The Battle of Carpio or Battle of El Carpio took place at El Carpio, near

Medina del Campo Medina del Campo is a town and municipality of Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. Part of the Province of Valladolid, it is the centre of a farming area. History Medina del Campo grew in importance thanks to its fairs ...

Valladolid Valladolid () is a municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and de facto capital of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. It has a population around 300,000 peop ...

, on 23 November 1809, between a Spanish force of 19,000 men commanded by the Lieutenant-General

Diego de Cañas y Portocarrero, Duke del Parque Diego is a Spanish language, Spanish masculine given name. The Portuguese language, Portuguese equivalent is Diogo (name), Diogo. The name also has several patronymic derivations, listed below. The etymology of Diego is disputed, with two majo ...

and a French force of 10,000 regulars and 1,700 cavalry under the General

François Étienne de Kellermann François Étienne de Kellermann, 2nd Duke of Valmy (4 August 1770 – 2 June 1835) was a French cavalry general noted for his daring and skillful exploits during the Napoleonic Wars. He was the son of François Christophe de Kellermann and the fat ...

during the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...

. The French forces were defeated and forced to leave the town. In this struggle, died two distinguished Spanish leaders, Salvador de Molina and Colonel Juan Drimgold.

Background

The Spanish campaign in late 1809 had started with the

Battle of Talavera The Battle of Talavera (27–28 July 1809) was fought just outside the town of Talavera de la Reina, Spain some southwest of Madrid, during the Peninsular War. At Talavera, a British army under Sir Arthur Wellesley combined with a Spanish a ...

. Del Parque led the northern army in a two pronged offensive against Madrid. He enjoyed some success at first, pushing back Marchand and the

VI Corps 6 Corps, 6th Corps, Sixth Corps, or VI Corps may refer to: France * VI Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry formation of the Imperial French army during the Napoleonic Wars * VI Corps (Grande Armée), a formation of the Imperial French army du ...

at Tamames. Then the southern army met disaster at the Battle of Ocaña. Historian David Gates wrote,

Marchand again left
Salamanca Salamanca () is a city in western Spain and is the capital of the Province of Salamanca in the autonomous community of Castile and León. The city lies on several rolling hills by the Tormes River. Its Old City was declared a UNESCO World Herit ...
to the enemy and fell back to the
Douro The Douro (, , ; es, Duero ; la, Durius) is the highest-flow river of the Iberian Peninsula. It rises near Duruelo de la Sierra in Soria Province, central Spain, meanders south briefly then flows generally west through the north-west part o ...
, uniting with Kellermann's ''colonne mobile'' - which had hastened to his assistance - at
Medina del Campo Medina del Campo is a town and municipality of Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. Part of the Province of Valladolid, it is the centre of a farming area. History Medina del Campo grew in importance thanks to its fairs ...
. After fighting a cursory engagement there, however, Del Parque learnt of the Ocaña ''débâcle'' and, realising that Joseph's forces were now free to concentrate against him, went into immediate retreat for the sanctuary of the ''sierras''.

Aftermath

The Spanish campaign in late 1809 proceeded with the second Madrid offensive in the

Battle of Alba de Tormes In the Battle of Alba de Tormes on 28 November 1809, an Imperial French corps commanded by François Étienne de Kellermann attacked a Spanish army led by Diego de Cañas y Portocarrero, Duke del Parque. Finding the Spanish army in the mid ...

, where Kellermann and Marchand caught up with Del Parque on 26 November 1809 and inflicted a stinging defeat on the Spanish army.

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Carpio, Battle of Battles of the Peninsular War Battles in Castile and León Battles of the Napoleonic Wars Battles involving France Battles involving Spain Conflicts in 1809 1809 in Spain November 1809 events History of the province of Valladolid