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French strategic victory〔Fremont-Barnes, "Canning strenuously maintained... in the great British tradition of characterizing defeat as victory ...". 〕〔"At first sight, then, British intervention had ended in humiliation and disaster. At La Coruna, true, a reverse had been inflicted on the French. However, Sir John Moore was dead, over one fifth of his army were missing, and several thousand more sick or wounded, whilst the retreat had had all the appearances of a rout" .〕〔According to ''The Times'', "The fact must not be disguised ... that we have suffered a shameful disaster" . "French Victory at the Battle of Corunna. Britain Forced to Evacuate Spain" 〕 | combatant1 = United Kingdom | combatant2 = France | commander1 = John Moore David Baird | commander2 = Jean-de-Dieu Soult | strength1 = 16,000: 15,000 infantry〔15,000 ; 14,800 ; 14,500 .〕 9 to 12 guns〔Napier states and Fortescue indicates that there were 12—eight British and four Spanish (; ). Also .〕 | strength2 = 16,000:〔Oman put the number at "over 20,000" , but Fortescue compares Balagny's numbers with Oman's and states that Balagny's total of about 16,000 is likely to be more accurate than Oman's ( citing Balagny vol. iv, p. 248–250).〕 12,000 infantry 3,200 cavalry 20 guns | casualties1 = 900 dead or wounded 300 sick abandoned | casualties2 = 600〔Esdaile, gives a total of 2,000 casualties for both sides altogether . Fortescue states the casualties for both sides were "about equal" .〕 to 700 dead or wounded 200 to 300 prisoners | campaignbox = }} The Battle of Corunna (or ''A Coruña'', ''La Corunna'', ''La Coruña'', ''Elviña'' or ''La Corogne'') took place on 16 January 1809, when a French corps under Marshal of the Empire Nicolas 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 an epic 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 marched up and forced the British to fight a battle before they could depart for England. In the resulting action, the British repulsed the French assault and completed their embarkation, saving their army from destruction but leaving the port cities of Corunna and Ferrol, as well as northern Spain, to be captured and occupied by the French. During the battle, Sir John Moore, the British commander, was mortally wounded, dying after hearing all the French attacks had been repulsed. ==Background== In early October 1808, following the scandal in Britain over the Convention of Sintra and the recall of the generals Dalrymple, Burrard and Wellesley, Sir John Moore took command of the 30,000 man British force in Portugal. In addition, Sir David Baird in command of an expedition of reinforcements out of Falmouth consisting of 150 transports carrying between 12,000 and 13,000 men, convoyed by H.M.S. ''Louie'', ''Amelia'' and ''Champion'', entered Corunna Harbour on the 13 October. By November 1808 the British army, led by Moore, advanced into Spain with orders to assist the Spanish armies in their struggle against the invading forces of Napoleon. After the surrender of a French army corps at Bailén〔"This was an historic occasion; news of it spread like wildfire throughout Spain and then all Europe. It was the first time since 1801 that a sizable French force had laid down its arms, and the legend of French invincibility underwent a severe shaking. Everywhere anti-French elements drew fresh inspiration from the tidings. The Pope published an open denunciation of Napoleon; Prussian patriots were heartened; and, most significantly of all, the Austrian war party began to secure the support of the Emperor Francis for a renewed challenge to the French Empire." 〕 and the loss of Portugal Napoleon was convinced of the peril he faced in Spain. Deeply disturbed by news of Sintra, the Emperor remarked, The French, all but masters of Spain in June, stood with their backs to the Pyrenees, clutching at Navarre and Catalonia. It was not known if even these two footholds could be maintained in the face of a Spanish attack. By October French strength in Spain, including garrisons, was about 75,000 soldiers. They were facing 86,000 Spanish troops with Spain's 35,000 British allies en route. However, no attack was forthcoming. The Spanish social fabric, shaken by the shock of rebellion, gave way to its crippling social and political tensions; the patriots stood divided on every question and their nascent war effort suffered accordingly. With the fall of the monarchy, constitutional power devolved to local juntas. These institutions interfered with the army and the business of war, undermined the tentative central government taking shape in Madrid,〔Chandler notes that "the particular interests of the provincial delegates made even the pretense of centralised government a travesty" .〕 and in some cases proved almost as dangerous to each other as to the French. The British army in Portugal, meanwhile, was itself immobilized by logistical problems and bogged down in administrative disputes, and did not budge. Months of inaction had passed at the front, the revolution having "temporarily crippled Patriot Spain at the very moment when decisive action could have changed the whole course of the war".〔Esdaile notes that the Junta of Seville declared itself the supreme government of Spain and tried to annex neighbouring juntas by force 〕 While the allies inched forward, a vast consolidation of bodies and bayonets from the far reaches of the French Empire brought 100,000 veterans of the Grande Armée into Spain, led in person by Napoleon and his Marshals. With his ''Armée d'Espagne'' of 278,670 men drawn up on the Ebro, facing a scant 80,000 raw, disorganized Spanish troops, the Emperor announced to the Spanish deputies: Starting in October 1808 Napoleon led the French on a brilliant offensive involving a massive double envelopment of the Spanish lines. The attack began in November and has been described as "an avalanche of fire and steel". For a time the British army was dangerously dispersed, with Baird's newly arrived contingent at Astorga to the north, Moore at Salamanca and Hope to the east near Madrid with all Moore's cavalry and artillery. The main army, under Moore, had advanced to Salamanca and were joined by Hope's detachment on 3 December when Moore received news that the Spanish forces had suffered several defeats. He considered that to avoid disaster he must give up and retreat back to Portugal.〔Chandler quotes from Moore's diary: "I have determined to give this thing up and retire" ( cites: Sir J. Moore, ''Diaries'', Major General Sir J.F. Maurice, ed. (London:1904), Vol II, p. 358.〕 Moore, before retreating, received intelligence of Soult's 16,000 man corps' scattered and isolated position at Carrión and that the French were unaware of the British army's position. On 15 December he seized at this opportunity to advance on the French near Madrid hoping that he might defeat Soult and possibly divert Napoleon’s forces.〔Neale quotes Moore (letter to Lord Castlereigh, 31 December 1808) "I have made the movement against Soult; as a diversion it has answered completely, but as there is nothing to take advantage of it, I have risked the loss of my army for no purpose" .〕 A junction with Baird on 20 December, advancing from Corunna, raised Moore's strength to 23,500 infantry, 2,400 cavalry and 60 guns〔. Neale, et al. gives: 28,900 men (2450 cavalry) and 50 guns .〕 and he opened his attack with a successful raid by Lieutenant-General Paget's cavalry on the French picquets at Sahagún on 21 December. However, Moore failed to follow up against a surprised Soult, halting for two days and allowing Soult to concentrate his corps. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Battle of Corunna」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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