Battle of Bailén
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| Battle of Bailén | |||||||
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| Part of the Peninsular War | |||||||
 The Surrender at Bailén by José Casado del Alisal. Oil on canvas. |
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| Combatants | |||||||
| France | Spain | ||||||
| Commanders | |||||||
| Pierre Dupont | Francisco Castaños | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 24,000 regulars | 33,000 regulars and militia | ||||||
| Casualties | |||||||
| 2,200 dead, 400 wounded, 17,600 captured |
240 dead, 730 wounded |
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| Peninsular War: Invasion by Stealth, 1808 |
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| El Bruc – Cabezón – 1st Gerona – 2nd Gerona – Saragossa – Rio Seco – Valencia – Bailén – Roliça – Vimeiro |
The Battle of Bailén was a series of clashes between the Spanish regular army— operating in conjunction with guerrilla formations—under Generals Francisco Castaños and Theodor von Reding and the French commanded by General Pierre Dupont, between July 18 and July 22, 1808, as a part of the Peninsular War.
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[edit] Before the battle
By 1808, thousands of French troops were present in Spain in support of Napoleon's invasion of Portugal. In April, Napoleon deposed the Spanish king, Charles IV, replacing him with his own brother Joseph. The Spanish army and people revolted (the Dos de mayo uprising) against the imposition of foreign rule.
With much of Spain in open revolt, General Dupont was given an order to capture the city of Cadiz. A French fleet was in the vicinity, under the command of Admiral François Rosilly. The II Observation Corps, commanded by Gironda, numbered 15,000 inexperienced and largely new recruits. These were grouped in three infantry divisions, under the commands of Generals Vedel, Barbour, and Gobert respectively, and a division of cavalry under the command of General Fresii.
On May 24, one of the infantry divisions and the cavalry had about 6,000 French and 2,500 Swiss soldiers left in Toledo.
On June 6, the Spanish guerilla militia, under Colonel Echeveria, was defeated at Alcolea.
On June 7, French forces captured Cordoba and ransacked the town for four days. They left town on June 16. The day earlier, the French Naval forces in Cadiz surrendered. In the face of a successful uprising in Andalusia, Dupont decided to withdraw to Sierra Morena, because he could count on help from Madrid. French withdrawal was slow because French soldiers took 800 wagons containing spoils and because of the sweltering heat.
On June 18, some of the soldiers placed their camp in Andujar; the rest across the way to Cordoba. Dupont took no further action except sending letters to Madrid for help.
On June 15, the division of infantry lead by General Vedel left Toledo: It consisted of 5,000 infantry, 450 cavalry and 10 cannons.
On June 26, General Vedel defeated a few thousand militia securing the pass Paso de Despeñaperros. General Vedel garrisoned the pass with a battalion of infantry, and with the rest of his division he joined Dupont's forces.
On July 2, General Gobert's infantry division left Madrid with General Savary in order to join Dupont's forces. However, only one brigade of his division joined Dupont because the rest of his forces garrisoned the path of retreat.
[edit] The battle
After joining formations, Dupont's forces were divided into three groups: General Gobert's division in the village of La Carolina, General Vedel's division in Bailén and General Dupont and his forces occupied Andujar. Meanwhile, the Spanish Army, commanded by General Castaños, had more than 33,000 soldiers. He had under his command some regular regiments from Seville (also one from Switzerland) and formations of provincial militia and peasants. The size of Castaños' army far outweighed that of Dupont. When Dupont received information about Castaños's arrival, he ordered Vedel to join himself in Andujar. After Vedel left Bailén, Spanish forces, commanded by General Reding, captured the town and successfully defended it against Corbert's brigade. During the attempt to recapture the town, General Corbert was killed and his brigade withdrew to La Carolina. After learning this, Dupont ordered Vedel to recapture the town; he succeeded, but afterwards he left the town to take up positions in Bailén.
On July 18, Dupont left Andujar.
On July 19, the Spanish won clashes near the Rumbla river against the French rear guard which resulted in heavy losses for the French. The Swiss soldiers in Spanish employ advanced. Dupont called Vedel for help, but after the arrival of Castaños he decided to sign a truce. After learning this, Vedel withdrew to the mountains. Spanish commanders threatened to massacre the French soldiers if they didn't surrender.
On July 22, the French II Corps of Observation, under Gironda, surrendered . Dupont and his soldiers were transported on English ships to Rochefort harbour because the Spanish junta in Seville didn't recognise the pact under which they were sent to Cadiz. Except Dupont and his staff officers, they were placed on prison-ships converted for the purpose. Only a small number of the French soldiers survived to 1814.
[edit] After the Battle
Following their defeat, the remainder of the French army left Madrid under the command of Marshals Bessieres and Moncey. When they reached the Ebro river they set up new defensive positions.
The Spanish victory at Bailén signalled to the armies of Europe that the French were not invincible - a fact that persuaded the Austrians to wage a new war against Napoleon.
Meanwhile, Dupont returned to Paris and was imprisoned. In 1814 however he was promoted to the rank of Minister of the Army in the government of Louis XVIII.
To commemorate the victory at Bailen, the Spanish junta in Seville created the Medalla de Bailén.
[edit] Bibliography
Przemysław Gawron (2002). Pages 50-53. In Bitwa pod Talavera de la Revna 27-28 lipca 1809 (English Battle under Talavera de la Revna 27-28 July 1809). Infortendis Zabrze.
