The Battle of Almenar also referred to as Almenara was a battle in the Iberian theatre of the
War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...
.
In June 1710, the Bourbon-Spanish army of
Phillip V
Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...
crossed into
Catalonia
Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy.
Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the nort ...
in an attempt to capture
Balaguer
Balaguer () is the capital of the ''comarca'' of Noguera, in the province of Lleida, Catalonia, Spain. It is located by the river Segre, a tributary to the Ebre. The municipality includes an exclave to the east. Balaguer also has a sister city i ...
; an Allied force of British, Portuguese, Dutch and Austrian troops supporting
Archduke Charles
Archduke Charles Louis John Joseph Laurentius of Austria, Duke of Teschen (german: link=no, Erzherzog Karl Ludwig Johann Josef Lorenz von Österreich, Herzog von Teschen; 5 September 177130 April 1847) was an Austrian field-marshal, the third s ...
countered these moves and the two armies met in battle just to the north of
Lleida on the afternoon of 27 July. Philip's army was defeated and forced to withdraw behind the
Ebro
, name_etymology =
, image = Zaragoza shel.JPG
, image_size =
, image_caption = The Ebro River in Zaragoza
, map = SpainEbroBasin.png
, map_size =
, map_caption = The Ebro ...
but remained intact.
Prelude
By the spring of 1709, France was financially exhausted, the severe winter of 1708/09 led to widespread famine and
Louis XIV
, house = Bourbon
, father = Louis XIII
, mother = Anne of Austria
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
, death_date =
, death_place = Palace of Ver ...
was forced to withdraw French troops from Spain to reinforce his northern frontier. However, although the
Battle of Malplaquet
The Battle of Malplaquet took place on 11 September 1709 during the War of the Spanish Succession and was fought between a French army commanded by the Duke of Villars and a Grand Alliance force under the Duke of Marlborough. In one of the blo ...
in September 1709 was technically an Allied victory, the casualties shocked Europe and halted their advance into France. In Spain, forces loyal to the Bourbon candidate
Philip V Philip V may refer to:
* Philip V of Macedon (221–179 BC)
* Philip V of France (1293–1322)
* Philip II of Spain, also Philip V, Duke of Burgundy (1526–1598)
* Philip V of Spain
Philip V ( es, Felipe; 19 December 1683 – 9 July 1746) was ...
recaptured
Alicante
Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in t ...
in April 1709 and won a resounding victory over an Anglo-Portuguese army at
La Gudiña in May. The Portuguese now declared an informal truce, allowing trade and agriculture to recommence.
All sides wanted peace but negotiations in
The Hague
The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...
over the winter and spring of 1709/10 failed when the Allies demanded Louis agree to remove his grandson Philip by force if necessary. This approach was summarised by the British
Whig party slogan
No Peace Without Spain
No Peace Without Spain was a popular British political slogan of the early eighteenth century. It referred to the ongoing War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714) in which Britain was a leading participant. It implied that no peace treaty cou ...
but was a major miscalculation. There was growing opposition to the war in Britain, now the major financial backer of the
Alliance
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
while the campaign in Spain had largely been a failure. Phillip was far more popular with the Spanish than his rival
Archduke Charles
Archduke Charles Louis John Joseph Laurentius of Austria, Duke of Teschen (german: link=no, Erzherzog Karl Ludwig Johann Josef Lorenz von Österreich, Herzog von Teschen; 5 September 177130 April 1847) was an Austrian field-marshal, the third s ...
and so the war continued.
In May 1710, Phillip and the Spanish-Bourbon army under
Villadarias crossed the
Segre river into
Catalonia
Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy.
Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the nort ...
hoping to capture
Balaguer
Balaguer () is the capital of the ''comarca'' of Noguera, in the province of Lleida, Catalonia, Spain. It is located by the river Segre, a tributary to the Ebre. The municipality includes an exclave to the east. Balaguer also has a sister city i ...
. The first attempt failed due to torrential rain but French reinforcements increased the Spanish army to 20,000 infantry and 6,000 cavalry and in June they tried again. The illness of the Allied commander
Starhemberg
The House of Starhemberg is the name of an old and distinguished Austrian noble family originating from Upper Austria, specifically Steyr and Steinbach. Members of the family played important political role within the Holy Roman Empire and ...
enabled Philip to capture a number of small towns but after several weeks of marching and counter-marching, on 27 July
Stanhope's division crossed the Segres at
Alfarràs
Alfarràs is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Segrià in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated on the right bank of the Noguera Ribagorçana river, and receives irrigation water from the Aragon and Catalonia canal. The town is served by the ...
and combined with Starhemberg's forces on the heights of
Almenar
Almenar is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Segrià in Catalonia, Spain.
The Battle of Almenar, one of the main battles of the War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict t ...
.
The battle
Villadarias opened the battle with a cavalry attack on the Allied defences which initially gave way. The Spanish wasted the opening by pursuing groups of fleeing enemies and allowed the Allied lines to reform.
British infantry and dragoons on the Allied left led by Stanhope and
George Carpenter attacked the Bourbon army's right wing which fled, taking the second line with it; British casualties included the
Earl of Rochford
Earl of Rochford was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1695 and became extinct in 1830.
History
The title of Earl of Rochford was created in 1695 for William Nassau de Zuylestein, one of the most trusted companions of his kin ...
, Colonel of the 3rd Dragoon Regiment who was killed as they broke the Spanish lines.
The Austrians simultaneously attacked and destroyed the Bourbon right wing,
Philip
Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...
himself only just avoiding capture.
The battle took place late in the afternoon, preventing the Allies from following up their victory and allowing the Bourbon forces to gather their scattered cavalry and reassemble in the town of
Zaragoza
Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributari ...
or Saragossa.
Aftermath
Shortly after this, Villadarias was replaced by the French general the
Marquis de Bay, victor over an Anglo-Portuguese army at the
Battle of La Gudina
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
in May 1709. The Bourbon army was battered but largely intact.
References
Sources
* Falkner, James ''The War of the Spanish Succession;'' (Pen and Sword, 2015);
* Lynn, John A. ''The Wars of Louis XIV, 1667–1714.'' (Longman, 1999);
* Saint Simon, Louis; ''Memoirs of Louis XIV - Volume 7'' (CreateSpace Independent Publishing, 2016);
*;
{{coord, 41, 47, 45, N, 0, 34, 08, E, region:ES_type:event_source:kolossus-cawiki, display=title
Almenar
Almenar is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Segrià in Catalonia, Spain.
The Battle of Almenar, one of the main battles of the War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict t ...
Almenar
Almenar is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Segrià in Catalonia, Spain.
The Battle of Almenar, one of the main battles of the War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict t ...
Almenar
Almenar is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Segrià in Catalonia, Spain.
The Battle of Almenar, one of the main battles of the War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict t ...
Almenar
Almenar is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Segrià in Catalonia, Spain.
The Battle of Almenar, one of the main battles of the War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict t ...
Almenar
Almenar is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Segrià in Catalonia, Spain.
The Battle of Almenar, one of the main battles of the War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict t ...
Almenar
Almenar is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Segrià in Catalonia, Spain.
The Battle of Almenar, one of the main battles of the War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict t ...
Almenar
Almenar is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Segrià in Catalonia, Spain.
The Battle of Almenar, one of the main battles of the War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict t ...
Segrià
1710 in Spain