Division of the North

Division of the North
ActiveMarch – November 1808
DisbandedNovember 1808 (destroyed)
Country Spain
AllegianceFerdinand VII of Spain
Branch Army
TypeInfantry
RoleGarrison, front-line
Size15,000
Garrison/HQDenmark (until May 1808)
EngagementsEscape from Denmark
Battle of Valmaseda
Battle of Espinosa
Commanders
Notable
commanders
Marquis of La Romana,
Joaquín Blake y Joyes

The Division of the North (Spanish: División del Norte) was a Spanish infantry division that existed in 1808.

Spain was, at that time, an ally of France and 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 in Hamburg under Marshal Bernadotte. In March 1808, along with a Franco-Belgian unit of approximately the same size, the unit was deployed to Denmark, with the two-fold objective of protecting that country, also an ally of Napoleon, and preparing for an invasion of Sweden.

After Caro y Sureda learned about the outbreak of the Peninsular War, he decided to have the British transport the division back to Spain. The majority of the division returned to Spain and fought in the early part of the Peninsular War.

  1. ^ Gates (1986), p. 479