Spanish Army of the Napoleonic Wars (1): 1793–1808

50 Pages·1998·6.442 MB·English

by  Rene Chartrand, Bill Younghusband

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7
OSPREY - MEN-AT-ARMS SERIEB
MEN-AT-ARMS SERIES
EDITOR: hI.\R?'iS \\'INDROl\'
4J.l3,%\ ROOK 51.RvIrF\
the 5+@$0konic War5
o f
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T ~ X I OTTO VON PIVKA
CokourPla/~sby MICHAEL ROFFE
OSPREY PL'BLISHISG 1,131 ITI-:I)
Published in 1975 1,y
Chprvy Ptl t)li\l~i~Lt~~c l.I 2-1 4 L(>~i:c\e rr.
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SOURCES USED IN 'rHR PRT,Pi\R,2TTO!V OF THIS ROOK
Condr de C:lon;~rd y 'lTilleqas, ,,llhvm rh In Ghnltttm
IIs/~nfioln.
, .llblrnr dr In In(;lntmin Frjtnffoln.
~.'II//P?o~n (It b!i)zt~n~-1r,t aYivtf Er/(irnp(t~d t D~t~~rtts!r/fOiT~ r
rrurr8or 1,'lrif;)rmrf qP nn htln ci todo rl Exto dc Erpaifrr
wgtrtl ~t /rwl!tt~cR~q y/firn~n/od r/ .Ino dt 1806.
Gnrldard and Booth. R~prrs~rt/a!lxo no J / h ~IJr inript7I
I.,.ttr~>pr.nn. -r!r n ips.
,jnr~rtrnlo J ~JIP. I'nrir!y . Vnj)njlnf~orlir.
linr~tru[ ntl Siry, IIunrSl~rrrhr lv~ Ih!fi~rll~Lrrr~dt.
I,ir1111;1~1 Hl~rnI~t-Jr,~P~~ I ITI!/~II rn/,.$ d~ t '. !rnh
F~flnruitf , I-oI~~rrl\'t.*
Om;~rl.C :hxrlru, Hirtoti. of the P~tritti~tlnIrl 'nr.
7 El( R~yuold,~I l~~n~~sF.r ~ipt
S~lllrC. :nrnrl ~indC hristian. C'ltijoln7~~n1ll e irr Hnrnhl~r,~
,: tt3ir rlh?~I 806 11vi1 181,y, qrrilt,<~neT~t tI I/J~PTI. (llor~r,q~~ii~
dr fi(vnhio~.)
Stilil-. Illt, C*~jIIn n~lv n d ~Jr)i r,ilion Ln linrr~ano.
.;r,r/rrhrt /t,/Ft~ IJrpi ~~Xvndv.
Filmset and pririttyl it1 Great T3ril:litl
MonocE~retncIl v BAS Printers Limited, If'itIlop, Mamp~hire
C;olnur IJV Rarnicntts Ltd. Taur~~nRn.~ )tncrsct
Jpdi~;. the Xpnho~~ir
ill
Spain's involvcmrnt in the Napolronic M'ars
camr about largrly as a result of the unsrablr:
political sit~~atioinn the Iberian Prninsula at
that time and her rrsulting wcak and vacrilating
policies which causcd Sapaleon, Emperor of the
Fsrnch, to act in ordrr to fill thc power vacuum
thus causcd.
For yrars Britain and Franre had hcrn at war
anrl the situation in 1806 was that Francr had
achieved almost undisputed control of thc Euro-
pean mainland while Britain ruIcrl the seas
aro~rndt hr rvorld. Scfther Errat parzrcrw as alllr
tn attack the orhcr in the onvironment or its
choosing, so military engagements fell: into the
hack~roundw hilc the main focus of att~ntion
moved in to the ficld or tradc and commerce.
Napoleon rstablishcd the 'Continental Svstem'
ewer all countrirs in his sphcre of influence by
which thev werr forbicldcn to impart 1:nqlish
goocls or goods which wcrr carrird in Enqlish
ships. This cut Britain's Continental trade almost
to nothing and only smuggling kept the Conrinrn t
supplied with the exotic imports which they had
come to regard as cwcniial. Rv his rigorou~
Spani-h officer of hussam, Rcgimiento Ma&-LPism, Tbis
rnibrcement of this hlnckade against Britain.
fipre is taken from Cddard and Booth1%w ork, 'Represent-
Napoleon y truck at the Royal Navv's hattlp ations of the Principal European Armies'. The shako shnwn
here i~ somewhat hell-topped and is not of the ryp Riven in
rficiency as they had pr~viouslyd rawn almost the 'Colterion rlr Nnv~nray S~PIEC* tampasl. I think this
all their spars and tacklt- from the Baltic arca. pictpre is the le~sre liable. Uniform detail* are &en in the
relevant section of thk hook (htional Army Muwum]
One of' the last remaining inlets for Rritish
gnnds into Napoleonic Europc was via Port t~gal's
ports and across Spain. Portl~galw as allircl to
Britain, Spain to France. Roth were thcn relatively this dvrtasty had exhaust~dit self and Mvas under
l>ackward count sics with wcak anrl inrffrctive the effective dictatorship of thr 'Princr of Pcace'
rnonarchics. Thr Rourkon dynasty had hrrn on Manuel Godo?. From humble bqinninqs Godoy
thc Spanish throne since thc line of old Spanish hacl worked hirnsrl r into this powerf111 pocition
ldahshurg kinqs had died out. \2'ithin a century by su htlc ancl activr exploitation ofthr fax-ouritism
was a host of 'activr' oficcrc all on full pay; thry
incluclcd five captain ~rnrrrlls,r 27 field rnarshalq.
87 lirutrnnnt-gcmt-rals, 252 brigadiers ancl 2,000
colonels.
Sincc 1795 Spain and Francr had hr-rn allic-s
b u ~thi s had given neirher stale any partic~ilar
arlvantaqt.~.S pain, as an ally or Britain's arch-
rnemv, had hrrn rorrrsponrlin~1yt rrated ancl
had lost her fler~a nd many of her American
colonies to England. Prior to rhe Ftanco-Prtlssian
War of I 806. Russia had intriqued with Godov in
Spain in an attrmpt to win Spain over to the
ant i-Yapoleonic Coalition. Thr offer was at-
tractive and the chances that the Prussians wor~ld
del'eat Napoleon were Fairly highly rancied in
Et~ropeanc ircles at this time. No one suspected
that the 11rrny which Frederick the Great had
ror~eclw as now just an outmoded ancl fossilised
remnant of its farmer self. On 5 October 1806
(just beforr thc twin hatiles ofJrna and Aurr~tadt
cln I 4 Octaher I 806 which were in smash Prmsia's
army into fragments bpforr an asrt~undedE urope I
Godoy announced the mnhilisation or the Spanish
12rrn?l and, although Napoleon's name was not
mentioned specificallv. no one readin? the docu-
ment ob"mol~ilisationc ould be left in much doubt
as to who was to he the oh-iect of thr army'^
attention.
Spanish officer of artillery: From Goddad nnd Btmth, again News of Napoleon's victories in Pr~~ssciaau scd
differing from the 'Collecion' of 1806. In particular the
mysterious squiggle nT a collar bgdge and the excess of the rnobilisation to hr cancrllrcl ha~tilva nd srnt
buttons on the cufF flap make Cottrtard'~ figure sli~htly Godoy into a frenzird panic eS damp fawninqc
unreliable (National Army Mu*eam)
on the conqueror which reachrd almost orirntal
depths of O ~ F C ~ U ~ ~ ~ ~GFO~CCIOF ~F~ S. S rUe d the
of Queen Maria Lnisa of Spain who completrty Em pcror that the rnobilisation had hcen directed
controllrd her wrak husband, Charles 11;. An against Poriugal (Enqland's oldest and, by now,
advcnrurcr, Codoy was also a squanderer on only free survivinq European ally), and souyht
imperial scale and enraged both the Spanish In avert Napoleon's well-justified raEe with a
nobility and thr proplr hv his blatant seifinteresr. spate of expensive ~iftisn cludinq four of the mnst
In 1807 thr Spanish national debt had risen to beautiful Spanish thorou~hbrrchl or~erra s rcplacr-
;t
rrcord I ,200 million reaErs hut Godov's personal ment Sorone ofthe same brrcd which thc Emprror
ror~unh~ad increased to 525 millions. The statc hac? lo~itn the recent campaiqn.
had practically no sources of income. aImost all Napoleon was preparrd to Ieavc Spain ac shr
financial matters passed through Godny'~h ands waq For a little longer, providrd hc coulcl use her
and he constantly benefited from this situation. to bring ahout the conquest of Portuqal. a land in
,I * he army, then ~o,ooc+6o.aon strong, had not a state similar to that of Spain and rule-d hy he
Iwen paid for months and thr soldiers' ~~nifnrmsP rince Regent Joao in place of his mnthtr, QUPP~
hung in tattrrs. To survivc, thr common men Maria I, whowar mcntally ill. A Frt-nch ultimatum
werr reducrd to hcgging or to carrying out pr~hlic lo Portugal demanded that shr clnse all her
work. In contrast to thrsr poor c:rraturcs, there harbours to F,n~lish shipping hy r September
Spanish Army: (I:) Can~nierR, oyal Artillery. (2)F usilim of the 1st Regimiento deEsttamadura. (3) Dmgoon of theR+niento
de Zamora (from.G orldard and Booth): The artilleryman looks quite authentic and the fnsilier i+w earing his faripe cap in
the facing colonr (crim~ona)n d white with a regimental badge on the rront. NarrnaI headwear would have been the bicorn.
The long black gaiters were worn in epmmcr rrnd in winter. The Drrreoon is impossible to place; there was no rqimrnt
nf dragoons entitled de Zamora but the yellow coat ap$ the equipment certainly indicate a dragoon regiment. The black
facing5 lead us to the regiment 'de Numancis' hut the collar badge (crassed srrhre and palm) is rniqqinq (Nations1 Armv
Makeurn]
1807, intern all Englishmen thrn in Portugal and A treaty cnahling French forces to entcr Spain
cmnfiscate all Enqlish goods. Jogo r~rused( the had hcrn signed at Fontainehleau on 2; Octoher
British fleet would have destroyrd Lisbon and 1807 by thc Spanish ambassador Esquirrdn and
taken Brazil if he had not!) and the pse-planncd the Grand Marshal nuroc. For this task GencraI
Franco-Spani~hi nvasion of Portugal was set in Junot was to invaclr Portt~gawl ith 26.000 Frrnch
motion. troops, Spain was tn aid him with I o.noo and was
to provide a further 17.noo men to garri~on On I 3 November r 8o7 the Afonite~ra nnouncer1
Portugal after the end of the conquest. Part~igal Tacnnically: 'Tht rrg-cnt of Portugal has lost hiq
was to he split into thrre parts. Onr of these (the thrnne. Thc removal of the House oTRraqanza il;
northcm area hetwrcn the rivers Durro and new proof of the ~tnavoiclabled estruction ol' those
Minho) was to hecomr the 'Kin~darno f North who support England.'
Luqitania' and was to br givcn to the Qt~ccno f As the Portuquese armv was in no better state
Etruria as compensation for the lass of Tuscan?. than that of Spain, and as effective British military
Thc so~~therpnr ovinces of Alemtcjn and the assistance with Portugal could not be realised
Alqan~ew ere to gn to Gocloy, whilr thr central within the time allowed. King Joi?o, accornpanierl
arra was to remain unrlcr French administration hy his family ancl 15,ooo retainers. fled to Brazil
untiI 'prace reigned in Er~rope'.T he Portuguese escortcd by a British squadron under :Idrniral Sir
cnlonics were to he dividcd between France ancl Sidnry Smith, and scr up a kingdom in exiIr in
Spain and Charles IV was to receive thr titlr Rio drJaneiro. Porltuyal thus fclI into Napolron's
'Ernprror of .4merica'. hands wi tholrt a stn~g~lran, d he immcdiatcIy
tarncd his attrntions to his faithful allv, Spain.
The major part of thr Spanish army was now
in Portugal. and General Dupont d'Etlang, with
40.000 men destined to reinrorce Junot's carps.
provided Napoleon with the tool with which to
grasp the Spanish prize. Godoy saw the dang-er
too late ancl began to rorm plans to take the
Spanish Court to South America aftrr the Pnrtu-
gursc cxample.
The Infante Ferdinand of the Asturias, how-
rver, disrupted Godov's intentions by or,qanisinq
a palace revolution against his father iKin~
Charles TV), mother (Quern Maria T,t~isa)a ncl
hcr favouritc (Godoy) with thr aim of taking thr
Spanish thsonc Tor himsclf. On thc zg Octohcr
1807 Napol~onw as told of the intriqur hl; a lrttrr
From King Charles. :I few weeks prior Ita this the
Infante Ferdinand had alsa written to the
Emperor asking h r t he hand of a French princrss
or ex-queen
to replace his first wife (the daughter
Marie CaroIineofNaples-drthronerl by Tl'apolron
to make way for his 'r~rotheJro feph.) Sejzinq this
opportunity of intrmention in Spaniqh court
affairs as a cIoak undcr which to take Spain for
himsrlf, Napoleon thus made thr Fat~rd~elc isicln
to involve himself and his arrnie~in a long and
hitterl?; costly war which suckrd away the strength
of his military machine year by year, clen!jing him
the sewices of troops more and more desperately
needed on other rronla.
On 2 December 1807 the Emperor met his
Spani~ho fficer of heavy horse, Rqimiento Carabiperos dr brother Joseph in l'enice and offered him thr
la Reypa: Once aga* the squiggle collar bad~t s poil^ this
otherwise cxcdlcnt plate from Goddad and Booth. The Spanish throne, but ,Joseph - appartntly aware*
badge should have been a rampant lion. The cuffs are also of thc situation in that country - gave no tm-
suspect: the Spanish heavy cavalry wore plain round cuffs
at this time without cuff flaps (National Army Museum) mcdiatc answrr. The Emperor ruminated in Paris
Tor thr winter and dedicated himsell' to the Rerq frll under h'apolcon's personal administra-
reconstruction ofhiscapital ci ty. G~neraDl upont's tion.
army was now established brtween Burp5 and On gJul!+ I 808 King Joseph left Rayonne with
l'alladnlid, poiscd to do thr Ernp~ror'sb idding. r.gm French troops t.c~e nter Madrid and take
On 18 March 2808 Godoy attempted to per- up his new thranc. The wholc of Spain \$.as
suade the Spanish royal family to move to Scville unitrd in a common cause - to thrmv *-thisF rench
(which was yet free of French troops) but usurper out of the country. The rcrnnanrs of thc
Frrdinand seized this opportunity to try to topple Spanish army (ahout 35,ono stronq) concentrated
his rnnther's favouri~ea gain and callecl upon the nrar Benavente under General Cursta but wPrr
people to hrlp him. Godoy's palace was s~nrmed scattereci on I 4July I 808 at thc battle 01' hledina
by a mah and the favoririte clapprd in jail. The del Riosecro by Marshal Rcssit:res, cornmandrr
weak King Charleq needed littlr urging to of' Old Castilr: and Leon, with half that numhrr
ahdicatc in favour of his ambitious son and thc of French tmaps. On 20 -July Joseph rntcretl
happv Spanish mob prnclajmed the prince of Madrid with a much reducrd follo~rinqh ut this
the Asturias 'King Ferdinand VIT of Spain'. His
dethronrd rather tl~rnrdl o Napolcon Tor help -
Napoleon invited all belligerents to Bavonnc.
Ferdinand could scarcely fight his way out oS
Vittoria to qo thcre so insistrnt werr his
-
follow~rst hat hp should not put his head in the
lion's mouth. Sapoleon had all Ferdinand's letters
from Bayonne to his supporters in Spain intrr-
ccpted and thus knew thc extent of the new
king's anti-French feelings. Durin~th is Inng and
wearisome period of political dallyings, nn 5 May
1808 Napoleon receiv~d news of the Maclrid
uprising of 2 Mav in which many Frcnch soldiers,
including numbers of sick in hospital. werr
murdered by the Spanish mob.
Thiq nrws galvanised Napol~oni nto action
-
thrrc was a stormy and unpleasant meeting during
which Napoleon declared that Ferdinand was
no longer King and that he would put Charlrs
back on the Spanish throne if hr wished. Cl~arlcs.
however, harl no desire to return to a land seething
with hostile fceling to him and his party, ancl
refused. Ferdinand gave up the Spani~ht hrone
on 6 May I 808 and ordered theJ unta in Madrid to
be loyal to his Father and the Emperor. MeanwhiIe,
Napoleon had worked out an edict with Godov by
which Charles IV renounced the Spanish throne
in favour of the Emperor. and on ro May
Ferdinand did he same. The Empcror maintained
rrienrlfl; relationships with Charles IV and his
quern until the timr of his death on St Helma.
Napoleon new transferred his brother Joseph
from the ru'eapolitan throne to that of Spain and Spanish officer of infzmtry of the he.R cgirnientod e Irlandm!
Having given collar badges (corrdy)r e the artillety and
rcplaced him in Naples with his brother-in-law, heavy csvalry, Goddard now domttes them to this forriqn
redment, a supposition not confirmed in the 'Callceion rle
Jnachim Murat, previously Grand Duke of Berg. Nnventa' of 1806 (National Army Museum)
The battle of Talavrra de la Repa, 28 July 18ogr In the
foreground is pnn of the Spanish army: the artillery and
light infanny are at the ldt, a grenadier formation in the
ccntrc. The much maIigmed Spanish cavalry are shown
gallantly attempting a chaqe on the riqht (Nationul Army and cxccuted campaigns here, in which his
Museum)
revisrd tine tactics repeatedIy shattrrrd thr
much-vauntrd columns of t h F~rm ch and their
achirvrmcnt was counterbalanccd by the loss of allies.
Cnrdoba in r-lnclalusia wherr a rcvolt had hrnkrn Prior to Joscph's arrival on the Spanish thrnnc.
nut and General Duponl had been forced tn England had been regarded as Spain's arch rnclny.
withdraw. On 21 J ~ l yD upont'5 r7.ono-strong Howeiw-. thr Spani~hJ t~ntaw ere quitr willing
French Forcc !%.asc ornrr-ed by tlir Spaniards tindrr rn entpr into pacts with the devil himsclf if hc
the Gcncral~C astaiios and Rcclinx and forced tc, would hrlp thrm get ricl of' the cursed Fscnch, so
capit~~latact Raylen (Napr~lconh acl Dupont Bri~ainw as askcd to help. Wellington's attrmpts
cashirrrrl Tor this}. News of this French defeat tn co-oprratc with the Spanish genrral~c amr m
(the first of any size in Napoleon's rcignl caused an exciting cnd whrn his army, after winninq
Joseph to losc his nerve and flrr Madrid on 29 the battle of Talaverx de la Reyna (27 and 28
Jill?. The French Forces in Spain (?o,ooo men July I 809) was lrft strandrd without the rations.
under Marshals BcssiErcs. Ney anri Mnncel;) supplies and military support prr~~ioiisplyro mised
withdrew LO the rivrr Ebro, and the bloody and [a him by the Junta. .4 rapid ancl costly with-
bittcr ~uerrillaw ar which was ta split Spain rlrawnl to Portugal s~tvcdh is An410-Portugueqe
until 1813h ad begun. army fronl the superior cnnvcrginq Frrnrh forces,
A detailed description of this tortuous and and in future 12:ellington refusrd to opcrare with
involvrd campaign cannot be given here : Oman's thc Spanish unless hc was qvrn undisputed ancI
excrllrnt Hislor_) o f the PP??~~SMIfIn~r RmTa v he fill1 cnrnmand of' their army. Thc lrgenrlary prirle
recc~mmendedt o students. It suffices to say that of the Spanish nation seernrd to rrach hvcterical
thr British landed in Portugal, cleared the Frrncli hrig-hts in its generals clurinq this war: their
nut and from this safr basc ~t-aduallyp ushrrl thr stobbornness. incompetencr nr stlzpirliry repeat-
French armies back into France. ivellinqton (thrn rdly Ird them into crushinq disastt-rs. Only a blind
thr Marquis I%'elleslev, mom cliqhtingly known as and censumin~h atred of' the Frtmrh invarlerr
the 'Sepoy Grneral' by his cnemics) rose to lame inspired thrir troops to come ingrlhrr 10 fiqht
during thc years r8n8-13 for his coolly planned aqain aftcr cach defrat.
8
Six cornpanits were horre artillrry. the rert foot
THL SPANISH ARMY EN 1807 artiller)..
We must now cxainine the Spanish military more I/Pt~rmr irtiller_l.: Seventy-mo companies.
closely. In 1808 the Spanish Army consi~trcla r
.+lrtificrr.r : Five cornpanic's
the following units (all fi~urcssh ow the thcorrtiraI
u*ar establlishinrnt) :
battalions.
'Tlw Gunrd ('b'ropa dc casa real) :
'I'his field army was backrrl up 11y the provincial
Tlirrr cornpanics ofLGuardiasd c corps'- 673 men
militia Ih;Iilicias Provincialrf ) r)r 'Q~tintas'r ai~rd
and 8 guns
in thr Crown Land? of Castile. conqisring nf four
On? hundred Halhrrdiess (Rcal gnardias de
divisions or qrenadiers cach of two battalions.
:llbaderos)
i
Thirty-ciqht regiments of musketeers each of one
The Spanish Guarcl [Guardias de
Imttalinn and a Legion of cavair!.. Each hatlalion
Infanteria Espaiiola)
6.184 mrn had right companies of 75 mrn. Total
The IYalloon Guard (Guardias
CZ'alonas) militia strt-nglh - I ,230 ~fic~rsan.r-df. fino men.
Therr was also the Inca1 militia or 'Urbanas' rr-it11
The Roval Carabineers : Rral Bricada clc
Cari bcnrros) 763 nficers and 9.3 I 7 rncn.
A
\
6 heavy squacli.ons
621 men Spanish Infmtry Battalion Colonr; s~ relevant
Ic liasscut or hussar squadrons, section of text for description of colours
TOTAL: 228 officers and 7,350 men
7-IIPI nfirntrv of llw Line !I .yr oficers and 874R4
men:: 'Thirty-nine reqiments rach or threr bat-
talions of four cornpanics pcr hattalion. 188 rncn
and 3 oficrm in each company. This vcrrv lr~w
officer-to-men ratio [normally a company of this
era had about four to fivc officers) and thc large
size of the cornpanics (about ror+rzo men was
morc usual) made the Spanish infantry clumsy
and slow in comparison with othrr European
armirs or this period.
T ~I,iP,eA/ infantry (228 officers and 14,400 men) :
Twclvc battalions cach 01' T ,200 men. all raised
wirhin he provinccs or Aragon, CataIonia.
Valrncia and Navarre.
T/~SPw1 i.r~I qffinlgl (342 oficers ancl 8,658 men):
Six rrgiments each of two battalions nf one
qrenadier and eight musketeer companies. In
Janua? Y 8 ro Napoleon dernandecl that the Swiss
govrrnment withdraw these men.
Tn I 80 7 a Spanish division under Grnrral de la
The Cnaoly~j( 1,104of ficer?, I 2.960 mountccl mpn.
Romana had brrn sent to Harnhur~an d Denmark
3,120 dismounted mr:n) : Twelve heavy regi-
at Tapoleon's insistance and the units cnncerned
ments, twelve seqirncnts rlf dl-agoons. light E~orse
wcrr :
and hussars. Each rrgiment of five squadrons
con~istingo l three tmops. Divisinnnl Commander - Gencral Pedro Caro y
Sureda, h2arqui.s de la Romana.
Fi~ldA rtili~y (1675 officers. 4.000 rncn) : Four
rrgimrnts each of trn companies of roo men. ,S'~rondi n Command - Gcnrral Kindelan.
9