Battle of Corunna

Arc de Triomphe: LA COROGNE

January 16, 1809

Sir John Moore had been leading a British army through Spain when he learned that Napoleon himself was commanding a sizable army moving to crush him. Moore immediately reversed course and fled to Corunna where he was hoping his army could be evacuated by a British fleet. Napoleon, meanwhile, had turned over command to Marshal Soult and returned to France. The British fleet arrived on the 14th and began picking up troops and equipment, while the first French arrived on the 15th. The French began an attack on the 16th, but the British who had remained on shore successfully fought them off, though their commander Sir John Moore was mortally wounded. The next day the British escaped, having been pushed out of Spain but living to fight another day.

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