Siege of Roses (1794–95)

Siege of Roses 1794-1795
Part of the War of the Pyrenees
Citadel of Roses: Sea Gate
Date 28 November 1794 – 4 February 1795 Location Roses, Girona, Spain Result French victory
Belligerents
France	Spain
Commanders and leaders
Dominique Pérignon Pierre Sauret	Domingo Izquierdo
Strength
13,261	4,800
Casualties and losses
light	583 casualties 1,160 sick

The Siege of Roses (or Siege of Rosas) began on 28 November 1794 and lasted until 4 February 1795 when the Spanish garrison abandoned the port and the forces of the First French Republic took control. Dominique Catherine de Pérignon commanded the French army and Domingo Salvator Izquierdo led the Spanish defenders. The siege took place during the War of the Pyrenees which was part of the French Revolutionary Wars. The war ended in July 1795 and Roses was soon restored to Spain. Roses is a coastal city in northeastern Spain, located 43 kilometres (27 mi) northeast of Girona.

The French inflicted a severe defeat on the Spanish army at the Black Mountain in November 1794. In the aftermath, the French army quickly captured Figueras and its fortress. At the same time, they undertook a formal siege of Roses. Pérignon and his lieutenant Pierre François Sauret soon realized that an outlying fort was the key to Roses and concentrated their energy on reducing it. A month after the fort fell, the Spanish fleet evacuated the garrison by sea.

On 17 November 1794, the French Army of the Eastern Pyrenees under General of Division Jacques François Dugommier attacked Lieutenant General Luis Firmin de Carvajal, Conde de la Union's Spanish army in the Battle of the Black Mountain. The French army routed their adversaries in a four-day combat in which both commanding generals were killed. General of Division Dominique Catherine de Pérignon assumed command of the French army and quickly occupied the city of Figueres. The French general bluffed Brigadier General José Andrés Valdes into surrendering the 9,000-man garrison of Sant Ferran Castle on 28 November. On the same day, General of Division Pierre François Sauret invested the port of Roses.

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