Battle of Zornoza

Overview

The Battle of Zornoza, fought on 31 October 1808, was one of the opening engagements in Napoleon's invasion of Spain. The battle was intended to encircle and crush the left wing of the Spanish front. The Spanish infantry was swiftly thrown back but escaped in good order.

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

Significance

The Battle of Zornoza was one of the opening engagements of Napoleon's invasion of Spain in late 1808. The engagement was designed to encircle and destroy the left wing of the Spanish front, pitting roughly 21,000 French troops under Lefebvre against approximately 19,000 Spanish forces under Blake. Although the Spanish infantry was thrown back and sustained around 1,000 casualties, it escaped in good order, denying the French the decisive encirclement they sought. The failure to destroy Blake's force left the Spanish left wing intact as a fighting force, complicating French efforts to consolidate control in the opening phase of the Peninsular War.

Forces & casualties

Commanders (2)