| Battle of Almonacid | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Peninsular War | |||||||
|
|||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| France | Spain | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Baron Sébastiani | Joaquín Venegas | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 26,000 infantry, 4,000 cavalry, 40 guns |
23,000 infantry, 3,000 cavalry, 29 guns |
||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 2,500 dead | 4,000 dead, wounded, or captured | ||||||
|
|||||
The Battle of Almonacid was fought on August 11, 1809 during the Peninsular War between Sébastiani's IV Corps of the French Peninsular Army, which had withdrawn from the Battle of Talavera to defend Madrid, and the Spanish Army of La Mancha under General Venegas. After the decisive charges of Polish uhlans, the battle resulted in a French victory.
Contents |
After the battle of Aranjuez, general Venegas was animated by his small secured advantage. Assuming that the French did not have more than 14,000 men, he led to the army of La Mancha towards Toledo, reuniting all forces on 10 August in Almonacid. It consisted of 22,000 infantry, more than 3,000 horses and 29 pieces of artillery. The army was organized in five divisions commanded respectively by D. Luis Lacy, D. Gaspar de Vigodet, D. Pedro Agustín Girón, D. Francisco González de Castejón and D. Tomás de Zeraín. They exerted the position of Major Cavalry and general of the infantry, D. Miguel de los Ríos and Marquess of Gelo, and those of Commander-in-chief of Artillery and Engineers, Brigadier is D. Antonio de la Cruz and D. Juan Bouligni. Believing they had achieved victory, that was not respected any of the rules established in the regulations to stand out in time military, mainly, being so next the enemy that the previous day had passed through Toledo and the fords of Añover de Tajo, settling down the same day 20 August, in the immediate town of Nambroca, one league from Almonacid.
The Spanish caudillo, after listening to the opinion of the rest of generals, in agreement with him in spite of knowing to the retirement of the allied army from Talavera de la Reina towards Extremadura, had determined to attack the French 12 August to give rest to his troops; but those were anticipated, appearing against the positions of the Spaniards to five and average in the morning of 11 August, with 26,000 infantry, 4,000 horses and 40 pieces of IV the Body to the control of Sebastiani, and of the one of Reserve to the orders of Dessolles and of Joseph Bonaparte in person. The army of La Mancha was placed hastily in front of Almonacid and in both flanks: the Vigodet division, a little delayed, in the extreme right, with great part of the cavalry; they followed by its left, the Castejón division, established on the hill of Utrera, the Zeraín division to its side covering the call hill Santo, and the one of Lacy, next to the Guazalate stream; 3ª, (of Girón), was distributed between the height of the Cerrojones, it carried far left and true key of all the front line, and the hill de la Cruz or of the castle, call thus by the ruins del that is becoming in its top, to serve as reserve.
After a very violent fire of artillery, well answered by the Spaniards, General Lewal with Polish and German divisions attacked the Spanish left wing. The poorly reinforced battalions of Bailén and Jaén, of 3ª Division, twice repelled the Poles, but the Polish division, encouraged by the Germans who arrived later, was able to overwhelm the position of the Cerrojones. This victory was somewhat pyrrhic; the three Polish regiments that constituted the division lost 47 officers and high-ranking officials, supported its right in a great picture that advanced by the level one on the foot of that one hill, carrying out a bypassing on the extreme left, without [could prevent it a load of the riders of Fernando VII and Granada, directed by colonel D. Antonio Zea and commander D. Nicholas Chacón (died in this load captain D. Francisco Grove). 1ª division, to be able to do in front of the Germans, had to back down somewhat and to be placed oblique to the rear suffering itself some time, but as then the center and the right backed down already as well, undertaken by the remaining enemy forces, supported by the reserve, that with Dessolles and Jose Bonaparte finished arriving at the battlefield, it was itself also forced to take refuge in the hill of the Castle.
4ª division, very robust fought by numerous enemy artillery, whose fire answered only one A battery horse (its head the lieutenant colonel, captain of Artillery, Don Jose Chacón, fell in a moment mortally wounded and died on 13 August in Tembleque). Also died on the battlefield the lieutenant colonel of the same Body Don Alvaro Chacón), maintained with great energy, distinguishing itself by its serenity and boldness the regiments of Jerez de la Frontera, Córdoba and Spanish Guards, guidance the second by its colonel Brigadier Don Francisco Carvajal; but the cavalry of its right did not take the initiated load ahead to contain to the French and these were able to carry out their attack with all happiness, and as 5ª division yielded the field in the same way, the enemy in also occupying the town and the hill of the Castle did not take much, not being able the Spanish troops to resist in him the terrible rain of projectiles that of all parts went the French artillery. He took part with much opportunity at the fight, preventing that the defeat was of course immediate and disastrous, the Vigodet division, that executed with great quickness and ability front a change, protected by the alive fire of our guns, containing therefore the persecution of the dispersed troops of the center and happening soon with the same order to the left, where the divisions Polish and German threatened to surround the line completely and to cut retirement. There 2ª was against again Division to the advance of the winners, who tried then to throughout break that one unexpected obstacle that he prevented to remove to major divided from its triumph, loading a great mass them of French cavalry, the terrible dragoons of Milhaud, for its left, and in that one last period of the battle the troops of Vigodet crowned of glory, competing the three arms in value and self-denial; the artillery, that made fire during withdrawal, covering with shrapnel the imperial column heads; the cavalry, formed by riders of different Bodies that went reuniting of the dispersed ones, even imposing with its firm attitude to very the superior of the enemy; and the infantry maintaining itself imperturbable in the middle of the violent fire that received and from the confusion and disorder that around reigned to his (a squad of grenadiers of Provincial of Round sent by the lieutenant Don Antonio Espinosa, making end towards the enemy riders with the pierced bayonet, was able to stop them and until taking of her hands a tube, that his head nailed. The artillery second lieutenant, Don Juan Montenegro also managed to heroically save a piece of his battery) and sacrificing itself by his comrades-in-arms; only the unfortunate accident of the blast of ammunition carriers, frightening the horses, produced some disorder that took advantage of the enemy, harassing and harassing more of near the last steps, to stab a few soldiers and to take some pieces.
The imperial ones, that had already taken 2,500 losses, did not take to the active persecution beyond Mora, and the payable army could take the highway from Andalusia and arrive in good order at Manzanares; but running there the unfounded voice of which the opposites were in Valdepeñas (Ciudad Real), dispersed many Bodies, not stopping until Sierra Morena. The losses of the Spaniards did not pass of 4,000 men, between deads, hurt and prisoners, counting enters the first the 1ª, infantry regiment commander of Spain division, Don Vicente Martínez, and between the seconds, colonel of dragoons of Granada Don Diego Ballesteros, that was prisoner (to commemorate this feat of arms was created by Real Order of 30 May 1816, a decoration with the following inscription in center: "By Fernando VII", and in its contour: "In Almonacid, 11 of August of 1809").