The Battle of Belchite on 18 June 1809 saw a Franco-Polish corps led by
Louis Gabriel Suchet
Louis-Gabriel Suchet (2 March 1770 – 3 January 1826), Duke of Albufera (french: Duc d'Albuféra), was a French Marshal of the Empire and one of the most successful commanders of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He is regarded ...
fight a small Spanish army under
Joaquín Blake y Joyes
Joaquín or Joaquin is a male given name, the Spanish version of Joachim.
Given name
* Joaquín (footballer, born 1956), Spanish football midfielder
* Joaquín (footballer, born 1981), Spanish football winger
* Joaquín (footballer, born 19 ...
. Suchet's force won the battle when a lucky hit detonated a large part of the Spanish ammunition supply. The ensuing blast provoked Blake's soldiers into a panicky flight from the battlefield. The action was fought during the
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain, ...
, part of 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 ...
.
Belchite
Belchite is a municipality and town in the province of Zaragoza, Spain, about 40 km southeast of Zaragoza. It is the capital of Campo de Belchite ''comarca'' (administrative region) and is located in a plain surrounded by low hills, the high ...
is located southeast 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 tributa ...
.
Background
The
Spanish campaign in early 1809 started with the
Battle of Uclés.
Prelude
General of Division
Divisional general is a general officer rank who commands an army division. The rank originates from the French (Revolutionary) System, and is used by a number of countries. The rank is above a brigade general, and normally below an army corp ...
Suchet took command of the
III Corps and immediately moved to oust the army of
Captain General
Captain general (and its literal equivalent in several languages) is a high military rank of general officer grade, and a gubernatorial title.
History
The term "Captain General" started to appear in the 14th century, with the meaning of Command ...
Blake from
Aragon
Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sou ...
. The resulting
Battle of Alcañiz
The Battle of Alcañiz resulted in the defeat of Major-General Louis Gabriel Suchet's French army on 23 May 1809 by a Spanish force under General Joaquín Blake y Joyes.
The victory is credited to General Martín García-Loygorri's superb ...
on 23 May was a victory for the Spanish as they repulsed a Franco-Polish frontal attack. This victory brought Blake's army 25,000 volunteers, many of whom could not be provided with weapons.
Blake advanced down the
Huerva River
The Huerva River is a river in Aragon, Spain. It is a tributary of the Ebro. Its mean annual discharge is only .
Course
This long river rises in the Sierra de Cucalón, near Fonfría in the Jiloca Comarca. Flowing northwestwards near Lagueruel ...
with two divisions on the left bank and one division under General
Juan Carlos de Aréizaga
Juan Carlos de Aréizaga (born 17 January 1756; died 1816) was a Spanish general, who fought in the Peninsular War.
In 1808 he was a retired colonel, residing in Pamplona, where he made friends with a young Francisco Javier Mina. After the outbr ...
on the right bank. A more circumspect Suchet initially fought on the defensive in the
Battle of María
The Battle of María (15 June 1809) saw a small Spanish army led by Joaquín Blake y Joyes face an Imperial French corps under Louis Gabriel Suchet.
Background
The Spanish campaign in early 1809 started with the Battle of Uclés.
Battle
A ...
on 15 June. The French general sent General of Division
Anne-Gilbert Laval with a 2,000-man brigade to watch Aréizaga while retaining the rest of his small corps to face Blake. After fending off Blake's attacks for several hours, Suchet went over to the attack when some French reinforcements arrived. He overwhelmed the Spanish right flank and compelled Blake to order a withdrawal. The next day, Suchet advanced against the combined forces of Blake and Aréizaga. Blake declined to fight and instead fell back. Discouraged by defeat, 3,000 of Blake's new recruits deserted.
Battle
After joining with Aréizaga's division, Blake was only able to muster 11,000 infantry, 870 cavalry, and nine guns. He drew up this force on some hills in front of the town of Belchite. After Suchet ordered Laval to join him, he massed 12,000 infantry, 1,000 cavalry, and 12 artillery pieces for the battle. The French general paid no attention to the Spanish center and instead sent his two divisions to attack the enemy flanks. General of Division
Louis François Félix Musnier assaulted the Spanish left flank and began forcing it back into the town.
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 ...
Pierre-Joseph Habert sent his soldiers against the opposite flank. Just as Habert's attack got rolling, a French shell blew up an artillery caisson in the Spanish right rear. The fire spread to some ammunition wagons and soon there was a titanic explosion as Blake's gunpowder supplies detonated. With this, the Spanish soldiers panicked, some throwing down their muskets in order to flee faster.
The French swept forward, killing, wounding, or capturing 2,000 Spaniards. They seized all nine of Blake's cannons plus one color and a quantity of food and equipment. Suchet reported losses of 200 killed and wounded. Leaving Musnier's division to observe Blake's survivors, Suchet marched back to Zaragoza.
Aftermath
The
guerilla war
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants, such as paramilitary personnel, armed civilians, or irregulars, use military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, raids, petty warfare, hit-and-run tactics ...
proceeded till the end of the Peninsular war.
The
Spanish conventional warfare proceeded
till the end of the Peninsular war.
The
British intervention proceeded
till the end of the Peninsular war.
Napoleon had ended
his invasion of Spain with the occupation of Madrid.
The
Corunna campaign
The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the war, military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom against the invading and occupying ...
had ended with the withdrawal of the British army from Spain.
The
Spanish campaign in early 1809 had ended.
The
Second Portuguese campaign started with the
Battle of Braga
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 ...
.
Notes
References
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Belchite 1809, Battle of
Battles of the Peninsular War
Battles of the Napoleonic Wars
Battles involving Spain
Battles involving France
Conflicts in 1809
1809 in Spain
June 1809 events
Battles in Aragon