| Battle of Boulou | |||||||
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| Part of the War of the Pyrenees | |||||||
Battle of Boulou |
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| Belligerents | |||||||
| France | Spain Kingdom of Portugal |
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Jacques Dugommier | Luis Firmin de la Union | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 30,000[1] | 20,000[1] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 20 killed, 300 wounded[2] | 3,500, 140 guns[1] | ||||||
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The Battle of Boulou, 29 April to 1 May 1794, saw the French Army of the eastern Pyrenees led by Jacques François Dugommier attacking the joint Spanish-Portuguese Army of Catalonia under Luis Firmin de Carvajal, Conde de la Union. The decisive French victory resulted in the French regaining nearly all the land they lost to the Kingdom of Spain in 1793. Le Boulou is on the modern A9 highway, 20 km south of the department capital at Perpignan and seven km north of Le Perthus on the France-Spain border.
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The year 1793 was a difficult time for the French forces defending Rousillon. The Spanish army of Captain General (CG) Antonio Ricardos enjoyed a nearly unbroken record of success against its poorly-trained opponents. The Siege of Bellegarde concluded in June with the French surrender of the Fort de Bellegarde, which dominated the key Pass of Le Perthus through the Pyrenees. After several small battles, Ricardos drove to the outskirts of Perpignan by the end of the summer. However, the French army revived under General of Division (MG) Eustache d'Aoust to deal their enemies a sharp reverse at the Battle of Peyrestortes on 17 September. Five days later, Ricardos defeated the French at the Battle of Truillas.[3]
Subsequently, the Spanish general fell back to the valley of the Tech River where he repulsed a series of French attempts to drive him back into Spain. D'Aoust tried and failed to oust the Spanish from Le Boulou on 3 October.[3] In the Battle of the Tech (or Pla del Rey) from 13 to 15 October, Ricardos bloodily repulsed the attacks of MG Louis Turreau.[4] D'Aoust was defeated again in his 7 December attack on Villelongue-dels-Monts.[5] The Spanish seized the port of Collioure on 20 December.[6] The Representatives-on-mission, who exercised extraordinary powers over field commanders, blamed D'Aoust for the December fiascos and sent him to Paris under arrest. D'Aoust, the hero of Peyrestortes, shared the fate of at least two previous Army of the eastern Pyrenees leaders when he was executed by guillotine in July 1794.
On 16 January 1794, MG Jacques François Dugommier arrived to lead the army, fresh from his victory at the Siege of Toulon. He began a complete reorganization of the army, setting up supply depots, hospitals, and arsenals, and also improving roads. After getting reinforcements from the Toulon army, Dugommier's field army numbered 28,000. These troops were supported by 20,000 garrison troops and 9,000 green volunteers. He formed his field army into three infantry divisions under MG Dominique Pérignon, MG Pierre Augereau, and MG Pierre Sauret. There was a 2,500-strong cavalry division led by MG André de la Barre and a reserve headed by General of Brigade (BG) Claude Victor.[7]
During the winter, Ricardos traveled to Madrid to plead for reinforcements. He died there of pneumonia on 13 March 1794.[8] Ricardos' designated successor, CG Alejandro O'Reilly died on 23 March before he could reach the front. In the interim, Lieutenant General (LG) Jerónimo Girón-Moctezuma, Marquis de las Amarilas assumed leadership over the Army of Catalonia. But in late April, LG Luis Firmin de la Union finally accepted command of the army, after refusing it three times.[9]
De la Union deployed his 20,000-strong army to hold the Tech valley, with defenses both north and south of the river. LG Eugenio Navarro commanded the right flank division, whose positions included Collioure and Port-Vendres on the coast. The 8,300-man center division of LG de las Amarilas held strongpoints at Le Boulou, Montesquieu-des-Albères and the Camp of Trompettes.[10] LG Juan Miguel de Vives with 5,500 soldiers of the left division defended Céret, where de la Union installed his headquarters.[11] LG Don Juan Forbes' Portuguese contingent deployed on the extreme left at Arles-sur-Tech and Amelie-les-Bains-Palalda.[12]
Dugommier placed Augereau on his right flank with 6,400 infantry and 80 cavalry. Augereau's right brigade occupied Taillet, his center brigade Oms, and his left brigade Llauro.[12] Sauret's division of 7,300 infantry and 100 Hussars held the coastal sector on the left flank. Pérignon's center division represented the main French striking force with 8,500 infantry and 1,300 cavalry, backed by three reserve brigades totalling 7,000 men.[11]
The French commander believed that the Spanish army's center of gravity was too far west and planned to exploit this weakness. He hoped to cross the Tech and roll up the right flank of the Spanish center division. To make this task easier, he directed Augereau to demonstrate in front of Céret and lure the Spanish into drawing more troops to their left flank. Pérignon held his troops back from the river to hide the true French intentions. The main Spanish communications ran from Le Boulou through the Pass of Le Perthus (300 meters altitude) near the Fort de Bellegarde. Dugommier wanted to force the Army of Catalonia into a retreat over the much more difficult Col du Porteille (800 meters alt.), four km to the southwest of Le Perthus. If he could achieve this, the Spanish might have to abandon their wagons, cannons, and supplies.[12]
In late April, Augereau built a redoubt at the Saint Ferriol hermitage, north of Céret. De la Union countered by constructing two redoubts of his own. On 27 April, Augereau probed the Spanish positions, then retired. The following day, Augereau captured one of the new Spanish redoubts, prompting the Spanish army commander to order 2,000 troops under the Prince of Montforte from his center to his left. On 29 April, de la Union launched 3,000 troops, including cavalry led by General Pedro Mendinueta y Múzquiz, to attack Augereau on the north bank. Following his instructions, the French division commander fought a rear guard action, drawing the Spanish troops toward Oms. De la Union finally called off the attack, but he left Mendinueta's cavalry to observe Augereau.[12]
That night, the Spanish generals held a council of war. De la Union's chief of staff Tomàs Morla saw through Augereau's actions and proposed that Navarro's division attack on the right while de Vives and de las Amarilas joined forces and attacked the French center near Le Boulou. The council voted to adopt this action, which would secure the supply road from Le Boulou to Bellegarde. As a precaution, the council decided to withdraw the army's trains by the road to Bellegarde. However, they decided there was plenty of time to issue orders the next morning, rather than that evening.[11]
In the early hours of 30 April, Pérignon's division crossed the Tech at the Brouilla ford, planning to climb the mountains behind the Spanish camps in order to take the defenses in the rear. General of Brigade (BG) Dominique Martin's left flank brigade marched past Saint-Genis and began ascending Saint Christopher Peak. His men reached the hermitage where they emplaced six cannon and 13 howitzers to fire on the Spanish positions from the rear. Then part of his brigade advanced west to cut the road to Bellegarde. BG Théodore Chabert's brigade advanced on Villelongue-dels-Monts while BG François Point's right flank brigade began attacking the fortified camp at Montesquieu-des-Albères, defended by Colonel Francisco Venegas de Saavedra. La Barre supported Point's troops, while Victor with a reserve brigade occupied Saint-Genis to keep Navarro's division sending help to the Spanish center. Two more reserve brigades under BG Louis Lemoine attacked Trompettes. While these battles were being fought in the center, Augereau retook Oms from Mendinueta on the French right flank and Sauret captured Argelès-sur-Mer from Navarro on the left. In order to give an impression of French superiority, Dugommier arrayed a large body of poorly-trained volunteers near his headquarters at Banyuls-dels-Aspres.[11]
De la Union sent Montforte with 2,800 infantry and 800 cavalry to reinforce the Camp of Trompettes and Del Puerto with 2,000 more to help Venegas. But neither of these forces were able to halt the concentrated French offensive.[9][11]
On 1 May, seeing his defenses fatally compromised, de la Union made preparations to retreat. Montforte abandoned Trompettes and withdrew to the south bank across a ford near Le Boulou. That day, the French assault overran the camp at Montesquieu-des-Albères and the Spanish retreated, taking the badly wounded Venegas with them. La Barre sent François Quesnel with 800 horsemen along the south bank to cut off the Spanish retreat, but this effort failed. On the western flank, Augereau sent troops under Jean Guieu and Guillaume Mirabel to push Mendinueta's cavalry back to Céret.[11]
Chased by Quesnel's cavalry, Montforte retreated south on the road to Bellegarde. But at Les Cluses he ran into an ambush set by Martin's brigade. In a scene of chaos, a part of the Spanish wagon and artillery trains were wrecked or abandoned. The bulk of the Spanish army headed for Maureillas-las-Illas before climbing the steep road to the Col du Porteille. After covering the withdrawal at Céret, de Vives pulled out of the town and Augereau crossed the bridge to harass the Spanish retreat. The Portuguese division withdrew across a pass farther west.[11]
The Spanish army suffered 2,000 killed and wounded. An additional 1,500 soldiers, 140 guns, and all of the army trains and baggage fell into French hands. French losses are given as 20 killed[1] and 300 wounded.[13] Historian Digby Smith states. "The Spanish army never recovered from this setback."[1] By forcing his adversaries to retreat by way of the Col du Porteille, Dugommier compelled the Spanish to assume a defensive position south of the crest of the Pyrenees in the Alt Emporda. The only remaining Spanish holdings on French soil were Collioure, Port-Vendres, and Bellegarde. The French captured the first two at the end of May, while Bellegarde held out until 17 September 1794.