Siege of Lérida

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Siege of Lérida (1810)
Part of Peninsular War

A view of Lérida
Date23 April and 29 April to 14 May 1810
Location
Lleida (Lérida), Spain
41°36′50″N 0°37′32″E / 41.6139°N 0.6256°E / 41.6139; 0.6256
Result French victory[1]
Belligerents
France First French Empire
Kingdom of Spain
Commanders and leaders
Louis Gabriel Suchet
Henry O'Donnell
Strength
13,000[1] 9,000[1]
Casualties and losses
Lérida: 1,000[1]
Margalef: 100–120		 Lérida: 9,000[1]
Margalef: 3,000, 3 guns
Peninsular war: Aragón Catalonia
Map
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200km
125miles
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  current battle

In the siege of Lérida from 29 April to 13 May 1810, an

Louis Gabriel Suchet besieged a Spanish garrison led by Major General García Conde. On 13 May, García Conde surrendered with his 7,000 surviving soldiers.[2] Lleida (Lérida) is a city in the western part of Catalonia. Margalef is located about 10 kilometres (6 mi) southeast of Lérida. The siege occurred during the Peninsular War, part of the Napoleonic Wars
.

After a fruitless attempt to seize

Henry O'Donnell was trying to interfere with the planned operation. O'Donnell's column was intercepted and in the Battle of Margalef on 23 April, it was routed with heavy losses. This action was followed by a siege in which Suchet used brutal methods to bring a speedy surrender.[2]
On 13 May, García Conde capitulated with his 7,000 surviving soldiers. This event was the start of an astonishing series of successful sieges from 1810 to 1812 in which Suchet's troops seemed to be unstoppable.

Background

In January 1810,

Anne-Gilbert Laval and Louis François Félix Musnier, and General of Brigade Pierre-Joseph Habert. Laval's 1st Division consisted of 4,290 effectives in six battalions, Musnier's 2nd Division counted 7,173 men in 11 battalions, and Habert's 3rd Division numbered 4,329 soldiers in seven battalions. General of Brigade André Joseph Boussart led the 1,899 troopers of the corps cavalry brigade. These were divided into two unusually strong regiments, one heavy and one light. The III Corps also had 1,287 gunners, sappers, and other attached troops. Suchet's total of 23,140 effectives included 4,162 soldiers in garrisons.[3], La Val, Musnier, Habert, and Boussart. The source provides the full names and ranks of the generals.[4]

That month, Suchet planned to move against the Spanish-held cities of Lérida and Mequinenza. However, he received positive orders to move directly against Valencia instead. King Joseph Bonaparte was in the process of overrunning Andalusia and believed that the Spanish armies were on the verge of collapse. Suchet reluctantly obeyed the king's command and his army reached the outskirts of Valencia on 6 March. Lacking siege artillery and facing a determined set of defenders, the French general retreated after blockading the city for only four days. Back in his base in Aragon, Suchet spent a few weeks suppressing Spanish guerillas before he was ready to march on Lérida.[5]

Suchet's army arrived in front of Lérida on 15 April.

Siege of Gerona. During the operation he broke through the Italian defenders and delivered supplies and reinforcements before escaping.[7]

Battle of Margalef

Print shows a man with wavy hair and long sideburns looking directly at the viewer. He wears a dark military uniform with loks of gold lace.
Jean Isidore Harispe

While Suchet was preparing to invest Lérida, he received intelligence that a relieving column was hurrying toward the city. Determined to intercept this force, Suchet set out with Musnier's division. After hours of futile searching, the French turned back toward Lérida and bivouacked 3 miles (5 km) from the city on the evening of 22 April. Unknown to Suchet, Major General

Henry O'Donnell's relief army had avoided detection and was camped nearby.[5] The Spanish force had as many as 8,000[8] or as few as 7,000 troops, including 300 cavalry and six cannons. Musnier's division had all of its components except the 121st Line and numbered 5,500 men. In addition, there were 500 troopers of the 4th Hussars and 13th Cuirassiers.[6]

On 23 April, O'Donnell's lead division under Major General Miguel Ibarrola Gonzáles bumped into General of Brigade

rear guard, inflicting more casualties.[9]

At Margalef, O'Donnell lost 500 killed and wounded. In addition, the victorious French seized 2,500 prisoners, three guns, and four colors. The French lost 100 men, all from the 13th Cuirassiers. The infantry were present, but not involved in the fighting.[6] One account stated that 3,000 Spaniards were captured and that French losses were 120 men.[8]

Siege

Portrait shows a haughty looking, clean-shaven man with long sideburns and a receding hairline. He wears a dark military uniform with gold epaulettes and a high collar trimmed with gold lace.
Louis Gabriel Suchet

Having disposed of O'Donnell's relief army, Suchet invested Lérida and demanded the city's surrender but García Conde refused his summons.

tête-de-pont on the east bank. A hill to the north was crowned by the citadel while Fort Garden and two redoubts were located on a hill to the south. The northern wall between the citadel and the Segre was particularly weak. Suchet posted Musnier's men and the majority of his cavalry on the east bank to watch for any relief forces. Habert's troops faced the northern and western walls on the west bank. A temporary bridge connected the two parts of the besieging corps.[10] The formal siege began on 29 April.[6] Suchet brought up his siege train and on 7 May had a battery of heavy cannons in action.[8]

Lérida's defenses proved no match for Suchet's artillery.[8] The French guns took the Carmen and Magdelena bastions under fire, causing serious damage. Within six days, the siege cannons battered a breach in the wall. Meanwhile, the French attacked the forts on the southern hill. After one repulse, the French overran the two redoubts on the night of 12–13 May. Late on 13 May, assault columns rushed the breach and seized it. The defenders had built a new line behind the breach, but the French overcame these defenses also. At this, García Conde ordered his soldiers to withdraw into the citadel.[10]

Showing no moral scruples, Suchet ordered his soldiers to drive the civilian population under the castle's walls.[8] Any person who resisted was instantly murdered by the French soldiers.[10] After the Spanish commander admitted the non-combatants into the citadel, the French began a high-angle bombardment of the castle,[8] using howitzers and mortars. These killed most of the 500 civilians who died during the siege.[10] Horrified at the slaughter as bursting shells struck down soldiers and civilians alike,[8] García Conde asked for terms at noon on 14 May.[10] The surrender netted 7,000 Spanish soldiers as prisoners. During the siege, the Spanish garrison suffered 1,700 killed and wounded. Among the French trophies were six generals, 307 officers, and 105 artillery pieces. French casualties numbered about 1,000 killed and wounded.[6]

Aftermath

The seizure of Lérida was the beginning of a remarkable series of successful sieges by Suchet's apparently invincible army. The III Corps began the

Emperor Napoleon I made Suchet a Marshal of France.[14][15]

Immediately after Suchet's triumph at the

province of Valencia.[19]

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e Bodart 1908, p. 416.
  2. ^ a b Esdaile 2003, p. 294.
  3. ^ Gates 2002, p. 495.
  4. ^ Broughton 2010.
  5. ^ a b c Gates 2002, p. 290.
  6. ^ a b c d e Smith 1998, p. 342.
  7. ^ Gates 2002, p. 169.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i Gates 2002, p. 291.
  9. ^ Gates 2002, pp. 290–291.
  10. ^ a b c d e Rickard 2008.
  11. ^ Smith 1998, p. 343.
  12. ^ Smith 1998, p. 353.
  13. ^ Gates 2002, pp. 292–295.
  14. ^ Smith 1998, p. 365.
  15. ^ Gates 2002, p. 296-301.
  16. ^ Gates 2002, pp. 317–322.
  17. ^ Smith 1998, pp. 373–374.
  18. ^ Gates 2002, pp. 322–324.
  19. ^ Gates 2002, p. 325.

References

  • Bodart, Gaston (1908). Militär-historisches Kriegs-Lexikon (1618-1905). Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  • Broughton, Tony (2010). "Generals Who Served in the French Army during the Period 1789-1814". The Napoleon Series. Archived from the original on 16 May 2021. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  • Esdaile, Charles J. (2003). The Peninsular War. Palgrave MacMillan.
    ISBN 9781403962317
    . Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  • Gates, David (2002). The Spanish Ulcer: A History of the Peninsular War. London: Pimlico.
    ISBN 0-7126-9730-6
    .
  • Rickard, J. (2008). "Siege of Lerida, 15 April-14 May 1810". Archived from the original on 8 January 2020. Retrieved 25 April 2012.
  • Smith, Digby (1998). The Napoleonic Wars Data Book. London: Greenhill.
    ISBN 1-85367-276-9
    .

External links


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