Battle of Medina de Rioseco 1808
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 14 July 1808 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1808 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
| Era | 19th century (1800–1913) | derived from year |
| Location | Spain | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Peninsular War | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | First French Empire, Kingdom of Spain | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 41.8942, -4.9936 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Medina de Rioseco, also known as the Battle of Moclín, was fought during the Peninsular War on 14 July 1808 when a combined body of Spanish militia and regulars moved to rupture the French line of communications to Madrid. General Joaquín Blake's Army of Galicia, under joint command with General Gregorio de la Cuesta, was routed by Marshal Bessières after a badly coordinated but stubborn fight against the French corps north of Valladolid.
Bessières exploited the poor coordination between Blake and Cuesta to defeat the Spaniards in detail, with Blake being ejected from a low ridge while Cuesta sat to the rear, and Cuesta failing to recapture the ridge with his own troops. The Army of Galicia was the only formation capable of threatening the French advance into Old Castile—Cuesta's command having been destroyed earlier at Cabezón—and its destruction marked a serious blow to Spain's national uprising.
But in the event, Medina de Rioseco proved to be the solitary French triumph in an invasion of Spain that ultimately failed to seize the country's major cities or to pacify its rebellious provinces, and which met outright disaster at Bailén, forcing French forces—Bessières' victorious corps included—to fly over the Ebro in retreat.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Medina de Rioseco (revision 1370449437), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
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Other battles of the Peninsular War
- Battle of Alcolea Bridge 1808
- Battle of Bailén 1808
- Battle of Benavente 1808
- Battle of Cabezón 1808
- Battle of Cardedeu 1808
- Battle of Espinosa de los Monteros 1808
- Battle of Gamonal 1808
- Battle of Molins de Rei 1808
- Battle of Roliça 1808
- Battle of Sahagún 1808
All 124 battles of the Peninsular War →
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