Battle of Somosierra

Arc de Triomphe: SOMOSIERRA

November 30, 1808

Napoleon and his army were advancing on Madrid when a Spanish force under General San Juan stood in their way at the pass of Somosierra. Impatient, Napoleon ordered the Polish light cavalry to charge the guns and take the position. The first charge failed, but a second charge with the Poles and the Chasseurs à Cheval of the Imperial Guard successfully took the position and earned them a place in history.

Bibliography

Chandler, David G. Dictionary of the Napoleonic Wars. New York: Macmillan Publishing, 1979.
Smith, Digby. The Greenhill Napoleonic Wars Data Book. London: Greenhill Books: 1998.

Updated March 2017