XIX

THE FRENCH AND SPANISH FORCES AT THE SIEGE OF TARRAGONA

I. SUCHET’S ARMY

N.B.—The divisional and brigade organization is provisional; compare for theoretical organization, p. 640.

Frère’s Division: 1st Léger (3 batts.), 1st of the Vistula (2 batts.), 14th Ligne (1 batt.), 42nd Ligne (3 batts.) 4,821 present

Harispe’s Division: 7th and 16th Ligne (3 batts. each), Italian 2nd Léger and 4th, 5th, 6th Ligne (2 batts. each) 6,561 ”

Habert’s Division: 5th Léger, 116th and 117th Ligne (2 batts. each) 3,088 ”

Abbé’s Brigade (arrived in June): 114th, 115th, 121st Ligne (2 batts. each) 3,657 ”

Total Infantry 18,127

Boussard’s Cavalry: 24th Dragoons, 13th Cuirassiers (3 squadrons each), 4th Hussars, Italian Dragons de Napoléon (2 squadrons each) 1,447 ”

Artillery and Artillery Train 1,352 ”

Engineers and Train 708 ”

General Total 21,634

II. THE SPANISH GARRISON

There are unfortunately no figures forthcoming at Madrid for the Army of Catalonia between December 10th, 1810, and August 1811, all apparently having been lost or destroyed at the siege of Tarragona. In December the Army of Catalonia had consisted of—Sarsfield’s Division, 5,462 men present; Courten’s, 4,791 men present; Eroles’s, 2,538 men present; garrisons (Tortosa, Tarragona, Seu d’Urgel, &c.), 13,040 = Total 25,651.

Of these there seem to have been present in Tarragona, in May and June, the whole of Courten’s division, presumably still somewhat under 5,000 men (regiments of America, Granada, Almanza, and Almeria, 9 batts.), a sedentary garrison composed of 6 battalions of the new Catalan ‘sections’ or local line and a few other troops, and the greater part of Sarsfield’s division, sent in by Campoverde on June 10th, with some small succours sent from Valencia and elsewhere. The whole must have made up some 15,000 men, though such a number was not present at any one time within the walls. According to Suchet’s surrender-roll of the garrison (see Belmas, iii. 601) there were still 8,000 men surviving at the moment of the storm, June 28th, 1811, viz.:—

Courten’s Division:

America 351

Almanza 613

Almeria 464

Granada 365

1,793

Sedentary Garrison:

Catalan ‘Sections’ 1,936

Tarragona 125

Artillery 793

Sappers and Engineers 166

3,020

Other Troops (mainly from
Sarsfield’s Division):

Santa Fé 343

2nd of Savoia 655

Iliberia 368

Saragossa 280

Gerona 241

1st of Savoia 502

Cazadores de Valencia 664

Grenadiers 164

Miscellaneous detachments
and isolated officers 70

Cavalry 166

3,453

General Total 8,266