Battle of Corunna

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Battle of Corunna
Part of the Peninsular War
Tiled map of the battle
Date January 16, 1809 Location Corunna, Galicia, Spain Result French strategic victory, tactical British victory[1]
Belligerents
United Kingdom	France
Commanders
John Moore †	Nicolas Jean de Dieu Soult
Strength
16,000 infantry 9 guns	12,000 infantry 4,000 cavalry 20 guns
Casualties and losses
900[2] dead or wounded	1,500[2] dead or wounded

v • d • e Peninsular War Napoleon's campaign, 1808–1809 Pancorbo – Valmaseda – Burgos – Rosas – Espinosa – Tudela – Somosierra – Cardadeu – Sahagún – Benavente – Saragossa – Castellón – Mansilla – Corunna

The Battle of Corunna (or La Corunna, A Coruña, La Coruña, or Elviña) refers to a battle of the Peninsular War that took place on January 16, 1809, when a French army under Marshal Soult attacked the British under Sir John Moore who were attempting to retreat from northern Spain following the defeat of the Spanish and their allies in the campaign.^[3]

Contents 1 Background 2 Arrival of the armies before Corunna 3 Battle 4 After the Battle 5 Casualties 6 Analysis 7 Notes 8 References

[edit] Background

In November 1808 the British army led by Sir John Moore advanced into Spain with orders to assist the Spanish armies in their struggle against the invading forces of Napoleon. The army had advanced to Salamanca when Moore eventually judged that the Spanish forces were beaten, and considered that to avoid disaster he must give up and retreat to the coast.^[4] Before doing so he seized at an opportunity to threaten Napoleon’s communications with France hoping that he might divert Napoleon’s forces and give other parts of Spain and Portugal a few months respite in which they might reorganise. Napoleon responded with customary swiftness and decisiveness directing his Marshals to try and trap the British, himself leading an army in forced marches in spite of winter conditions. Moore had anticipated that he would have to be ready to make run for the coast and he managed to keep ahead of the pursuing French and avoid entrapment.

When it was clear that he could not catch Moore, Napoleon decided to leave Spain to attend to other pressing matters and left the pursuit of the British to the corps of Marshal Soult. The retreat of the British, closely followed by their French pursuers, took them through mountainous terrain, in dreadful conditions of cold and snow and was marked by exhausting marches, privation, and suffering. At times the discipline of the British broke down but eventually they reached the port of Corunna in north west Spain where they expected to find a fleet to take them back them to England.^[5]

[edit] Arrival of the armies before Corunna

The British army arrived in Corunna on 11 January and would have immediately evacuated by sea but found that the transport vessels that had been ordered had not yet arrived.

The French army began to arrive the next day, building up strength as they arrived from the march; Soult’s artillery arriving on the 14th January. The long-awaited transport ships also arrived on the 14th and that evening the British evacuated their sick, some horses and some of the guns, cavalrymen and gunners. (The terrain was unsuitable for cavalry, and since they would be of no use in the event of a battle many horses were slaughtered rather than leave them behind for the French.)

Moore had deployed his army, now 14,500 strong,^[6] to cover the evacuation by placing the main part of it on a ridge astride the road to Corunna, a mile and a half south of the harbour. A stronger position lay to the south but the British commander considered that he lacked the numbers to defend it properly and had to be content with placing outposts there to slow the approach of the French. The left flank was covered by the river Mero and the left and centre of the ridge was quite defensible. The western and lower end of this ridge was more vulnerable and could be swept by guns on the rocky heights of the loftier range opposite, and the ground further west consisted of more open terrain extending as far as Corunna which might be provide the means of turning the whole position. Moore held two divisions back in reserve a little north and westwards in order to guard the right flank and to prevent a turning movement.

On 15 January French troops pushed back the British outposts on the higher range and gradually took up position there. Soult sited his 11 heavy guns upon the rocky outcrop from where they would be able to fire upon the British right. The task was very difficult and it was night before the guns had been dragged into position.

[edit] Battle

As day broke on 16 January the French were in position on the heights and all through the morning both armies observed each across the valley between them. Moore planned to continue with the embarkation later that day if Soult did not attack. By afternoon Moore considered an attack unlikely and he ordered the first divisions to make their way to the port, the rest of the army would follow at dusk, but shortly after, at 2pm, he learned that the French were attacking.

Soult's plan was to move against the strongly-placed British infantry of the left and centre in order to contain it while the infantry division of Mermet attacked the more vulnerable British right above the village of Elvina. The cavalry was deployed further west near the more open country leading to Corunna. If the attacks succeeded they could seize the western end of the British lines and push on to cut off the bulk of the army from Corunna.

Mermet’s infantry advanced quickly and soon pushed the British picquets from Elvina and attacked the heights beyond. At the same time a French brigade pushed up the valley on the British right in an attempt to turn their flank.

The fiercest fighting took place in and around Elvina as the possession of this village changed hands several times, and the British suffered particularly from the fire of the heavy artillery on the heights opposite. Moore remained in this area to direct the battle ordering one regiment to fire down upon the flank of the French column that was attempting the turning movement and calling up the reserve to meet it. The British commander had just rallied the 42nd regiment^[7] that had fallen back from Elvina when he was struck by a cannonball and fell mortally wounded. For a time the British were without a commander, which hampered attempts at a counter attack in this crucial sector, but the fighting continued unabated.^[8]

Further west the French cavalry attempted to push forward as part of the flank attack but they were hampered by the rough terrain and eventually driven back by the advance of the British reserves.

Night brought an end to the fighting by which time the French had been repulsed and had returned to their original positions; both sides holding much the same ground as before the fight.

[edit] After the Battle

Command of the British army had passed to General Hope who decided to proceed with the embarkation as had been the original plan. At around 9pm the British began to silently withdraw from their lines, leaving behind strong picquets who maintained watch-fires throughout the night.^[9]

At daybreak on the 17th January the picquets were withdrawn behind the rearguard and went aboard ship; by morning most of the army had embarked.^[10] When Soult perceived that the British had left the ridge he posted six guns on the heights above the southern end of the bay and by midday they were able fire upon the outlying ships. This caused panic amongst some of the transports until the battery was silenced by fire from the warships.^[11]

Finally, on the 18th January, the British rearguard embarked, the small Spanish garrison under General Alcedo faithfully holding the citadel until the fleet was well out to sea.^[12]

[edit] Casualties

As a result of the battle the British suffered around 800 men dead or wounded and the French around 1,500.^[13] The most notable casualty was the British commander Sir John Moore who survived long enough to learn of his success.^[14]

[edit] Analysis

The British army had been sent into Spain to aid that nation in expelling the French, but they had been forced into a humiliating retreat in terrible winter conditions that wrought havoc with health and morale and resulted in the army degenerating into a rabble. Fortunately for Sir John Moore and his men Marshal Soult's attack at Corunna provided them with the opportunity to redeem their honour and reputation through their defensive victory,^[15] by which means the army was saved though at the cost of the British general’s life.

Nevertheless back in England the reaction to news of the battle of Corunna and the safe evacuation of the army was a storm of criticism over Moore’s handling of the campaign, whilst back in Corunna his adversary Marshal Soult took care of Moore’s grave and ordered a monument to be raised in his memory.^[16]

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

• Chandler, David G. The Campaigns of Napoleon. London: Weidenfeld & Nicholson Ltd, 1996. ISBN 0 297 748300
• Chandler, David G. The Campaigns of Napoleon. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1995. ISBN 0-02-523660-1
• Fortescue, J. W. A History of The British Army. Vol IV 1807-1809. MacMillan and Co., Limited. [1]
• France militaire : histoire des armées françaises de terre et de mer de 1792 à 1837. Tome 4 / ouvrage réd. par une Société de militaires et de gens de lettres,... ; rev. et publ. par A. Hugo [2]
• Napier, W. F. P. History of the war in the Peninsula and the south of France, from the year 1807 to the year 1814 (1873) New York : D. & J. Sadlier [3]
• Neale, Adam. The Spanish Campaign of 1808 (1831 edition) 1831 edition [4]
• Neale, Adam. Letters from Portugal and Spain, London, 1809
• Oman, Charles. A History of the Peninsular War Vol. I 1807-1809[5]
• Sarrazin, General. History of the War in Spain and Portugal from 1807 to 1814[6]
• Thomas. Journal of a Soldier of the 71st Regiment [7]

Coordinates: 43°21′46″N 8°24′17″W / 43.36278°N 8.40472°W / 43.36278; -8.40472