Division of the North
| Division of the North | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Active | March – November 1808 |
| Disbanded | November 1808 (destroyed) |
| Country |  Spain |
| Allegiance | Ferdinand VII of Spain |
| Branch |  Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Role | Garrison,front-line |
| Size | 15,000 |
| Garrison/HQ | Denmark(until May 1808) |
| Engagements | Escape from Denmark Battle of Valmaseda Battle of Espinosa |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Marquis of La Romana, Joaquín Blake y Joyes |
TheDivision of the North(Spanish:División del Norte) was a Spanish infantrydivisionthat existed in 1808.
Spainwas, at that time, an ally ofFranceand the division, composed of 15,000 men under the command of the Marquis de la Romana,Pedro Caro y Sureda,[1]was initially deployed, between 1807 and 1808, to perform garrison duties inHamburgunderMarshal Bernadotte.In March 1808, along with a Franco-Belgian unit of approximately the same size, the unit was deployed toDenmark,with the two-fold objective of protecting that country, also an ally ofNapoleon,and preparing for an invasion ofSweden.
After Caro y Sureda learned about the outbreak of thePeninsular War,he decided to have the Britishtransport the division back to Spain.The majority of the division returned to Spain and fought in the early part of the Peninsular War.
Return to Spain
[edit]While the Division was in Denmark, thePeninsular Warbroke out on 2 May 1808. Once Caro y Sureda learned of the changed situation, he made plans with the British to return the Division to Spain. The Marquis contacted Rear-AdmiralRichard Goodwin Keatsin his flagshipSuperb,and on 9 August 1808 the Spaniards seized the fort and town ofNyborg.Keats' squadron then took possession of the port and organized the transportation of the Spanish back to their home country.[2]Some 9-12,000 men of the 15,000-strong division were immediately able to boardBritish shipson 27 August and ultimately escape to Spain.[3]Their defection reduced Bernadotte's "Hanseatic Army" to a string of glorified coastal garrisons, severely sapping Napoleon's left (north) wing in thecontest with Austriafor mastery over Central Europe in 1809.
Romana and his men arrived atSantander, Spain,where he was appointed Commander of the Galician Armada. The Division reinforcedLieutenant-GeneralJoaquín Blake,whoseArmy of Galiciawas in retreat from superior French armies inCantabria.At theBattle of Valmaseda,which took place on 5 November 1808, Blake suddenly turned on his pursuers to rescue a trapped detachment and defeated a division of MarshalClaude-Victor Perrin's army at theBattle of Valmaseda.
The Division then participated in theBattle of Espinosa,fought on 10 and 11 November at the township ofEspinosa de los Monterosin theCantabrian Mountains.The battle resulted in Marshal Victor defeating Blake. Blake, to his credit, led his remaining men through an heroic retreat west through the mountains, escaping MarshalJean-de-Dieu Soult's pursuit. However, when he arrived atLeónon 23 November, only 10,000 men remained under his banner.
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^Gates (1986),p. 479
- ^"No. 16174".The London Gazette.24 August 1808. pp. 1149–1152.
- ^Gates (1986),p. 83
References
[edit]- Chandler, David G.The Campaigns of Napoleon.New York: Simon & Schuster, 1995.ISBN0-02-523660-1
- Chartrand, René (1999).The Spanish Army of the Napoleonic Wars.Osprey Publishing.ISBN978-1-85532-765-8.
- Gates, David.The Spanish Ulcer: A History of the Peninsular War.Da Capo Press 2001.ISBN0-306-81083-2