Bailén

In late May 1808, Napoleon ordered General Count Dupont de l'Etang to occupy Cadiz. On 24 May, Dupont set out from Toledo with a rag-tag force of poorly trained conscripts and provisional second line battalions. Dupont crossed the La Mancha plain by slow marches due to the greenness of his troops and then hurried his men across the narrow mountain passes of the Sierra Morena into Andalusia. By June 2d, he had reached Andújar without any serious opposition. It was here, on the banks of the Guadalquivir, that the Spanish sun and population began to turn against the French. Due to this increased guerrilla activity, supplies started running short and Dupont's Swiss troops started to desert. Dupont's requests for reinforcements were made light of by Napoleon on the other side of Spain. Nevertheless, Generals Vedel and Gobert (the later replaced by Dufour after his death) were dispatched south. In spite of his worsening position, Dupont continued to press to the south and by 7 June, had arrived at Cordova. After a brief fight, Dupont's 12,000 green troops sent the poorly led Spanish army of some 14,000 men packing. The Spanish garrison of Cordova, however,“refused to surrender the-town and Dupont was forced to take the town by storm. The inexperienced French troops proceeded to sack the town for nine days before Dupont and his officers were able to restore order. The French advance had come to a halt. Dupont had not heard from headquarters for a fortnight and had just received news of a 40,000-man Spanish army closing on Cordova. The retreat was decided on for June 16th. Heavily laden with plunder and wounded, Dupont headed back to Andújar. On the way back, the French discovered the mutilated bodies of several messengers. Over 400 wounded men and hospital attendants were also found brutally massacred. Dupont's conscripts were unnerved and went on a rampage of violence against the local population. When the French reached Andújar, they received news that General Dominique Vedel was nearby. Dupont, now disposing of some 18,000 men, faced a reported 50,000+ Spaniards under General Don Francisco Xavier Castaños. At this point, Dupont would have done wise to abandon his loot from Cordova and run for Madrid. Instead, he obeyed his orders, orders given by Napoleon from Bayonne and held his position for ten fatal days. Castaños, profiting from Napoleon's feeble attempt to control Dupont from all the way across Spain, finished the organization of his army and began an envelopment of the French right flank. The Spanish attacked Dupont at Andújar on 15 July to "pin" him down while the rest of the flanking force attacked Vedel at Mengibar. Hard pressed by the numerically superior Castaños, Dupont sent word to Vedel to send him a brigade or at least a battalion. Instead, Vedel arrived with his entire command, "marching to the sound of the guns !!!!!: The Spanish were quick to capitalize on Vedel's overzealousness. They quickly occupied Mengibar and started moving on Bailen. The French had been outflanked! Horrified by Vedel's error, Dupont ordered him to Bailén to prevent the Spanish from cutting the French line of retreat. After arriving at Bailén on the 16th, well in advance of the Spanish, and finding no one there, Vedel proceeded to march east to La Carolina without orders. This movement left the key position of Bailen open to enemy occupation. Dupont was now completely alarmed by his subordinate's conduct. He now was left no choice except to retreat. During the night of July 18th/19th, Dupont masterfully withdrew his troops from Andújar. The Spanish would suspect nothing for over nine hours. Arriving in front of Bailén in the early hours of 19 July, Dupont was met by the sight of entrenched Spanish in the town. Dupont lost no time and assaulted the town around 0800 hours. The fighting was terrible. The weary and demoralized French were unable to carry the Spanish positions. During the assault all but two companies of Dupont's Swiss deserted to the enemy. Dupont was severely wounded in the hip during the final attempt to breakthrough the Spanish lines. The French (barely 9,000 men) were now surrounded by 40,000+ Spaniards (some sources list 60,000+ men). Low on supplies and encumbered by ever increasing numbers of wounded, Dupont asked for terms at 2 o'clock. Vedel did not appear until the 2 0th, but he attacked immediately with some initial- success. Castaños threatened to massacre Dupont's command if Vedel was not "called off". Dupont complied but ordered Vedel to save himself and run! Castaños again threatened Dupont and Vedel was recalled. Vedel stupidly, for the first time during the campaign, obeyed his orders and returned. The Spanish commander agreed to repatriate Dupont's 18,000 men after they had been disarmed. Believing Castanos to be an honorable man, Dupont accepted these favorable terms. After Dupont and his staff were allowed to leave on parole, the 18,000 men of Dupont's command began a death march to Cadiz. On the way many were assaulted and murdered by the local population. In Cadiz, they were thrown into prison hulks or shipped off to starve on the island of Cabrera. Dupont protested to the Spanish authorities but was only insulted in return. On his return to France, Dupont was labeled a coward by Napoleon and thrown in to prison. Fewer than 1800 men of Dupont's 18,000 men lived to see France again. Napoleon had seriously underestimated the rebellion in Spain. Equating it to uprisings in Italy where second line troops were sufficient to deal with the situation, Napoleon did not give his commanders the proper tools to stop the Peninsular War before it started. The implications of Bailén were to have an impact on the whole of Europe in the months and years to come.