The War of the Spanish Succession in the Peninsula and its waters, 1702-14

 

 

The powerful Bourbon dynasty of France, which had installed King Philip V in Spain, were resisted by an alliance of their neighbours which included Holland, England, Portugal and Piedmont – Savoy, plus the Hapsburgs of Austria, who had nominated one of their number Charles III of Spain.

 

Much of the fighting was done in Flanders and Italy, but there were significant operations in the Peninsula. A good online source for these is War of the Spanish Succession and a good paper source: Francis, A.D.: “The First Peninsular War 1700-1713” London 1975.

The Spanish campaign of 1704

The French siege of Barcelona during the War of the League of Augsburg had left anti-French feeling in Cataluna. This led the Allies to attempt the capture of Barcelona, which failed.

After this the alliance conquered Gibraltar in August. The Bourbons then decided on a siege of Gibraltar, massing 50,000 men against it under command of marshal Tessé.

The Spanish campaign of 1705

The Allied-Portuguese army did not make much headway in 1705. It was commanded by Henri Massue de Ruvigny Count of Galway. In 1705 the Anglo-Dutch appointed Charles Mordaunt Count of Peterborough as supreme commander in Spain sailing in May 1705 with 6 ships of the line and 6,500 troops.

There were however possibilities: on 2 June 1705 the Geneva pact had been signed between England and some Catalonian dignitaries, in which England promised armed support. Shortly before open rebellion had started in some places in Cataluna.

After taking the city of Valencia in May, and Denia in August, Peterborough, with Georg Prince of Hessen-Darmstadt and Stanhope captured Barcelona on 9/14 October 1705. This led to the adherence of all of Catalonia and Valencia to Charles III: Tarragona (on the coast between the Ebro and Barcelona), Tortosa (near the mouth of the Ebro), Gerona, Lerida and San Mateo (south of the Ebro) swung to Charles III's cause. These exploits were greatly helped because Cataluna had always held a privileged position in Spain, and thought her privileges to be in better hands with Charles III.

Philip V then sent Count Las Torrres with 7,000 men to recapture San Mateo, N of Castellon in Valencia. In December Peterborough lifted the siege with 1,200 men and then started a pursuit in winter time. Nules, on the coast some 65 km north of Valencia surrendered to him.

On the western front, the battle of Albuquerque was fought near Badajoz.

The English Parliament became very enthusiastic about the exploits in Spain and decided on major support for the Spanish campaign next year.

The Spanish campaign of 1706

After acquiring the town of Nules, Peterborough entered Valencia on 4 February 1706, raising the Bourbon siege . From there he marched to surprise 4,000 reinforcements that were on their way to Count Torres and annihilated this force.

The reaction of Versailles was to send an army under Tessé to besiege Barcelona, while the city was also blocked from the sea-side by Toulouse. Peterborough then went north again with 3,000 men and harrassed the besiegers from the mountains. When the Allied fleet arrived the siege was lifted on 22 May 1706.

On the 23rd May the Allied victory of Ramillies was won in Flanders, leading to withdrawal of French troops to France. The Allies then planned to march on Madrid: Charles III would march from Catalonia, Peterborough from Valencia and Galway from Portugal. In the beginning Galway with 19.000 men was opposed only by Berwick with 8,000 men. Galway entered Madrid on 27 June 1706 and proclaimed Charles III. Now more uprisings against Philip took place with Aragon, Saragossa Cartagena and Toledo going over to Charles III.

The invasion of the Portuguese had however incited a popular anti-Allied uprising in Castille, Berwick reentered Madrid and when the Allied forces met near Guadalajara on 6 August they were outnumbered and isolated. The Allies retreated to Valencia losing about 10,000 men in the process. In Valencia Galway became supreme commander instead of Peterborough.

 

The Spanish campaign of 1707

In February 1707 8,000 British and Huguenot troops arrived at the Allied HQ in Valencia. With the Allies now having 30,000 men Galway and Stanhope were for marching on Madrid. Charles III and Noyelles were for a defensive approach. In the end a compromise was reached whereby Charles III and Stanhope would defend Catalonia and parts of Aragon, while Galway and the Portuguese General Das Minas would march on Madrid with the Anglo-Dutch and Potugese infantry.

Galway now marched on Murcia. Here he met Berwick, who was about to receive reinforcements of 8,000 that were permitted to leave Italy according to the treaty of Milan. Galway had 15,000 troops including 5,000 Brits, while Berwick had 25,000 plus 8,000 reinforcements commanded by the duke of Orleans on their way. While besieging Villena, Galway heard that Berwick was not far away, and decided to give battle before Orleans arrived. In fact Orleans had not yet arrived, but most of his troops had. On 25 April they met on the plains near Almanza and the strategic pass between Albacete and the coastal ports of Valencia and Alicante: a Franco-Spanish army of 25,400 (Marshal Berwick) against an Anglo-Portuguese army of 15,500 (Earl of Galway; Das Minas).

With the Portuguese cavalry fleeing, the 8,000 Anglo-Dutch infantry were surrounded and desperately tried to retreat. Split into two detachments, Galway with 3,500 men made it back to Valencia. Count Dohna, a Portuguese General and Shrimpton with 2,000 were cut off in the mountains, withstood all assaults for two days but had to surrender on terms on the third day. All in all the Allies suffered 4,000 dead and wounded as well as 3,000 taken prisoner. Of 5,000 stragglers most were able to regroup with the army. The Bourbons suffered between 2,000 and 5,000 casualties depending on sources. Galway retreated to Alcira where he got 2,600 reinforcements that had just arrived.

The Allied disaster in Spain was now complete. Galway left Valencia but was able to restore the situation somewhat. Valencia and Zaragoza surrendered on 8 May 1707, Castellon de La Plana was taken on the 12th of May, Jativa 6 June, it's population punished and it's name changed to San Felipe. Lerida surrendered on 14-10-1707. The trust between Galway and Charles III had been completely destroyed, making his replacement inevitable.

In their comments about the handling of the Spanish campaign Churchill and Macaulay adhere to very different points of view. Churchill scorns Peterborough, Charles and Starhemberg and defends Galway and Stanhope. Peterborough is Macaulay's hero, according to him the returning Peterborough advised on a defensive course in 1707, stating that Arragon, Valencia and Cataluna could easily be held because of popular support, and it would thus be wise to wait for either a success in Flanders or mistakes of Philip V. According to Churchill Peterborough proposed to send a detachment to Eugen.

Though neither writer has much (or any) praise for Charles III and Noyelles, this may shed light on their appraisal of the situation in the beginning of 1707. It could well have been that they imagined another entrance in Madrid like the one of 1706 to be the only possible prize for risking all and it probably would have gone like 1706 had Galway wun at Almanza. With the Habsburgs on the verge of capturing Italy completely after the recent battle of Turin, Charles could have thought time on his side also. Charles III and Noyelles thus favoured a defensive strategy.

The Spanish campaign of 1708

On July 10th the Allies lost the important fortress of Tortosa, and an attempt to retake it by the Allies failed. A battle was fought outside the formidable natural fortified harbour of Cartagena. Admiral Leake took Sardinia in August 1708. In September Stanhope with forces from Barcelona then took the well-fortified harbor of Port Mahon on Menorca in coordination with Leake. This gave the Allies a permanent all season base to dominate the Mediterranean, a strategic success of the first order.

The Spanish campaign of 1709

In the winter of 1708-1709 Charles III's last stronghold in Valencia, Alicante capitulated after a 5 month siege. However Galway attempted to advance on Madrid from Portugal. On May 7th 1709 the Anglo-Portuguese army, under command of the Marquis de Frontera, lay on the side of the Caya west of Badajoz, and the army of the Duke of Anjou, commanded by the Marquis de Bay, on the other. De Bay made a motion with the whole body of his horse toward Fort St. Christopher, near Badajoz. The Portuguese crossed the river to oppose the designs of the enemy, although a defensive posture would have sufficed. A detachment of foot and artillery, and the whole of the horse, crossed the river and commenced to bombard the enemy. De Bay advanced with his horse against the right wing of the Portuguese cavalry, who fled. But their foot repulsed three successive charges, with great order and resolution. Pearce’s British brigade then attacked giving the Portuguese infantry time to retire in good order, and recross the river. But Pearce’s brigade was surrounded by the enemy, and three regiments had to surrender.

The Spanish Campaign of 1710

At Lerida on the Rio Segre inland from the Catalonian coast, the Allied generals Stanhope and Starhemberg had 18,000 men while Philip had 22,000. Stanhope crossed the Segre at Balaguer (north of Lerida) marching to the bridge of Alfarras, crossing it on 27 July. Both armies then met at Almenara, a few kilometers from the bridge, where the Allies inflicted a defeat. Philip retreated to Saragossa. Here, Stanhope defeated the Franco-Spanish force of 20,000 (De Bay) on August 19th, taking 5,000 prisoners and 36 guns. This sent the Spanish army in retreat to Castille.

A Council of War was then held in which Stanhope was for marching on Madrid. Starhemberg was for defeating the 18,000 survivors of the Spanish army that were at Tudela under General Bay, and then recapturing Valencia and securing the Spanish border with France. This strategy would have restored the situation of early 1707. Stanhope got his way however.

In September the Allies arrived at Madrid, but Vendome with some French troops had also arrived and had joined General Bay. The Allies left Madrid on 6 December. Stanhope with 4,500 men was then beaten in Brihuega and surrendered there, Starhemberg arriving too late. On 11 Dec 1710 Vendome in turn defeated Guido von Starhemberg and the British main body at Villa Viciosa, taking 2,000 prisoners and 22 guns. The battle was hard fought with heavy casualties on both sides. Starhemberg managed to keep his army together and continue the retreat back to Aragon. Philip's authority in Spain was consolidated.

The Spanish Campaign of 1711-13

The English had sent the Earl of Argyll to Spain with 5,000 men. Starhemberg had 21,000 men. Charles III was not willing to leave Barcelona but finally left for Vienna. The 1711 campaign centered on some border skirmishes with Vendome. The Spanish campaign came to an end in 1713 with an evacuation treaty by which both armies left Aragon.

Appendix: Battles in the Peninsula 1704-13

 

Galician waters

Vigo

1702

Naval battle of Rande/Vigo Bay

A Franco-Spanish bullion fleet met an Anglo-Dutch fleet at the end of the Vigo Estuary (Rande area) with 28 boats sank as a result. The English took four million 'pesos' together with thirteen ships. There were 2,000 Hispanic-French and 800 Anglo-Dutch casualties, 26 ships lost, and 3,000 injured.

Andalusia

Malaga

1704

Marbella

 

Andalusia

Málaga

1704

Málaga

13 August 1704

Gibraltar

Gibraltar

1704

Gibraltar

 

Catalonia

Barcelona

1705

Barcelona

 

Extremadura

Badajoz

1705

Badajoz

 

Extremadura

Badajoz

1705

Albuquerque

North of Badajoz

Unlocated

 

1705 - 6

Valenza (Valencia de Alcantara)

 

Balearic islands

Majorca

1706

Majorca

25 May 1706

Castile

Madrid

1706

Madrid

 

Unlocated

 

1706

San Estevan

 

Valencia

Castellon

1706

San Mateo

N of Castellon in Valencia

Valencia

Valencia

1707

Pass of Almansa

A contest for the strategic pass between Albacete and the coastal ports of Valencia and Alicante, on 25 Apr 1707. A Franco-Spanish army of 25,400 (Marshal Berwick) defeats an Anglo-Portuguese army of 15,500 (Earl of Galway; Das Minas). The Portuguese horse are swept away, but the Allied infantry fight stubbornly.

Balearic islands

Minorca

1708

Minorca

 

Murcia

Cartagena

1708

Cartagena

28 May 1708Battle of Cartagena

Portugal

 

1709

Val Gudina

In April, the Franco-Spanish defeat the Anglo-Portuguese

Portugal

Badajoz

1709

Gaia

Franco-Spanish defeat Anglo-Portuguese. In a now familiar pattern the Portuguese horse are swept away, but the Allied infantry fight stubbornly.

Aragon

Saragossa

1710

Saragossa

Stanhope defeats a Franco-Spanish force of 20,000 (De Bay) taking 5,000 prisoners and 36 guns

La Alcarria

Brihuega

1710

Villa Viciosa

11 Dec 1710 Vendome defeats Guido von Starhemberg and the British main body, taking 2,000 prisoners and 22 guns. The battle is hard fought with heavy casualties on both sides. Starhemberg manages to keep his army together and continue the retreat.

La Alcarria

Guadalajara

1710

Brihuega I

Stanhope defeated and surrenders

Catalonia

Lerida

1710

Almenara

25,000 British defeat 22,000 Spaniards.

Catalonia

Tortosa

1712

Tortosa