Battle of Truillas

Battle of Truillas
Part of theWar of the Pyrenees
TheBattle of Truillasby Jean-Baptiste Réville
Date 22 September 1793 Location Trouillas,Pyrénées Orientales,France Result Spanish victory
Belligerents
Spain	France
Commanders and leaders
Antonio Ricardos	Luc Siméon Dagobert
Strength
17,000	22,000
Casualties and losses
2,000	4,500, 10 guns

TheBattle of Truillas(22 September 1793) saw theRepublican FrenchArmy of the Eastern Pyreneesled byLuc Siméon Auguste Dagobertattack theSpanishArmy of Catalonia commanded byAntonio Ricardos.This attempt by the French to exploit their success in theBattle of Peyrestortesended in a Spanish victory. Dagobert tried to outflank the Spanish left wing, but Ricardos blocked the move. Dagobert then attacked the Spanish center and had initial success, but Ricardos rapidly shifted his forces to counter the French. Thwarted, Dagobert was finally compelled to order a retreat. Dagobert's scornful treatment of two key subordinates was one reason for the lackluster French performance. The battle was fought near the village ofTrouillasin the French department ofPyrénées Orientalesduring theWar of the Pyrenees.

Background

Since invading FrenchRoussillonin April 1793,Captain GeneralRicardos and his Spanish army won a string of successes over the defending forces of theFirst French Republic.TheSiege of Bellegardeended with a French capitulation on 24 June 1793.Since June, the Spanish army maintained itself a few kilometers south ofPerpignan,the department capital. In early September, Ricardos made a bid to isolate and capture the fortress of Perpignan by sending two divisions around its western side to cut the road toNarbonne.Meanwhile, he bombarded the city from the south. French troops underGeneral of DivisionEustache Charles d'AoustandGeneral of BrigadeJacques Gilles Henri Goguetattacked the positions of SpanishLieutenant GeneralJerónimo Girón-Moctezuma, Marquis de las AmarilasatPeyrestortesand Lieutenant GeneralJuan de Courtenat Le Vernet. The resultingBattle of Peyrestorteson 17 September was an important French victory. The badly shaken Spanish army regrouped near Trouillas.

The day afterPeyrestortes,General of DivisionLuc Siméon Auguste Dagobertwas appointed commander of the Army of the Eastern Pyrenees. Desiring to take advantage of the recent victory and urged on byRepresentative-on-missionClaude Fabre, Dagobert decided to attack Ricardos in his camp at Trouillas.

Battle

War of the Pyrenees, Eastern Pyrenees

Trouillas nestles in a plain on the Canterrane stream at an altitude of about 100 meters. Mas Deu, an establishment founded by theKnights Templarin medieval times, is located 2.4 km to the east.Thuirlies five km to the northwest. Ricardos defended these positions with a force of 17,000 soldiers and 38 cannons. The second battalion of theBarcelonaInfantry Regiment arrived, but this reinforcement did not make up for the heavy Spanish losses suffered at Peyrestortes. Dagobert attacked the Spanish defenses with 22,000 soldiers.The French order of battle included the 7th, 61st, 70th, and 79th InfantryDemi-Brigades,as well as theNational Guardsof Gers and Gard.

Battle of Trouillas from Hamel

Dagobert preferred to envelop the Spanish position from the west, but Fabre and the other generals persuaded him to make a frontal attack. So he sentGeneral of BrigadeLouis Antoine Goguet's division to assault the Spanish left flank at Thuir while sending a flanking column to attack that town from the west. D'Aoust's division was ordered to attack the Spanish right flank at Mas Deu, while Dagobert led his own division in an attempt to pierce the Spanish center. Believing that Thuir was the focus of the main French effort, Ricardos posted General Crespo and only 3,000 men to defend the Spanish right. He shifted the troops of LGPedro Téllez-Girón, 9th Duke of Osunaand LGLuis Firmín de Carvajal, Conde de la Uniónto hold Thuir. Dagobert's attack pushed back the Spanish center and forced its way into the main camp at Trouillas. Meanwhile, Goguet ran into a concentration of Spanish infantry and artillery on the west flank at Thuir and was beaten. Ricardos personally led a cavalry charge to break up the flanking column, then he returned to the crisis of the battle in the center. D'Aoust merely skirmished with Crespo near Mas Deu and never mounted a serious threat to the Spanish right. This allowed Ricardos to mass his cavalry against Dagobert's division. After disposing of Goguet, de la Unión marched to Trouillas to take the French center in reverse. Three French demi-brigades were surrounded and many prisoners taken. After an all-day battle Dagobert retreated northeast toCanohès.

The Spanish victory was also helped by disorganization and poor logistical arrangements on the part of the French.

Result

Though Dagobert admitted only 1,500 casualties, historianDigby Smithnotes that the French actually suffered 3,000 killed and wounded, with 1,500 soldiers and 10 artillery pieces captured. The Spanish army lost a total of 2,000 killed, wounded, and missing. De Courten and General Diego Godoy also fought for the Spanish.Representatives Fabre and Raymond Gaston removed the unsuccessful Dagobert from command of the army on 28 September and temporarily replaced him with d'Aoust. Dagobert returned to theCerdagnewith his division and sacked the Spanish town ofCamprodonon 4 October.However, the positive casualty exchange proved inconsequential as 15,000 reinforcements reached the French the day after the battle while Ricardos’ army continued to shrink.Though Ricardos gained the victory at Trouillas, he soon found it expedient to withdraw to theTech River.On 3 October, the Spanish commander and 15,000 troops repulsed d'Aoust and 16,000 Frenchmen atLe Boulouon the Tech. In that action, 1,200 French soldiers became casualties against only 300 Spaniards.

References

• Cust, Edward (1859)."Annals of the Wars: 1783–1795, Volume 4".London: Mitchell's Military Library.Retrieved30 November2023.
• Hamel, Michael C. "The Roussillon Campaign Of 1793-94: Spain’s Lost Opportunity."Age of Revolutions(May 13, 2024).https://ageofrevolutions /2024/05/13/the-roussillon-campaign-of-1793-94-spains-lost-opportunity/.
• Phipps, Ramsay Weston(2011).The Armies of the First French Republic: Volume III The Armies in the West 1793 to 1797 And, The Armies In The South 1793 to March 1796.Vol. 3. USA: Pickle Partners Publishing.ISBN978-1-908692-26-9.
• Smith, Digby(1998).The Napoleonic Wars Data Book.London: Greenhill.ISBN1-85367-276-9.

External links

• 17 Septembre 1793 La Bataille de Peyrestortesby Bernard Prats in FrenchArchived2011-07-21 at theWayback Machine
• Mort pour la Bataille de Trouillas ou est ta Victoireby Bernard Prats in FrenchArchived2018-01-12 at theWayback Machine
• La Revanche de Luc Simeon Auguste Dagobert de Fontenilleby Bernard Prats in FrenchArchived2018-01-12 at theWayback Machine
• Rickard, J. (2009)."Battle of Truillas".History of War.Retrieved30 November2023.
• Media related toBattle of Truillasat Wikimedia Commons

Preceded by First Battle of Wissembourg (1793)

French Revolution: Revolutionary campaigns Battle of Truillas

Succeeded by Second Battle of Wissembourg (1793)