Siege of San Sebastián

Overview

The siege of San Sebastián took place between 7 July and 8 September 1813, during the Peninsular War. Allied British and Portuguese forces under the command of Thomas Graham captured the city by assault after a lengthy siege, which followed a failed earlier siege and attack under the lead of Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington. The successful assault carried out by Graham forced the surrender of the defending French garrison under Louis Emmanuel Rey. Having broken into the town during the final assault, the allied soldiers rampaged out of control through San Sebastián, abusing and murdering many of its civilian inhabitants and setting fire to many of the city's buildings.

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

Significance

The Siege of San Sebastián, concluded in September 1813, secured a strategically significant port town for Allied forces during the later stages of the Peninsular War. The capture came after a failed earlier attempt, making Graham's successful assault a correction of a prior Allied setback. The surrender of Rey's French garrison removed a defended position on the northern Spanish coast, supporting Wellington's broader campaign to press French forces back toward the Pyrenees. The fall of the city was, however, accompanied by severe violence against the civilian population: Allied soldiers rampaged through San Sebastián, killing and abusing inhabitants and burning large parts of the town. This conduct left a lasting mark on the siege's reputation and complicated the Allied relationship with the Spanish population they nominally sought to liberate.

Tactics

Forces & casualties

Commanders (3)