Spanish Army (Peninsular War) facts for kids

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Quick facts for kids Spanish Army
Ejércitos de España (Spanish)
A painting depicting a column of Spanish troops during the Peninsular War, by Augusto Ferrer-Dalmau
Active	27 October 1807 – 17 April 1814
Country	Spain
Type	Field army
Engagements	Peninsular War Battle of Ciudad Real Battle of Salamanca

The Spanish Army during the Peninsular War (1807-1814) was made up of Spanish soldiers who fought against France's powerful army, called the Grande Armée. This time is also known as the Spanish War of Independence (Spanish: Guerra de la Independencia Española).

In June 1808, the Spanish Army had about 136,824 soldiers and officers. This included around 30,527 local soldiers called militiamen. It also included 15,000 soldiers from General La Romana's "Division of the North," who were stationed far away in Denmark.

During 1808, many new Spanish infantry groups were formed. Most of these new groups had only one battalion (a smaller military unit).

Besides regular soldiers, Spain also had local groups like the miquelets or somatenes in Catalonia. These groups were very good at fighting and had helped in earlier wars. All these forces, along with guerrilla fighters, constantly bothered the French army. They made it hard for the French to move supplies and communicate. For example, General St. Cyr said his troops used up two million bullets fighting miqueletes in just a few months in 1809.

In some big battles, like the Battle of Salamanca, the Spanish Army fought alongside their friends, the Anglo-Portuguese Army. This allied army was led by General Wellesley, who later became the Duke of Wellington.

Why the War Started
- Spanish Army in 1808
Key Events of 1808
Autumn Campaign (1809)
Spanish Army in 1811
Spanish Army in 1812–1814
Irregular Troops
See also

Why the War Started

The war began because of a deal called the Treaty of Fontainebleau in 1807. This treaty was between France and Spain, and it planned to divide Portugal and its lands between them. Spain agreed to add 25,500 of its own soldiers to the 28,000 French troops already marching through Spain to invade Portugal.

The French general, Junot, started his difficult march into Spain on October 12, 1807, and finally entered Portugal on November 19.

Spain sent three groups of soldiers to help:

General Carrafa's 9,500 men gathered in Salamanca to work with Junot's main force.
General Francisco Solano's 9,500 soldiers marched from Badajoz to capture the fortress of Elvas in Portugal. They invaded Portugal on December 2, 1807.
General Taranco's 6,500 troops took over Porto on December 13. General Taranco died the next month. Later, in June 1808, when news of a rebellion in Spain reached Porto, the new Spanish commander, General Belestá, arrested the French governor and joined the fight against the French.

Spanish Army in 1808

In the spring of 1808, Spain's army had about 131,000 men. About 101,000 were regular soldiers, and 30,000 were militia (local citizen soldiers). Most of the militia protected Spain's seaports from possible attacks by the British.

However, not all regular troops were in Spain. Bonaparte had asked for a strong group of soldiers for northern Europe. So, the Marquis of La Romana was sent to the Baltic Sea with 15,000 of Spain's best soldiers. This left only 86,000 regular soldiers in Spain.

About 13,000 of these regular soldiers were foreign fighters. They came from Switzerland, Naples, and Ireland.

Many Spanish army groups inside Spain were much smaller than they should have been. For example, a group that should have had 840 men per battalion sometimes had only about 250 men.

The militia groups, however, often had more soldiers. Most of them had over 550 men in each battalion.

Key Events of 1808

After General Castaños won the Battle of Bailén in July, everyone was very happy. But this joy didn't last long. When General Merlin attacked Bilbao in August 1808, it made many people angry. They blamed the local governments (called Juntas) and the generals.

On September 5, a meeting was held with important generals like General Cuesta and Castaños. Cuesta wanted to create a military government separate from the Juntas, but Castaños refused. Cuesta then tried to become the main commander but failed. He was later arrested but got his command back soon after.

On November 10, the main Spanish government, the Junta Central, announced its plan. They wanted to have an army of 500,000 soldiers and 50,000 cavalry (soldiers on horseback).

The Spanish Army was then organized into four large groups, overseen by a Central War Board led by Castaños.

Army of the Left

This army included the Army of Galicia (led by Blake), the Army of Asturias (led by Acevedo), and General La Romana's soldiers who had returned from Denmark. They also gathered new soldiers from the mountains.

Army of the Centre

In October 1808, this army had about 27,000 men. It included groups led by General Pignatelli, General Grimarest, and General Lapeña.

According to detailed records, in October–November 1808, Castaños's Army of the Centre actually had 51,000 men. About 42,000 of them were near the Ebro River, and the rest were near Madrid.

Army of the Right

This army was previously known as the Army of Catalonia. The new commander, Juan Miguel de Vives, led about 19,857 men and 800 cavalry. This army included regular soldiers and migueletes from Catalonia. It also had soldiers from Mallorca, Portugal, and other regions.

The Army of the Right was divided into several groups:

The Llobregat Division, led by the Count of Caldagues, had 4,698 infantry and 400 cavalry.
The Horta Division, led by Field Marshal Gregorio Laguna, had 2,164 troops and 200 cavalry.
The San Cugat Division, led by Colonel Gaspar Gomez de la Serna, had 2,458 troops.
The San Gerónimo de la Murta Division, led by Colonel Francisco Milans, had 3,710 migueletes.

The front-line group, called the Ampurdan Division, was led by Brigadier Álvarez. It had 6,000 troops and 100 cavalry. This group was made up of soldiers from different towns and local militias.

The Army of the Reserve

This army included soldiers from Palafox, Saint March, and O'Neill's Valencia division.

Autumn Campaign (1809)

The Junta Central started the Autumn Campaign for political reasons. Even though Del Parque won the Battle of Tamames in October, the Spanish Army lost badly at the battles of Ocaña and Alba de Tormes. These defeats led to the fall of the Junta Central in early 1810.

The campaign was carried out by the Army of Estremadura, led by the Duke of Alburquerque. This army was much smaller, with only 8,000 infantry and 1,500 cavalry. Many of its soldiers had been sent to help the Army of La Mancha.

The Army of La Mancha, which had been defeated earlier, was now led by Aréizaga. He managed to build it up to 48,000 infantry, 6,000 cavalry, and 60 cannons. This made it one of the largest forces Spain had ever created.

The Army of the Left, which was supposed to have 50,000 soldiers, actually had about 40,000. It was formed from La Romana's Army of Galicia, along with Ballasteros’s Army of the Asturias and Del Parque's troops. Del Parque was given command of this army.

Spanish Army in 1811

For most of 1811, the Spanish Army was organized into six main armies:

1st Army (Catalonia)
2nd Army (Valencia)
3rd Army (Murcia)
4th Army (Cádiz-Huelva)
5th Army (Extremadura)
6th Army (Asturias & Galicia)

Later in the year, new commanders were assigned to these armies. For example, Lacy commanded the 1st Army, and Ballesteros commanded the 4th Army.

Spanish Army in 1812–1814

On September 22, 1812, the Spanish government (the Cortes) named Wellington as the supreme commander of all Spanish armies. General Ballesteros, who commanded the 4th Army, was arrested and removed from his position in October 1812. He was sent away because he protested Wellington's command and tried to start an uprising.

By mid-1813, Spain's regular army had about 160,000 soldiers. About a third of these soldiers were fighting alongside Wellington's Anglo-Portuguese Army.

Here's how some of the armies were doing:

1st Army: By June 1813, the Army of Catalonia, now called the 1st Army, had 16,000 men under General Copons.
2nd Army: When Blake's Army of Valencia surrendered in early 1812, it had 28,000 men. About 7,000 escaped capture. By June 1813, its new commander, General Elio, had over 30,600 troops.
3rd Army: This army grew from about 5,500 men in January 1812 to 12,600 men by June 1813. By April 1814, the Prince of Anglona commanded 21,000 men.
4th Army (Galicia): This army was now part of Wellington's forces. In August 1813, Freire took command of its 35,000 troops.

There were also Reserve armies, like the Army of the Reserve of Andalusia and the Army of the Reserve of Galicia.

Irregular Troops

Besides the regular army, Spain also had many irregular troops, often called guerrillas. These were local fighters who used surprise attacks and ambushes.

In April 1809, the Junta Central ordered all healthy patriots to join the "Corso Terrestre" (Land Corsairs). By August, a group of 15 men in Navarra, led by Francisco Xavier Mina, had grown to 1,200 infantry and 150 cavalry after many successful ambushes. They were known as the "First Volunteers of Navarra."

By November 1811, Juan Palarea Blanes, known as "El Médico," had created two new units in La Mancha: a light cavalry unit and a light infantry unit. These units later joined the 4th Army.

The guerrillas were a big problem for the French. By summer 1811, French commanders had to use 70,000 soldiers just to keep their supply lines open between Madrid and the French border. By 1812, this number grew to 200,000 soldiers out of 350,000 French troops in Spain. These soldiers were busy protecting supplies instead of fighting on the front lines. A list from that year showed 22 guerrilla groups in Spain, with about 38,520 men.