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The Evacuation of the La Romana Division in August 1808 was a military operation in which a division of troops belonging to the Kingdom of Spain and commanded by Pedro Caro, 3rd Marquis of la Romana defected from the armies of the First French Empire. The Spanish troops were part of the Imperial forces in Denmark, which were under the leadership of Marshal Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte. Most of the Spanish troops were successfully spirited away by the British navy and shipped to Santander, Spain to fight against France in the Peninsular War. In 1807, the Spanish Division of the North was sent to northern Europe to fight in the War of the Fourth Coalition. Formerly loyal to the alliance with Imperial France, the Spanish officers and men found in 1808 that Emperor Napoleon I of France had overthrown King Charles IV of Spain and Prince Ferdinand and placed his brother Joseph Bonaparte on the Spanish throne. The British sent an agent to contact La Romana and found that the general desired to escape from Denmark. The two arranged a secret plan for the Spanish troops to be evacuated by the British fleet. One cavalry and two infantry regiments failed to get away and remained in Napoleon's power. But in August 1808, most units were able to seize Danish shipping and make their way to the rendezvous with the British navy. About 9,000 Spanish troops disembarked at Santander in October 1808 and had a chance to fight against the French. ==Division of the North== In 1806, Spain was an ally of Emperor Napoleon's First French Empire. After all, it was the combined fleets of France and Spain that were defeated by the British at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. At this time, Manuel de Godoy, Prince of the Peace was a favorite of King Charles IV of Spain, enjoying great influence. At the start of the War of the Fourth Coalition, which pitted the Kingdom of Prussia against Napoleon, Godoy issued a proclamation that was obviously aimed at France, even though it did not specify an enemy. After Napoleon's decisive victory at the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt, Godoy quickly withdrew the proclamation. But it was too late to avert the emperor's suspicion. From that moment, Napoleon planned to deal with his inconstant ally at some future time. In the meantime, the French emperor dragooned Godoy and Charles IV into providing a division of Spanish troops to serve in northern Europe.〔Gates (2002), 6-7〕 In March 1807, 15,000 Spanish troops set out for northern Europe under the command of Pedro Caro, 3rd Marquis of la Romana.〔Oman (2010), I, 89〕 Altogether, there were 14 battalions of foot soldiers and five regiments of horse. Their first destination was Hamburg.〔Oman (2010), I, 367〕 La Romana's Division served under Marshal Guillaume Brune at the Siege of Stralsund which ended on 20 August 1807 when the Swedish garrison evacuated the city. Brune commanded 40,000 troops from France, the Kingdom of Holland, the Kingdom of Italy, the Grand Duchy of Baden, and some lesser German states. The Spanish contingent included 9,763 infantry, 2,340 cavalry in 12 squadrons, 324 gunners in four foot artillery batteries, and 104 sappers. The besiegers lost 998 men killed, wounded, missing, or died from disease. Spanish casualties are unknown.〔Smith (1998), 253〕 The Division of the North spent the winter of 1807–1808 in Swedish Pomerania, Mecklenburg, and towns of the old Hanseatic League. In early 1808, the Spanish troops marched into Denmark.〔 According to an 1808 state of the army, the line infantry regiments each had three battalions of four companies and their strengths were, ''Asturias'' (2,103), ''Guadalajara'' (2,069), ''Princesa'' (1,969), and ''Zamora'' (2,096). The light infantry regiments each consisted of one battalion of six companies and their numbers were, ''1st of Barcelona'' (1,266) and ''1st of Catalonia'' (1,164). The heavy cavalry regiments each counted five squadrons and their strengths were, ''Rey'' Nr. 1 (634), ''Infante'' Nr. 4 (615), and ''Algarve'' Nr. 9 (572). The Light Cavalry also had five squadrons and their numbers were, ''Almanza'' Nr. 3 (598) and ''Villaviciosa'' Nr. 5 (628).〔Oman (2010), I, 608-610〕 The Division of the North came under the command of Marshal Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte who was tasked with defending the southwestern shore of the Baltic Sea. In addition to La Romana's Spaniards, the marshal controlled 30,000 Danish troops plus French and Dutch units. Napoleon, whose plans to seize Spain were well advanced, made sure that the Spanish units were spread out so that it would be difficult to assemble them in one place. Furthermore, Danish troops were always posted nearby.〔Oman (2010), I, 368〕 The 4,000 men of the ''Asturias'' and ''Guadalajara'' Regiments were stationed near Roskilde on the island of Zealand (Sjælland). The 4,500-strong ''Princesa'', ''1st of Barcelona'', ''Almanza'', and ''Villaviciosa'' Regiments were posted on the island of Funen (Fyn) along with La Romana's headquarters which were at Nyborg. The ''1st of Catalonia'' Regiment was quartered on Langeland. The ''Algarve'', ''Infante'', ''Rey'', and ''Zamora'' Regiments were stationed at Aarhus (Århus), Fredericia, and Randers on Jutland. Watching the various Spanish contingents were the main Danish army on Zealand, 3,000 Danes at Odense on Funen, 800 Danes and a company of French on Langeland,〔 and a Dutch light cavalry brigade and Danish infantry on Jutland. To keep the soldiers quiet, Napoleon increased the officers' pay and promised La Romana the Grand Cross of the Légion d'Honneur. In order to flatter the Spaniards, Bernadotte used a troop of the ''Rey'' Regiment as his personal escort.〔Oman (2010), I, 369〕 During the spring, the French authorities began intercepting the dispatches between La Romana and the Spanish government. However, they failed to stop a Spanish officer who arrived in April with a message protesting that 15 messages had been sent from Spain without a reply from the Division of the North. At last, La Romana and his officers became aware of the French seizure of Barcelona, Figueras, and Pamplona in March. Soon afterward came the tidings of the Dos de Mayo Uprising. Nearly all of the officers and men were infuriated by the news but realized that they were encompassed by enemies and far from home.〔 On 24 June, La Romana learned that Joseph Bonaparte had been proclaimed king. One of his staff officers, Joseph O'Donnell noted, "The more they tried to persuade us that Spain was tranquil, and had settled down to enjoy an age of felicity under Napoleon, the more clearly did we forsee the scenes of blood, strife, and disaster which were to follow these incredible events."〔Oman (2010), I, 370〕 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「Evacuation of the La Romana Division」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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