Battle of La Gudina
Encyclopedia
The Battle of La Gudina or Battle of Val Gudina (Spanish
: Batalla de La Gudiña) (Portuguese
: Batalha de Caia) was fought on 7 May 1709 near Arronches between the Spanish
Bourbon
army of Extremadura
, under the Marquis de Bay
, and the Portuguese and British, under the Huguenot Earl of Galway and the Marquis of Fronteira
. This battle resulted in a crushing defeat for the Anglo-Portuguese army, 4,000-5,000 soldiers were killed, wounded or captured, while the Spanish had only 400 soldiers dead or wounded.
Advancing from Elvas
and passing the river Caya (Caia in Portuguese) the Anglo-Portuguese army had in front the Spaniards commanded by the Marquis de Bay
. On the 17th of May and on the plain of La Gudina the two armeis met. The Portuguese cavalry was routed with but slight resistance, and it left exposed two battalions of English foot, which were thus cut off and compelled to lay down their arms. Henri de Massue, Earl of Galway, who had a horse shot under him, narrowly escaped being taken with them. The rest of the Anglo
-Portuguese
army made an orderly retreat to Elvas
, maintaining their position there during the rest of the campaign, the Austrian
danger from the Portuguese frontier was staved off for the moment.
, the British situation was desperate, they were no longer present in the south-eastern territory of Spain
and had minimum or not importance in the course of the war. Henri de Massue formally pressed London
to sent more reinforcements, and Britain responded sending 25,000 men. About 8,000 British troops were sent to Portugal
under the orders of the Earl of Galway, and the rest to Catalonia
.
In Portugal, Galway met with the Marquis of Fronteira
to prepare his combined attack against the Bourbon
allies of Spain and advance toward Madrid
. But for this, first they had to capture the city of Badajoz
, a Spanish stronghold in the Portuguese frontier. In the past, Henri de Massue had already tried twice to capture the city without success. This time he did not take the risk, and knowing that France
had withdrawn its troops in view of the defeats of Louis XIV
had suffered on the mainland, his Anglo-Portuguese army crossed the border, composed by high of 20,000 Portuguese and 8,000 English, near the fortress of Campo Mayor, towards Badajoz. While his enormous supply train crosses the river Caya, the Anglo-Portuguese contacted in the fields of Gudiña with the vanguards of the Spanish cavalry.
The allies, according to the Portuguese account, were 49 regiments of infantry and cavalry, against but 40 on the side of their Spanish opponents; according to the London Gazette, No 4538, about 17,000 foot and 5,000 horse in very good order, and, by the reports from the deserters, much superior in number to the enemy. The Spanish army were, by their published line of battle, about 24 battalions and 47 squadrons. The artillery of each party was stated as equal, or 20 pieces of artillery.
The allied army who had thrown nine bridges across the river Caya, were ready to began the fight. In the center were deployed troops of the Marquis of Fronteira
, but his troops were unable to see the Spanish infantry, because it did not happen again on the battlefield, unlike the cavalry. On the left flank, the first line was commanded by the Count of San Juan, and the second line was positioned under the command of the Earl of Galway, with three British regiments. The allies streched this wing to take advantage of their numerical superiority, and thus outflank the opposing Spanish wing.
After several attacks designed to attract Anglo-Portuguese forces, the Marquis de Bay
, -who ordered the Spanish cavalry on the right flank- sent the Spaniards
to attack the Portuguese in the first row. The very well trained and experienced Spanish cavalry made the Portuguese flee, the Count of San Juan desperately tried to reorganize its troops but failed and was captured. The Spanish cavalry also captured a battery of artillery.
Lord Galway then launched an attack to take the battery with 3 regiments. The Spanish dragoons dismounted and engaged the English with them, who were advancing, while the Spanish cavalry were dominating the fields, and the English attempted to retreat on a building. At Galway then went on a horse and fled. Lord Barrymore and General Pearse were captured. The British regiment was virtually wiped out three times, most of them were killed and captured. The Spanish cavalry pursued the Anglo-Portuguese, killing 1,500 and capturing 1,000.
The first and second lines of the Anglo-Portuguese wing fled. English Col. Ally, who commanded the center, which had no cavalry, also took flight, even before the Spanish infantry arrived on the field. Leaving all the standards, as tents, baggage and guns on the field, he recrossed the river Caya, without destroying the bridges behind their passage.
The Allies had about 1,700 men killed and wounded; those captured were altogether about 2,300; of whom the greater number, or 1500, were Queen Anne's troops, and the remainder, or 800, were Portuguese. The chief British (besides Portuguese) officers, made prisoners, were Major-General James Barry, 4th Earl of Barrymore, and Nicholas Sankey; Brigadier-General Thomas Pearce; the 2nd Colonel of the Regiment of Galway, with Major Thomas Gordon of that corps; Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Meredith of the Regiment of Colonel Thomas Stanwix, and Lord Henry Pawlet, Aide-de-Camp to the Earl of Galway; the latter nobleman, (unfortunate here as at Almansa,) after having a horse shot underhim, only escaping with difficulty.
The Allies were thus disappointed in the preparations they had made, of being able, through their superior numbers, to capture Badajoz
, and had the additional mortification to witness above 30 leagues of the Portuguese territory placed under contribution by the Marquis de Bay, who subsisted his army at the expense of his adversaries, by the end of this campaign.
So generally discreditable to the British did their intelligence from Portugal appear, that a contemporary London annalist says: For my part, I think the stories, and excuses, sent us from thence, are as mean, and poor, as our fighting, and conduct, seem to be." The victory, which led to such sastisfactory results for Philip V of Spain
, Brigadier Henry Crofton with his Regiment of Dragoons of 4 squadrons, was in the 1st line of the Spanish right wing of cavalry, by whose impetuous charge, upon their Portuguese opponents, it is states, that "all the cavalry of the 2 lines of the enemy's left was, in less than half an hour, broken, overthrown, and put to flight."
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
: Batalla de La Gudiña) (Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
: Batalha de Caia) was fought on 7 May 1709 near Arronches between the Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
Bourbon
House of Bourbon
The House of Bourbon is a European royal house, a branch of the Capetian dynasty . Bourbon kings first ruled Navarre and France in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Bourbon dynasty also held thrones in Spain, Naples, Sicily, and Parma...
army of Extremadura
Extremadura
Extremadura is an autonomous community of western Spain whose capital city is Mérida. Its component provinces are Cáceres and Badajoz. It is bordered by Portugal to the west...
, under the Marquis de Bay
Alexandre Maître, Marquis de Bay
Alexandre Maître, marquis de Bay was a French military officer.-Service Record:1696 - 1701: in service in the Dutch cavalry, colonel....
, and the Portuguese and British, under the Huguenot Earl of Galway and the Marquis of Fronteira
Marquis of Fronteira
Count of Torre was a Portuguese title of nobility created by a royal decree, dated from July 26, 1638, by King Philip II of Portugal, and granted to Dom Fernando de Mascarenhas, Lord of Rosmaninhal....
. This battle resulted in a crushing defeat for the Anglo-Portuguese army, 4,000-5,000 soldiers were killed, wounded or captured, while the Spanish had only 400 soldiers dead or wounded.
Advancing from Elvas
Elvas
Elvas is a Portuguese municipality, an episcopal city and frontier fortress of Portugal, located in the district of Portalegre in Alentejo. It is situated about 230 km east of Lisbon, and about 15 km west of the Spanish fortress of Badajoz, by the Madrid-Badajoz-Lisbon railway...
and passing the river Caya (Caia in Portuguese) the Anglo-Portuguese army had in front the Spaniards commanded by the Marquis de Bay
Alexandre Maître, Marquis de Bay
Alexandre Maître, marquis de Bay was a French military officer.-Service Record:1696 - 1701: in service in the Dutch cavalry, colonel....
. On the 17th of May and on the plain of La Gudina the two armeis met. The Portuguese cavalry was routed with but slight resistance, and it left exposed two battalions of English foot, which were thus cut off and compelled to lay down their arms. Henri de Massue, Earl of Galway, who had a horse shot under him, narrowly escaped being taken with them. The rest of the Anglo
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
-Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
army made an orderly retreat to Elvas
Elvas
Elvas is a Portuguese municipality, an episcopal city and frontier fortress of Portugal, located in the district of Portalegre in Alentejo. It is situated about 230 km east of Lisbon, and about 15 km west of the Spanish fortress of Badajoz, by the Madrid-Badajoz-Lisbon railway...
, maintaining their position there during the rest of the campaign, the Austrian
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
danger from the Portuguese frontier was staved off for the moment.
Background
After the defeat at the Battle of AlmansaBattle of Almansa
The Battle of Almansa, fought on 25 April 1707, was one of the most decisive engagements of the War of the Spanish Succession. At Almansa, the Franco–Spanish army under Berwick soundly defeated the allied forces of Portugal, England, and the United Provinces led by the Earl of Galway,...
, the British situation was desperate, they were no longer present in the south-eastern territory of Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and had minimum or not importance in the course of the war. Henri de Massue formally pressed London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to sent more reinforcements, and Britain responded sending 25,000 men. About 8,000 British troops were sent to Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
under the orders of the Earl of Galway, and the rest to Catalonia
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
.
In Portugal, Galway met with the Marquis of Fronteira
Marquis of Fronteira
Count of Torre was a Portuguese title of nobility created by a royal decree, dated from July 26, 1638, by King Philip II of Portugal, and granted to Dom Fernando de Mascarenhas, Lord of Rosmaninhal....
to prepare his combined attack against the Bourbon
House of Bourbon
The House of Bourbon is a European royal house, a branch of the Capetian dynasty . Bourbon kings first ruled Navarre and France in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Bourbon dynasty also held thrones in Spain, Naples, Sicily, and Parma...
allies of Spain and advance toward Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
. But for this, first they had to capture the city of Badajoz
Badajoz
Badajoz is the capital of the Province of Badajoz in the autonomous community of Extremadura, Spain, situated close to the Portuguese border, on the left bank of the river Guadiana, and the Madrid–Lisbon railway. The population in 2007 was 145,257....
, a Spanish stronghold in the Portuguese frontier. In the past, Henri de Massue had already tried twice to capture the city without success. This time he did not take the risk, and knowing that France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
had withdrawn its troops in view of the defeats of Louis XIV
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
had suffered on the mainland, his Anglo-Portuguese army crossed the border, composed by high of 20,000 Portuguese and 8,000 English, near the fortress of Campo Mayor, towards Badajoz. While his enormous supply train crosses the river Caya, the Anglo-Portuguese contacted in the fields of Gudiña with the vanguards of the Spanish cavalry.
The allies, according to the Portuguese account, were 49 regiments of infantry and cavalry, against but 40 on the side of their Spanish opponents; according to the London Gazette, No 4538, about 17,000 foot and 5,000 horse in very good order, and, by the reports from the deserters, much superior in number to the enemy. The Spanish army were, by their published line of battle, about 24 battalions and 47 squadrons. The artillery of each party was stated as equal, or 20 pieces of artillery.
The Battle
Marquis of Fronteira
Count of Torre was a Portuguese title of nobility created by a royal decree, dated from July 26, 1638, by King Philip II of Portugal, and granted to Dom Fernando de Mascarenhas, Lord of Rosmaninhal....
, but his troops were unable to see the Spanish infantry, because it did not happen again on the battlefield, unlike the cavalry. On the left flank, the first line was commanded by the Count of San Juan, and the second line was positioned under the command of the Earl of Galway, with three British regiments. The allies streched this wing to take advantage of their numerical superiority, and thus outflank the opposing Spanish wing.
After several attacks designed to attract Anglo-Portuguese forces, the Marquis de Bay
Alexandre Maître, Marquis de Bay
Alexandre Maître, marquis de Bay was a French military officer.-Service Record:1696 - 1701: in service in the Dutch cavalry, colonel....
, -who ordered the Spanish cavalry on the right flank- sent the Spaniards
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
to attack the Portuguese in the first row. The very well trained and experienced Spanish cavalry made the Portuguese flee, the Count of San Juan desperately tried to reorganize its troops but failed and was captured. The Spanish cavalry also captured a battery of artillery.
Lord Galway then launched an attack to take the battery with 3 regiments. The Spanish dragoons dismounted and engaged the English with them, who were advancing, while the Spanish cavalry were dominating the fields, and the English attempted to retreat on a building. At Galway then went on a horse and fled. Lord Barrymore and General Pearse were captured. The British regiment was virtually wiped out three times, most of them were killed and captured. The Spanish cavalry pursued the Anglo-Portuguese, killing 1,500 and capturing 1,000.
The first and second lines of the Anglo-Portuguese wing fled. English Col. Ally, who commanded the center, which had no cavalry, also took flight, even before the Spanish infantry arrived on the field. Leaving all the standards, as tents, baggage and guns on the field, he recrossed the river Caya, without destroying the bridges behind their passage.
Aftermath
The Portuguese and British were severely defeated, with the loss in every way, of about 4,000 men, 17 cannon, 15 colours or standards, as well as tents, and baggage ; the Spaniards having had about 400 men, and 100 horses, killed or wounded.The Allies had about 1,700 men killed and wounded; those captured were altogether about 2,300; of whom the greater number, or 1500, were Queen Anne's troops, and the remainder, or 800, were Portuguese. The chief British (besides Portuguese) officers, made prisoners, were Major-General James Barry, 4th Earl of Barrymore, and Nicholas Sankey; Brigadier-General Thomas Pearce; the 2nd Colonel of the Regiment of Galway, with Major Thomas Gordon of that corps; Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Meredith of the Regiment of Colonel Thomas Stanwix, and Lord Henry Pawlet, Aide-de-Camp to the Earl of Galway; the latter nobleman, (unfortunate here as at Almansa,) after having a horse shot underhim, only escaping with difficulty.
The Allies were thus disappointed in the preparations they had made, of being able, through their superior numbers, to capture Badajoz
Badajoz
Badajoz is the capital of the Province of Badajoz in the autonomous community of Extremadura, Spain, situated close to the Portuguese border, on the left bank of the river Guadiana, and the Madrid–Lisbon railway. The population in 2007 was 145,257....
, and had the additional mortification to witness above 30 leagues of the Portuguese territory placed under contribution by the Marquis de Bay, who subsisted his army at the expense of his adversaries, by the end of this campaign.
So generally discreditable to the British did their intelligence from Portugal appear, that a contemporary London annalist says: For my part, I think the stories, and excuses, sent us from thence, are as mean, and poor, as our fighting, and conduct, seem to be." The victory, which led to such sastisfactory results for Philip V of Spain
Philip V of Spain
Philip V was King of Spain from 15 November 1700 to 15 January 1724, when he abdicated in favor of his son Louis, and from 6 September 1724, when he assumed the throne again upon his son's death, to his death.Before his reign, Philip occupied an exalted place in the royal family of France as a...
, Brigadier Henry Crofton with his Regiment of Dragoons of 4 squadrons, was in the 1st line of the Spanish right wing of cavalry, by whose impetuous charge, upon their Portuguese opponents, it is states, that "all the cavalry of the 2 lines of the enemy's left was, in less than half an hour, broken, overthrown, and put to flight."