Battle of Bascara

Overview

The Battle of Bascara on 14 June 1795 saw a Republican French army led by Barthélemy Louis Joseph Schérer clash with a Spanish Royal army commanded by José de Urrutia y de las Casas. While Scherer's army was on a foraging expedition, Urrutia believed that his army was under attack. The Spanish general quickly massed his troops and assaulted the French center, forcing it to withdraw. Bàscara is located 24 kilometres (15 mi) north of Girona, Spain. The fighting occurred during the War of the Pyrenees, part of the War of the First Coalition.

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

Significance

The Battle of Bascara was fought on 14 June 1795 during the War of the Pyrenees, itself a theater of the broader War of the First Coalition. The engagement pitted a Spanish Royal army of 35,000 under José de Urrutia against a Republican French force of 25,000 under Barthélemy Schérer, resulting in French casualties of 2,500. The action near Girona demonstrated the vulnerability of French operational movements in the northeastern Spanish theater when exposed to a concentrated Spanish response. No recorded outcome in terms of territorial decision is attached to the battle, but the French losses sustained during what began as a foraging expedition underscored the risks of dispersed operations against a numerically superior opponent.

Tactics

Forces & casualties

Commanders (3)