Battle of Montmeló
| Battle of Montmeló | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Reapers' War and the Franco-Spanish War (1635–59) | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
|
Kingdom of France Principality of Catalonia | Spanish Empire | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Philippe de La Mothe Josep Margarit | Pedro Antonio de Aragón | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 8,000 | 2,500–4,500 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| unknown | 1,000 | ||||||
The Battle of Montmeló took place on 28 March 1642 in Montmeló, Catalonia during the Reapers' War. A Franco-Catalan army under the command of Philippe de La Mothe-Houdancourt fought and defeated a smaller Spanish force under Pedro Antonio de Aragón.
The Battle
In 1640, a rebellion broke out in Catalonia against the Spanish central government. The Spanish army failed to suppress the uprising, also because the French King supported it militarily. The French army invaded Roussillon and occupied it completely, except for Perpignan, which was besieged from November 1641.
By March 1642 the situation in the starving city had become critical, and the Spanish gathered an army of 4,500 men in Tarragona to relieve Perpignan. This column, under command of Pedro Antonio de Aragón, departed on 23 March.[1]
On 26 March, its rearguard was attacked at Esparreguera by the French General de La Mothe. This deviated the Spanish from their path and brought them close to Barcelona. The Catalans saw this as a provocation and immediately mobilized their troops.
On 28 March, the Spanish were intercepted at Montmeló by the Franco-Catalan cavalry and were heavily defeated, suffering a thousand casualties.[1]
The survivors retreated towards Tarragona, being pursued by the troops of Philippe de La Mothe-Houdancourt and finally surrendered on 31 March at the Battle of Granada.[2][3]
References
- ^ a b Coll Alentorn, Miquel (1992). Història. 1 (in Catalan). Barcelona: Publicacions de l'Abadia de Montserrat Curial. p. 433. ISBN 9788478262991.
- ^ Miguel Parets (1888–1893). Memorial Histórico Español Volum XXV (in Spanish). Barcelona: Real Academia de la Historia. p. 647.
- ^ Manual de novells ardits vulgarment apellat Dietari del antich consell barceloní ... Publicat per acort y á despesas del Excm. Ajuntament constitucional é iniciat per los ilustres senyors regidors D. Frederich Schwartz y Luna y D. Francesch Carreras y Candi en comissió del mateix excelentíssim Ajuntament · Volume 13
41°33′17″N 2°15′00″E / 41.5547°N 2.2500°E