Battle of Corunna

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For the battle near Madrid in the Spanish Civil War, see Battle of the La Corunna Road.

Battle of Corunna
Part of the Peninsular War
Date January 16, 1809 Location Corunna, Galicia, Spain Result British withdrawal[1][2]
Combatants
United Kingdom	First French Empire
Commanders
John Moore †	Nicolas Jean de Dieu Soult
Strength
16,000 infantry 9 guns	12,000 infantry 4,000 cavalry 20 guns
Casualties
900 dead or wounded	1,500 dead or wounded[3]

Peninsular War: Second French Invasion, 1808–1809
Pancorbo – Valmaseda – Burgos – Espinosa – Tudela – Somosierra – Saragossa – Castellón – Uclés – Corunna – Valls – Villafranca – Ciudad-Real – Medellín – Porto – Gerona – Lugo – Alcañiz – San Payo – María – Talavera – Almonacid – Tamamés – Hostalrich – Torres Vedras – Ocana

The Battle of Corunna (or of La Corunna, A Coruña, La Coruña, or Elviña) was a battle of the Peninsular War which took place on January 16, 1809, between 16,000 British under Sir John Moore, and 16,000 French under Marshal Soult.

Contents 1 Background 2 The battle 3 Results 4 Notes 5 References

[edit] Background

Following the Convention of Cintra , and the repatriation of the French army following the Battle of Vimeiro , the commanders of the British army were recalled, including Sir Arthur Wellesley , to face a court of inquiry. The British expedition to Portugal and Spain was left to Sir John Moore , a military commander of some note for his reformation of light infantry tactics.

The British advanced into spain, believing they were to act as auxiliaries to the Spanish. However, before the British army could see combat, the spanish armies were smashed by Napoleon's army and the small British force found themselves extended, facing the French alone and without supplies.

Despite vastly outnumbering the small British army, Napoleon made no move to attack and despite evidence to the contrary, believed the British were retreating back to Portugal.

The British were, however, retreating northwards toward the Spanish port of Corunna where a fleet was sent to evacuate the British army. Moore decided to make this perilous march to draw the main French army northwards, hoping to give time for the Spanish armies to reform.

The retreat was over mountainous terrain and except for the rearguard and the elite 'Guard' regiments many units lost their coesion, many men leaving the ranks either from exhaustion or for drink and many troops became so besotted they needed to be left behind, many of the helpless men were slaughtered by the pursuing French cavalry.

Midway theough the retreat, Napoleon returned to france, leaving command to Marshall Soult, who found his advance much delayed by stubborn British rearguard actions(Such as at the battle of Cacabelos where Irish rifleman Thomas Plunkett shot French general Auguste Colbert).

[edit] The battle

At Corunna, the exhausted British soldiers rested while the wounded and stores were embarked. One observer noted that it seemed nothing could rouse the redcoats but when word arrived that the French were coming, "They all stood as one and formed in their companies and regiments, ready and eager to meet the enemy."

On 16 January, the British infantry formed a series of defensive lines with the key position being the small village of Elvina.

This point was targeted by Soult and, following a lengthy bombardment, he sent in a heavy attack against the defending 42nd and 50th regiments. An order to bring up ammunition was confused for one to retreat. Moore rallied the 42nd and they threw the French out in bloody hand-to-hand combat. The battle for the village was ferocious and it took several hours for the British to drive off the attackers.

An attempt by French cavalry to outflank the British right was defeated by sharpshooting riflemen of the 95th. A more direct assault on the centre of the defenders was also driven off and, as night fell, the British returned to evacuating the troops. The cost to the British included some 900 men and the death of Sir John Moore, while the French suffered some 2000 casualties. The evacuation, however, was a complete success and led to some 27,000 men being saved to fight another day.

[edit] Results

With the main French army drawn north, the planned reinvasion of Portugal was delayed for several months, allowing the British enough time build up the small garrison left in Lisbon into the army that defeated the French invasion under Soult and subsequently drove the French from the Iberian peninsula. Arthur Wellesley, duke of Wellington said of Moore. "You know, I don't think we'd have won without him."

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

• Chandler, David G. The Campaigns of Napoleon. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1995. ISBN 0-02-523660-1
• Battle of Corunna (Elvina), 1809