The Battle of Arlabán, also known as the First Surprise of Arlabán, took place at the heights of Arlabán, the mountain pass that separates the Basque provinces of Guipúzcoa and Álava, on 25 May 1811, during the Peninsular War.
At eight o'clock in the morning, a Spanish guerrilla force numbering between 3,000 and 4,500 men, led by Francisco Espoz y Mina, ambushed and captured the central part of a convoy made up of 150 wagons and 1,050 prisoners, escorted by 1,600 French troops led by Colonel Laffitte and spread out over 5 km.[3] Seven hours later, the French finally surrendered. The Spanish captured a variety of supplies and weapons (the convoy was valued at 4 million reales), and 1,042 British, Portuguese and Spanish prisoners were released. The convoy became known as the convoy de los Ingleses because most of the prisoners were British.[2]
Aided by local guerrilla groups that knew the terrain well, Espoz y Mina had positioned his guerrilleros on both sides of the pass, on the route to France, some 20 km north of Vitoria, at four o'clock in the morning.[1]
AftermathEdit
This was the last action that Espoz y Mina led as a guerrilla leader in Navarre. On 5 June, his forces, the División de Navarra, were integrated into the regular Army of Spain, but he would continue to lead his troops into battle against the French, including at the Second Surprise of Arlabán, on 9 April 1812.
euskomedia (2013). . Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
elcorreo (2013). "La sorpresa de Arlabán" (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 September 2013.
noticiasdegipuzkoa (2013). "La sorpresa de Arlabán: Noticias de Gipuzkoa" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 30 January 2013. Retrieved 23 September 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
Further readingEdit
Esdaile, Charles J. (2003). The Peninsular War. Palgrave MacMillan. ISBN9781403962317. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
Fraser, Ronald (2008). Napoleon's Cursed War: Spanish Popular Resistance in the Peninsular War 1808-1814. Brooklyn: Verso. ISBN978-1-84467-082-6.
Media related to Battle of Arlabán (1811) at Wikimedia Commons
October 24, 2023
battle, arlabán, 1811, battle, arlabán, also, known, first, surprise, arlabán, took, place, heights, arlabán, mountain, pass, that, separates, basque, provinces, guipúzcoa, Álava, 1811, during, peninsular, part, peninsular, wardate25, 1811locationmountain, pas. The Battle of Arlaban also known as the First Surprise of Arlaban took place at the heights of Arlaban the mountain pass that separates the Basque provinces of Guipuzcoa and Alava on 25 May 1811 during the Peninsular War Battle of Arlaban 1811 Part of the Peninsular WarDate25 May 1811LocationMountain pass between Alava and Guipuzcoa Spain42 58 38 N 2 34 17 W 42 97722 N 2 57139 W 42 97722 2 57139ResultSpanish victoryBelligerentsFrench EmpireSpainCommanders and leadersColonel Laffitte POW Francisco Espoz y MinaStrength1 600 1 3 000 4 500 1 Casualties and losses700 1 000 killed or wounded 2 200 captured 2 Unknown Peninsular WarCastile 1811 13 Interactive fullscreen map nearby articles current battle Contents 1 Battle 2 Aftermath 3 Notes 4 References 5 Further reading 6 External linksBattle EditAt eight o clock in the morning a Spanish guerrilla force numbering between 3 000 and 4 500 men led by Francisco Espoz y Mina ambushed and captured the central part of a convoy made up of 150 wagons and 1 050 prisoners escorted by 1 600 French troops led by Colonel Laffitte and spread out over 5 km 3 Seven hours later the French finally surrendered The Spanish captured a variety of supplies and weapons the convoy was valued at 4 million reales and 1 042 British Portuguese and Spanish prisoners were released The convoy became known as the convoy de los Ingleses because most of the prisoners were British 2 Aided by local guerrilla groups that knew the terrain well Espoz y Mina had positioned his guerrilleros on both sides of the pass on the route to France some 20 km north of Vitoria at four o clock in the morning 1 Aftermath EditThis was the last action that Espoz y Mina led as a guerrilla leader in Navarre On 5 June his forces the Division de Navarra were integrated into the regular Army of Spain but he would continue to lead his troops into battle against the French including at the Second Surprise of Arlaban on 9 April 1812 Notes Edit a b c elcorreo 2013 a b c euskomedia 2013 noticiasdegipuzkoa 2013 References Editeuskomedia 2013 Francisco Espoz e Ilundain Archived from the original on 27 September 2013 Retrieved 26 May 2021 elcorreo 2013 La sorpresa de Arlaban in Spanish Retrieved 23 September 2013 noticiasdegipuzkoa 2013 La sorpresa de Arlaban Noticias de Gipuzkoa in Spanish Archived from the original on 30 January 2013 Retrieved 23 September 2013 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint bot original URL status unknown link Further reading EditEsdaile Charles J 2003 The Peninsular War Palgrave MacMillan ISBN 9781403962317 Retrieved 26 May 2021 Fraser Ronald 2008 Napoleon s Cursed War Spanish Popular Resistance in the Peninsular War 1808 1814 Brooklyn Verso ISBN 978 1 84467 082 6 Hannay David McDowall 1911 Mina Francisco Espoz y In Chisholm Hugh ed Encyclopaedia Britannica Vol 18 11th ed Cambridge University Press pp 500 501 a href Template Cite encyclopedia html title Template Cite encyclopedia cite encyclopedia a CS1 maint date and year link External links Edit nbsp Media related to Battle of Arlaban 1811 at Wikimedia Commons Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Battle of Arlaban 1811 amp oldid 1178660134, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
