Siege of Cádiz

Battle context

The siege of Cádiz was one of the most important operations of the Peninsular War. Following the French occupation of Seville, Cádiz became the seat of Spanish political power, making its retention critical to continued organized resistance against Napoleon. A French force of up to 70,000 troops under Marshals Claude Victor and Soult invested the city beginning in February 1810, yet the garrison—initially only 2,000 Spanish troops—held out through a combination of the city's natural defensive position and the arrival of Spanish reinforcements that brought the defending strength to roughly 17,000–18,000, supplemented by British and Portuguese contingents. The siege lasted over two and a half years, tying down a large French force without result. By keeping Cádiz in Allied hands, the Spanish government retained a functioning base from which to coordinate resistance, and the city never fell. The French lifted the siege in August 1812, freeing the forces held there and preserving the political and military continuity of the Spanish war effort.