Siege of Lérida

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Carrer Major, 25, 25007 Lleida, Spain

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N41° 36' 50.04" E0° 37' 32.16"   (41.6139, 0.6256) Start navigation »

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In the Siege of Lérida from 29 April to 13 May 1810, an Imperial French army under Louis Gabriel Suchet besieged a Spanish garrison led by Jaime García Conde. On 13 May, García Conde surrendered with his 7,000 surviving soldiers. Lleida (Lérida) is a city in the western part of Catalonia. Margalef is located on Route N-240 about 10 kilometres (6 mi) southeast of Lérida. The siege occurred during the Peninsular War, part of the Napoleonic Wars.
After a fruitless attempt to seize Valencia in March, Suchet determined to move against Lérida. By mid-April, the French were before the city. Suchet heard that a Spanish army commanded by Henry O'Donnell was trying to interfere with the planned operation. O'Donnell's column was intercepted and in the Battle of Margalef on 23 April, it was routed with heavy losses. This action was followed by a siege in which Suchet used brutal methods to bring a speedy surrender. On 13 May, García Conde capitulated with his 7,000 surviving soldiers. This event was the start of an astonishing series of successful sieges from 1810 to 1812 in which Suchet's troops seemed to be unstoppable.

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