Battle of Bornos (1811)

Battle of Bornos (1811)
Part of Peninsular War
Francisco Ballesteros outwitted the French in fall 1811.
Date 5 November 1811 Location Bornos, Spain Result Spanish victory French victory
Belligerents
First French Empire	Kingdom of Spain
Commanders and leaders
Jean Pierre Semellé	Francisco Ballesteros
Strength
2,300	unknown
Casualties and losses
900	unknown

The Battle of Bornos on 5 November 1811 saw a Spanish force led by Francisco Ballesteros attack an Imperial French column under Jean-Baptiste Pierre de Semellé. The action was part of a larger operation in which the French tried to trap Ballesteros but failed. Instead, the Spanish general lashed out at one of the French columns. The French escaped disaster when they fought their way out, but a French-allied Spanish battalion either surrendered or switched sides. Bornos is about 40 miles (64 km) northeast of Jerez de la Frontera on Route 342. The battle occurred during the Peninsular War, part of the Napoleonic Wars.

In the fall of 1811, the British navy transported Francisco Ballesteros and a small army to Algeciras. The Spanish force marched inland on another one of many forays. The French commander in Andalusia, Marshal Nicolas Soult was irritated by the continual raiding of his territory by Ballesteros and he determined to catch the clever Spanish general.

To trap Ballesteros, Soult organized three columns under General of Division Nicolas Godinot, General of Division Pierre Barrois, and General of Brigade Jean-Baptiste Pierre de Semellé. In July 1811, Godinot commanded the 2nd Division of the I Corps, with a strength of 8,133 men in 13 battalions. Godinot set out from Seville while Barrois and Semellé left the Siege of Cadiz lines. Ballesteros detected the converging French forces and raced south to Gibraltar where he found refuge. On 14 October, 10,000 French troops arrived in front of Gibraltar. Lacking the supplies for a siege, the French retreated the next day.

...
Wikipedia