The Battle of Maida, fought on 4 July 1806 was a battle between the
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
expeditionary force and a
French force outside the town of
Maida in Calabria,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
during the
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...
.
John Stuart led 5,236 Anglo-Sicilian troops to victory over about 5,400 Franco-Italian-Polish troops under the command of French general
Jean Reynier
Jean Louis Ebénézer Reynier (14 January 1771 – 27 February 1814) was a Swiss- French military officer who served in the French Army under the First Republic and the First Empire. He rose in rank to become a general during the French Revolu ...
, inflicting significant losses while incurring relatively few casualties. Maida is located in the toe of Italy, about west of
Catanzaro
Catanzaro (, or ; scn, label= Catanzarese, Catanzaru ; , or , ''Katastaríoi Lokrói''; ; la, Catacium), also known as the "City of the two Seas", is an Italian city of 86,183 inhabitants (2020), the capital of the Calabria region and of its p ...
.
In early 1806, the French invaded and overran the
Kingdom of Naples
The Kingdom of Naples ( la, Regnum Neapolitanum; it, Regno di Napoli; nap, Regno 'e Napule), also known as the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was ...
, forcing King
Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies
Ferdinand I (12 January 1751 – 4 January 1825) was the King of the Two Sicilies from 1816, after his restoration following victory in the Napoleonic Wars. Before that he had been, since 1759, Ferdinand IV of the Kingdom of Naples and Ferdinand I ...
and his government to flee to
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
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. The Calabrians revolted against their new conquerors and Stuart's expeditionary force tried to exploit the unrest by raiding the coast. While ashore, the British encountered Reynier's division and the two sides engaged in battle. The 19th-century historians presented the action as a typical fight between French columns and British lines. This view of the battle has been called into doubt by at least one modern historian who argued that the French deployed into lines. Nobody questions the result which was a one-sided British victory.
After the battle, Stuart captured some isolated garrisons in
Calabria
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and was transported back to Sicily by the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
. Two weeks after the battle, the city of
Gaeta
Gaeta (; lat, Cāiēta; Southern Laziale: ''Gaieta'') is a city in the province of Latina, in Lazio, Southern Italy. Set on a promontory stretching towards the Gulf of Gaeta, it is from Rome and from Naples.
The town has played a consp ...
fell to the French after a long siege. While Stuart succeeded in preventing a French invasion of Sicily and sustained the revolt in Calabria, he missed an opportunity to assist the defenders of Gaeta.
Background
Following the decision by King Ferdinand to side with the
Third Coalition
The War of the Third Coalition)
* In French historiography, it is known as the Austrian campaign of 1805 (french: Campagne d'Autriche de 1805) or the German campaign of 1805 (french: Campagne d'Allemagne de 1805) was a European conflict spanni ...
against
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
, French forces had invaded the Kingdom of Naples in the spring of 1806, after the British and Russian forces supposedly defending the kingdom evacuated Italy altogether: the British to Sicily and the Russians to Corfu. The Neapolitan-Sicilian army was crushed at the
Battle of Campo Tenese
The Battle of Campo Tenese (9 March 1806) saw two divisions of the First French Empire, Imperial French Army of Naples led by Jean Reynier attack the left wing of the Royal Neapolitan Army under Roger de Damas. Though the defenders were protect ...
, forcing Ferdinand to flee to
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
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, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
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and concede the Neapolitan crown to the French. Napoleon then installed his brother
Joseph Bonaparte
it, Giuseppe-Napoleone Buonaparte es, José Napoleón Bonaparte
, house = Bonaparte
, father = Carlo Buonaparte
, mother = Letizia Ramolino
, birth_date = 7 January 1768
, birth_place = Corte, Corsica, Republic of ...
on the Neapolitan throne.
By July 1806, the French had crushed all Neapolitan resistance except for the uprising in
Calabria
, population_note =
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and a garrison at
Gaeta
Gaeta (; lat, Cāiēta; Southern Laziale: ''Gaieta'') is a city in the province of Latina, in Lazio, Southern Italy. Set on a promontory stretching towards the Gulf of Gaeta, it is from Rome and from Naples.
The town has played a consp ...
. There,
André Masséna
André Masséna, Prince of Essling, Duke of Rivoli (born Andrea Massena; 6 May 1758 – 4 April 1817) was a French military commander during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars.Donald D. Horward, ed., trans, annotated, The Fre ...
's force become embroiled in a lengthy siege. The British decided to organise an expedition into Calabria to further the insurrection against the French, and prevent any potential invasion of Sicily.
Battle
![Battle of Maida 1806 Map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/Battle_of_Maida_1806_Map.jpg)
A British force of over 5,000 men commanded by
Major-General John Stuart sailed from Messina on 27 June, landing in the Gulf of Sant'Eufemia three days later. At the same time a French force under the command of General
Jean Reynier
Jean Louis Ebénézer Reynier (14 January 1771 – 27 February 1814) was a Swiss- French military officer who served in the French Army under the First Republic and the First Empire. He rose in rank to become a general during the French Revolu ...
, the only French force in Calabria, moved to confront them. The exact size of the French force is unknown.
Contemporary French sources range between 5050 and 5450.
Some later historians have suggested a force as large as 6400 but the most recent estimates are closer to 5400.
On the morning of 4 July, Reynier broke camp and advanced toward level terrain along the shallow Lomato River. Believing his army superior in numbers, Stuart marched toward the same location nearly parallel to the French column. As both forces deployed from march column, they ended up in
echelon formation
An echelon formation () is a (usually military) formation in which its units are arranged diagonally. Each unit is stationed behind and to the right (a "right echelon"), or behind and to the left ("left echelon"), of the unit ahead. The name of ...
. On the French side, the left flank was leading, while on the British side the right flank was leading. On the French left,
General of Brigade
Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed to ...
Louis Fursy Henri Compère
Louis Fursy Henri Compère (16 January 1768 – 27 March 1833) was a French general of artillery in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars.
Compère was born in Péronne, Somme. In 1794, he was promoted to ''chef de brigade'', ...
was echeloned forward, with the 1st Light Infantry Regiment on the left and the 42nd Line Infantry Regiment to its right. The center, commanded by General of Brigade
Luigi Gaspare Peyri
Luigi Gaspare Peyri or Louis Gaspard Balthazar Pierre Léon Marie Peyri (1758 – 1822) became a general officer in the army of the Kingdom of Italy which was a satellite of Napoleon's First French Empire. He led Italians, Swiss, and Poles in ...
, included two battalions of Poles and the 4th battalion of the 1st Swiss Regiment. On the right flank, General of Brigade
Antoine Digonet
Antoine Digonet (23 January 1763 – 17 March 1811) commanded a French brigade during the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars. He joined the French Royal Army and fought in the American Revolutionary War as a foot soldier. In 1792 he was ...
trailed the other two formations. Digonet's command comprised the 23rd Light Infantry and 9th
Chasseurs à Cheval
''Chasseur'' ( , ), a French term for "hunter", is the designation given to certain regiments of French and Belgian light infantry () or light cavalry () to denote troops trained for rapid action.
History
This branch of the French Army origi ...
Regiments and the field guns. Opposing the French was Colonel
James Kempt
General Sir James Kempt, ( – 20 December 1854) was a British Army officer, who served in the Netherlands, Egypt, Italy, the Peninsula, and British North America during the Napoleonic Wars. He led a British brigade at the Battle of Waterloo and ...
's Advanced Guard on the British right flank, echeloned forward. To Kempt's left rear was Colonel
Wroth Palmer Acland
Lieutenant-General Sir Wroth Palmer Acland KCB (16 March 1770 – 8 March 1816) was an English soldier, notable for his role in the Peninsular War.
Biography
Acland was the 12th child of Arthur Palmer Acland, of Fairfield House, Somerset, an ...
's 2nd Brigade. Well to Acland's left rear marched Colonel
John Oswald's 3rd Brigade, which formed the center. Colonel
Lowry Cole
Hon. Sir Galbraith Lowry Cole, (1 May 1772 – 4 October 1842) was an Anglo-Irish British Army general and politician.
Early life
Cole was the second son of an Irish peer, William Willoughby Cole, 1st Earl of Enniskillen (1 March 1736&ndash ...
's 1st Brigade deployed on the left flank with the artillery. Cole was closer to the French than Oswald. Off conducting diversionary actions was the
20th Foot, which would be late.
![Sir James Kempt by William Salter cropped](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1e/Sir_James_Kempt_by_William_Salter_cropped.jpg)
Only when the armies were nearly in contact did Stuart realize that he was outnumbered, but he allowed the battle to commence without changing any orders. Kempt detached the
Royal Corsican Rangers
The Royal Corsican Rangers was a unit of the British Army, composed mainly of Émigrés, which served during the later part of the French Revolutionary Wars and throughout the Napoleonic Wars.
First embodiment
In 1794, the Corsicans under Pasqu ...
and Sicilians as skirmishers. These got into a brawl with Compère's ''voltigeurs'' (light companies) and fell back. Kempt sent the flankers of the
35th Foot
The 35th (Royal Sussex) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1701. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 107th (Bengal Infantry) Regiment of Foot to form the Royal Sussex Regiment in 1881.
Histor ...
and the light company of the 20th Foot to help. Once the British troops halted the French skirmishers, they rejoined Kempt. At this time, Compère launched the 1st Light at Kempt, while the 42nd Line aimed to strike Acland. Since it had a head start, 1st Light's attack columns met Kempt's troops first. At 150 yards, the Advanced Guard fired its first volley but the 1st Light continued to advance. Kempt's second volley was fired at a range of 80 yards, wounding Compère, who nevertheless urged his men on. Though disordered by their losses, the French closed to 20 yards, where they absorbed a third volley. This fire completely broke up the 1st Light and its soldiers turned and fled. Compère, who literally rode into the British line, and others were captured in the brief melée that followed.
[Schneid, p. 53]
![The 1st Light breaks at Maida](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/The_1st_Light_breaks_at_Maida.jpg)
As the 1st Light's attack collapsed, Kempt's men charged their shaken enemies. As the French formation disintegrated, the Advanced Guard went out of control, chasing the fleeing French as far as Maida. Meanwhile, the 42nd advanced on Acland in two battalion columns. The British fired at a range of 300 yards and blazed away until the French attack ground to a halt. Aware that their neighboring regiment was fleeing from the battlefield, the 42nd also decamped.
[ Seeing his left wing in rout, Reynier sent Peyri's brigade to face Acland. After a brisk action, the Poles were routed at bayonet point. The Swiss, however, maintained order and gave a good account of themselves. After Stuart sent reinforcements into the fight, the Swiss battalion fell back to join Digonet's brigade. Acland and Cole now advanced on Digonet and the Swiss. The 9th Chasseurs charged, forcing the British battalions to form square. Oswald's brigade appeared on the scene, but Digonet still held his ground, supported by the cavalry and the guns. Finally, the 20th Foot arrived from the coast and began firing at the exposed right flank of the 23rd Light. At this, Digonet and the Swiss began an orderly retreat and the battle was over.][Schneid, p. 54]
Stuart's 5,196-man force suffered 45 killed and 282 wounded for a total of 327 casualties. Out of a total of 6,440 soldiers, Reynier lost 490 killed and 870 wounded. In addition, the British captured 722 French soldiers and four cannon. Another authority asserts that the French saved their guns. The 1st Light Infantry lost 50% of its strength between killed, wounded, and prisoners.[ The action involving the 1st Light Infantry lasted only fifteen minutes.][Chandler, David, ''Dictionary of the Napoleonic Wars'', Wordsworth, 1999. . p 261]
Aftermath
Stuart ordered Kempt's Advanced Guard to observe Reynier's withdrawal while he and Sidney Smith discussed future actions. On 6 July, they decided to move south and pick off Reynier's garrisons.[ That day, a half-battalion of the Polish-Italian Legion in the town of Vibo Valentia (Monteleone di Calabria) surrendered to Stuart.][ On 7 July, three more companies of Poles laid down their arms in ]Tropea
Tropea (; scn, label= Calabrian, Trupìa; la, Tropaea; grc, Τράπεια, Trápeia) is a municipality in the province of Vibo Valentia, in Calabria, Italy.
Tropea is a seaside resort with sandy beaches, located on the Gulf of Saint Euphemi ...
when summoned by Captain Edward Fellowes in the frigate . Reggio Calabria
Reggio di Calabria ( scn, label= Southern Calabrian, Riggiu; el, label= Calabrian Greek, Ρήγι, Rìji), usually referred to as Reggio Calabria, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, is the largest city in Calabria. It has an estimated popul ...
surrendered on 9 July to Brigadier General
Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...
Broderick with 1,200 British and Neapolitan troops. The allies were transported from Sicily in the frigate under Captain William Hoste
Captain Sir William Hoste, 1st Baronet KCB RN (26 August 17806 December 1828) was a Royal Navy captain. Best known as one of Lord Nelson's protégés, Hoste was one of the great frigate captains of the Napoleonic wars, taking part in six majo ...
. On this occasion, 632 soldiers from the 1st Light and 42nd Line Infantry Regiments were captured.[Smith, p. 222]
Marching south, Stuart reached Reggio on 23 July. Before returning to Sicily, he and Smith mopped up all of Reynier's garrisons in southern Calabria.[Schneid, p. 55] On 24 July, the fortress of Scilla
''Scilla'' () is a genus of about 30 to 80 species of bulb-forming perennial herbaceous plants in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae. Sometimes called the squills in English, they are native to woodlands, subalpine meadows, and sea ...
and 281 soldiers of the 23rd Light Infantry surrendered to Oswald. The British had one battalion each of the 10th Foot
The Royal Lincolnshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army raised on 20 June 1685 as the Earl of Bath's Regiment for its first Colonel, John Granville, 1st Earl of Bath. In 1751, it was numbered like most other Army regiments ...
, 21st Foot, and Chasseurs Britanniques
The Chasseurs Britanniques was a battalion-sized corps of foreign volunteers, who fought for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland during the Napoleonic Wars. The regiment was formed from the remnants of the Louis Joseph, Prince of Condé ...
. The 3rd battalion of the Polish-Italian Legion, 500 strong, surrendered to Captain Hoste in the ''Amphion'' and the 78th Foot
The 78th (Highlanders) Regiment of Foot was a Highland Infantry Regiment of the Line, raised in 1793. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with 72nd Regiment, Duke of Albany's Own Highlanders to form the Seaforth Highlanders in 1881.
...
at Crotone
Crotone (, ; nap, label= Crotonese, Cutrone or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Calabria, Italy. Founded as the Achaean colony of Kroton ( grc, Κρότων or ; la, Crotona) in Magna Graecia, it was known as Cotrone from the Middle Ages until ...
on 28 July.[ Stuart received the ]Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...
and an annuity of £1,000 a year from the British crown, and the title ''Count of Maida'' from King Ferdinand, for the victory.
The allies suffered a major setback on 18 July when the long Siege of Gaeta ended. After the French siege artillery breached Gaeta
Gaeta (; lat, Cāiēta; Southern Laziale: ''Gaieta'') is a city in the province of Latina, in Lazio, Southern Italy. Set on a promontory stretching towards the Gulf of Gaeta, it is from Rome and from Naples.
The town has played a consp ...
's walls, the Neapolitan garrison capitulated. By marching south, Stuart and Smith missed a chance to intervene in the siege or to land at Naples
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
and attempt to overthrow Joseph's government. The surrender freed Masséna's force for operations in Calabria. In Stuart's defence, his expedition had successfully accomplished its main objective, which was to prevent any early invasion of Sicily. He also lengthened the revolt, which the French would not bring under control until 1807.[
The political situation in southern Italy would remain unchanged until 1815, with the British and Sicilian troops guarding the Bourbon King Ferdinand in Sicily and the Napoleonic King of Naples controlling the mainland. The British failed to use their naval superiority around Italy and did little to harass the French on the mainland. In 1808, ]Joachim Murat
Joachim Murat ( , also , ; it, Gioacchino Murati; 25 March 1767 – 13 October 1815) was a French military commander and statesman who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars. Under the French Empire he received the ...
became the King of Naples after Joseph Bonaparte was sent to govern Spain. Murat made various attempts to cross the Strait of Sicily
The Strait of Sicily (also known as Sicilian Strait, Sicilian Channel, Channel of Sicily, Sicilian Narrows and Pantelleria Channel; it, Canale di Sicilia or the Stretto di Sicilia; scn, Canali di Sicilia or Strittu di Sicilia, ar, مضيق ص ...
, which all ended in failure, despite once managing to secure a foothold in Sicily. It was not until Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
defeated Murat in the Neapolitan War
The Neapolitan War, also known as the Austro-Neapolitan War, was a conflict between the Napoleonic Kingdom of Naples and the Austrian Empire. It started on 15 March 1815 when King Joachim Murat declared war on Austria and ended on 20 May 1815 ...
in 1815, that King Ferdinand was finally restored to the Neapolitan throne.
Legacy
Maida Hill
Maida Vale ( ) is an affluent residential district consisting of the northern part of Paddington in West London, west of St John's Wood and south of Kilburn. It is also the name of its main road, on the continuous Edgware Road. Maida Vale is p ...
and the suburbs of Maida Vale
Maida Vale ( ) is an affluent residential district consisting of the northern part of Paddington in West London, west of St John's Wood and south of Kilburn. It is also the name of its main road, on the continuous Edgware Road. Maida Vale is p ...
in London and Maida Vale
Maida Vale ( ) is an affluent residential district consisting of the northern part of Paddington in West London, west of St John's Wood and south of Kilburn. It is also the name of its main road, on the continuous Edgware Road. Maida Vale is p ...
in Perth
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
, Western Australia are all named after this battle.
The Royal Navy named the recently (in 1806) captured ''Jupiter'' HMS ''Maida''.
Orders of battle
Historical reanalysis
It was traditionally (but wrongly) thought that in the Battle of Maida the British deployed in a line while the French attacked in columns, allowing the British to fire full strength volleys into the French columns, while only the first two ranks of the French could fire, similar to Crossing the T
Crossing the ''T'' or capping the ''T'' is a classic naval warfare tactic used from the late 19th to the mid-20th centuries in which a line of warships crosses in front of a line of enemy ships to allow the crossing line to bring all their gun ...
in naval combat. However, modern historians dispute this claim. The military historian James R. Arnold argues:
:"The writings of Sir Charles Oman
Sir Charles William Chadwick Oman, (12 January 1860 – 23 June 1946) was a British Military history, military historian. His reconstructions of medieval battles from the fragmentary and distorted accounts left by chroniclers were pioneering. ...
and Sir John Fortescue dominated subsequent English-language Napoleonic history. Their views hat_the_French_infantry_used_heavy_columns_to_attack_lines_of_infantry.html" ;"title="heavy_column.html" ;"title="hat the French infantry used heavy column">hat the French infantry used heavy columns to attack lines of infantry">heavy_column.html" ;"title="hat the French infantry used heavy column">hat the French infantry used heavy columns to attack lines of infantrybecame very much the received wisdom. ... By 1998 a new paradigm seemed to have set in with the publication of two books devoted to Napoleonic battle tactics. Both claimed that the French fought in line at Maida and both fully explored French tactical variety. The 2002 publication of ''The Battle of Maida 1806: Fifteen Minutes of Glory'', appeared to have brought the issue of column versus line to a satisfactory conclusion: "The contemporary sources are...the best evidence and their conclusion is clear: General Compère's brigade formed into line to attack Kempt's Light Battalion." The decisive action at Maida took place in less than fifteen minutes. It had taken 72 years to rectify a great historian's error about what transpired during those minutes."[Arnold, James. "A Reappraisal of Column Versus Line in the Napoleonic Wars" ''Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research'' LX no. 244 (Winter 1982): pp. 196-208.]
The British fired volleys then charged with the bayonet, and the French, failing to withstand the onslaught, broke and fled, suffering heavily in the rout
A rout is a panicked, disorderly and undisciplined retreat of troops from a battlefield, following a collapse in a given unit's command authority, unit cohesion and combat morale (''esprit de corps'').
History
Historically, lightly-equi ...
.
Arnold was cruel, if not incompetent, in his criticism. The military historian Charles Oman
Sir Charles William Chadwick Oman, (12 January 1860 – 23 June 1946) was a British Military history, military historian. His reconstructions of medieval battles from the fragmentary and distorted accounts left by chroniclers were pioneering. ...
said in his 1913 book:
References
Sources
* War Monthly Issue 12
*
Details of battle at Clash of Steel
* Schneid, Frederick C. ''Napoleon's Italian Campaigns: 1805–1815''. Westport, Conn.: Praeger Publishers, 2002.
* Smith, Digby. ''The Napoleonic Wars Data Book.'' London: Greenhill Books, 1998.
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maida, Battle of
Conflicts in 1806
Battles of the Napoleonic Wars
Battles involving the United Kingdom
Battles involving France
1806 in Italy
War of the Third Coalition
Battles of the War of the Third Coalition
Battles in Calabria
July 1806 events