Battle of Corunna

Battle of Corunna
Part of the Peninsular War
Combat of la Corogne, 16 January 1809 by Hippolyte Bellangé (1843)
Date 16 January 1809 Location Corunna, Galicia, Spain 43°19′57″N 08°24′45″W / 43.33250°N 8.41250°W / 43.33250; -8.41250 Result British forces withdraw from Galicia Territorial changes Fall of Northern Spain to the French Empire
Belligerents
United Kingdom	France
Commanders and leaders
John Moore † David Baird (WIA) John Hope Edward Paget Alexander Mackenzie Fraser	Jean-de-Dieu Soult Armand Lebrun de La Houssaye Julien Augustin Joseph Mermet Pierre Hugues Victoire Merle Henri François Delaborde Jean Thomas Guillaume Lorge
Strength
16,000: 15,000 infantry[1] 9 to 12 guns[2]	16,000:[3] 12,000 infantry 3,200 cavalry 20 guns
Casualties and losses
900 dead or wounded[4] 300 sick abandoned[5] 300 missing[6] 6 transports lost[7] 8 Spanish ships of the line 3 frigates and "numerous" corvettes abandoned[8] 2 Spanish regiments captured Heavy material losses[9] 5,000–6,000 sick[10]	600[11] to 700 dead or wounded 200 to 300 prisoners

Peninsular war: Spain

200km
125miles

Toulouse

12

Vitoria

11

Tordesillas

10

Burgos

9

Salamanca

8

Ciudad

7

Talavera

6

Corunna

5

Tudela

4

Bailén

3

Valencia

2

Madrid

1

  

  current battle

  Wellington in command

  Wellington not in command

The Battle of Corunna (or A Coruña, La Corunna, La Coruña or La Corogne), in Spain known as Battle of Elviña, took place on 16 January 1809, when a French corps under Marshal of the Empire Jean de Dieu Soult attacked a British army under Lieutenant-General Sir John Moore. The battle took place amidst the Peninsular War, which was a part of the wider Napoleonic Wars. It was a result of a French campaign, led by Napoleon, which had defeated the Spanish armies and caused the British army to withdraw to the coast following an unsuccessful attempt by Moore to attack Soult's corps and divert the French army.

Doggedly pursued by the French under Soult, the British made a retreat across northern Spain while their rearguard fought off repeated French attacks. Both armies suffered extremely from the harsh winter conditions. Much of the British army, excluding the elite Light Brigade under Robert Craufurd, suffered from a loss of order and discipline during the retreat. When the British eventually reached the port of Corunna on the northern coast of Galicia in Spain, a few days ahead of the French, they found their transport ships had not arrived. The fleet arrived after a couple of days and the British were in the midst of embarking when the French forces launched an attack. They forced the British to fight another battle before being able to depart for England.^[12]

In the resulting action, the British held off French attacks until nightfall, when both armies disengaged. British forces resumed their embarkation overnight; the last transports left in the morning under French cannon fire. But the port cities of Corunna and Ferrol, as well as northern Spain, were captured and occupied by the French. During the battle, Sir John Moore, the British commander, was mortally wounded, dying after learning that his men had successfully repelled the French attacks.^[13]