The battle of Alcañiz was an armed clash of the War of the Spanish Independence that took place in the place turolense of Alcañiz on 23 May 1809.
Antecedents
editIn the first days of 1808 the strengths of the emperor Napoleon Bonaparte invade Spain. But in spring of this same year the situation precipitates with the lifting of Two May in Madrid, the failure of the strengths of the marshal Duhesme in Catalonia, the ones of the marshal Moncey in Valencia and in Andalucia the total defeat of the army of the marshal Dupont in the battle of Bailén by the regular troops Spaniards of the general captain Chestnut trees, that carry to the French withdrawal north of the Ebro to first of August.
The imperial reaction does not do expect and in November of 1808 the Emperor in person with the best of his Big Armée crushes to the Spanish strengths in the battles of Gamonal, Espinosa of the Monteros, Tudela and Somosierra going in in Madrid, and being Saragossa and Girona besieged again. But in January of 1809 Napoleon has to go back to France in front of the rearm Austrian and the threat of a coup d'état in Paris. In spring the Spanish strengths are prepared for the counterattack.
In Aragon on 26 January 1809 the general Watier assaulted the population of Alcañiz crushing the resistance of his then 4.000 inhabitants that had organised a militia of volunteers for his defence, while the city of Saragossa after a cruento siege fell finally in French hands on 4 March. With seen to recover it on 20 May 1809 arrives to Alcañiz the Second Army of the Right or Army of Aragon and Valency formed by 8.500 children and 500 riders with 19 cannons to the control of the general lieutenant gift Joaquín Blake, withdrawing in front of him without presenting fight the first division Laval and a brigade of dragons formed by 6.500 children and 800 riders with 12 cannons of the III Body of French Army that occupied it replegándose to the population of Híjar to 28 kilometres northwest of Alcañiz in the route to Saragossa.
Blake takes positions in the heights northwest of Alcañiz deploying his strength organised in brigades. The general lieutenant gift Joaquín Blake and Joyes was malagueño son of Irish, and to his 50 years was a veteran with wide experience in fight against British and French.
The deployment of the strengths
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Of left to right the general lieutenant gift Joaquín Blake emplaza unseen in an olive grove 500 children of the colonel gift Martín González of Menchaca and the 500 riders of the brigadier gift Miguel Ibarrola. In the hill Perdiguer situates to the general gift Pedro Rock with 2.000 men of them 1.400 soldiers of infantry that defend the position and three cannons with his artillerymen. In the hill of the Horcas blocking the entrance to Alcañiz from Saragossa, like central position where the general captain gift Joaquín Blake establishes his general barracks, situates to the marquis of Lazán with other 2.000 men and to the brigadier gift Martín García-Loygorri and Ichaso with six cannons. To the right on the hill of the Pueyos of Fórnoles in front of the hermitage of the Virgin of the Pueyos blocking the entrance to Alcañiz from Caspe situates to the brigadier gift Carlos of Areizaga with another brigade of 2.000 men and a solitary cannon covered from the near hill of the Shot of Cannon to his right by other 1.000 men with two cannons. To the feet of the hill of the Pueyos of Fórnoles is the caserío Tella abandoned. As it forces of alert watching the road of Saragossa situates to ten kilometres northwest of Alcañiz in the Crags of Borrita a strength of 1.000 men to the control of the lieutenant colonel gift Pedro of Tejada.
On 22 May the marshal earl Louis Gabriel Suchet to the control of the III Body of French Army arrives from Saragossa with 3.500 soldiers of the brigade Fabre of his second division Musnier to the population of Híjar, where takes the control of the strength of Laval adding 10.000 children and 800 riders with 18 cannons, initiating the nocturnal course to Alcañiz protected of inopportune looks by the darkness. To the six of the morning of the day 23 May 1809 the strength of alert of Tejada in the Crags of Borrita detects the French arrival and after giving the alarm repliega to his planned position in the hill of the Shot of Cannon in the right of the Spanish deployment completing the brigade of 2000 men with two cannons there emplazada. To the alba of 23 May 1809 the marshal Suchet establishes his deployment in front of Alcañiz in the hill Carry near of the road to Caspe where situates to the 6.500 soldiers of the division Lazán with twelve cannons in front and the 800 riders of the cavalry behind like reservation, and to the 3.500 soldiers of the brigade Fabre in the hill of the Hunger to his right beside the road to Saragossa.
The marshal Suchet to his 39 years is veteran of the revolutionary wars and of training of the Napoleonic Empire with wide experience in fights against British, Spaniards, Austrians, Russians and prusianos.
The first French attacks
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The fight begins with a duel artilleryman between the French artillery situated in the skirt of the hill Carry against the solitary cannon situated in the high of the hill Pueyos, but the fault of effectiveness against the Spanish brigade given the difference of height did it last little time. The general Lazán formed in the hill Carry to the 1ª and 2ª brigades of his division of infantry in two columns of attack of 2.000 soldiers each one directing them by the road of Caspe against the hill of the Pueyos defended by the 1.400 soldiers of the brigade of the general Areizaga formed by the light infantry of the Volunteers of Aragon, Fencers of Murcia, 2ª of Volunteers of Aragon and Daroca, but when trying flanquear the position discovered that they were under the fire artilleryman of the hill of the Shot of Cannon and were refused replegándose ordenadamente. The general Fabre from the hill of the Hunger sent another strength of attack formed by the 1.000 Poles of the 1º regiment of the Vístula against the hill of the Perdiguer but also was refused by the brigade of the general Rock, while Laval attacked again sending his columns against the hills of the Pueyos and of the Shot of Cannon being again refused after an intense fight by the brigade of the general Areizaga and the one of the lieutenant colonel Tejada with the light infantry of the Hunters of Fernando VII and Volunteers of Valency beside the infantry of line of the regiments America and the Swiss Traxler number5.
During the second series of attacks the general lieutenant Blake sends to the cavalry and infantry of Ibarrola from the olive grove of his left flank to the caserío Tella to the feet of the hill of the Pueyos where the light infantry of the 2º of Hunters of Valencia and the 1º of Volunteers of Aragon parapeta after the walls and walls of the caserío while the 500 riders of the two squadrons of cavalry of line of the regiment Santiago and other two squadrons of the light cavalry of the regiments Spanish Hussars and Hunters of Olivenza positions after the house: when the 2.000 soldiers of the French column that attacked the hill Pueyos go down refused and desorganizados receive a download of mosquetes from the house and the Spanish cavalry load on them going in in panic the French column that escapes to the hill Carry, there the infantry of protection does a download on the Spanish cavalry injuring to Ibarrola and the 800 French dragons of the reservation load on them pursuing them, but the Spanish riders carry them to the caserío Tella where another download of mosquetes of the light infantry refuses to the French riders while the Spanish cavalry reorganises behind the house. After this and before the predictable French attack, the infantry and the Spanish cavalry of the caserío repliegan emplazándose after the hill Pueyos reinforcing this point of the line.
The fight decides : the artillery of Loygorri
editAfter this reverse the marshal Suchet orders to the general Fabre make the main attack to the central position, and to the rest of his strengths presionar all the Spanish line to fix it and prevent that it reinforce the centre: Fabre deploys a strength of 2.000 soldiers of the regiments 114º of line and 1º regiment of the Vístula that in training of column to drum batiente by the road of Saragossa attacks the central position in the hill of the Horcas, defended by 1.400 soldiers of the regiments of infantry of line Saboya, Valencia and America of the marquis of Lazán and the artillery to the control of the brigadier Martín García-Loygorri and Ichaso.
The aim of Suchet is to break the Spanish line by the centre. The French column advances with brio under the fire of mosquete and then the brigadier Loygorri, with enormous serenity and cold blood, holds to give the orders of fire to that the troops enemies are almost in the mouth of his cannons, having the shots of the pieces of precise and uninterruptible form during more than half hour, causing the dispersion and a big mortandad in the Napoleonic troops, that undertook the escaped, prey of the panic, hill down, going back to his starting point in the hill of the Hunger.
After seven hours of fight, to the 13:00 hours both edicts are in sight in his positions, but there are not more attacks in all the afternoon. The surgeons do his work in the hospitals of campaign helped by the civil companions of the army, in his majority women linked to the soldiers with functions of aguadoras and nurses, that brought and attended to the injured. The population of Alcañiz was to the Spanish camp encouraging to the troop and helping the injured. This night and again to covered of the darkness the French army withdrew to Samper of Calanda.
By his decisive intervention in the battle, the brigadier García-Loygorri was risen to marshal of field and would be him awarded years afterwards the Laureada of Saint Fernando, the most prestigious of the condecoraciones military Spanish, being the first facts of arms in being recompensados with so esteemed award.
The day afterwards
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When dawning of the day 24 May the Spanish strengths discovered that the French had withdrawn . In the field of battle found 500 corpses abandoned enemies, since trasportó only to the injured estimated in some 1.500, adding the French drops approximated the 2.000 men and 40 prisoners. The Spaniards suffered 300 drops between dead persons and injured, of them 24 officials and 260 soldiers.
In spite of the drops the army of Suchet kept on being numerically upper, especially in cavalry that had to head the persecution, in addition to that on the defensive it could choose the field of battle. In such situation the general lieutenant gift Joaquín Blake kept his positions while Suchet withdrew ordenadamente. Near of the population of Samper of Calanda the cry of a drum that believed to see Spanish troops approaching did that cundiera the panic in the 1ª division Laval that went in head —the same that suffered the load of the Spanish cavalry during the battle— sucediéndose a chaos in which the French troop desmandada and mixed went in in the village looking for shelter in the greater confusion and even exchanging shots: the marshal Suchet did to look for and fusilar to the remaining drum two days in Samper until recovering the control of the troop, before heading to Saragossa trying hide his defeat not informing at least of the existence of the fight.
By this battle created on 14 May 1815 a cross of distinction with red strip, with the sails of Saint Andrés red esmaltadas, a crown of laurel with a yellow and red flame, a white oval in his centre with the registration Fernando VII and Alcañiz in letters of gold.
External links
edit- The battle of Alcañiz in www.1808-1814.org
- Spanish ephemerides: The battle of Alcañiz — Twelve Twelve
- The battle of Alcañiz, by Luis To. Pellicer Mark — Association the Places
- IV Days on History and Heritage of the region of the Low Aragon
[[Category:Battles of the Peninsular War]] [[Category:1809 in Spain]]