| Spanish expedition to Oran | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Spanish-Barbary wars | |||||||
 Spanish attack on Oran of 1732 | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Kingdom of Spain | |||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Philip V of SpainDuke of MontemarFrancisco CornejoBlas de LezoJuan José Navarro |  Bouchlaghem Bey Wali Hassan Ben Dabiza  Mohamed Boutaleb | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 27,000–28,000 men[4][5] 12ships of the line[4] 50frigates[4] 7galleys[4] 26galiots[4] 4brigs[4] 97xebecs[4] Severalgunboats andbomb vessels[4] 109 transport ships[4] Unknown minor vessels | 20,000 men[6] Unknown number of ships | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 100 killed[7] | Heavy human and naval losses[2][3] 142pieces of artillery captured[2] | ||||||
TheSpanish conquest of Oran and Mers el-Kebir took place from 15 June to 2 July 1732, between theKingdom of Spain and theDeylik of Algiers. The great Spanish expedition led byJosé Carrillo de Albornoz, Duke of Montemar andFrancisco Javier Cornejo[4] defeated the Algerian troops under the command of theBey of theBeylik of Oran,Mustapha Bouchelaghem,[8] and theWali ofOran, Hassan. It successfully conquered thefortress-cities ofOran andMers el-Kebir,[9] ruled and administered by Algiers from 1708, during theWar of the Spanish Succession, when both cities were conquered by the aforementioned Bouchelaghem, who was the governor of the western regions of Algiers.[10][11]
During theWar of the Spanish Succession, the strategicAfrican cities ofOran andMers el-Kebir, which had been under Spanish control since the early 16th century,were taken by the Bey of Oran, Bouchlaghem Bey, taking advantage of the difficult time that Spain was going through.[12] With the war having ended, and with the resurgence of the new Spain as one of the major European powers, the KingPhilip V of Spain, organised an expedition to recoup the lost cities.[13] The expedition was, in part, funded by the successful offensive on theRepublic of Genoa, led by AdmiralBlas de Lezo, in which Lezo demanded a payment of two million pesos, and to pay homage to the Spanish flag, or else he would bombard the city.[14][15] The Genovese finally accepted all the terms of the Spanish Admiral.[15] Of the two million pesos, a million and a half was to be destined for the new expedition.[15]
The rumour thatSpain was preparing for another expedition, was cause for alarm for the EmperorCharles VI, thinking that Spain wanted to occupy theItalian territories held by theAustrians again. When all the preparations had been concluded, with the aim of calming the other European powers, Philip V published a decree which stated his intention of reconquering Oran.[15]
The expedition began to organise itself on 16 March 1732, in the port ofAlicante.[16] The person responsible for the preparation of the expedition was the Prince of Campo Florido, Captain-General and Governor of the Kingdom ofValencia.[16] The city was overcome with the challenge of containing such a large number of troops, sailors and noblemen. The authorities estimated more than 30,000 present.[16] At the time, the city received most of its merchandise via the port, with some help from nearby towns and cities, but finally the supply to the city was a success.[17]
On 7 June,José Carrillo de Albornoz, Duke of Montemar, who Philip V had chosen as leader of the expedition, attended the Convent ofSantísima Faz, to pray for protection and the success of his plan.[17] The port began filling up with masts, and every type of sail conceivable, and by the end of May, Campo Florido informed the Spanish General, Alejandro de la Motte, that he had solved the embargo of all the transport ships nearby. Everything had been planned, down to the last detail, and the expedition was ready to set sail.[18]
The great fleet consisted of 12ships of the line, 50frigates, 7galleys and 26galiots, 4brigs, 97xebecs, severalgunboats andbomb vessels, approximately 109transport ships, and several minor ships and vessels of different classes,[4] in total, the ships of the fleet numbered about 500–600, and the supreme commander of the fleet was the veteran naval officerFrancisco Javier Cornejo.[4] The fleet caused great astonishment in allEurope, and as a writer of that time, said:
Never before was the Mediterranean Sea covered in such a variety of flags.[4]
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The army was led by theDuke of Montemar.[4] The contingent consisted of 23 generals, 19 brigadiers and 129 officers.[4]
Theinfantry consisted of 32battalions; the artillery battalion (600 men and 60 pieces of artillery and 20 mortars), the regiments ofSpanish and Walloon Guards (each with four battalions), the regiments ofSpain,Soria,Vitoria,Cantabria andAsturias (each with two battalions), the regiments ofIrlanda,Ultonia andNamur (each with one battalion), the regiments ofAragon,Hainaut,Antwerp andFirst and Third of Swiss (each with two battalions), and a company of riflemen and guides, all born in Oran, and administrative, legal and medical personnel.[4][5] In total 23,100 men.[4][5]
Thecavalry was composed by the regimentsQueen andPrince (each with 417 men) andSantiago andGranada (each with 419 men), and another four regiments of Spanish dragoons (each with three squadrons).[5] In total 3,372 men.[5]
On 15 June 1732, with all troops on board, and all preparations completed, the fleet was at anchor, and the next day the fleet began its departure in perfect formation, offering a wonderful spectacle. The Spanish soldier and poet,Eugenio Gerardo Lobo, who took part in the expedition, dedicated his poetry to the Spanish expedition:[19]
Ve, lucido escuadrón, ve, fuerte armada,
Del monarca de España empeño augusto,
Y el pendón infeliz del moro adusto,
Su luna llore en ti siempre eclipsada.[19]
A few days after, the fleet was obliged, due to contrary winds, to take cover near theCape Palos, but on the 24 June, after overcoming its difficulties, it continued its journey towardsOran.[19] On 27 June, the fleet arrived at the coasts of Oran, and the Duke of Montemar, ordered the troops to disembark on the Aguadas beach, nearMers el-Kebir, but this could not take place till the next day.[19] At dawn, the troops began to disembarked with barely any resistance.[19] The Algerian troops, who up to that time had remained in defensive positions, began to attack the Spanish troops; however, the firepower of the Spanish ships,[19] in particular theship of the lineCastilla, under the command ofJuan José Navarro,[20] made a big contribution in covering the landing troops by the use of his naval guns, decimating and forcing the Muslim troops to flee.[20] Before midday, all the infantry had disembarked, and the cavalry followed soon after.[3]
After midday, thegrenadiers, together with the cavalry, gradually began to gather on a small hill, where the only fountain to be seen, around lay, and from where the Spanish troops had formed and taken control, and which the Moors wanted to take hold.[3] The Duke of Montemar ordered a small fort to be built to ensure communication with the fleet.[3] A company of fusiliers was set up to protect the workers on the Fort, but they were under continual attack from the large number ofAlgerian troops, and finally, due to lack of ammunition, they began to retreat. This retreat gave the Moors heart and they cautiosly advanced.[3] Montemar, noticing this, sent 16 companies of infantry under the command of Alejandro de la Motte, and four squadrons of Spanish Dragoons to attack the front line of Muslim troops.[3] The onslaught by the cavalry and infantry was so energetic that they caused many casualties in the enemy, and forced the Moorish troops to retreat to another distant mountain amid the great confusion.[3] CountingJanissaries, Moors andTurks, they came to about 20,000 to 22,000 men in total.[3]
De la Motte and his army continued to advance till they reachedMers el-Kebir, where they discovered a field in which the Janissaries had gathered. It was promptly destroyed, making about 300 Janissaries flee, all of whom belonged to Mers el-Kebir's garrison.[3] Terrified by the intense firepower of the grenadiers, the captain of the fort of Mers el-Kebir (Ben Dabiza)[21] capitulated, on the condition that they would be allowed to retreat toAlgiers.[3] Immediately after, De la Motte's army besieged Mers el-Kebir.[3] Montemar, seeing how successful this had been, then sent his army to the nearby mountains where the majority of the enemy lay, but these, terrified and demoralised, retreated that same night to Oran,[2][3] which was also abandoned along with all its forts and castles used for defence.[2] The quality and discipline of the Spanish army, without a doubt terrified the Algerian troops.[2] The next day, 1 July, Montemar, through a message from the French consul in Oran, found out about this news and immediately sent a detachment to confirm this.[2] The news was in fact true, and the French consul himself,[2] came out to receive the Spanish troops, who entered the city without any trouble, as it was almost deserted, as was the Palace of Bey.[2] The Spanish captured 80 bronze pieces of artillery,[2] 50 iron pieces and 12 bells,[2] together with innumerable artifacts of war, and supplies, enough to supply the city for at least three months.[2] The next day, 2 July, the city of Mers el-Kebir also capitulated to De la Motte's troops.[2]
On 5 July a solemnTe Deum was sung in Oran to commemorate the victory.[1] The news soon reachedSpain and spread to the rest ofEurope, where the famous victory was celebrated with festivals and religious ceremonies.[1]Pope Clement XII was greatly contented to hear of the reclaiming of the cities, thanking and full of praise forPhilip V of Spain.[1] A month after the recovery of Oran, on 1 August, having secured the city, Montemar returned to Spain with most of his troops, leaving behind a garrison of 6,000 men.[22]
Montemar was received with great expectation inSeville on 15 August. Philip V presented him with a chain of theOrder of the Golden Fleece, a reward for the service to his country.[23]José Patiño was rewarded with the same honour, as he had planned the expedition.[23]
Bey Bouchelaghem was not resigned to the loss of his beloved city.[24] Regretting the cowardice he had shown by abandoning the city, he tried many times to retrieve it, by attacking it over the following months.[24] The Spaniards could not move into the interior however, and returned most of their forces to Spain, leaving the two cities with enough men to defend them. At the end of August the Bey closed in on Oran with more than 10,000 troops, but they were defeated by the Spanish, causing them more than 2,000 casualties.[24] The Algerians attacked the city on the 12th of December then on June 10 in 1733 without notable success. In 1734, Bouchelaghem attacked the center of El-Ayoun around Oran and reached the gates of the city, but was unable to occupy it. Oran and Mers-el-Kebir remained under tight siege for more than fifty years.[25] The city was to remain under Spanish control until 1792.[26]