Siege of Saragossa (1809)
Encyclopedia : S : SI : SIE : Siege of Saragossa (1809)
#endnote_strength] |casualties1=4,000 dead |casualties2=54,000 dead[#endnote_losses] }}
| Peninsular War: Second French Invasion, 1808–1809 |
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| Pancorbo – Valmaceda – Burgos – Espinosa – Tudela – Somosierra – Saragossa – Ciudad-Real – Medellín – Alcañiz – Almonacid – Tamamés – Ocana |
Following the withdraw of the French to the line of the Ebro after the first siege, the Saragossan’s neglected to refurbish the city’s defences until after news of the Spanish defeat at the Battle of Tudela. However due to the French operations elsewhere, the Spanish were given three weeks in which to prepare the defences.
On 20 December1808 the French army under General Moncey, and soon took the heights of the Monte Terro. Moncey’s calls for surrender were quickly rejected and the siege of the city proper began.
Fighting was confined to the outlying defences for the next month as the French slowly pushed closer to the walls with their entrenchments, and soon several breaches were made in the walls. Palafox quickly began preparing inner defences to resist the inevitable assault.
On 27 January1809 the French assailed the breaches and forced their way into the city. However where this would usually have resulted in a sacking, the populous, as well as the regular Spanish troops were far from defeated and horrific street fighting took place instead.
Individual battles are remarkable for their ferocity. At one point in the San Augustin Convent the French held the Altar end of the chapel and exchanged shots for hours on end with the Spanish entrenched in the Nave and Belfry. However French superiority in equipment and training was taking its toll, and thousands were falling daily both in the fighting and due to disease, which was rampant through the city.
The end finally came when the French opened a second front into the city on the northern bank of the Ebro. On February 20 the Spanish finally surrendered. Most of the city lay in ruins, and around 54,000 people had perished in the siege.
See also
Notes
- ↑ Up to 20,000 Spanish civilians also took part in the fighting. [link]
- ↑ Spanish casualties include disease and civilian deaths. Disease claimed an additional 6,000 Frenchmen. [link]
External links
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