Blockade of Barcelona

The blockade of Barcelona, from August to December 1808, was the failed attempt by Spanish troops to recapture the French occupied Barcelona during the Peninsular War.[1]

Blockade of Barcelona
Part of the Peninsular War

French troops being bombarded by English ships at Barcelona, November, 1808 (Pronostich catala historic, geografic, astronomic, instructiu y religios per lo any 1847)
Date1 August – 17 December 1808[1]
Location
Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
41.4044°N 2.1608°E / 41.4044; 2.1608
Result French victory[1]
Belligerents
First French Empire French Empire Spain Kingdom of Spain
Commanders and leaders
First French Empire Guillaume Duhesme Spain Joan Miquel de Vives
Strength
8,000 infantry
1,400 cavalry		 19,551 infantry
780 cavalry
Blockade of Barcelona is located in Catalonia
Perpignan(France)
Perpignan(France)
Girona(Spain)
Girona(Spain)
Barcelona(Spain)
Barcelona(Spain)
Roses(Spain)
Roses(Spain)
Tarragona(Spain)
Tarragona(Spain)
Cardadeu(Spain)
Cardadeu(Spain)
Blockade of Barcelona (Catalonia)

Background

The French under Guillaume Philibert Duhesme had occupied Barcelona on 29 February 1808.[1]

In the Dos de Mayo Uprising in Madrid, citizens revolted against the French on 2 May 1808, and three days later, pressure from Napoleon forced Ferdinand VII of Spain to return the crown to his father, who handed it over to Napoleon who, in turn handed it over to his brother Joseph Bonaparte on 10 May.

But Spanish-occupied Girona kept on blocking the connection from Barcelona to Perpignan in France as Duhesme besieged Girona on 20–21 June 1808 unsuccessfully and on 24 July–16 August, his second siege of Girona failed again.[1][2]

Blockade

Meanwhile on 23 July, one day before the start of the second siege of Girona, the Marquis of Del Palacio landed at Tarragona at the head of a division of regular Spanish troops. French Barcelona was defended by only 3,500 Swiss and Italian remaining troops under the command of General Lecchi. On 31 July the last of the French outposts, the castle of Mongat, surrendered and the blockade of Barcelona started. After the failed second siege of Gerona, Duhesme returned to Barcelona on 20 August and the blockade turned into a siege.[1][2]

Relief

On 5 November, General St. Cyr with his troops, now 23,680 strong, was marching towards Barcelona. His siege of Roses, from 7 November to 5 December 1808, ended with a French victory.[1]

The decisive Battle of Cardadeu on 16 December 1808 ended with a French victory. On 21 December, St. Cyr defeated the Spanish at the Battle of Molins de Rei, driving the Catalan army away from Barcelona.[1]

See also

Notes
  1. Rickard 2008.
  2. Oman 1902, pp. 70–71.

References
  • Rickard, J. (2008). "Siege of Barcelona, 1 August-17 December 1808". Archived from the original on 9 March 2022.
  • Oman, Sir Charles William Chadwick (1902). A history of the Peninsular War. Vol. I. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
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