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First battle of 1812

Castalla, L'Alcoià, Alicante

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First battle of 1812

Historical milestone · Castalla, L'Alcoià, Alicante

Image of Castalla, not of the place itself.

On 21 July 1812 the French army defeated in the foia the Spanish troops of General O'Donnell, who lost artillery and hundreds of prisoners. The occupation lasted until the combat of April 1813 returned the comarca to the allied side. The Spanish forces, about 10,000 strong, outnumbered the roughly 4,000 French troops of Generals Harispe and Delort, but after an initial advance with some success the French cavalry counterattacked from olive groves near Ibi and broke through the centre of the Spanish lines. After the defeat, the French took Castalla, while the patriots fled towards Alicante, protected by the English squadron. O'Donnell was replaced shortly afterwards by General Francisco Javier Elío, and his brother Enrique resigned from the Third Regency Junta.

1812

Photo: Joanbanjo (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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