| Siege of Astorga | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Peninsular War | |||||||||
 The walls of Astorga | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 France |
 Spain | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
|
André Masséna Jean-Andoche Junot |
José María Santocildes | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
|
10,800 infantry, 1,200 cavalry, 18 guns | 2,700 infantry | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
|
160 dead, 400 wounded |
51 dead, 109 wounded | ||||||||
| |||||
The Siege of Astorga was an attempt by French forces to capture Astorga, Spain in a campaign of the Peninsular War. Astorga was located on the flank of the French invasion of Spain and Portugal, and was meant to be used as a headquarters during the campaign. For several weeks no attack took place, as neither side had artillery enough to fight well. Shortly after the French guns arrived, however, a hole was made in the wall and the city fell shortly thereafter. The French overpowered the Spanish garrison inside and took the city on April 20, 1810; with a loss of 160 men.
Location[]
Astorga is located in the province of León, in northwest Spain.[1] Because of its location, it sat on the flank of the French army as they advanced into Spain, and then invaded Portugal.[2] The city was built into a hill, part of the Manzanal mountains;[1] and therefore was provided with natural defenses.[3] The French had already been defeated once trying to take the city, in September 1809,[4] after which General La Romana repaired the walls of the city and built up its defenses.[5]
Forces[]
The French forces, part of André Masséna's army, were led by Jean-Andoche Junot.[3] Junot arrived at Astorga on March 21 with Napoleon's 8th corps, consisting of 12,000 men, including 1,200 cavalry forces.[4] Junot's forces included the Irish Legion; they had joined earlier that month.[2] Astorga would be the first action for the Second Battalion of the Legion.[2] Junot placed Bertrand Clausel's division in the position Loison had held,[6] with Solignac in support, and St. Croix to watch the rear.[3]
Campaign[]
General Loison attempted to take the city in February 1810, as it was meant to be his headquarters during the invasion of Portugal; but was unprepared to attack the defenses he found there, and was forced to retreat.[5] Junot's troops came to assist Loison, but brought no siege guns with them; It took Junot weeks to gather enough artillery to assault the town.[7] In the mean time, the French forces dug trenches to besiege the town.[7] Incidentally, the English and Spanish troops under Wellington had the same troubles when they recaptured the city in 1812.[8] The garrison in Astorga had no siege guns, either: for several weeks there was a standoff.[7] During these weeks, Santocildes emptied the town of 3,000 of its residents and stocked up on supplies for the siege,[3] which began on March 21 of 1810.[9] The Spanish could expect no hope from Wellington's forces, which remained in Portugal.[10] Until the siege guns arrived, there was no action except nuisance fire from what little artillery Junot had,[6] and skirmish parties sent out from Astorga.[3]
Junot's 18 siege guns arrived on April 15 from Valladolid,[6] and by the 20th, the wall of the city was breached.[11] The French stormed the city the next evening;[2] however, their first attack was repulsed at the cost of 300 men.[11] Those of the storming company who were not killed holed up just inside the wall and held the position for the night.[3] The next morning, Santocildes surrendered as the French were preparing for another attack.[11]
Aftermath[]
Santocildes was almost out of ammunition when he surrendered: he had fewer than 30 rounds of ammunition left per man, and only 8 rounds of artillery.[4] He gave the French 2,500 prisoners and the city, but cost the French 160 men, with 400 wounded.[3] His garrison lost only 51 dead and 109 wounded.[3] Most of the French casualties came in the assault on the breach.[11] The Irish Legion led the charge over the wall, and suffered heavy losses: Captain John Allen's company's drummer boy continued to beat the charge after having lost both legs, for which he was given the French Legion of Honor.[2]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Goldberg, Maren (2008-04-28). "Astorga". Encyclopædia Britannica. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/39881/Astorga. Retrieved 2009-08-29.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Medlen, Virginia (2007). "Napoleon's Irish Legion: La Legion Irlandaise 1803 - 1815". The Napoleonic Historical Society. http://www.napoleonichistoricalsociety.com/articles/irishlegion.htm. Retrieved 2009-08-29.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 Rickard, John (2008-04-09). "Siege of Astorga, 21 March-22 April 1810". http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/siege_astorga_1810.html. Retrieved 2009-08-28.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Southey, Robert (1828). "History of the Peninsular War". London: John Murray.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Fortescue, John William (1912). "A History of the British Army". Macmillan Publishers.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Oman, Sir Charles William Chadwick; Hall, John Alexander (1908). "A History of the Peninsular War". Clarendon Press.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Gates, David (2001). "The Spanish Ulcer: A History of the Peninsular War". Da Capo Press. pp. 576. ISBN 0-306-81083-2.
- ↑ Esdaile, Charles J. (2003). "The Peninsular War: A New History". Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 587. ISBN 1-4039-6231-6.
- ↑ Jones, John Thomas (1821). "Account of the War in Spain, Portugal, and the South of France". T. Egerton.
- ↑ Esdaile, Charles J. (1988). "The Spanish Army in the Peninsular War". Manchester University Press ND. pp. 232. ISBN 0-7190-2538-9.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Napier, Sir William (1882). "History of the War in the Peninsula & in the South of France". G. Routledge & Sons.
The original article can be found at Siege of Astorga and the edit history here.