Siege of Burgos
| Siege of Burgos | |||||||
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| Part of the Peninsular War | |||||||
 The Siege of Burgos, by François Joseph Heim, 1813 |
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 French Empire
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 Spain
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
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Jean Louis Dubreton
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 Marquess of Wellington
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| Strength | |||||||
| 2,000 | 35,000 13 engineers 8 24-pound cannons |
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| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 304 killed, 323 wounded 60 captured, 7 guns |
550 killed 1,550 wounded, 3 guns |
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At the Siege of Burgos, from 19 September to 21 October 1812, the Anglo-Portuguese Army led by General Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington tried to capture the castle of Burgos from its French garrison under the command of General of Brigade Jean-Louis Dubreton. The French repulsed every attempt to seize the fortress, resulting in one of Wellington's rare withdrawals, as he went on to defeat the army sent to flank him at the Lines of Torres Vedras, pursued them and then returned to complete the siege of Burgos and capture the city. The siege took place during the Peninsular War, part of the Napoleonic Wars. Burgos is located about 210 kilometres (130 mi) north of Madrid.
After crushing Marshal Auguste Marmont's French army at the Battle of Salamanca in July 1812, Wellington exploited his great victory by advancing on Madrid. King Joseph Bonaparte and Marshal Jean-Baptiste Jourdan retreated to Valencia where they sought refuge with Marshal Louis Gabriel Suchet. The magnitude of Wellington's triumph also compelled Marshal Nicolas Soult to evacuate Andalucia in the south and withdraw to Valencia. The combined armies of Soult and Joseph soon posed a serious menace to Wellington's grasp on Madrid. The recently defeated French army in the north also built up its strength. Wellington made plans to counter the southern French threat while hoping to quickly capture the strategically important Burgos position, which was an important French supply base.
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