BATTLE OF SOMOSIERRA

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By late November 1808, the French Grande Armée had overwhelmed and destroyed both wings of the Spanish popular army. To complete his reconquest of Spain, Napoleon advanced on Madrid with 40,000 men.

General San Juan mustered an ad hoc army of militia, reservists, and various regular regiments still reeling from earlier defeats; in all about 12,000 men, to defend Madrid. In order to screen the many approaches to the city, San Juan dispersed his already greatly outnumbered forces. Under his orders, 9,000 men were dispatched west to guard the Guadarrama pass while 3,000 occupied an advanced post at Sepulveda, leaving only 9,000 men and 16 guns on the heights of Somosierra.
The nature of the terrain and the tenacity of the Spaniards initially worked in their favour. On the evening of November 29 the brigade at Sepulveda repulsed a French attack, inflicted heavy casualties, and escaped from overwhelming French numbers in the gathering darkness to the west. The following morning, Napoleon advanced his infantry directly toward the pass while small detachments crept up the flanks. Exchanging musket volleys with the defenders, the French made slow but measurable progress toward the enemy guns.
Because the Spanish forces could not easily be outflanked by infantry movement, and Napoleon was impatient to proceed, he ordered his Polish Chevaux-Légers escort squadron of 125 men[2] to charge the Spaniards and their fortified artillery batteries.

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