Siege of Gerona (1809)
Encyclopedia
The Siege of Gerona of May 6, 1809, sometimes called the Third Siege of Gerona or Girona (after two battles in 1808), involved the French
Grande Armée's seven-month struggle to conquer the Spanish
garrison at Girona
. The French and Westphalian troops were commanded by General Laurent de Gouvion Saint-Cyr during much of the siege, before Marshal Pierre Augereau took command on 12 October. The town held out obstinately under the leadership of General Alvarez
until disease and famine compelled it to capitulate on December 12.
On the accession of Joseph Bonaparte
to the throne of Spain in 1808, General Alvarez
was commander of the castle of Montjuïc
in Barcelona
. On February 29 French troops arrived to take possession of the fortress. Alvarez was preparing to defend it against them when he received direct orders of his Commander-in-Chief
to hand it over. Alvarez fled Barcelona and joined the Spanish rebels against French rule. The Spanish Government in Cadiz
named him commander of the Army of Catalonia and Governor of Gerona.
On May 6 a French army of 18,000 men under General of Division Laurent de Gouvion Saint-Cyr besieged the town. Alvarez had only 5,600 men under arms. The French mounted 40 gun batteries that over the next seven months fired some 20,000 explosive shells and 60,000 cannon balls into the city. In August, the French captured the castle of Montjuich, the main defensive point. Towards the end of September, General Gouvion Saint-Cyr left his command, angered by the fact that he would be replaced at the head of the French and Allied force. Saint-Cyr left the troops without an overall commander for several days, in clear disobedience of the orders that he had received on 22 June, when he was detailed to wait for the arrival of Marshal Augereau before quitting his command. Meanwhile the Spanish troops and population inside the city were beginning to run short of supplies. Undeterred, Alavarez had barricades and trenches constructed inside the city and battle raged for another four months before Alavarez, exhausted and ill, handed over command to a subordinate. Two days later, on 12 December, the town capitulated. It is estimated that some 10,000 people, soldiers and civilians, had died inside. French losses were around 15,000, over half of those to disease.
The town's resistance (rivalled only by the defenders of Zaragoza
) served Spanish purposes well owing to the large delays and losses imposed on the French, and the battle became something of a legend over the course of the Peninsular War
. In spite of Alvarez's poor health, the French imprisoned him at Perpignan.
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...
Grande Armée's seven-month struggle to conquer 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...
garrison at Girona
Girona
Girona is a city in the northeast of Catalonia, Spain at the confluence of the rivers Ter, Onyar, Galligants and Güell, with an official population of 96,236 in January 2009. It is the capital of the province of the same name and of the comarca of the Gironès...
. The French and Westphalian troops were commanded by General Laurent de Gouvion Saint-Cyr during much of the siege, before Marshal Pierre Augereau took command on 12 October. The town held out obstinately under the leadership of General Alvarez
Mariano Alvarez de Castro
Brigadier Mariano Álvarez de Castro was a Spanish military officer, and the military governor of Gerona during the siege by the French during the War of Spanish Independence.-Biography:...
until disease and famine compelled it to capitulate on December 12.
On the accession of Joseph Bonaparte
Joseph Bonaparte
Joseph-Napoléon Bonaparte was the elder brother of Napoleon Bonaparte, who made him King of Naples and Sicily , and later King of Spain...
to the throne of Spain in 1808, General Alvarez
Mariano Alvarez de Castro
Brigadier Mariano Álvarez de Castro was a Spanish military officer, and the military governor of Gerona during the siege by the French during the War of Spanish Independence.-Biography:...
was commander of the castle of Montjuïc
Montjuïc
Montjuïc is a hill located in Barcelona, Catalonia.-Etymology:Montjuïc is translated as 'Jew Hill' in medieval Catalan, or is perhaps related to the Latin phrase Mons Jovicus . The name is found in several locations in the Catalan Countries: the Catalan cities of Girona and Barcelona both have a...
in Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
. On February 29 French troops arrived to take possession of the fortress. Alvarez was preparing to defend it against them when he received direct orders of his Commander-in-Chief
Commander-in-Chief
A commander-in-chief is the commander of a nation's military forces or significant element of those forces. In the latter case, the force element may be defined as those forces within a particular region or those forces which are associated by function. As a practical term it refers to the military...
to hand it over. Alvarez fled Barcelona and joined the Spanish rebels against French rule. The Spanish Government in Cadiz
Cádiz
Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....
named him commander of the Army of Catalonia and Governor of Gerona.
On May 6 a French army of 18,000 men under General of Division Laurent de Gouvion Saint-Cyr besieged the town. Alvarez had only 5,600 men under arms. The French mounted 40 gun batteries that over the next seven months fired some 20,000 explosive shells and 60,000 cannon balls into the city. In August, the French captured the castle of Montjuich, the main defensive point. Towards the end of September, General Gouvion Saint-Cyr left his command, angered by the fact that he would be replaced at the head of the French and Allied force. Saint-Cyr left the troops without an overall commander for several days, in clear disobedience of the orders that he had received on 22 June, when he was detailed to wait for the arrival of Marshal Augereau before quitting his command. Meanwhile the Spanish troops and population inside the city were beginning to run short of supplies. Undeterred, Alavarez had barricades and trenches constructed inside the city and battle raged for another four months before Alavarez, exhausted and ill, handed over command to a subordinate. Two days later, on 12 December, the town capitulated. It is estimated that some 10,000 people, soldiers and civilians, had died inside. French losses were around 15,000, over half of those to disease.
The town's resistance (rivalled only by the defenders of Zaragoza
Zaragoza
Zaragoza , also called Saragossa in English, is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain...
) served Spanish purposes well owing to the large delays and losses imposed on the French, and the battle became something of a legend over the course of the Peninsular War
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War was a war between France and the allied powers of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars. The war began when French and Spanish armies crossed Spain and invaded Portugal in 1807. Then, in 1808, France turned on its...
. In spite of Alvarez's poor health, the French imprisoned him at Perpignan.