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Siege of Burgos
Part of Peninsular War
Date September 19 - October 21, 1812
Location Burgos, Spain
Result French victory
Belligerents
Flag of France French Empire Flag of the United Kingdom United Kingdom
Flag of Portugal Portugal
Commanders
Jean Louis Dubreton Marquess of Wellington
Strength
2,000 35,000
Casualties and losses
304 killed,
323 wounded,
60 captured		 550 killed,
1,550 wounded

At the Siege of Burgos, September 19 to October 21, 1812, the Anglo-Portuguese army led by General Marquess of Wellington failed to capture the castle of Burgos from its French garrison under the command of Brigadier General Jean Louis Dubreton. The Peninsular War or Spanish War of Independence pitted an alliance of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal against France Events 335 - Dalmatius is raised to the rank of Caesar by his uncle Constantine I. Events 1512 - Martin Luther joins the theological faculty of the University of Wittenberg. Year 1812 ( MDCCCXII) a leap year started on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year History Early man of Neanderthal occupied sites around Burgos as early as 800000 years ago Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. The Empire of the French (1804-1814 also known as the Empire of France, Greater French Empire, First French Empire, French Empire, or The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom from 1 January 1801 until 12 April 1927 Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic (República Portuguesa is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, KP, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS ( c Events 335 - Dalmatius is raised to the rank of Caesar by his uncle Constantine I. Events 1512 - Martin Luther joins the theological faculty of the University of Wittenberg. Year 1812 ( MDCCCXII) a leap year started on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, KP, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS ( c History Early man of Neanderthal occupied sites around Burgos as early as 800000 years ago The Empire of the French (1804-1814 also known as the Empire of France, Greater French Empire, First French Empire, French Empire, or Brigadier General is the lowest ranking General Officer in some countries usually sitting between the ranks of Colonel and Major General.

Contents

Background

Wellington's great victory at the Battle of Salamanca on July 22, 1812 undermined the French position in Spain. The Battle of Salamanca saw an Anglo - Portuguese army under General Arthur Wellesley defeat Marshal Auguste Marmont 's French On July 30, his army reached Valladolid, northwest of Madrid. ||-||} is an industrial city and it is a Municipality in north-central Spain, upon the Pisuerga River and within the Ribera del Duero wine-making region In a panic, King Joseph Bonaparte ordered Marshal Nicolas Soult to abandon Andalusia in the south of Spain and join with him to resist the Allied forces. Joseph-Napoléon Bonaparte King of Naples and Sicily, King of Spain (during a time) and the Indies (never de facto and never de iure Nicolas Jean-de-Dieu Soult, 1st Duc de Dalmatie (29 March 1769 26 November 1851 the Hand of Iron, was a French general and statesman named At first, Soult refused to give up his petty kingdom in the south.

On August 11, Maj-Gen Anne François Treilliard's dragoon division fought an inconclusive skirmish with the Allies at the Battle of Majadahonda northwest of Madrid. In the Battle of Majadahonda (Las Rozas on August 11, 1812, an Allied cavalry force under Major-General George Bock and Brigadier-General Benjamin d'Urban At first, the French dragoons routed Brig-Gen Benjamin D'Urban's Portuguese cavalry. Lieutenant-General Sir Benjamin d'Urban GCB, KCH, KCTS (1777 &ndash 25 May, 1849) was a British General and Reinforced by Maj-Gen George Bock's King's German Legion (KGL) heavy dragoons and some infantry, the Allies drove the French back. The next day, King Joseph evacuated Madrid and the Anglo-Portuguese entered the city in triumph. Madrid (pronounced in English in Spanish and colloquially in Spain) is the Capital and largest city of Spain. On August 13, the Retiro forts surrendered to Wellington, yielding 2,000 prisoners, clothing, equipment and the eagles of the 13th Dragoons and the 51st Line Infantry Regiments. [1]

Harassed by Spanish guerillas, Joseph retreated all the way to the east coast city of Valencia, which was held by Marshal Louis Suchet. Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Louis Gabriel Suchet, 1st Duc d' Albufera ( March 2, 1770 &ndash January 3, 1826) Marshal of France, one of Wellington knew that if Joseph and Soult joined forces, his position in central Spain would become perilous. He counted on the autumn rains keeping the Tagus River high and preventing Joseph and Soult from threatening his southern flank. The Tagus ( Latin Tagus, Spanish Tajo, Portuguese Tejo, pron. He also hoped that Spanish forces under Francisco Ballasteros and an Anglo-Sicilian force under Lieut-Gen Thomas Maitland would keep the French army busy in the south. He knew that the capture of Burgos would help secure his northern flank.

Siege

Accordingly, the 35,000-man Anglo-Portuguese army laid siege to the castle of Burgos on September 19. For heavy artillery, Wellington had only three 18-lb cannon and 1,300 rounds. [2] Admiral Sir Home Popham of the Royal Navy offered to land more heavy guns at Santander, but Wellington declined to use this resource because he felt that he had limited time. Sir Home Riggs Popham KCB ( 12 October 1762 &ndash 2 September 1820) was a British Admiral who saw service After costly assaults at the sieges of Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajoz, he was loath to mount a massive attack. In the Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo the Duke of Wellington 's Anglo-Portuguese Army seized the city from its French garrison under Brigadier General Baron Barrié on January In the Battle of Badajoz ( March 16 - April 6, 1812) an Anglo - Portuguese army under the Earl of Wellington, besieged

Dubreton's 2,000-man garrison included 2 battalions of the 34th Line, 1 battalion of 130th Line, 1 artillery company and 1 sapper company. Throughout the siege, he conducted a highly aggressive defense. An assault captured the San Miguel hornwork on September 20, with 421 British and 198 French casualties. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Attacks on September 23 and 29 failed to carry the castle. [3] Rain flooded the siege trenches. Mines were exploded under the walls, but with little effect.

At the time, the British army's sapper corps (then called Military Artificers) was ridiculously small. At Burgos, there were only 5 engineer officers and 8 sappers. One of the sappers was killed and other 7 wounded. [4] Wellington wrote, "This is altogether the most difficult job I ever had in hand with such trifling means. "[5] Finally, on October 2, Wellington requested two 24-lb cannon from Santander, but they would fail to reach Burgos in time. [6]

On August 25, Soult raised the Siege of Cadiz and began to fall back to the northeast toward Valencia. The siege of Cádiz was a siege of the large Spanish naval base by the French army from 5 February 1810 to 24 August 1812 Ballasteros refused to obey his orders to obstruct Soult's move. The 8,000 Anglo-Sicilians at Alicante on the east coast remained completely inert during this crisis. By October 3, Soult and Joseph joined and concentrated 61,000 Frenchmen and 84 artillery pieces for the retaking of Madrid. Defending Madrid and the line of the Tagus was Lieut-Gen Rowland Hill with 31,000 Anglo-Portuguese and 12,000 Spaniards. General Rowland Hill 1st Viscount Hill of Almaraz GCB, GCH ( 11 August 1772 - 10 December 1842) served in the Wellington was 150 miles north of Madrid at Burgos, dangerously separated from Hill's army. To make matters worse, the Tagus was not a serious military obstacle because of unexpectedly low water. [7]

In the north, Maj-Gen Joseph Souham's 41,000-man Army of Portugal was swollen to 53,000 by tranferring 6,500 infantry and 2,300 cavalry from the Army of the North and by 3,400 reinforcements from France. Joseph Souham ( April 30, 1760 - April 28, 1837) was a French general who fought in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Souham began closing in on Wellington's outposts. Wellington later wrote, "I had no reason to believe the enemy were so strong till I saw them. Fortunately, they did not attack me: if they had, I must have been destroyed. "[8]

Aftermath

Wellington raised the siege of Burgos on October 21. He quietly slipped away, undetected by the French until late on October 22. The following day, the drawn Battle of Venta del Pozo was fought. In the Battle of Venta del Pozo on October 23 1812 an Anglo-German force led by Major-General Stapleton Cotton fought French cavalry under Major-Generals Curto and Pierre Wellington retreated to the southwest, closely pursued by Souham. Several actions occurred during the retreat including one at Tordesillas.

Meanwhile, after a clash at Tajuna, Hill evacuated Madrid and fell back to the west. Joseph re-entered the city on November 2. The retreat continued until the two Anglo-Portuguese armies joined in the neighborhood of Alba de Tormes on November 8. Alba de Tormes is a small town and Municipality in the province of Salamanca,  western Spain, part of the autonomous community of Castile-Leon On November 15, Soult's 80,000 Frenchmen faced Wellington's 65,000 Allies on the old Salamanca battlefield. Geography The city lies on a mountain by the Tormes River which is crossed by a bridge 150 m long built on 26 arches fifteen of which are of Roman origin, while But Soult did not attack, so Wellington retired to Portugal for the winter. Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic (República Portuguesa is a country on the Iberian Peninsula.

It appeared that all of Wellington's efforts in 1812 had been for nothing. Yet, his Anglo-Portuguese army had gained a moral ascendancy over the French that it would never relinquish. [9] The stage was set for the decisive campaign and Battle of Vitoria in 1813. In the Battle of Vitoria ( June 21 1813) General Arthur Wellesley Marquess of Wellington, and his Portuguese and Spanish allies finally

References

Footnotes

  1. ^ Smith, p 386
  2. ^ Glover, p 210
  3. ^ Smith, p 397
  4. ^ Oman, p 286
  5. ^ Glover, p 210
  6. ^ Smith, p 297
  7. ^ Glover, p 211
  8. ^ Glover, p 213
  9. ^ Glover, p 222
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