ORDER OF BATTLE // November 4, 1810
Battle of Baza
Estimated force strength by side, with confidence labels per surviving record.
Forces engaged
2 sides catalogued · combined 12,300 estimated
French Empire
3,300
Medium-confidence figure
Kingdom of Spain
9,000
Medium-confidence figure
Battle context
At Baza on 4 November 1810, a French force of roughly 3,300 under Milhaud inflicted some 1,500 casualties on a Spanish corps of 9,000 under Blake, forcing the Spanish to retreat into the province of Murcia. The engagement demonstrated the vulnerability of numerically superior but dispersed forces to concentrated cavalry action. Blake's failure to maintain cohesion allowed Milhaud to defeat the Spanish vanguard in detail, a setback that pushed Spanish forces away from the Almería region and ceded local operational initiative to French arms in this sector of the Peninsular War.
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