Third siege of Girona (Peninsular War)

Siege of Girona
Part of the Peninsular War
Ramon Martí Alsina: El gran dia de Girona
Date 6 May – 12 December 1809 Location Girona, Spain 41°59′37″N 2°49′54″E / 41.99361°N 2.83167°E / 41.99361; 2.83167 Result French victory
Belligerents
France Kingdom of Westphalia	Spain
Commanders and leaders
Laurent de Gouvion St-Cyr Pierre Augereau	Mariano Álvarez de Castro
Strength
17,000 siege regulars 15,000 covering army[1]	5,700 regulars and militia 3,600 reinforcements 1100 citizens and clerics[1]
Casualties and losses
14,000 dead, wounded, or ill[2]	5,000 dead 1,200 wounded 3,000 captured[2]
Girona class=notpageimage| Girona is located in Catalonia, Spain, 70 km south of the border with France.[3]

Peninsular War: Aragón Catalonia

220km
137miles

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Castalla

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Valencia

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Saguntum

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María

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Girona

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  current battle

The third siege of Girona occurred in northern Catalonia, Spain from 6 May to 12 December 1809, during the Napoleonic Wars. A significant event of the Peninsular War, France's Grande Armée lay siege to the town of Girona for seven months. Girona was strategically important because it controlled the main road between France and Spain.

Some 32,000 French and Westphalian troops besieged the town. General Laurent de Gouvion Saint-Cyr was in command of the French during much of the siege. Marshal Pierre Augereau took command after 12 October. The Girona defense was under General Mariano Álvarez de Castro, with about 9,000 regular troops and militiamen. Girona held out until disease and famine compelled it to capitulate.

Though badly outnumbered, the Spanish defenders forced a lengthy siege, and a large French army was pinned down for an entire campaigning season. The battle became legendary over the course of Spain's War of Independence, and Álvarez became a national hero.