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Dos de Mayo Uprising
After the French turned on its allies the Spanish and occupied Madrid, a revolt broke out in the capital which was heavily and violently repressed by French Imperial Troops. The spark that lead to the battle was the evacuation of all the Royal Familiy to Bayonne, thus abandoning their people -
Period: to
The Peninsular War
Made by Oscar Matthews, Daniel Bermejo and Angel Rodriguez -
Despeñaperros
Two French squadrons of dragoons were attacked by Spanish guerrilas at the narrow gorge of Despeñaperros
Spanish patriots at the start of the war carried out brutal shock attacks on French troops
This attacks were vital as they managed to make French troops retreat and waste time and troops in repelling the attacks -
Coronation of Joseph I
Joseph Bonaparte, Napoleon´s elder brother, is made King of Spain -
Arrival of British troops
After Asturias´cry for help, London sent three British Army officers and a lieutenant coronel to help out. They arrived in Gijón. -
Battle of Bailén
At Jaén, Francisco Castaños defeated the French general Dupont and his army even though being outnumbered. It was a crucial defeat for the French and went down in history as an inspiring battle that encouraged the Spanish and other nations to fight back against Napoleon. -
Battle of Somosierra
Napoleon, furious at the defeat at Bailen personally commanded his army and viciously counterattacked against the Spanish.
At this battle, Napoleon, using light Polish cavalry,charged uphill against the Spanish artillery and captured the positions . He then marched into Madrid and retook the capital. -
Napoleon enters Madrid
1 month after entering Spain he captures Madrid. -
Treaty of peace,friendship and alliance
The British recognise Fernando as king of Spain and aid him to recover the throne. -
Battle of A Coruña
After a valiant stand in A Coruña, the French defeat the British General Moore and forces the British army to retreat from Spain
General Moore loses his life. -
Wellington takes command
Wellesley ,(Wellington), Commander-in-Chief of the British Army, was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Portuguese Army.
This gave him command of all British and Portuguese troops. -
Battle of Porto
In fact, the second battle of Porto, this anglo-portuguese victory near the city of Porto was a decisive victory against France. -
Battle of Talavera
A pyrrhic victory for the British and Spanish armies that combined to resist the French assault, they held their ground but lost a great many of troops. Historians are unsure who to blame but some have stated that the Spanish generals committed several errors related to the transportation of resources which led to many deaths. -
The battle of Salamanca
This decisive allied victory took place after several years of sieges, battles and skirmishes. It took place in Arapiles just outside Salamanca and the battle was won thanks to Wellington´s tactics and the Portuguese and British infantry. Using nearby hills Wellington bombarded the French column, resisted its attacks and then made a surprise charge that crippled the French army.
After the battle Joseph retreated from Madrid. -
Battle of Vitoria
The allies pushed and pushed through Spain until they reached the Basque country. This critical battle led to the French army being broken and Joseph Bonaparte just managed to escape. -
The battle of the Pyrennes
Another allied victory this time on the Spanish-French frontier
It was a large scale offensive launched by marshal Scout that captured several French positions and made the French finally retreat from Spain -
Abdication of Joseph Bonaparte
By this time the British were in France and had successfully liberated Spain yet the war carried on and now the French were having to defend their own country
On this date Joseph Bonaparte formally abdicated from the Spanish throne in the treaty of Valençay -
The end of the War
The battle of Toulouse was the last battle of the war. After the victory, Wellington received news that Emperor Napoleon, following his defeat by the Russians in the East and by Wellington in the West,had abdicated.
This ended the seven year war that was later called the Peninsular War or in Spanish speaking countries, La Guerra de la Independencia.
It was a British,Portuguese and Spanish victory all in all and unforgettable historical event. -
The armstice
The official armistice is signed
Napoleon is exiled to the isle of Elba
