Conflict: Peninsular War
Combatants: French vs. Spanish
Location: Spain
Outcome: French victory
On this day in 1809, a French army commanded by Laruent Gouvion St. Cyr defeated Spanish troops commanded by Theodor von Reding near Catalonia. Von Reding was himself killed in a cavalry melee.
Points of Interest:
St. Cyr was replaced by Napoleon the following year and angrily departed Spain before his replacement had even arrived.
However, St. Cyr was given command of the VI Corps two years later for the invasion of Russia.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Sources:
Dupuy, Trevor N., Johnson, Curt, & Bongard, David L. (1992). The Harper's Encyclopedia of Military Biography. New York: Castle Books (HarperCollins).
Dupuy, R. Ernest & Dupuy, Trevor N. (1993). The Harper's Encyclopedia of Military History. New York: HarperCollins.
Eggenberger, David (1985). An Encyclopedia of Battles: Accounts of Over 1,560 Battles from 1479 B.C. to the Present. New York: Dover Publications, Inc.
Haythornthwaite, Philip J. (1990). The Napoleonic Source Book. New York: Facts on File.