Battle of Cádiz (1810)

Siege of Cádiz
Part of the Peninsular War
Map of Cádiz in 1813.
Date 5 February 1810 – 24 August 1812 Location Cádiz, Spain Result Allied victory Proclamation of Spanish Constitution of 1812
Belligerents
Spain United Kingdom Portugal	French Empire
Commanders and leaders
Manuel la Peña José de Zayas Duke of Alburquerque Thomas Graham	Claude Victor Nicolas Jean-de-Dieu Soult Baron de Sénarmont  †
Strength
17,000–18,000 Spanish 3,000–4,000 British 1,700 Portuguese 16 warships	60,000–70,000 30–35 warships
Casualties and losses
896 dead 3,706 wounded	4,500–5,500 dead or wounded 30 ships destroyed

Allied victory

The Siege of Cádiz was a siege of the large Spanish naval base of Cádiz by a French army from 5 February 1810 to 24 August 1812 during the Peninsular War. Following the occupation of Seville, Cádiz became the Spanish seat of power, and was targeted by 70,000 French troops under the command of the Marshals Claude Victor and Nicolas Jean-de-Dieu Soult for one of the most important sieges of the war. Defending the city were 2,000 Spanish troops who, as the siege progressed, received aid from 10,000 Spanish reinforcements as well as British and Portuguese troops.

During the siege, which lasted two and a half years, the Cortes Generales government in Cadiz (the Cádiz Cortes) drew up a new constitution to reduce the strength of the monarchy, which was eventually revoked by Fernando VII.

In October 1810 a mixed Anglo-Spanish relief force embarked on a disastrous landing at Fuengirola. A second relief attempt was made at Tarifa in 1811. However, despite defeating a detached French force of 15,000–20,000 under Marshal Victor at the Battle of Barrosa, the siege was not lifted.

In 1812 the Battle of Salamanca eventually forced the French troops to retreat from Andalusia, for fear of being cut off by the allied armies. The French defeat contributed decisively to the liberation of Spain from French occupation, due to the survival of the Spanish government and the use of Cádiz as a jump-off point for the Allied forces.

In the early 19th century, war was brewing between French emperor Napoleon and the Russian Tsar Alexander I, and Napoleon saw the shared interests of Britain and Russia in defeating him as a threat. Napoleon's advisor, the Duke of Cadore, recommended that the ports of Europe be closed to the British, stating that "Once in Cadiz, Sire, you will be in a position either to break or strengthen the bonds with Russia".

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