| Battle of Corunna | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Peninsular War | |||||||||
 Combat of la Corogne, 16 January 1809 by Hippolyte Bellangé (1843) | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 United Kingdom |
 France | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
|
John Moore † David Baird (WIA) John Hope Edward Paget Alexander Mackenzie Fraser |
Jean-de-Dieu Soult Armand Lebrun de La Houssaye Julien Augustin Joseph Mermet Pierre Hugues Victoire Merle Henri François Delaborde Jean Thomas Guillaume Lorge | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
|
16,000: 15,000 infantry 1,000 cavalry [1] 9 to 12 guns[2] |
15,200:[3] 12,000 infantry 3,200 cavalry 20 guns | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
|
900 dead or wounded[4] 300 sick abandoned[5] 300 missing[6] 6 transports lost[7] 8 Spanish ships of the line 3 frigates and "numerous" corvettes abandoned[8] 2 Spanish regiments captured Heavy material losses[9] 5,000–6,000 sick[10] |
600[11] to 700 dead or wounded 200 to 300 prisoners | ||||||||
125miles
The Battle of Corunna (or A Coruña, La Corunna, La Coruña or La Corogne), in Spain known as Battle of Elviña, took place on 16 January 1809, when a French corps under Marshal of the Empire Jean de Dieu Soult attacked a British army under Lieutenant-General Sir John Moore. The battle took place amidst the Peninsular War, which was a part of the wider Napoleonic Wars. It was a result of a French campaign, led by Napoleon, which had defeated the Spanish armies and caused the British army to withdraw to the coast following an unsuccessful attempt by Moore to attack Soult's corps and divert the French army.
Doggedly pursued by the French under Soult, the British made a retreat across northern Spain while their rearguard fought off repeated French attacks. Both armies suffered extremely from the harsh winter conditions. Much of the British army, excluding the elite Light Brigade under Robert Craufurd, suffered from a loss of order and discipline during the retreat. When the British eventually reached the port of Corunna on the northern coast of Galicia in Spain, a few days ahead of the French, they found their transport ships had not arrived. The fleet arrived after a couple of days and the British were in the midst of embarking when the French forces launched an attack. They forced the British to fight another battle before being able to depart for England.[12]
In the resulting action, the British held off French attacks until nightfall, when both armies disengaged. British forces resumed their embarkation overnight; the last transports left in the morning under French cannon fire. But the port cities of Corunna and Ferrol, as well as northern Spain, were captured and occupied by the French. During the battle, Sir John Moore, the British commander, was mortally wounded, dying after learning that his men had successfully repelled the French attacks.[13]
- ^ 15,000 (Fortescue 1910, p. 381); 14,800 (Oman 1902, p. 582); 14,500 (Hamilton 1874, p. 392).
- ^ Napier states and Fortescue indicates that there were 12—eight British and four Spanish (Napier 1873, p. 121; Fortescue 1910, p. 377). Also Gates 2002, p. 112.
- ^ Oman put the number at "over 20,000" (Oman 1902, p. 586), but Fortescue compares Balagny's numbers with Oman's and states that Balagny's total of about 16,000 is likely to be more accurate than Oman's (Fortescue 1910, p. 380 citing Balagny vol. iv, p. 248–250).
- ^ Chandler 1995, p. 656.
- ^ Howard 1991, p. 300.
- ^ Haythornthwaite, Philip (2001), Corunna 1809, Campaign 83, Osprey Publishing, ISBN 1-85532-968-9
- ^ Pococke 1819, pp. 94–96.
- ^ Hugo 1838, p. 111; Also, Belmas 1836, p. 55; Napier 1873, p. 165.
- ^ Hugo gives an inventory of 200 cannon, 20,000 muskets, 200,000 pounds of powder, 600,000 cartridges captured when the city is taken (Hugo 1838, p. 111). Oman, "The town was, in fact, crammed with munitions of all sorts" (Oman 1902, p. 582).
- ^ Howard 1991, p. 300.
- ^ Esdaile, gives a total of 2,000 casualties for both sides altogether (Esdaile 2003, p. 155). Fortescue states the casualties for both sides were "about equal" (Fortescue 1910, p. 388).
- ^ Napier 1873, p. 121.
- ^ Napier 1873, pp. 122–123.