Evacuation of the La Romana Division

Part of the Peninsular War and the Dano-Swedish War of 1808-09

Pedro Caro, 3rd Marquis of la Romana

Date	August 1808
Location	Denmark
Result	Anglo-Spanish victory

Belligerents

First French Empire

Denmark–Norway

Spain

United Kingdom

Commanders and leaders

Marshal Bernadotte

Marquis La Romana

Adm. Richard Keats

Strength

30,000

13,500

Casualties and losses

none

c. 4,500 failed to escape

The Evacuation of the La Romana Division in August 1808 was a military operation in which a division of troops belonging to the Kingdom of Spain and commanded by Pedro Caro, 3rd Marquis of la Romana defected from the armies of the First French Empire. The Spanish troops were part of the Imperial forces in Denmark, which were under the leadership of Marshal Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte. Most of the Spanish troops were successfully spirited away by the British navy and shipped to Santander, Spain to fight against France in the Peninsular War.

In 1807, the Spanish Division of the North was sent to northern Europe to participate in the planned Franco-Danish invasion of Sweden. Formerly loyal to the alliance with Imperial France, the Spanish officers and men found in 1808 that Emperor Napoleon I of France had overthrown King Charles IV of Spain and Prince Ferdinand and placed his brother Joseph Bonaparte on the Spanish throne. The British sent an agent to contact La Romana and found that the general desired to escape from Denmark. The two arranged a secret plan for the Spanish troops to be evacuated by the British fleet. One cavalry and two infantry regiments failed to get away and remained in Napoleon's power. But in August 1808, most units were able to seize Danish shipping and make their way to the rendezvous with the British navy. About 9,000 Spanish troops disembarked at Santander in October 1808 and had a chance to fight against the French.

In 1806, Spain was an ally of Emperor Napoleon's First French Empire. After all, it was the combined fleets of France and Spain that were defeated by the British at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. At this time, Manuel de Godoy, Prince of the Peace was a favorite of King Charles IV of Spain, enjoying great influence. At the start of the War of the Fourth Coalition, which pitted the Kingdom of Prussia against Napoleon, Godoy issued a proclamation that was obviously aimed at France, even though it did not specify an enemy. After Napoleon's decisive victory at the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt, Godoy quickly withdrew the proclamation. But it was too late to avert the emperor's suspicion. From that moment, Napoleon planned to deal with his inconstant ally at some future time. In the meantime, the French emperor dragooned Godoy and Charles IV into providing a division of Spanish troops to serve in northern Europe.

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Wikipedia