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At the Siege of Burgos, from 19 September to 21 October 1812, the Anglo-Portuguese Army led by General Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington tried to capture the castle of Burgos from its French garrison under the command of General of Brigade Jean-Louis Dubreton. The French repulsed every attempt to seize the fortress, resulting in one of Wellington's rare withdrawals, as he went on to defeat the army sent to flank him at the Lines of Torres Vedras, pursued them and then returned to complete the siege of Burgos and capture the city. The siege took place during the Peninsular War, part of the Napoleonic Wars. Burgos is located about north of Madrid. After crushing Marshal Auguste Marmont's French army at the Battle of Salamanca in July 1812, Wellington exploited his great victory by advancing on Madrid. After the disaster, King Joseph Bonaparte and Marshal Jean-Baptiste Jourdan retreated to Valencia where they sought refuge with Marshal Louis Gabriel Suchet. The magnitude of Wellington's triumph also compelled Marshal Nicolas Soult to evacuate Andalucia in the south and withdraw to Valencia. The combined armies of Soult and Joseph soon posed a serious menace to Wellington's grasp on Madrid. The recently defeated French army in the north also built up its strength. Wellington made plans to counter the southern French threat while hoping to quickly capture the strategically important Burgos position, which was an important French supply base. Instead, Dubreton led a masterful defense, thwarting Wellington's assaults time after time. The British commander's hopes were blasted when his attempts to contain the twin French counteroffensives failed. With large French relief armies approaching Burgos from the northeast and Madrid from the southeast, the British commander withdrew to the west, abandoning large areas of Spain that had been recently liberated. That fall the French lost an opportunity to defeat Wellington's army. Nevertheless, during the withdrawal to Portugal the Anglo-Portuguese army lost many men to pursuing French cavalry and starvation. ==Background== Wellington's victory over Marshal Marmont at the Battle of Salamanca on 22 July 1812 gravely weakened the French position in Spain. Before the engagement, King Joseph had set out with 14,000 troops, intending to reinforce the marshal, who was unaware that help was on the way. On 25 July, Joseph received a report from the wounded Marmont which covered up the extent of the disaster. Soon, General of Division Clausel reported the true state of affairs. He wrote to the king, "armies usually suffer in morale after a setback, () it is hard to understand the extent of discouragement existing in this one. I cannot conceal that a very bad spirit prevails. Disorders and the most revolting excesses mark every stage of our retreat." Joseph immediately withdrew toward Madrid. Desperate to salvage the situation, the king ordered Marshal Nicolas Soult to send help and to evacuate Andalucia, but the marshal refused.〔Gates (2002), p. 360-361〕 On 30 July, Wellington's army reached Valladolid, northwest of Madrid. Leaving 18,000 troops with Lieutenant General Henry Clinton to watch Clausel, the British army commander turned toward Madrid with 36,000 men.〔 On 11 August, General of Division Anne-François-Charles Trelliard's dragoon division fought an inconclusive skirmish with the Allies at the Battle of Majadahonda northwest of Madrid. At first, the French dragoons routed Brigadier General Benjamin d'Urban's Portuguese cavalry. After also driving back Major General George Bock's King's German Legion (KGL) heavy dragoons, the French were finally stopped by fire from the 1st KGL Light Infantry Battalion and the approach of heavy reinforcements.〔 King Joseph evacuated Madrid which the Anglo-Portuguese entered on 12 August, to the cheers of the inhabitants.〔Gates (2002), p. 361〕 The following day, the Retiro forts were put under siege and 24 hours later they surrendered to Wellington, yielding 2,046 prisoners, large stocks of clothing and equipment, including 20,000 muskets and 180 brass cannon as well as the eagles of the 13th Dragoon and the 51st Line Infantry Regiments.〔Smith (1998), p. 386〕 Harassed by guerillas and tortured by thirst, Joseph's soldiers retreated all the way to the east coast city of Valencia, which they reached on 31 August. Valencia was held by Marshal Louis Gabriel Suchet. Wellington knew that if Joseph and Soult joined forces, his position in central Spain would become perilous. He counted on the autumn rains keeping the Tagus River high and preventing Joseph and Soult from threatening his southern flank. He hoped that the Spanish might delay any French counterattack toward Madrid. He also believed that the capture of Burgos would slow any French drive from the north.〔Glover (2001), p. 209〕 To Wellington's amazement, Clausel quickly rallied his beaten army and launched a raid in the north. On 13 August, the French general marched on Valladolid with 25,000 troops. In the face of this advance, Clinton fell back to Arévalo with 7,000 soldiers while José María Santocildes's Spanish corps abandoned Valladolid. Clausel sent his lieutenant Maximilien Sebastien Foy to rescue the trapped French garrisons. While the Spanish attackers concluded the Siege of Astorga before he could reach it, Foy rescued the garrisons of Toro and Zamora and reunited with Clausel at Valladolid on 4 September. Wellington and 21,000 troops rejoined Clinton at Arévalo on 3 September. The British army commander set out after Clausel, but that general easily shook off his pursuers and dashed out of reach, leaving a garrison of 2,000 men in Burgos.〔Gates (2002), pp. 365-366〕 Wellington left Lieutenant General Rowland Hill to defend Madrid with 31,000 Anglo-Portuguese and 12,000 Spanish.〔Glover (2001), p. 212〕 This force included Wellington's three best divisions.〔 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「Siege of Burgos」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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