BATTLE // December 16, 1808

Battle of Cardadeu

Name: Battle of Cardadeu
Start: 1808-12-16
End: 1808-12-16
Location: Battle of Cardadeu

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Significance

The Battle of Cardedeu on 16 December 1808 was an engagement during the Peninsular War in which an Imperial French corps under Laurent Gouvion Saint-Cyr defeated a Spanish force commanded by Juan Miguel de Vives y Feliu and Theodor von Reding. The French force numbered between 15,000 and 16,500 troops against approximately 9,000 Spanish, and the engagement resulted in Spanish casualties of around 2,500. The action took place 17 kilometres northeast of Barcelona, situating it within French operations to consolidate control over Catalonia during the broader Napoleonic campaign on the Iberian Peninsula.

Tactics

Saint-Cyr formed the bulk of his troops into large attack columns and drove them directly through the Spanish lines. This concentration of force overwhelmed the defending Spanish formations commanded by Vives y Feliu and Reding, securing the French victory.