Juan Carlos de Aréizaga

Juan Carlos de Aréizaga (born 17 January 1756; died 1816) was a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

general, who fought in 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 ...

. In 1808 he was a retired colonel, residing in

Pamplona Pamplona (; eu, Iruña or ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. It is also the third-largest city in the greater Basque cultural region. Lying at near above ...

, where he made friends with a young

Francisco Javier Mina Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name ''Franciscus''. Nicknames In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed "Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Comunitatis'' (father of ...

. After the outbreak of the Peninsular War, he moved to

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 ...

, where he became a divisional commander under

Joaquín Blake Joaquín Blake y Joyes (Vélez-Málaga, 19 August 1759 – 27 April 1827) was a Spanish military officer who served with distinction in the French Revolutionary and Peninsular wars. Early military career Partially of Irish descent his mother ...

(1809). He also took part in the

battle of Alcañiz The Battle of Alcañiz resulted in the defeat of Major-General Louis Gabriel Suchet's France, French army on 23 May 1809 by a Spain, Spanish force under General Joaquín Blake y Joyes. The victory is credited to General Martín García-Loygor ...

(May 1809). On 19 November 1809 he took the command of the newly established "Army of La Mancha", including 50,000 men. At the command of this unit, he suffered a crushing defeat against the French at the battle of Ocana. In late 1809, he was placed in charge of the defense of the

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a "historical nationality". The t ...

n passes. Aréizaga, however, was not able to stop the French invasion, and most of his forces were disbanded at Jaén in January 1810. He was subsequently replaced by General Freire. {{DEFAULTSORT:Areizaga, Juan Carlos de 1756 births 1816 deaths Spanish generals Spanish commanders of the Napoleonic Wars