Siege of Tarragona (1811)

This article is about the 1811 siege. For different events, see Siege of Tarragona (disambiguation).

In the siege of Tarragona, Catalonia, from 5 May to 29 June 1811, Louis Gabriel Suchet's French Army of Aragon laid siege to a Spanish garrison led by Lieutenant General Juan Senen de Contreras. A British naval squadron commanded by Admiral Edward Codrington harassed the French besiegers with cannon fire and transported large numbers of reinforcements into the city by sea. Nevertheless, Suchet's troops stormed into the defenses and killed or captured almost all the defenders. The action took place at the port of Tarragona, Catalonia, on the east coast of Spain during the Peninsular War, part of the Napoleonic Wars.^[2]

Siege of Tarragona (1811)
Part of Peninsular War
Capture of Tarragona, 28 June 1811 by Jean-Charles-Joseph Rémond, 1836
Date 5 May – 29 June 1811[1] Location Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain 41.1156°N 1.2494°E / 41.1156; 1.2494 Result Franco-Italian victory[1]
Belligerents
French Empire Kingdom of Italy	Spain
Commanders and leaders
Louis Suchet	Juan de Contreras
Strength
18,000[1]	18,000[1]
Casualties and losses
4,300[1]	18,000[1]

Peninsular War: Aragón Catalonia

200km
125miles

21

Castalla

20

19

Valencia

18

Saguntum

17

16

15

14

Tarragona

13

12

11

10

9

8

7

6

5

María

4

3

2

1

  

  current battle

Background

The French conquest of Aragon had started with the Siege of Tortosa.

Siege

Emperor Napoleon offered Suchet a marshal's baton if he could capture Tarragona, so the French general pursued his goal vigorously. He methodically overran the city's outer works as he drove his siege parallels forward. The French general easily fended off weak attempts to relieve the city by land. Near the end of the siege, the French troops captured the lower city in a surprise attack and the garrison's survivors retreated to the upper city. At the end, Suchet's men stormed into the upper city amid scenes of horrific slaughter, including the murder of civilians. The loss of this major base and so many Spanish troops crippled the Army of Catalonia. Napoleon duly awarded Suchet the coveted rank of marshal.

Results

One authority gave French losses as 4,300 killed and wounded out of an army of 21,635 men, including General of Division Jean-Baptiste Salme killed. Total Spanish losses numbered between 14,000 and 15,000. Of these, 8,000 were captured and the rest were killed, wounded, or died of disease. During the butchery attending the final assault, the French attackers massacred numerous civilians including 450 women and children.^[3] A second authority asserted that total Spanish losses were 15,000, of whom 7,000 were killed outright. French losses were given as 1,000 killed and 3,000 wounded or sick.^[4]

Aftermath

The French conquest of Aragon proceeded with the Siege of Valencia.

See also

• (in German) Juan Senen Contreras
• (in French) Jean-Baptiste Salme

Notes

1. Bodart 1908, p. 425.
2. Esdaile 2003, pp. 360–363.
3. Smith 1998, p. 365.
4. Gates 2002, pp. 300–301.

References

• Bodart, Gaston (1908). Militär-historisches Kriegs-Lexikon (1618-1905). Retrieved 24 May 2021.
• Esdaile, Charles J. (2003). The Peninsular War. Palgrave MacMillan. ISBN 9781403962317. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
• Gates, David (2002). The Spanish Ulcer: A History of the Peninsular War. London: Pimlico. ISBN 0-7126-9730-6.
• Smith, Digby (1998). The Napoleonic Wars Data Book. London: Greenhill. ISBN 1-85367-276-9.

Further reading

• Ojala, Jeanne A. (1987). Chandler, David (ed.). Suchet: The Peninsular Marshal. New York: Macmillan. ISBN 0-02-905930-5.

External links

• North, Jonathan (2020). "Taking Tarragona". Summer 2009 issue of Military History Quarterly. Archived from the original on 14 August 2020. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
• Media related to Siege of Tarragona (1811) at Wikimedia Commons

Preceded by Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro

Napoleonic Wars Siege of Tarragona (1811)

Succeeded by Battle of Albuera