Battle of Somosierra

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Battle of Somosierra
Part of the Peninsular War
La bataille de Somo-Sierra, 1810, Baron Lejeune
Date 30 November 1808 Location Somosierra Pass, Province of Segovia, Spain 41°09′N 3°35′W / 41.150°N 3.583°W / 41.150; -3.583 Result Franco-Polish victory[1]
Belligerents
France  Spain Poland	Spain
Commanders and leaders
Napoleon I Joseph I Jan Leon Kozietulski	Benito de San Juan
Strength
8,000[1]	12,000[1]
Casualties and losses
300[1]	2,200[1]

Peninsular War: Napoleon's invasion

200km
125miles

Corunna

14

13

12

11

10

9

Zaragoza

8

7

Somosierra

6

Tudela

5

4

3

Roses

2

Zornoza

1

  

  current battle

The Battle of Somosierra took place on 30 November 1808, during the Peninsular War, when a combined Franco-Napoleonic Spanish-Polish force under the direct command of Napoleon I forced a passage through a Spanish Division stationed at the Sierra de Guadarrama, which shielded Madrid from direct French attack. At the Somosierra mountain pass, 60 miles (97 km) north of Madrid, a heavily outnumbered Spanish detachment of regulars, volunteers and artillery under Benito de San Juan attempted to block Napoleon's advance onto Madrid. Napoleon overwhelmed the Spanish positions in a combined arms attack, sending the Polish Chevau-légers of the Imperial Guard at the Spanish guns while French infantry advanced up the slopes. The victory removed the last obstacle barring the road to Madrid, which fell a few days later.^[2]