Battles of El Bruch
Part of thePеninsular War
First battle of El Bruch (engraving by José Coromina Faralt, c. 1820)
Date 6 June and 14 June 1808 Location El Bruc, nearBarcelona,Catalonia 41°34′48″N1°46′49″E / 41.58000°N 1.78028°E /41.58000; 1.78028 Result Spanish victory
Belligerents
France	Spain
Commanders and leaders
François de Schwarz Joseph Chabran	Antoni Franch i Estalella Joan Baiget
Strength
3,800–5,000 regulars	2,000 regulars and militia
Casualties and losses
6 June: 360 dead 800 wounded 60 captured 1 gun captured Total: 1,220 14 June: 83 dead 274 wounded Total: 357 Grand total: 1,577	6 June: 20 dead 80 wounded Total: 100 14 June: 15 dead 50 wounded Total: 65 Grand total: 165

Peninsular War: Spanish uprising 1808

220km
137miles

12

Santander

11

Bailén

10

Rioseco

9

Valencia

8

Girona

7

Zaragoza

6

Cabezón

5

Cadiz

4

Alcolea

3

Valdepeñas

2

Bruch

1

Dos de Mayo
Madrid

   

  current battle

The twobattles of the Bruch (Spanish:Batallas del Bruch;Catalan:Batalles del Bruc) were engagements fought successively, atEl Bruc, nearBarcelona,Catalonia, on 6 and 14 June 1808, during thePeninsular War, by French troops commanded by Brigadier GeneralFrançois de Schwarz and General of DivisionJoseph Chabran against Spanish volunteers and mercenaries led by GeneralAntoni Franch i Estalella andJoan Baget.

The result of these battles and actions was a Spanish victory.^[1]

The previous month'suprising in Madrid had putIberia in revolt against French rule.

The French detachment of 3,800 soldiers underGeneral of BrigadeFrançois Xavier de Schwarz leftBarcelona on June 4, advancing in the direction ofLleida–Saragossa. A rainstorm that day slowed their march considerably, giving time for local Spanish forces, composed of militia from the neighboring villages, volunteers (sometent), andSwiss andWalloon soldiers from the Barcelona garrison (2,000 men), to mobilize for action. The Spaniards were led by General Antoni Franch i Estalella and deployed along the Bruc Pass.

The resulting stand was a success,^[1] and the French under General Schwarz were turned back to Barcelona with the loss of 360 dead, 800 wounded, 60 prisoners, and onegun captured. The Spanish also captured aFrench Imperial Eagle.^[2]

• Schwartz Column - Brigadier-General Francis Xavier Schwartz, Commander-in-Chief
  • 1st Regiment Neapolitan of the line (2 battalions - 1940 men)
  • 2nd Line Regiment Switzerland (3rd battalion - 580 men)
  • 2nd Regiment of the line (3rd battalion - 610 men)
  • 1st Regiment of Chasseurs Neapolitan (2 squadrons - 160 men)
  • 3rd Regiment Provisional cuirassiers (1 squadron - 100 men)
  • 11th Italian artillery company (section 1 - 2 guns)

• General Antoni Franch i Estalella, Commander-in-Chief
  • 260 regulars and militia (Captain José Viñas)
  • 200 regulars and militia (Francesc Riera Balaguer)

A second French sortie on June 14, led byGeneral of DivisionJoseph Chabran, succeeded only in putting to the torch several buildings in El Bruc after having been defeated and repelled by the Spanish forces led byJoan Baget. The following day, the Spanish attacked the French in their withdrawal toBarcelona, inflicting more than 500 dead and wounded on Chabran's troops.^[3]

• First Division - General of Division Joseph Chabran, Commander-in-Chief
  • Brigade: Brigadier-General Goulas
    • 7th Regiment of the line (2 battalions - 1785 men)
    • 16th Regiment of the line (3rd battalion - 789 men)
  • Brigade: Brigadier-GeneralNicolas
    • 2nd Regiment of the line (3rd battalion - 610 men)
    • 37th Regiment of the line [3rd battalion - 789 men)
    • 56th Regiment of the line (4th Battalion - 833 men)
    • 93rd Regiment of the line (3rd battalion - 792 men)

• CommanderJoan Baget, Commander-in-Chief
  • Four companies of volunteers (soldiers of Extremadura regiment and militia)
  • Wallon Guards
  • Swiss regiment Wimpffen (300 men)
  • 300 militia (Antoni Franch)
  • 100 militia (Captain José Viñas)
  • Sallen residents (60 men led by the vicar Ramón Mas)
  • Patriots (100 men)
  • 5 guns

TheSpanish conventional warfare proceeded with theBattle of Girona.

• Drummer of El Bruc
• Timeline of the Peninsular War

• Gates, David (2001).The Spanish Ulcer: A History of the Peninsular War. Da Capo Press.ISBN 0-306-81083-2.
• Pigeard, Alain (2004).Dictionnaire des batailles de Napoléon (in French). Paris: Tallandier.
• Rodríguez-Solís, Enrique (1895).Los guerrilleros de 1808: Historia popular de la Guerra de la Independencia (in Spanish). Vol. I. Calle de Balmes.

• Finestres, Charles (2008).Timbals de guerra al Bruc (in Catalan). Jordi & Moliner, Antoni.
• Oman, Sir Charles William Chadwick (1902).A History of the Peninsular War: 1807–1809. Vol. I. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Retrieved1 May 2021.

• "6-6-1808 Primera Acción del Bruch" (in Spanish). Guerra de Independencia española 1808-1814.
• "14-6-1808 Segunda Acción del Bruch" (in Spanish). Guerra de Independencia española 1808-1814.
• Media related toBattles of the Bruch at Wikimedia Commons

• Battles of the Peninsular War involving Spain
• Military history of Barcelona
• 19th century in Barcelona
• Anoia
• Battles involving the Kingdom of Italy (Napoleonic)
• Battles in 1808
• 1808 in Spain
• June 1808

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