Battle of Somosierra: Difference between revisions

{{short description|1808 Battle of the Peninsular War in Spain}}

|place=[[Somosierra Pass]], [[CommunityProvince of MadridSegovia]], [[Enlightenment in Spain|Spain]]

|combatant1={{flagdeco|First French Empire}} [[First French Empire|France]] <br> {{flagicon imageflagcountry|BanderaNapoleonic de España 1808-1813.svgSpain}} [[Kingdom of Spain (Napoleonic)|Spain]] <br> {{flagdecoflagicon|PolandDuchy of Warsaw}} [[Duchy of Warsaw]]

|combatant2={{flagdeco|Spain|1785}} [[GuerrillaHistory warfareof Spain (1808–1874)|GuerillasSpain]]

|commander1={{flagdeco|First French Empire}} [[Napoleon I of France|Napoleon I]] <br> {{flagdecoflagicon|PolandDuchy of Warsaw}} [[Jan Leon Kozietulski]]

The '''Battle of Somosierra''' took place on 30 November 1808, during the [[Peninsular War]], when a combined [[Grande Armée|Franco]]-[[Kingdom of Spain (Napoleonic)|Spanish]]-[[Duchy of Warsaw|Polish]] force under the direct command of [[Napoleon Bonaparte]] forced a passage through againsta [[Spanish guerrilla]]sDivision stationed at the [[Sierra de Guadarrama]], which was shieldingshielded [[Madrid]] from direct French attack. At the [[Somosierra]] mountain pass, {{convert|60 miles|mi}} north of Madrid, a heavily outnumbered Spanish detachment of conscriptsregulars, volunteers and [[artillery]] under [[Benito de San Juan]] aimed to block Napoleon's advance on the Spanish capital. Napoleon overwhelmed the Spanish positions in a [[combined arms]] attack, sending the [[uhlan|Polish]] ''[[Chevau-légers]]'' of the [[Imperial Guard (Napoleon I)|Imperial Guard]] at the Spanish guns while French infantry advanced up the slopes. The victory removed the last obstacle barring the road to Madrid, which fell several days later.{{sfn|Esdaile|2003|p=109}}

[[Peninsular War#Napoleon's invasion of Spain|Napoleon's invasion of Spain]] had started with the [[Battle of Zornoza]]. By late November 1808 the French ''[[Grande Armée]]'' had overwhelmed and destroyed both wings of the [[Military history of Spain|Spanish popular army]]. To complete his reconquest of Spain, Napoleon advanced on Madrid with 40,000 men. General San Juan mustered an ad hoc army of [[militia]], reservists and various regular regiments still reeling from earlier defeats – in all about 12,000 men – to defend Madrid. In order to screen the many approaches to the city, San Juan dispersed his already greatly outnumbered forces. Under his orders, 9,000 men were sent west to guard the Guadarrama pass while 3,000 occupied an advanced post at [[Sepúlveda, Segovia|SepulvedaSepúlveda]], leaving only 9,000 men and 16 guns on the heights of Somosierra. The nature of the terrain and the tenacity of the Spaniards initially worked in their favor.

On the evening of 2928 November the brigade at SepulvedaSepúlveda made up of the 3rd Battalion of the [[Walloon Guards]], the Jaén and Irlanda Regiments and the 1st Battalion of the Seville Volunteers repulsed a French attack, inflictedby heavythe casualtiestwo andFusilier escapedRegiments fromof overwhelmingthe FrenchMiddle numbersGuard commanded by General [[Anne Jean Marie René Savary|Savary]]. The Spanish were forced to withdraw in the gathering darkness towhen their cavalry was defeated by the westcavalry brigade of General [[Lasalle]]. TheOn followingthe morning of 30 November, Napoleon advanced his infantry directly toward the pass while small detachments crept up the flanks. Exchanging musket volleys with the defenders, the French made slow but measurable progress toward the enemy guns.

Because the Spanish forces could not easily be outflanked by infantry movement, and Napoleon was impatient to proceed, he ordered his [[Polish cavalry|Polish ''Chevaux-Légers'']] escort squadron of 125 men{{efn|Unit registers showed that the squadron numbered 125.}} to charge the Spaniards and their fortified artillery batteries. To that number must be added members of other squadrons, totaling some 450 men{{citation needed|date=October 2015}}, but these entered the battle later. The charge of 125 against the batteries was joined by Niegolewski's platoon returning from reconnaissance. It is not clear, however, whether the number included only front-line troops (''sabres'') or all the soldiers in the units. Napoleon issued no written orders. [[Jan Kozietulski]], who commanded the 3rd squadron that day, mentioned that he called, "''Lekka jazda kłusem!''" ("Light cavalry at the [[trot (horse gait)|trot]]!") and, passing the little bridge, added, "''En avant, Vive l'Empereur!''" (Forward, long live the Emperor''!''")[[File:Battle of Somosierra by Piotr Michałowski.PNG|thumb|''250px|left|"[[Battle]] of [[Somosierra'']]", [[picture]] by [[Piotr Michałowski]], ca [[1837]], [[Oil painting|leftoil on canvas]], dim. 106 cm x 71 cm, [[National Museum in Cracow]]]]
Some authors have assumed that Napoleon had gone out of his mind in ordering the Poles to charge batteries of 16 cannon over several kilometers of extremely difficult terrain.{{sfn|Regan|2000}} Others however, think Napoleon ordered only the closest battery to be taken, in order to open the way for his infantry, and that Kozietulski had misunderstood the order.{{sfn|Bielecki|1989}} No matter – once the charge had begun, and the ''chevaux-légers'' found themselves under fire from the second battery, they had no choice but to press the attack, as the horses went to the highest speed and were unable to stop. They took the second and third batteries but only a few chevaux-légers reached the last battery, and the Spanish attempted to recapture it. It was then that Napoleon saw his chance and immediately committed the other squadrons.

According to many memoirs of veterans of the battle, Kozietulski led his men in a charge with the official cry ''Vive l'Empereur''. However, popular legend has it that the true battle cry was the Polish ''Naprzód psiekrwie, Cesarz patrzy'' – ''Forward, you sons of dogsdammit, the Emperor is watching''.{{sfn|Nieuważny|2006}} Cf. [[Pierre Cambronne|word of Cambronne]]

San Juan raced his army back to Madrid.{{citation needed|date=January 2023}} Although the victory at Somosierra was more accurately the result of a combined infantry and cavalry attack, with the infantry bearing the heavier fighting, later accounts – Napoleon's included – placed all the emphasis on the Polish charge. San Juan was later killed by his own men.{{sfn|Somosierra|2021}} French patrols reached the outskirts of Madrid on 1 December. The Junta made a half-hearted and futile attempt to defend the capital, and on 4 December a devastating French artillery barrage brought the Spanish defence to grief. Spaniards surrendered their remaining 2,500 regulars; the 20,000 civilians under their banner dispersed; and the French entered Madrid for the second time that year. The Battle of Somosierra is commemorated on the [[Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Warsaw]], with the inscription "SOMOSIERRA 30 XI 1808".

{{Reflist|2Notelist}}

* {{cite book | last=Esdaile | first=Charles J. | year=2003 | title=The Peninsular War | publisher=Palgrave MacMillan | isbn=9781403962317 | url=https://archive.org/details/peninsularwarnew00esda | url-access=registration | access-date=17 May 2021}}

* {{cite book | last= Gómez de Arteche y Moro | first=José | year=1878 | title=Guerra de Independencia Historia Militar Vol III}}
* {{cite journal | last=Nieuważny | first=Andrzej | year=2006 | title=Najpiękniejsza z szarż (The Most Beautiful of Cavalry charges) | journal = [[Rzeczpospolita (newspaper)|Rzeczpospolita]] | volume = 123 | issue = 2006-05-272006–05–27 |language=pl}}

* {{cite book | last=Regan | first=Geoffrey | year=2000 | title=Great military blunders | publisher=4 Books | isbn=978-0-7522-1844-1}}

* {{cite web | last=Somosierra | year=2021 | url=https://sites.google.com/site/entre18091810/campanas/la-intervencion-de-napoleon-y-la-primera-campana-inglesa/batalla-de-somosierra#TOC-Muerte-del-general-Benito-San-Juan | title=Batalla de Somosierra - Entre 1809-1810 | website=sites.google.com | access-date=17 May 2021 | archive-date=14 March 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220314125344/https://sites.google.com/site/entre18091810/campanas/la-intervencion-de-napoleon-y-la-primera-campana-inglesa/batalla-de-somosierra#TOC-Muerte-del-general-Benito-San-Juan | url-status=dead }}

* {{cite web | last=napoleonistykaNapoleonistyka | year=2020| title=Battle of Somosierra Pass | url=http://napoleonistyka.atspace.com/battle_somosierra.htm | url-access=registration | access-date=17 May 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201006111628/http://napoleonistyka.atspace.com/battle_somosierra.htm | archive-date=6 October 2020}}

[[Category:ConflictsBattles in 1808|Battle of Somosierra]]

[[Category:BattlesMilitary in the Communityhistory of Madrid]]