiral Richard Goodwin Keats in his flagship Superb, and on 9 August 1808 the Spaniards seized the fort and town of Nyborg. Keats' squadron then took possession of the port and organized the transportation of the Spanish back to their home country.[2] Some 9-12,000 men of the 15,000-strong division were immediately able to board British ships on 27 August and ultimately escape to Spain.[3] Their defection reduced Bernadotte's "Hanseatic Army" to a string of glorified coastal garrisons, severely sapping Napoleon's left (north) wing in the contest with Austria for mastery over Central Europe in 1809.
Romana and his men arrived at
The Division then participated in the
See also
- Army of Spain (Peninsular War)
Notes
- ^ Gates (1986), p. 479
- ^ "No. 16174". The London Gazette. 24 August 1808. pp. 1149–1152.
- ^ Gates (1986), p. 83
References
- Chandler, David G. The Campaigns of Napoleon. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1995. ISBN 0-02-523660-1
- Chartrand, René (1999). The Spanish Army of the Napoleonic Wars. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-85532-765-8.
- Gates, David. The Spanish Ulcer: A History of the Peninsular War. Da Capo Press 2001. ISBN 0-306-81083-2