Second siege of Girona

The second siege of Girona was the second unsuccessful French attempt to capture the city of Girona (spelled "Gerona" in Castilian) during the Peninsular War, part of the Napoleonic Wars.^[3] Girona is located halfway between the Franco-Spanish border and Barcelona, in Catalonia.

Siege of Girona (1808)
Part of Peninsular War
Image of Girona after 1809
Date 24 July to 16 August 1808 Location Girona, Catalonia, Spain 41°58′N 2°49′E / 41.967°N 2.817°E / 41.967; 2.817 Result Spanish victory
Belligerents
First French Empire	Kingdom of Spain
Commanders and leaders
Guillaume Duhesme Honoré Reille	Col. O'Donovan Conde de Caldagues
Strength
13,000^[1]	O'Donovan: 3,750 Caldagues: 7,000 6,000^[2]
Casualties and losses
271, all guns	light

Peninsular war: Spanish uprising 1808

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Background

The Spanish conventional warfare had started with the Battles of El Bruch.

Siege

Main article: Cardedeu order of battle

 

Girona, showing the city wall in the right foreground

Spanish occupation of Girona threatened the French forces' lines of communication between Barcelona and Perpignan.^[4] An Imperial French corps led by Guillaume Philibert Duhesme attempted to capture the city of Girona and its Spanish garrison, commanded by Richard II O'Donovan, then a Colonel. The French began regular siege operations, but withdrew when another Spanish force led by the Conde de Caldagues attacked their lines from the rear.^[5]

After the Spanish people rebelled against occupation by the First French Empire, Duhesme found himself badly isolated in Barcelona. The Franco-Italian corps was surrounded by swarms of Catalan miquelets (militia) supported by a few Spanish regulars. When the French general received news that a French division under Honoré Charles Reille was coming to his assistance, he decided to capture Girona. Having failed to storm Girona in June, Duhesme mounted a formal siege operation. Duhesme's formal siege operations were interrupted by Caldagues' attack in mid-August. Though the Franco-Italian forces suffered few casualties, Duhesme and his soldiers became discouraged and they ended the siege.^[5]

While Reille retreated to Figueres without much trouble, Duhesme's men were harassed during their return to Barcelona by the Spanish army and the British navy. By the time the French forces arrived in Barcelona, they were without artillery and badly demoralized. Meanwhile, Emperor Napoleon I assembled a new corps under Laurent Gouvion Saint-Cyr to relieve Duhesme from his predicament. The next action of the Peninsular War would be the siege of Roses, from 7 November to 5 December 1808.^[5]

Aftermath

The guerilla war proceeded till the end of the Peninsular war.

The Spanish conventional warfare proceeded till the end of the Peninsular war.

The British intervention started with the Battle of Roliça led by Wellington.

Napoleon started his invasion of Spain with the Battle of Zornoza.

Notes

1. Fremont-Barnes 2002, p. 32.
2. Hamilton 1829, p. 220.
3. Hamilton 1829, p. 216.
4. Rickard 2008.
5. Hamilton 1829, pp. 216–223.

References

• Rickard, J. (2008). "Second siege of Gerona, 24 July–16 August 1808". historyofwar.com. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
• Fremont-Barnes, Gregory (2002). The Peninsular War, 1807-1814. Oxford : Osprey. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
• Hamilton, Thomas (1829). Annals of the Peninsular Campaigns: From MDCCCVIII to MDCCCXIV. W. Blackwood. Retrieved 12 May 2021.

Further read

• Gates, David (2002). The Spanish Ulcer: A History of the Peninsular War. London: Pimlico. ISBN 0-7126-9730-6.
• Rickard, J. (2008b). "Siege of Barcelona, 1 August–17 December 1808". historyofwar.com.
• Smith, Digby (1998). The Napoleonic Wars Data Book. London: Greenhill. ISBN 1-85367-276-9.

External links

•   Media related to Second siege of Girona at Wikimedia Commons