Battle of Manresa (1810) explained

Conflict:Battle of Manresa (1810)
Partof:Peninsular War
Date:21 March  - 5 April 1810
Place:Manresa, Catalonia, Spain
Vilafranca del Penedès, Spain
Coordinates:41.7294°N 1.8272°W
Result:Spanish victory
Combatant1: First French Empire
Combatant2: Kingdom of Spain
Commander1: Pierre Augereau
Marie François Rouyer
François de Schwarz
Commander2: Henry O'Donnell
Juan Caro
Luis of Campoverde
Francesc Rovira
Units1: VII Corps
Units2: Army of Catalonia
Strength1:Vilafranca: 800
Manresa: 3,000
Strength2:Vilafranca: 7,300
Manresa: 7,300
Casualties1:Vilafranca: 800
Manresa: 852
Casualties2:Vilafranca: light
Manresa: light

The Battle of Manresa and Battle of Vilafranca from 21 March to 5 April 1810 saw a Spanish division led by Juan Caro and Luis González Torres de Navarra, Marquess of Campoverde attack an Imperial French brigade commanded by François Xavier de Schwarz.

Background

Caro's division first surprised the town of Vilafranca del Penedès in March and captured its 800-man garrison made up of troops from the Confederation of the Rhine. Vilafranca is located 35km (22miles) west of Barcelona.

Battle

The Spanish troops remained at large and fell upon the town of Manresa at the beginning of April. After several days of sparring they drove Schwarz and his German soldiers out of the town with heavy losses. Caro was wounded on 2 April and was replaced by Campoverde. The Spanish force included 2,000 regulars, 2,300 local miquelets (Catalan Militia), and Francesc Rovira i Sala's band of 3,000 miquelets. This minor disaster caused Marshal Pierre Augereau to call off Imperial troops which were threatening Tarragona. Schwarz's brigade belonged to Marie François Rouyer's division while Caro's division was part of Henry O'Donnell's Army of Catalonia. Manresa is located 40km (30miles) northwest of Barcelona. The actions occurred during the Peninsular War, part of the Napoleonic Wars.

References