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Battle Of BailenThe Battle of Bailn was a series of clashes between Spanish guerilla formations and regular army formations under command of Generals Castaos and Reding and the French II corps of observation Gironda under command of General Pierre Dupont between July 18 - July 22 1808. Before the battle After the beginning of the Spanish uprising General Pierre Dupont received an order to capture the city of Cadiz. There was a fleet of the French Navy, under the command of Admiral Franois Rosily, positioned there. Forces of II Observation Corps commanded by Gironda had more than 23,000 soldiers. Grouped in three infantry divisions, under the commands of Generals Vedel, Barbour, Gobert, and a division of cavalry under the command of General Fresii. Most of soldiers in French corps were new recruits. On May 24, one of the infantry divisions and the cavalry had about 6,000 French and 2,5000 Swiss soldiers left in Toledo. On June 6, the Spanish guerilla militia, under Colonel Echeveria, was defeated by Alcolea. On June 7, French forces captured Cordoba and ransacked the town for 4 days. They left town on June 16. The day earlier, the French Naval forces in Cadiz surrendered. In the face of a successful uprising in Andalusia, Dupont decided to withdraw to Sierra Morena, because he could count on help from Madrid. French withdrawal was slow because French soldiers took 800 wagons containing spoils and because of the sweltering heat. On June 18, some of the soldiers placed their camp in Andujar; the rest across the way to Cordoba. Dupont took no further action except sending letters to Madrid for help. On June 15, the division of infantry lead by General Vedel left Toledo: It consisted of 5,000 infantry, 450 cavalry and 10 cannons. On June 26, General Vedel defeated a few thousand militia securing the pass Paso des Despenaperros. General Vedel garrisoned the pass with a battalion of infantry, and with the rest of his division he joined Dupont's forces. On July 2, General Gobert's infantry division left Madrid with general Savary in order to join Dupont's forces. However, only one brigade of his division joined Dupont because the rest of his forces garrisoned the path of retreat. The Battle After joining formations Dupont's forces were divided into three groups: General Gobert's division in the village of La Carolina, General Vedel's division in Bailn and General Dupont and his forces occupied Andujar. The Spanish Army, commanded by General Castaos, had more than 33,000 soldiers. General Castaos had under his command some regular regiments from Seville, (one was from Switzerland) formations of provincial militia and peasant formations. Castaos' army wasn't equal to Dupont's forces. When Dupont got information about Castaos's arrival he ordered Vedel to join him in Andujar. After Vedel left Bailn, Spanish forces commanded by General Reding captured the town and succesfully defended it against Corbert's brigade. During the attempt to recapture the town General Corbert was killed, and his brigade withdrew to La Carolina. After learning of this, Dupont ordered Vedel to recapture the town. He succeeded, but after this he left this town to take up positions in Bailn. On July 18, Dupont left Andujar. On July 19, the Spanish won clashes near the Rumbla river against the French rear guard which resulted in heavy losses for the French. The Swiss soldiers in Spanish employ advanced. Dupont called Vedel for help but after arrival of Castaos he decided to sign a truce. After learning this Vedel withdrew to mountains. Spanish commanders threaten to massacre the French soldiers if they didn't surrender. On July 22, the II Corps of Observation under Gironda surrended . Dupont and his soldiers were transported on English ships to Rochefort harbour because the Spanish junta in Seville didn't recognise the pact under which they were sent to Cadiz. Except Dupont and his staff officers, they were placed on prison-ships converted for the purpose. Only a small number of the French soldiers survived to 1814. After the Battle Following their defeat, the remainder of the French army left Madrid under the command of Marshals Bessieres and Moncey. When they reached the Ebro river they set up new defensive positions. The Spanish victory at Bailn signalled to the armies of Europe that the French were not invincible--a fact that persuaded the Austrians to wage a new war against Napoleon. Meanwhile, Dupont returned to Paris and was imprisoned. In 1814 however he was promoted to the rank of Minister of the Army in the government of Louis XVIII. To commemorate the victory at Bailen, the Spanish junta in Seville created the Medalla de Bailn. Bibliography Przemysław Gawron "Bitwa pod Talavera de la Revna 27-28 lipca 1809" in english "Battle under Talavera de la Revna 27-28 july 1809" published by Infortendis Zabrze 2002 pages 50-53. External links *Information about order of Bailn
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