Siege of Zaragoza (1809)

Second Siege of Zaragoza
Part of the Peninsular War
Assaut du monastère de Santa Engracia by Louis-François, Baron Lejeune. Depicts the fighting of February 8, 1809. Oil on canvas.
Date 20 December 1808 – 20 February 1809 Location Zaragoza, Spain Result French victory
Belligerents
French Empire Duchy of Warsaw   Switzerland	Spain
Commanders and leaders
Jeannot de Moncey Édouard Mortier Jean Lannes	José de Palafox y Melzi
Strength
40,000 regulars 4,000 cavalry 60 guns	31,000 regulars and militia 1,400 cavalry 160 guns
Casualties and losses
10,000 dead 2,500–5,000 sick or wounded	54,000 dead

10,000 dead

The Second Siege of Zaragoza was the French capture of the Spanish city of Zaragoza (also known as Saragossa) during the Peninsular War. It was particularly noted for its brutality.

As a part of the Dos de Mayo (2 May) uprising the city had already successfully resisted a first siege from 15 June 1808 to 14 August 1808. This was one of the first times in history that a regular army was defeated by irregulars in street fighting.

Further defeats – especially the surrender of General Dupont at the Battle of Bailén – forced King Joseph Bonaparte to withdraw behind the Ebro River, abandoning most of Spain except a small corner in the north-east and a small area around Barcelona.

The Spanish at this point missed their best chance to defeat the French. They did not appoint a Supreme Commander, so all the armies continued to operate independently. The main armies consisted of those of General Blake on the north coast, General Castaños around Tudela and General Palafox around Saragossa. Blake was the most active, but he was defeated at Zornoza on 31 October 1808.

Napoleon's plan was to attack in strength towards Burgos in between the armies of Blake and Castaños. Once they broke through they were to swing both north and south to envelope the remaining armies. In order to achieve this, Napoleon wanted the exposed Spanish armies to remain in their current advanced positions. To achieve this Marshal Moncey's 3rd Corps opposite General Castaños remained inactive from late October to 21 November.

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Wikipedia