Battle of Villafranca del Bierzo

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Date	March 17, 1809
Location	near León, Spain
Result	Spanish victory

Combatants

France

Spain

Commanders

Unknown

José de Mendizábal

Strength

1,000 regulars

1,500 militia

Casualties

1,000 dead, wounded, or captured

Unknown

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 Villafranca del Bierzo took place on March 17, 1809, during the French occupation of León in the Peninsular War. After a bloody four-hour siege the small and isolated French garrison at Villafranca surrendered to Spanish militia under Brigadier Mendizábal.

[edit] Background

In 1809 Spanish military operations in northern Spain were marked by sporadic efforts to expel the French from the provinces they had overrun during the collapse of the Spanish armies the previous year. Fragments of the armies torn-apart by the French, operating in conjunction with guerillas and militia, organized raids and skirmishes that occasionally resulted in the capture of French troops and supplies.

One remaining Spanish formation, General La Romana's division of regular infantry, established itself in Asturias and harassed the French in León and Galicia. In March, elements of the unit, armed with a French 12-pound gun and munitions recovered from an abandoned post at Ponferrada, decided to attack the French post at nearby Villafranca del Bierzo.

[edit] The battle

The vanguard of the attack was formed of some 1,500 men of the Zaragoza and Zamora regiments under Mendizábal. On March 17 they entered the plaza at Villafranca and closed in on the French entrenched in the castle. A costly battle broke out that claimed the lives of several Spanish officers. After four hours of fighting the French agreed to surrender.