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Captain-General Joaquín Blake y Joyes
Joaquín Blake y Joyes (19 August 1759 – 27
April 1827) was a Spanish military officer who served with
distinction in the French Revolutionary and Peninsular
wars.
Early
military career
Partially of Irish
descent, Blake was born at Málaga to an aristocratic family. In his youth,
he saw action as a lieutenant of the grenadiers in the American
Revolutionary War, taking part in the abortive siege of
Gibraltar and the 1783 reconquest of Minorca from
the British.
At the outbreak of war with France in 1793, Blake, a
captain, took part in the invasion of Rousillon under General Ricardos. He was
wounded at San-Lorenzo-de-la-Muga in 1794.
Peninsular
War
Exploits in the field led to further promotions, and by the
start of the Peninsular War in 1808, Blake held the rank of Lieutenant
General. He was appointed head of the Supreme Junta's Army of Galicia (a
paper force of 43,000 holding the Spanish left wing along the Cantabrian mountains)
during the French invasions and fought well against Napoleon's Grande Armée despite the heavy odds
against him.
Blake and Cuesta were defeated on 14
July at Medina
del Rio Seco. Following the general French retreat prompted by
the disaster at Bailén, Blake took up positions
opposite the enemy on the banks of the Ebro. On 31 October Marshal Lefebvre's
IV Corps fell upon Blake's 19,000 men at Pancorbo,
turning back the hesitant Spanish advance. To his credit, Blake
retreated swiftly and in good order, preventing Napoleon's planned
envelopment and annihilation of the Spanish flank.
Furious, the Emperor dispatched Lefebvre and Victor in pursuit, the latter ordered to
outmaneuver Blake and sweep across his line of retreat. The French
were careless and allowed their forces to disperse during the
pursuit. On 5 November Blake surprised his enemies again when, at
Valmaceda, he suddenly turned about and
attacked the French vanguard with seasoned troops, inflicting a
stinging defeat on General Vilatte's leading division. However,
another French corps then joined
the chase, and Blake raced west once more to evade
encirclement.
Blake chose to make another stand at Espinosa
on 10 November. Victor, intent on avenging himself for his earlier
humiliations at the hands of Blake, spent the day recklessly
flinging his divisions against the Spaniards without success. The
next day, however, a well-coordinated French attack shattered
Blake's center and drove his army from the field in rout.
Although Blake lost only 3,000 men on the battlefield, many
thousands more were dispersed in the hopeless confusion of retreat
as the Spanish front disintegrated. Knowing the Army of Galicia to
be irreparably shattered, Blake embarked on a grueling march west
into the hills, outdistancing his pursuers under Soult.
He reached Léon on 23 November with only 10,000 men.
Command of what remained of the Army of Galicia then passed to
General Pedro Caro y Sureda, 3rd marqués de La
Romana.
Battle of
Albuera
In 1810, Blake participated in the creation of a Spanish General Staff, which in the final years of
the war began to restore coherence to the country's military
enterprises. Poor battlefield performance had in large part been
caused by the lethargy, mismanagement, and incoordination of
Spain's fragmented military administration.
On 16 May 1811 Blake fought the French at Battle of
Albuera alongside William Beresford's Anglo–Portuguese army. The
Spaniards under Blake's command successfully held the allied flank
against the strongest French infantry attack of the war, earning
him a promotion to Captain General. In reality, it was
largely the personal initiative of José de Zayas that
defeated the French assault and very likely saved the allied army
from destruction.
Blake was then transferred to eastern Spain to combat Marshal Suchet's advance on Valencia. Blake, after several defeats,
ended up trapped in the city with his army, eventually surrendering
on 8 January 1812 with his 16,000 troops, which marked the high
point of French successes in eastern Spain.
Later
life
In 1815 Blake was made Chief Engineer of the Spanish Royal Army. Blake died in 1827.
External
links
Further
reading
- Alexander, Don W. Rod of Iron: French Counterinsurgency
Policy in Aragon During the Peninsular War (SR Books 1985)
ISBN 084202218X.
- Esdaile, Charles J. The Spanish Army in the Peninsular
War (Manchester University Press 1988) ISBN 0719025389.
- Fletcher, Ian Bloody Albuera: The 1811 Campaign in the
Peninsular War (Crowood 2001) ISBN 1861263724.
- Gates, David The Spanish Ulcer: A History of the Peninsular
War (W W Norton 1986) ISBN 0393022811.
- Oliver, Michael The Battle of Albuera 1811: Glorious Field
of Grief (Pen and Sword 2007) ISBN 1844154610.