fbpx
Wikipedia

Battle of Perpignan

January 01, 1970

The Battle of Perpignan or Battle of Niel (fr:Bataille de Perpignan) on 17 July 1793 saw the French Army of the Eastern Pyrenees led by Louis-Charles de Flers defending against an offensive by the Spanish Army of Catalonia commanded by Antonio Ricardos. The French turned back the Spanish attacks and forced their opponents to pull back. Perpignan is now the capital of Pyrénées Orientales department, but in 1793 was the chief city of Roussillon province. The action was fought during the War of the Pyrenees, part of the War of the First Coalition.

Battle of Perpignan (1793)
Part of the War of the Pyrenees

Plan of Perpignan fortress with south up.
Date17 July 1793
Location
Perpignan, Pyrénées Orientales, France
Result French victory
Belligerents
France Spain
Commanders and leaders
Louis-Charles de Flers Antonio Ricardos
Strength
12,000 15,000
Casualties and losses
800 1,000

Background edit

Captain General Ricardos and his Spanish army defeated the French in a skirmish at Céret on 20 April 1793.[1] The Spanish beat Louis-Charles de Flers and the Army of the Eastern Pyrenees at the Battle of Mas Deu on 19 May. After this success, Ricardos turned back and invested the Fort de Bellegarde.[2] The Siege of Bellegarde lasted from 23 May until 24 June when the French garrison's 1,450 survivors capitulated.[3] During the siege, the Spanish army captured the Fort de Bains on 3 June and the Fort de la Garde on 5 June.[4] While the Spanish reduced Bellegarde, de Flers was busy trying to turn his raw recruits into soldiers. He was able to secure the services of trained coastal gunners to man his artillery. He had a number of field fortifications built to defend the area.[5]

French Defences edit

The French troops defending the area included:[6]

Battle edit

With the fortress captured, Ricardos turned his attention to De Flers' army which was holding Perpignan. On 17 July 1793, the Spanish commander split his 15,000 available troops into five columns. He intended for the columns to envelop Perpignan on all sides. The first column on the far right was directed to seize Cabestany on the southeast side of Perpignan. The second column, led by Jerónimo Girón-Moctezuma, Marquis de las Amarillas, was ordered to advance via Canohès and Nyls to Orles, southwest of the city. The third column was to move from Thuir and Trouillas to seize Pézilla-la-Rivière on the Têt River. The fourth and fifth columns were instructed to cross the Têt at Millas. From there, the fourth column was to strike east to Saint-Estève. The fifth column under Luis Firmín de Carvajal, Conde de la Unión would thrust northeast to capture a key bridge near Rivesaltes.[5]

Initially, all the Spanish columns made progress. The third column seized some important hills near Orles. But the Marquis de las Amarillas' column got held up and failed to support the third column. De Flers saw an opportunity and fell on the isolated third column in strength, driving it back. Conde de la Unión's column turned back to help and was able to stabilize the line for a while. However, the French launched another attack and routed the Spanish soldiers.[5]

Result edit

The French lost 800 killed and wounded out of 12,000 men. The Spanish captured one gun. Despite the victory, two National Guard battalions were disbanded for trying to surrender and 600 more soldiers deserted the colors. In the fighting near Nyls, the Spanish lost 31 killed, 131 wounded, and three captured.[7] However, it is estimated that a total of 1,000 Spanish troops became casualties during the battle. The Spanish army was defeated because its columns were not within supporting distance of one another. This allowed de Flers to take advantage of the third column's isolation.[5]

Notes edit

  1. ^ Smith (1998), 45
  2. ^ Smith (1998), 46
  3. ^ Smith (1998), 48
  4. ^ Smith (1998), 47
  5. ^ a b c d Rickard, Perpignan
  6. ^ Digby Smith, Napoleon's Regiments, all pages for the individual regiments used.
  7. ^ Smith (1998), 49

References edit

  • Rickard, J. "Battle of Perpignan, 17 July 1793". historyofwar.org. Retrieved 15 July 2012.
  • Smith, Digby (1998). The Napoleonic Wars Data Book. London: Greenhill. ISBN 1-85367-276-9.
  • Digby Smith, Napoleon's Regiments Battle Histories of the Regiments of the French Army, 1792–1815, 2000 Greenhill Books, London, United Kingdom. ISBN 1-85367-413-3.

42°41′55″N 2°53′44″E / 42.6986°N 2.8956°E / 42.6986; 2.8956

January 01, 1970
battle, perpignan, battle, niel, bataille, perpignan, july, 1793, french, army, eastern, pyrenees, louis, charles, flers, defending, against, offensive, spanish, army, catalonia, commanded, antonio, ricardos, french, turned, back, spanish, attacks, forced, the. The Battle of Perpignan or Battle of Niel fr Bataille de Perpignan on 17 July 1793 saw the French Army of the Eastern Pyrenees led by Louis Charles de Flers defending against an offensive by the Spanish Army of Catalonia commanded by Antonio Ricardos The French turned back the Spanish attacks and forced their opponents to pull back Perpignan is now the capital of Pyrenees Orientales department but in 1793 was the chief city of Roussillon province The action was fought during the War of the Pyrenees part of the War of the First Coalition Battle of Perpignan 1793 Part of the War of the PyreneesPlan of Perpignan fortress with south up Date17 July 1793LocationPerpignan Pyrenees Orientales FranceResultFrench victoryBelligerentsFranceSpainCommanders and leadersLouis Charles de FlersAntonio RicardosStrength12 00015 000Casualties and losses8001 000 Contents 1 Background 2 French Defences 3 Battle 4 Result 5 Notes 6 ReferencesBackground editCaptain General Ricardos and his Spanish army defeated the French in a skirmish at Ceret on 20 April 1793 1 The Spanish beat Louis Charles de Flers and the Army of the Eastern Pyrenees at the Battle of Mas Deu on 19 May After this success Ricardos turned back and invested the Fort de Bellegarde 2 The Siege of Bellegarde lasted from 23 May until 24 June when the French garrison s 1 450 survivors capitulated 3 During the siege the Spanish army captured the Fort de Bains on 3 June and the Fort de la Garde on 5 June 4 While the Spanish reduced Bellegarde de Flers was busy trying to turn his raw recruits into soldiers He was able to secure the services of trained coastal gunners to man his artillery He had a number of field fortifications built to defend the area 5 French Defences editThe French troops defending the area included 6 19eme Regiment de Chasseurs a Cheval Rosenthal 7eme Regiment d Infanterie de Ligne Champagne 20eme Regiment d Infanterie de Ligne Cambresis Suffered massively to officers desertion and a planned takeover of the fort 35eme Regiment d Infanterie de Ligne Aquitaine 36eme Regiment d Infanterie de Ligne Anjou 53eme Regiment d Infanterie de Ligne Alsace 57eme Regiment d Infanterie de Ligne Beauvoisis 59eme Regiment d Infanterie de Ligne Bourgogne 70eme Regiment d Infanterie de Ligne Medoc 72eme Regiment d Infanterie de Ligne Vexin 79eme Regiment d Infanterie de Ligne Boulonnais Battle editWith the fortress captured Ricardos turned his attention to De Flers army which was holding Perpignan On 17 July 1793 the Spanish commander split his 15 000 available troops into five columns He intended for the columns to envelop Perpignan on all sides The first column on the far right was directed to seize Cabestany on the southeast side of Perpignan The second column led by Jeronimo Giron Moctezuma Marquis de las Amarillas was ordered to advance via Canohes and Nyls to Orles southwest of the city The third column was to move from Thuir and Trouillas to seize Pezilla la Riviere on the Tet River The fourth and fifth columns were instructed to cross the Tet at Millas From there the fourth column was to strike east to Saint Esteve The fifth column under Luis Firmin de Carvajal Conde de la Union would thrust northeast to capture a key bridge near Rivesaltes 5 Initially all the Spanish columns made progress The third column seized some important hills near Orles But the Marquis de las Amarillas column got held up and failed to support the third column De Flers saw an opportunity and fell on the isolated third column in strength driving it back Conde de la Union s column turned back to help and was able to stabilize the line for a while However the French launched another attack and routed the Spanish soldiers 5 Result editThe French lost 800 killed and wounded out of 12 000 men The Spanish captured one gun Despite the victory two National Guard battalions were disbanded for trying to surrender and 600 more soldiers deserted the colors In the fighting near Nyls the Spanish lost 31 killed 131 wounded and three captured 7 However it is estimated that a total of 1 000 Spanish troops became casualties during the battle The Spanish army was defeated because its columns were not within supporting distance of one another This allowed de Flers to take advantage of the third column s isolation 5 Notes edit Smith 1998 45 Smith 1998 46 Smith 1998 48 Smith 1998 47 a b c d Rickard Perpignan Digby Smith Napoleon s Regiments all pages for the individual regiments used Smith 1998 49References editRickard J Battle of Perpignan 17 July 1793 historyofwar org Retrieved 15 July 2012 Smith Digby 1998 The Napoleonic Wars Data Book London Greenhill ISBN 1 85367 276 9 Digby Smith Napoleon s Regiments Battle Histories of the Regiments of the French Army 1792 1815 2000 Greenhill Books London United Kingdom ISBN 1 85367 413 3 42 41 55 N 2 53 44 E 42 6986 N 2 8956 E 42 6986 2 8956 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Battle of Perpignan amp oldid 1180433117, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.