Battle of Cardedeu order of battle
| Battle of Cardedeu | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| File:Bataille de Cardedeu.jpg Victory in the Battle of Cardedeu allowed the French to break through to Barcelona in December 1808. | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
|
France First French Empire Kingdom of Italy (Napoleonic) Kingdom of Italy Kingdom of Naples Kingdom of Naples Switzerland Swiss Confederation | Spain Kingdom of Spain | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
France Guillaume Duhesme France Laurent Saint-Cyr |
Spain Juan Miguel de Vives Spain Theodor von Reding | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| over 42,382 | unknown | ||||||
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The Cardedeu order of battle lists the troops that fought in the Battle of Cardedeu (16 December 1808) and several other battles fought between June and December in the Spanish province of Catalonia during the Peninsular War.[1] In February 1808, Imperial French forces seized Barcelona on 29 February and Sant Ferran Castle on 15 March as well as other fortresses in Spain.[2] The Dos de Mayo Uprising broke out when the Spanish people found that Emperor Napoleon deposed the Spanish royal family and set up his brother Joseph Bonaparte as their new king.[3] The 12,000 Imperial French soldiers under Guillaume Philibert Duhesme occupying Catalonia were beaten at the Battles of El Bruch and Gerona in June. Though Duhesme was reinforced by another French division, the Spanish defeated him at the Second Siege of Gerona in July and August. With Duhesme blockaded in Barcelona, Napoleon appointed Laurent Gouvion Saint-Cyr as commander of the VII Corps, added two good divisions and other troops to his force, and ordered him to relieve Barcelona. Saint-Cyr succeeded in this task, winning the battles of Roses, Cardedeu and Molins de Rei in December.[4]
Imperial French order of battle
On 10 October 1808, the VII Corps numbered 42,382 soldiers, of whom 4,948 men were in the hospital and 1,302 were detached. However, not all its assigned troops had joined by that date. Note that the Observation Corps became part of VII Corps when Saint-Cyr assumed command. It is probable that the corps counted over 50,000 men.[5] Joseph Chabran's division was made up of veteran French units.[6] The Provisional Cavalry regiments were created by assembling the depot squadrons, all conscripts, from as many as four different regiments.[7] Honoré Charles Reille's division was a mass of second-class units cobbled together from National Guards, provisional battalions, Swiss, and a "French" regiment from recently annexed Tuscany.[8] The Neapolitans were universally considered the worst troops in Europe.[9] On the other hand, the divisions of Joseph Souham and Domenico Pino were composed of crack troops.[10]
| Corps | Division | Strength | Unit | Strength |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Observation Corps[11] General of Division Guillaume Philibert Duhesme |
1st Division General of Division Joseph Chabran |
Aug: 6,045 | France 2nd Line Infantry Regiment, 3rd Battalion | 610 |
| France 7th Line Infantry Regiment, 1st & 2nd Battalions | 1,785 | |||
| France 16th Line Infantry Regiment, 3rd Battalion | 789 | |||
| France 37th Line Infantry Regiment, 3rd Battalion | 656 | |||
| France 56th Line Infantry Regiment, 4th Battalion | 833 | |||
| France 93rd Line Infantry Regiment, 3rd Battalion | 792 | |||
| Switzerland 2nd Swiss Infantry Regiment, 3rd Battalion | 580 | |||
| 2nd Division General of Division Giuseppe Lechi |
Aug: 4,596 | Kingdom of Italy (Napoleonic) 2nd Italian Line Infantry Regiment, 2nd Battalion | 740 | |
| Kingdom of Italy (Napoleonic) 4th Italian Line Infantry Regiment, 3rd Battalion | 587 | |||
| Kingdom of Italy (Napoleonic) 5th Italian Line Infantry Regiment, 2nd Battalion | 806 | |||
| Kingdom of Italy (Napoleonic) Italian Velites Infantry Regiment, 1st Battalion | 519 | |||
| Kingdom of Naples 1st Neapolitan Infantry Regiment, 1st & 2nd Battalions | 1,944 | |||
| Cavalry Brigade General of Brigade Bertrand Bessières |
Aug: 825 | France 3rd Provisional Cuirassier Regiment | 409 | |
| France 3rd Provisional Chasseur Regiment | 416 | |||
| Cavalry Brigade General of Brigade François Xavier de Schwarz |
Aug: 892 | Kingdom of Italy (Napoleonic) Prince Royal Italian Chasseur Regiment | 504 | |
| Kingdom of Naples Neapolitan Chasseur Regiment | 388 | |||
| Corps Artillery | Aug: 356 | France Kingdom of Italy (Napoleonic) Artillery & train companies | 356 | |
| Observation Corps Total | Aug: 12,714 Nov: 10,000[12] |
France Kingdom of Italy (Napoleonic) Kingdom of Naples Switzerland | - | |
| VII Corps[5] General of Division Laurent Gouvion Saint-Cyr |
3rd Division[8] General of Division Honoré Charles Reille |
Aug: 8,370[8] Nov: 5,612[13] |
France 32nd Light Infantry Regiment, 1 battalion | 1,100? |
| France 16th Line Infantry Regiment, 1 battalion | 840? | |||
| France 56th Line Infantry Regiment, 1 battalion | 840? | |||
| France 113th Line Infantry Regiment, 2 battalions | 1,300 | |||
| France Perpignan Provisional Regiment, 4 battalions | 1,680 | |||
| France 5th Legion of the Reserve, 1 battalion | 500 | |||
| France Chasseurs des Montagnes, 1 battalion | 560? | |||
| Switzerland Valais Infantry Regiment, 1 battalion | 800 | |||
| France 4 squadrons cavalry replacements | 550 | |||
| France 2 artillery companies | 200 | |||
| 4th Division General of Division Joseph Souham |
Nov: 7,712[13] | France 1st Light Infantry Regiment, 3 battalions | ? | |
| France 3rd Light Infantry Regiment, 1 battalion | ? | |||
| France 7th Line Infantry Regiment, 2 battalions | ? | |||
| France 42nd Line Infantry Regiment, 3 battalions | ? | |||
| France 67th Line Infantry Regiment, 1 battalion | ? | |||
| 5th Division General of Division Domenico Pino |
Nov: 8,368[13] | Kingdom of Italy (Napoleonic) 1st Italian Light Infantry Regiment, 3 battalions | ? | |
| Kingdom of Italy (Napoleonic) 2nd Italian Light Infantry Regiment, 3 battalions | ? | |||
| Kingdom of Italy (Napoleonic) 4th Italian Line Infantry Regiment, 2 battalions | ? | |||
| Kingdom of Italy (Napoleonic) 5th Italian Line Infantry Regiment, 1 battalion | ? | |||
| Kingdom of Italy (Napoleonic) 6th Italian Line Infantry Regiment, 3 battalions | ? | |||
| Kingdom of Italy (Napoleonic) 7th Italian Line Infantry Regiment, 1 battalion | ? | |||
| 6th Division General of Division Louis François Jean Chabot |
Nov: 1,988[13] | France Chasseurs of the Eastern Pyrenees, 1 battalion | ? | |
| Kingdom of Naples 2nd Neapolitan Infantry Regiment, 2 battalions | ? | |||
| Cavalry Brigade General of Brigade Jacques Fontane |
Nov: 1,700[13] | Kingdom of Italy (Napoleonic) 7th Italian Dragoon Regiment | ? | |
| Kingdom of Italy (Napoleonic) Royal Italian Chasseur Regiment | ? | |||
| France 24th Dragoon Regiment (not brigaded) | ? | |||
| VII Corps Artillery | Nov: 500[13] | France Kingdom of Italy (Napoleonic) Artillery companies | 500 | |
| Grand Total | Nov: 42,382 | France Kingdom of Italy (Napoleonic) Kingdom of Naples Switzerland | - |
Spanish order of battle
The Royal Spanish army included three Irish regiments, including the Ultonia Infantry Regiment. There were also six Swiss regiments, among them the 1st Wimpfen and 2nd Reding senior Infantry Regiments. The Provincial Grenadiers were a militia formation.[14] Uniquely among the provinces of Spain, Catalonia raised its own type of militia, the miquelets. This was a mass levy of military aged men that was armed and paid by the church parishes. They were sometimes called somatenes after the alarm-bell (somaten) used to alert them.[15] The miquelets were organized into 1,000-man "tercios".[16] Newly-raised units are labeled "Volunteers" or "new". Miquelets and militia have the Catalan flag. All others are regulars.[17] During the Siege of Roses, the garrison consisted of 150 men of the Ultonia Regiment, one-half of the 2nd of Barcelona Light Infantry Regiment, one company of the 1st Wimpfen Swiss Regiment, the Lerida and Igualada Tercios, and elements of the Berga and Figueras Tercios.[18] These were later reinforced by a small battalion of the Borbon Regiment.[19] Nearly all these troops went into captivity when the place surrendered on 5 December.[20] One authority stated that Reding commanded two battalions each of the 1st Grenada, Baza, and Almeria Infantry Regiments at Cardedeu. Vives led newly organized Catalan units at Cardedeu, plus seven guns, but the source did not specify which units.[21] A second historian credited the Spanish at Cardedeu with 5,000 Granadan troops under Reding and 4,000 Catalans under Vives, but did not list the individual units. This force included 600 cavalrymen and seven field guns. During the battle, Francisco Milans del Bosch was to the east with 3,000 miquelets and Luis Rebolledo de Palafox y Melci, 1st marqués de Lazán was to the north with perhaps 6,000 more soldiers. However, Milans' men were still reeling from their defeat the day before and Lazán was too slow; neither intervened at Cardedeu.[22]
| Army | Division | Strength | Unit | Strength |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Army of Catalonia Captain-General Juan Miguel de Vives y Feliu |
Vanguard Brigadier-General Mariano Álvarez de Castro |
5,600 | Spain Republic of Ireland Ultonia Infantry Regiment | 300 |
| Spain Borbon Infantry Regiment | 500 | |||
| Spain 2nd of Barcelona Light Infantry Regiment | 1,000 | |||
| Spain Switzerland 1st Wimpfen Swiss Infantry Regiment | 400 | |||
| Spain Catalonia 1st Gerona Tercio | 900 | |||
| Spain Catalonia 2nd Gerona Tercio | 400 | |||
| Spain Catalonia Igualada Tercio | 400 | |||
| Spain Catalonia Cervera Tercio | 400 | |||
| Spain Catalonia 1st Tarragona Tercio | 800 | |||
| Spain Catalonia Figueras Tercio | 400 | |||
| Spain San Narciso Hussar Regiment (new) | 100 | |||
| 1st Division General Conde de Caldagues |
4,998 6 guns |
Spain 2nd Walloon Guards | 314 | |
| Spain Soria Infantry Regiment | 780 | |||
| Spain Borbon Infantry Regiment (det.) | 151 | |||
| Spain 2nd of Savoia Infantry Regiment | 1,734 | |||
| Spain Switzerland 2nd Reding senior Swiss Infantry Regiment (det.) | 270 | |||
| Spain Catalonia Tortosa Tercio | 984 | |||
| Spain Catalonia Igualada and Cervera Tercio (det.) | 245 | |||
| Spain Sappers | 50 | |||
| Spain Españoles Hussar Regiment, 2 squadrons | 220 | |||
| Spain Cataluña Cazadores Cavalry (new) | 180 | |||
| Spain Artillery battery | 70, 6 guns | |||
| 2nd Division General Laguna |
2,360 7 guns |
Spain Old Castile Provincial Grenadiers | 972 | |
| Spain New Castile Provincial Grenadiers | 924 | |||
| Spain Zaragosa Volunteers | 150 | |||
| Spain Sappers | 30 | |||
| Spain Españoles Hussar Regiment | 200 | |||
| Spain Artillery battery | 84, 7 guns | |||
| 3rd Division General La Serna |
2,458 | Spain Grenada Infantry Regiment | 961 | |
| Spain Catalonia 2nd Tarragona Tercio | 922 | |||
| Spain Catalonia Arzu Division (new) | 325 | |||
| Spain Catalonia Sueltas Companies (new) | 250 | |||
| 4th Division General Francisco Milans del Bosch |
3,710 | Spain Catalonia 1st Lerida Tercio | 872 | |
| Spain Catalonia Vich Tercio | 976 | |||
| Spain Catalonia Manresa Tercio | 937 | |||
| Spain Catalonia Valls Tercio | 925 | |||
| Reserve | 907 4 guns |
Spain Spanish Guards | 60 | |
| Spain Grenadiers Soria Regiment | 188 | |||
| Spain Switzerland Grenadiers Wimpfen Swiss Regiment | 169 | |||
| Spain General's Bodyguard | 340 | |||
| Spain Sappers | 20 | |||
| Spain Españoles Hussar Regiment | 80 | |||
| Spain Artillery battery | 50, 4 guns | |||
| Army of Granada General Theodor von Reding |
1st Division | 8,200 | Spain Switzerland 2nd Reding senior Swiss Regiment | 1,000 |
| Spain 1st Granada (Iliberia) Infantry Regiment (new) | 2,400 | |||
| Spain Baza Infantry Regiment (new) | 2,400 | |||
| Spain Almeria Infantry Regiment (new) | 2,400 | |||
| 2nd Division | 6,000 | Spain Santa Fé Infantry Regiment (new) | 2,400 | |
| Spain Antequera Infantry Regiment (new) | 1,200 | |||
| Spain Loja Infantry Regiment (new) | 2,400 | |||
| Cavalry | 670 | Spain Granada Hussar Regiment (new) | 670 | |
| Artillery | 130, 6 g. | Spain Artillery battery | 130, 6 guns | |
| Army of Aragon Captain-General José de Palafox y Melci Not present |
3rd Division General Luis Palafox, marqués de Lazán |
4,688 | Spain 1st Aragon Volunteers | 638 |
| Spain 3rd Aragon Volunteers | 593 | |||
| Spain Fernando VII of Aragon Regiment (new) | 648 | |||
| Spain Daroca Regiment (new) | 503 | |||
| Spain La Reunion Regiment (new) | 1,286 | |||
| Spain Reserva del General Regiment (new) | 934 | |||
| Spain Fernando VII Cazadores Cavalry, 1 troop | 22 | |||
| Spain Artillery battery | 64 |
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Notes
- ↑ "History of Guerre d'Espagne - The PEninsular War 1808-1814".
- ↑ Oman 2010, p. 37.
- ↑ Gates 2002, p. 12.
- ↑ Gates 2002, pp. 59–67.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Oman 2010, pp. 642–643.
- ↑ Oman 2010, p. 107.
- ↑ Oman 2010, pp. 104–105.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Oman 2010, p. 320.
- ↑ Oman 2010, p. 311.
- ↑ Oman 2010, p. 333.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Oman 2010, p. 614.
- ↑ Oman 1995, p. 38.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 Oman 1995, p. 44.
- ↑ Oman 2010, p. 609.
- ↑ Oman 2010, p. 306.
- ↑ Oman 2010, p. 322.
- ↑ Oman 2010, p. 631.
- ↑ Oman 1995, pp. 47–48.
- ↑ Oman 1995, p. 53.
- ↑ Oman 1995, p. 56.
- ↑ Smith 1998, p. 272.
- ↑ Oman 1995, p. 63.
- ↑ Oman 2010, pp. 633–636.
References
- Gates, David (2002). The Spanish Ulcer: A History of the Peninsular War. London: Pimlico. ISBN 0-7126-9730-6.
- Oman, Charles (2010). A History of the Peninsular War Volume I. Vol. 1. La Vergne, Tenn.: Kessinger Publishing. ISBN 978-1432636821.
- Oman, Charles (1995). A History of the Peninsular War Volume II. Vol. 2. Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania: Stackpole. ISBN 1-85367-215-7.
- Smith, Digby (1998). The Napoleonic Wars Data Book. London: Greenhill. ISBN 1-85367-276-9.