Siege of Astorga
| Siege of Astorga | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Peninsular War | |||||||||
 The walls of Astorga | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 France |
 Spain | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
|
André Masséna Jean-Andoche Junot |
.svg){kind=small} José María Santocildes | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
|
10,800 infantry, 1,200 cavalry, 18 guns | 2,700 infantry | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
|
160 dead, 400 wounded |
51 dead, 109 wounded | ||||||||
The siege of Astorga was an attempt by French forces to capture Astorga, Spain in a campaign of the Peninsular War. Astorga was located on the flank of the French invasion of Spain and Portugal, and was meant to be used as a headquarters during the campaign. For several weeks no attack took place, as neither side had artillery enough to fight well. Shortly after the French guns arrived, however, a hole was made in the wall and the city fell shortly thereafter. The French overpowered the Spanish garrison inside and took the city on April 20, 1810; with a loss of 160 men.
Location
Astorga is located in the province of León, in northwest Spain.[1] Because of its location, it sat on the flank of the French army as they advanced into Spain, and then invaded Portugal.[2] The city was built into a hill, part of the Manzanal mountains;[1] and therefore was provided with natural defenses.[3] The French had already been defeated once trying to take the city, in September 1809,[4] after which General La Romana repaired the walls of the city and built up its defenses.[5]
Forces
The French forces, part of André Masséna's army, were led by Jean-Andoche Junot.[3] Junot arrived at Astorga on March 21 with Napoleon's 8th corps, consisting of 12,000 men, including 1,200 cavalry forces.[4] Junot's forces included the Irish Legion; they had joined earlier that month.[2] Astorga would be the first action for the Second Battalion of the Legion.[2] Junot placed Bertrand Clausel's division in the position Loison had held,[6] with Solignac in support, and St. Croix to watch the rear.[3]
Campaign
General Loison attempted to take the city in February 1810, as it was meant to be his headquarters during the invasion of Portugal; but was unprepared to attack the defenses he found there, and was forced to retreat.[5] Junot's troops came to assist Loison, but brought no siege guns with them; It took Junot weeks to gather enough artillery to assault the town.[7] In the meantime, the French forces dug trenches to besiege the town.[7] Incidentally, the English and Spanish troops under Wellington had the same troubles when they recaptured the city in 1812.[8] The garrison in Astorga had no siege guns, either: for several weeks there was a standoff.[7] During these weeks, Santocildes emptied the town of 3,000 of its residents and stocked up on supplies for the siege,[3] which began on March 21 of 1810.[9] The Spanish could expect no hope from Wellington's forces, which remained in Portugal.[10] Until the siege guns arrived, there was no action except nuisance fire from what little artillery Junot had,[6] and skirmish parties sent out from Astorga.[3]
Junot's 18 siege guns arrived on April 15 from Valladolid,[6] and by the 20th, the wall of the city was breached.[11] The French stormed the city the next evening;[2] however, their first attack was repulsed at the cost of 300 men.[11] Those of the storming company who were not killed holed up just inside the wall and held the position for the night.[3] The next morning, Santocildes surrendered as the French were preparing for another attack.[11]
Aftermath
Santocildes was almost out of ammunition when he surrendered: he had fewer than 30 rounds of ammunition left per man, and only 8 rounds of artillery.[4] He gave the French 2,500 prisoners and the city, but cost the French 160 men, with 400 wounded.[3] His garrison lost only 51 dead and 109 wounded.[3] Most of the French casualties came in the assault on the breach.[11] The Irish Legion led the charge over the wall, and suffered heavy losses: Captain John Allen's company's drummer boy continued to beat the charge after having lost both legs, for which he was given the French Legion of Honor.[2]
References
- ^ a b Goldberg, Maren (2008-04-28), "Astorga", Encyclopædia Britannica Online, Encyclopædia Britannica, retrieved 2009-08-29
- ^ a b c d e Medlen, Virginia (2007), Napoleon's Irish Legion: La Legion Irlandaise 1803 - 1815, The Napoleonic Historical Society, retrieved 2009-08-29
- ^ a b c d e f g h Rickard, John (2008-04-09), Siege of Astorga, 21 March-22 April 1810, retrieved 2009-08-28
- ^ a b c Southey, Robert (1828), History of the Peninsular War, vol. 4, London: John Murray
- ^ a b Fortescue, John William (1912), A History of the British Army, vol. 7, Macmillan Publishers
- ^ a b c Oman, Sir Charles William Chadwick; Hall, John Alexander (1908), A History of the Peninsular War, vol. 4, Clarendon Press
- ^ a b c Gates, David (2001), The Spanish Ulcer: A History of the Peninsular War, Da Capo Press, p. 576, ISBN 0-306-81083-2
- ^ Esdaile, Charles J. (2003), The Peninsular War: A New History, Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 587, ISBN 1-4039-6231-6
- ^ Jones, John Thomas (1821), Account of the War in Spain, Portugal, and the South of France (2nd ed.), T. Egerton
- ^ Esdaile, Charles J. (1988), The Spanish Army in the Peninsular War, Manchester University Press ND, p. 232, ISBN 0-7190-2538-9
- ^ a b c d Napier, Sir William (1882), History of the War in the Peninsula & in the South of France, vol. 2, G. Routledge & Sons