Battle of La Bisbal facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Battle of La Bisbal
Part of Peninsular War
Bisbal Emporda castell
Date 14 September 1810 Location La Bisbal d'Empordà, Girona, Catalonia 41°57′36″N 3°02′26″E / 41.96000°N 3.04056°E / 41.96000; 3.04056 Result Anglo-Spanish victory
Belligerents
French Empire Duchy of Anhalt	Kingdom of Spain United Kingdom
Commanders and leaders
Marie François Rouyer François Xavier de Schwarz (POW)	Henry O'Donnell (WIA) Francis William Fane Charles William Doyle
Units involved
VII Corps	Army of Catalonia Royal Navy
Strength
2,400	6,600 2 British frigates
Casualties and losses
400 dead and wounded 1,600 captured 17 guns	not mentioned

The Battle of La Bisbal happened on September 14, 1810. It was a key moment in the Peninsular War, which was part of the larger Napoleonic Wars. In this battle, a Spanish army, helped by British and Spanish ships, surprised and defeated a French-allied German army.

The Spanish forces were led by General Henry O'Donnell. The naval support came from Francis William Fane and Charles William Doyle. They fought against a brigade of German soldiers from the Confederation of the Rhine. These German states were allied with Napoleon and the First French Empire. Most of the German soldiers were captured, including their commander, François Xavier de Schwarz. General O'Donnell was wounded in the foot, but his side won a big victory.

This battle took place while French forces were preparing for the Siege of Tortosa. General O'Donnell wanted to distract the French commander, Jacques MacDonald, from helping with the siege. His surprise attack in northern Catalonia worked well as a battle, but it didn't stop MacDonald from supporting the siege in the long run.

Why the Battle Happened

In June 1810, Marshal Jacques MacDonald took over command of the French VII Corps. He received orders from Paris. MacDonald was told to move towards Tarragona. At the same time, another French general, Louis Gabriel Suchet, was to capture Tortosa with his III Corps. Suchet's army had already won important sieges at Lerida and Siege of Mequinenza.

Tortosa was an important city on the Ebro River. It was on the main road connecting the Spanish regions of Catalonia and Valencia. Napoleon wanted to capture Tortosa to cut off this connection. However, Suchet first had to go back to Aragon to deal with local fighters called guerillas. MacDonald also faced problems, needing to get more supplies from France. It took until August for both generals to be ready for their missions.

MacDonald marched his army of 16,000 soldiers south to help Suchet attack Tortosa. He left nearly 10,000 soldiers in Barcelona to guard the city. Another 18,000 French troops were spread out in other cities to protect them and keep the supply roads open to France.

The Spanish Army of Catalonia was led by Captain General Henry O'Donnell. He knew MacDonald's army was too strong to fight directly. So, O'Donnell decided to attack the French forces in northern Catalonia instead. He hoped this would make MacDonald move away from Tarragona and Tortosa.

O'Donnell left some of his divisions to defend Tarragona. He then took General Luis González Torres de Navarra, Marquess of Campoverde's division north. His plan was to avoid the large French army in Barcelona. He aimed to attack General Marie François Rouyer's German division. This German division was guarding the area between Girona and Palamós on the Mediterranean coast.

Meanwhile, Colonel Charles William Doyle sailed north with 500 soldiers. They were on the British ship HMS Cambrian and the Spanish ship Diana, along with other smaller vessels. Captain Francis William Fane of the Cambrian was in charge of this Allied naval group. In early September, O'Donnell successfully moved his troops past the French garrisons in Barcelona, Hostalric, and Girona without being seen.

The Battle Unfolds

6th Confederation of the Rhine Regiment soldiers

The British and Spanish naval force, led by Captain Fane, attacked first on September 10. Their troops landed at Begur. They captured 50 French soldiers and a coastal artillery position. This raid made the French-allied General François Xavier de Schwarz more alert. He ordered his coastal units to strengthen their defenses.

Schwarz's brigade had about 1,700 men and 18 cannons. These soldiers were from German states like Anhalt and Lippe, and Schwarzburg, Waldeck, and Reuss. Schwarz placed 800 men and his headquarters in La Bisbal d'Empordà. The rest of his soldiers were spread out in Begur, Calonge, Palamós, and Sant Feliu de Guíxols.

On September 13, O'Donnell arrived at the village of Vidreres. He had 6,000 foot soldiers and 400 cavalry. Another report says he had 6,600 men, including Swiss soldiers and Spanish dragoons. He was still undetected by the French.

On the morning of September 14, O'Donnell launched a massive attack on La Bisbal. As his advance guards were pushed back, Schwarz sent a messenger to tell his scattered units to gather together. Soon, La Bisbal was surrounded. The German defenders retreated to an old castle. However, a nearby hill and a church tower overlooked the castle. Spanish snipers used these spots to shoot at the Germans all day. Schwarz held out until evening. He surrendered when the Spanish began preparing for a final assault. The French commander's forces suffered few casualties in the battle itself. They lost only one officer and four men killed, and three officers and 16 soldiers wounded.

While the main battle was happening in La Bisbal, Schwarz's other outposts were also captured. Fane and Doyle landed their troops at Palamós and took control of it. Colonel Aldea's group captured Calonge, and Colonel Fleires's group seized Sant Feliu. General Rouyer in Girona could not help because O'Donnell had called on local Spanish fighters, called miquelets, to bother Rouyer's garrison.

In total, Schwarz, two colonels, 56 officers, 1,183 men, and 17 cannons were captured. This made a total of 1,242 prisoners. The Germans also had about 400 soldiers killed or wounded. Spanish losses were not recorded but were likely small. However, General O'Donnell was badly wounded in the foot at La Bisbal. The Spanish general and the German prisoners were taken aboard Fane's ships and sailed back to Tarragona.

What Happened Next

General Schwarz remained a prisoner until the war ended in 1814. Many German prisoners were sent to Edinburgh, Scotland. Some officers were allowed to live in towns in the Scottish Borders. O'Donnell's foot wound became infected, and he almost died. He was sent to Majorca to recover. While he was healing, the command of the Spanish army in Catalonia went to Lieutenant General Miguel Iranzo, who was less skilled. Later, O'Donnell was given the title of 1st Count of La Bisbal to honor his victory.

General Campoverde took command of the Spanish land forces. He moved north past Girona before the French generals Rouyer or Baraguey d'Hilliers could react. He captured Puigcerdà in the Cerdanya region and crossed the Pyrenees mountains into France. His troops fought with the garrison of Mont-Louis and demanded money from French villages. After crossing back into Spain, Campoverde's division moved down the Segre River valley. They then took up positions at Calaf and Cardona.

Because he was so cut off from northern Catalonia by the guerillas, Marshal MacDonald did not hear about the La Bisbal disaster for three weeks. Despite this, he at first stayed in his position to support Suchet. By holding his ground, MacDonald stopped O'Donnell's plan from fully working. However, other events would eventually force the marshal to move from his position in the south.

When Campoverde moved south to Cardona, MacDonald took two French and two Italian brigades to attack him. An Italian brigade attacked on October 18 but suffered heavy losses. MacDonald decided not to push his enemies further because supplies in Barcelona were running low. Instead, he moved towards Girona to protect his supply convoys. General Suchet was not able to start the Siege of Tortosa until December 16, 1810.