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Battle of Castalla (1812)

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1812 battle during the Peninsular War This article is about the battle in 1812. For the better-known battle in 1813, see Battle of Castalla.

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Battle of Castalla (1812)
Part of Peninsular War

Battle of Castalla, 21 July 1812, by Jean-Charles Langlois
Date21 July 1812
LocationCastalla, Spain38°36′N 0°40′W / 38.600°N 0.667°W / 38.600; -0.667
Result French victory
Belligerents
First French Empire First French Empire Kingdom of Spain
Commanders and leaders
First French Empire Jean Harispe Joseph O'Donnell
Units involved
First French Empire Army of Aragon Army of Murcia
Strength
4,000 10,000
Casualties and losses
200 3,000
2 guns
Peninsular War
Aragon and northeast Spain 1809–1814
Peninsular War: Aragón Catalonia About OpenStreetMapsMaps: terms of use 200km
125miles 21Battle of Ordal at Ordal, on 13 September 1813 Castalla20 19Battle of Altafulla at Altafulla, on 29 January 1812 Valencia18Siege of Valencia (1812) at Valencia, from 26 December 1811 – 9 January 1812 Saguntum17Battle of Saguntum at Saguntum, on 25 October 1811 16Battle of Cervera (1811) at Cervera, from 4 to 14 October 1811 15Siege of Figueras (1811) at Figueras, from 4 April to 19 August 1811 14Battle of Montserrat at Montserrat, on 25 July 1811 13Siege of Tarragona (1811) from 5 May – 29 June 1811 Siege of Tarragona (1813) from 3 to 11 June 1813 12Battle of El Pla at El Pla, on 15 January 1811 11Siege of Tortosa (1810–11) at Tortosa, from 19 December 1810 to 2 January 1811 10Battle of La Bisbal at La Bisbal, on 14 September 1810 9Siege of Mequinenza at Mequinenza, from 15 May to 8 June 1810 8Siege of Lérida at Lérida, on 23 April and 29 April to 14 May 1810 7Battle of Vic at Vic, on 20 February 1810 6Battle of Mollet at Mollet, on 21 January 1810 5Battle of Belchite (1809) at Belchite, on 18 June 1809 María4Battle of María at María de Huerva, on 15 June 1809 3Battle of Alcañiz at Alcañiz, on 23 May 1809 2Third siege of Girona at Girona, from 6 May to 12 December 1809 1Battle of Valls at Valls, on 25 February 1809    current battle

In the Battle of Castalla (21 July 1812) a small Spanish army commanded by Joseph O'Donnell advanced to attack an Imperial French division under the leadership of Jean Isidore Harispe. O'Donnell's battle plan was poorly conceived and the outnumbered French smashed his center column before his right and left wings could intervene. The engagement occurred during the Peninsular War, part of the Napoleonic Wars. The battle was fought near Castalla, 32 kilometres (20 mi) north-west of Alicante, Spain.

Background

In the successful Siege of Valencia and subsidiary operations, Marshal Louis Gabriel Suchet's French army conquered much of the province of Valencia. To the south, the Spanish Army of Murcia regrouped in an attempt to halt further French advances. On 16 January 1812, the Spanish defeated an attempt by General of Division Louis-Pierre Montbrun and 5,500 French soldiers to seize their base at Alicante. An Anglo-Sicilian expedition under General Thomas Maitland was due to arrive at Alicante and General Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington asked Captain General Joseph O'Donnell to conduct a holding operation.

Battle

Ignoring Wellington's advice, O'Donnell formed his 11,000-strong army into three attack columns designed to envelop one of General of Division Jean Isidore Harispe's brigades. Abandoning the town of Castalla, Colonel Jacques-Antoine-Adrien Delort drew up his soldiers on a nearby ridge. As O'Donnell's three center brigades probed the position, the French 24th Dragoon regiment unexpectedly arrived on the battlefield and delivered a series of crushing blows. The French cavalry and infantry killed or wounded 1,000 Spanish soldiers and rounded up 2,135 prisoners. The Spanish right and left columns made such wide circuits of the battlefield that the fighting was over before they could influence the result. When Maitland landed he found the Army of Murcia in no shape to conduct operations for several months. The day after Castalla, Wellington won a decisive victory over the French at Salamanca and threatened to break Napoleon's grip on Spain.

Notes

  1. ^ Bodart 1908, p. 432.
  2. Esdaile 2003, p. 391.
  3. Smith 1998, pp. 363–364.
  4. Oman 1914, p. 567.
  5. Oman 1914, pp. 567–570.
  6. Smith 1998, pp. 380–381.

References

External links

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