Battle of Corunna

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Peirao Linares Rivas, 78, 15006 A Coruña, Spain

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N43° 21' 46" W8° 24' 17"   (43.362777777778, -8.4047222222222) Start navigation »

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The Battle of Corunna (or A Coruña, La Corunna, La Coruña, Elviña or La Corogne) took place on 16 January 1809, when a French corps under Marshal of the Empire Nicolas Jean de Dieu Soult attacked a British army under Lieutenant-General Sir John Moore. The battle took place amidst the Peninsular War, which was a part of the wider Napoleonic Wars. It was a result of a French campaign, led by Napoleon, which had defeated the Spanish armies and caused the British army to withdraw to the coast following an unsuccessful attempt by Moore to attack Soult's corps and divert the French army.
Doggedly pursued by the French under Soult, the British made a retreat across northern Spain while their rearguard fought off repeated French attacks. Both armies suffered extremely from the harsh winter conditions. Much of the British army, excluding the elite Light Brigade under Robert Craufurd, suffered from a loss of order and discipline during the retreat. When the British eventually reached the port of Corunna on the northern coast of Galicia in Spain, a few days ahead of the French, they found their transport ships had not arrived. The fleet arrived after a couple of days and the British were in the midst of embarking when the French forces reached them. They forced the British to fight another battle before being able to depart for England.
In the resulting action, the British repulsed the French assault and completed their embarkation. They saved their army from destruction. But the port cities of Corunna and Ferrol, as well as northern Spain, were captured and occupied by the French. During the battle, Sir John Moore, the British commander, was mortally wounded, dying after learning that his men had repulsed the French attacks.

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