Battle of Arlabán

Overview

The Battle of Arlabán, a battle of the First Carlist War, occurred at the heights of Arlabán, between the provinces of Álava and Guipúzcoa. Between 16 and 17 January 1836, the Liberals occupied Arlaban after dislodging the Carlist forces there. The Liberals were commanded by Luis Fernández de Córdova and were supported by the British Legion, French Legion, and units commanded by Baldomero Espartero; the forces were divided along three fronts. After conquering Arlabán as well as Legutiano, however, the Liberals were pushed back by the Carlists on 18 January, suffering a large number of casualties.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The Battle of Arlabán was fought at the heights between the provinces of Álava and Guipúzcoa during the First Carlist War. Liberal forces under Luis Fernández de Córdova, supported by the British Legion, French Legion, and units under Baldomero Espartero, succeeded in taking the Arlabán heights and Legutiano from Carlist defenders between 16 and 17 January 1836. The initial Liberal success proved short-lived: Carlist counterattacks on 18 January drove them back and inflicted heavy casualties, negating the territorial gains made in the preceding days. The engagement illustrated the difficulty Liberal forces faced in consolidating advances in the mountainous Basque interior, where Carlist forces retained the capacity to recover lost ground even against a combined force drawing on foreign legion support.

Tactics

Commanders (2)