Joaquín Blake
Joaquín Blake y Joyes (August 19, 1759 – April 27, 1827) was a Spanish military officer who served with distinction in the French Revolutionary and Peninsular wars.
Early military career
Partially of Irish descent, Blake was born at Málaga to an aristocratic family. In his youth, he saw action as a lieutenant of the grenadiers in the American Revolutionary War, taking part in the abortive siege of Gibraltar and the 1783 reconquest of Minorca.
At the outbreak of war with France in 1793, Blake, a captain, took part in the invasion of Rousillon under General Ricardos. He was wounded at San-Lorenzo-de-la-Muga in 1794.
Peninsular War
Exploits in the field led to further promotions, and by the start of the Peninsular War in 1808, Blake held the rank of Lieutenant General. He was appointed head of the Supreme Junta's Army of Galicia (a paper force of 43,000 holding the Spanish left wing along the Cantabrian mountains) during the French invasions and fought well against Napoleon's Grande Armée despite the heavy odds against him.
Blake and Cuesta were defeated on July 14 at Medina del Rio Seco. Following the general French retreat prompted by the disaster at Bailén, Blake took up positions opposite the enemy on the banks of the Ebro. On October 31, Marshal Lefebvre's IV Corps fell upon Blake's 19,000 men at Pancorbo, turning back the hesitant Spanish advance. To his credit, Blake retreated swiftly and in good order, preventing Napoleon's planned envelopment and annihilation of the Spanish flank.
Furious, the Emperor dispatched Lefebvre and Victor in pursuit, the latter ordered to outmaneuver Blake and sweep across his line of retreat. The French were careless and allowed their forces to disperse during the pursuit. On November 5 Blake surprised his enemies again when, at Valmaceda, he suddenly turned about and attacked the French vanguard, inflicting a stinging defeat on General Vilatte's leading division. However, another French corps then joined the chase, and Blake raced west once more to evade encirclement.
Blake chose to make another stand at Espinosa on November 10. Victor, intent on avenging himself for his earlier humiliations at the hands of Blake, spent the day recklessly flinging his divisions against the Spaniards without success. The next day, however, a well-coordinated French attack shattered Blake's center and drove his army from the field in rout.
Although Blake lost only 3,000 men on the battlefield, many thousands more were dispersed in the hopeless confusion of retreat as the Spanish front disintegrated. Knowing the Army of Galicia to be irreparably shattered, Blake embarked on a grueling march west into the hills, outdistancing his pursuers under Soult. He reached Léon on November 23 with only 10,000 men. Command of what remained of the Army of Galicia then passed to General Pedro Caro y Sureda, 3rd marqués de La Romana.
Battle of Albuera
In 1810, Blake participated in the creation of a Spanish General Staff, which in the final years of the war began to restore coherence to the country's military enterprises. Poor battlefield performance had in large part been caused by the lethargy, mismanagement, and incoordination of Spain's fragmented military administration.
On May 16, 1811, Blake fought the French at Albuera alongside William Beresford's Anglo–Portuguese army. The Spaniards under Blake's command successfully held the allied flank against the strongest French infantry attack of the war, earning him a promotion to Captain General. In reality, it was largely the personal initiative of José de Zayas that defeated the French assault and very likely saved the allied army from destruction.
Blake was then transferred to eastern Spain to combat Marshal Suchet's advance on Valencia. Blake, after several defeats, ended up trapped in the city with his army, eventually surrendering on January 8, 1812, with his 16,000 troops, which marked the high point of French successes in eastern Spain.
Later life
In 1815 Blake was made Chief Engineer of the Spanish Royal Army. Blake died in 1827.