Battles fought in
Central Spain
Campaign History
By
the end of January most of the experienced French troops had been withdrawn
from Spain to form the new Grand Army in Germany. On 1 February 1813 Marshal Suchet was given
command of all the remaining troops in Southern Spain. He was ordered to abandon Seville and
withdraw all the scattered garrisons to Madrid.
General
Giron commanded all Spanish troops south of Madrid. As the French withdrew he ordered his army
to concentrate at Badajoz. It took two
weeks for them to do so. He ordered an
immediate advance on Madrid
On
28 February 1813 the Spanish Army reached Merida. Their slow march allowed the Suchet to
reorganize his Army and to march them west to meet the Spanish. As the Spanish entered Merida, his army
arrived at Almarez.
5
March 1813 – Almarez Campaign. Marshal
Suchet opened the campaign by defeating the Spanish at Almarez and followed
that by a second victory at Naval Moral.
The Spanish regrouped and countered by winning at Serrejon and
Almarez. Suchet retreated towards
Madrid, allowing Giron to claim a Spanish campaign victory.
18
March 1813 – Talavera Campaign. The
Spanish dominated this campaign, winning both battles at Talavera and a draw at
Las Vantas. The campaign ended in a
draw with the Armistice.
5
April 1813 – Armistice. Despite their
run of victories the Spanish Army had dispersed due to battle casualties and lack of
supplies. They accepted the cease fire
in order to reorganise their field army.
It was agreed that the Spanish would concentrate at Aranjuez and the
French retreat to Toledo.
12
April 1813 – Toledo Campaign. The
French advance was relentless and the Spanish could do little to delay it. The guerrilla bands caused some problems for
the lines of communication and supply, and even captured two garrisons. But Suchet ignored his lack of supplies and
attacked Moncejon. The Spanish army was
broken and retreated.
4
June 1813 – Cuidad Real Campaign. The
Spanish were deployed north of the river Guadiana, with their main supply base
in Cuidad Real just south of that river.
The French advanced over a wide area to prevent the Spanish from
retreating and concentrating all of their army south of the river. The French won the first two battles, but
lost the third. The Spanish retreated
south of the river. Despite long supply
lines under attack from guerrilla bands, Suchet ordered his army to attack the
defended river line. He won the fourth
battle and the campaign. Once more the
Spanish army was forced to retreat.
17
July 1813 – Linares Campaign. The
French concentrated at Probete and advanced south along three roads. They won the first three battles and occupied
the town of Baylen. As they occupied
towns the Spanish militia garrison fled to the mountains and became guerrilla
bands. As the French lines of supply
grew longer, they came under attack from the guerrilla. Suchet was forced to send one of his four
corps back to defeat the guerrilla and reopen his lines of supply. Giron immediately attacked and took El Hoyo
and then Baylen. Suchet was forced to
retreat to Probate and abandon his advance.
The Spanish had won the campaign.
7
September 1813 – Albacete Campaign. The
French concentrated at Albacete and advanced south along three roads, with
their fourth corps in reserve. They won
the battles of Riopar and Elda, but allowed the defeated Spanish to retreat. Once more the guerrilla played a major part
in the campaign. As the French advanced
south, they attacked their depots in the north.
This delayed the French attack on Molina, which they also won. The final battle at Hellin was hard fought
and really a draw. But the Spanish
retreated to resupply and the French declared a victory. The French won the campaign.
Reference
The
campaign diary contains comprehensive details of the whole campaign. The
labels on the right are an index to various parts of the campaign.
01
- introduction to the 1813 campaign
02
- the five campaign areas
50
- introduction to the campaign in Central Spain
53
- daily diary for the campaign in Central Spain
54
- battle reports of all battles fought in Central Spain
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