page_title: Battle of San Millan-Osma
section_title: Allied offensive
hierarchical_section_title: Battle of San Millan-Osma / Allied offensive
context_page_description: In the Battles of San Millán and Osma two divisions of the Allied army of Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington clashed with two divisions of King Joseph Bonaparte's Imperial French army in northeast Spain.
  At San Millán de San Zadornil, Charles Alten's Light Division mauled Antoine Louis Popon de Maucune's French division. At Osma, 7.4 kilometres to the northeast, Jacques Thomas Sarrut's French division fought an inconclusive skirmish with Kenneth Howard's division before withdrawing to the southeast. San Millán de San Zadornil is located in the Province of Burgos while Osma is in Álava, Basque Country. The actions occurred during the Peninsular War, part of the wider Napoleonic Wars.
  In the summer of 1813, Wellington's army thrust into Spain from Portugal with a powerful army composed of British, Portuguese, and Spanish soldiers. The British general outmaneuvered his opponents and forced the French to abandon Salamanca, Valladolid, Madrid, and Burgos. King Joseph and Marshal Jean-Baptiste Jourdan believed their position behind the Ebro River was secure, but Wellington sent his troops marching to outflank the line on the north.
context_section_description: After the various subtractions of strength, Joseph had only 33,000 infantry, 9,000 cavalry, and 100 guns to face Wellington. Napoleon assured his brother Joseph that the British general was too cautious to take advantage of the situation, and in any case could only deploy 30,000 British and 20,000 Portuguese soldiers. In fact, Wellington was on the march with 52,000 British, 28,000 Portuguese, and 25,000 Spanish troops. The three-division right wing under Rowland Hill was ordered to advance northeast to Salamanca while the six-division left wing led by Thomas Graham crossed to the north bank of the Douro River inside Portugal.
  Joseph and Jourdan posted Gazan's Army of the South and d'Erlon's Army of the Center to cover Valladolid and Segovia, while Reille with the remaining 17,000 troops from the Army of Portugal was sent to the north to help suppress guerillas. At this time, Clausel's 20,000 soldiers were located near Pamplona, far to the east. Hill's wing seized Salamanca on 26 May 1813, chasing Eugene-Casimir Villatte's French troops out of the city and capturing 200 French soldiers. Meanwhile, Graham's soldiers forded the flooding Esla River at Almendra on 31 May, losing some men to drowning and much equipment. Augustin Darricau, whose division held Zamora, had sent a cavalry reconnaissance to the west on 20 May that reported no enemy activity. The French horsemen just missed Graham, who crossed the Douro soon afterward. Finally alerted that 64,000 men were bearing down on Zamora from the northwest, Darricau bolted to the east, leaving Graham to occupy the town on the morning of 2 June.
  The same day, Colquhoun Grant's cavalry brigade consisting of the 10th, 15th, and 18th Hussar Regiments defeated a French cavalry force at Morales de Toro. The French mounted troops comprised the 16th and 21st Dragoon Regiments under Pierre Benoît Soult and their horses were in very bad condition. The 16th was virtually destroyed, with two officers and 308 troopers being made prisoners; of these 100 were wounded. British casualties in the clash were only 16 killed and wounded. On 3 June, Hill's wing joined Graham on the north bank of the Douro at Toro. At this time, Wellington had 90,000 troops concentrated while the French could only count 51,000 men. Alarmed at the odds against them, Joseph and Jourdan sent a frantic message to Clausel asking for help and withdrew toward Burgos.
  Joseph and Jourdan expected Wellington to advance along the great road from Valladolid to Burgos. Instead, the British general directed Hill and the right wing to advance just to the north of the road. Graham and the left wing were farther to the north. To Graham's left marched a Spanish corps led by Pedro Agustín Girón with 12,000 men. The French fell back behind the Pisuerga River and then to Burgos but, to their bewilderment only a handful of Spanish cavalry directly pursued them. Wellington's great flank march continued and the French abandoned Burgos on 13 June, blowing up the castle that had been the focus of the Siege of Burgos the previous autumn. Unsuspected by the French, the British commander was prepared to change his base from Lisbon to Santander on the Bay of Biscay.
  During the French retreat, Reille turned up with three divisions of the Army of Portugal, adding 15,000 men to Joseph's army. Clausel's 25,000 troops were at large but Joseph had no idea where they were. For his part, Clausel never received any messages from the king until 15 June, at which time he gathered four divisions and set out to join the main army. Joseph massed his army behind the Ebro River, believing that it would be impossible for Wellington's army to outflank the line on the north. On 15 June, Hill's wing crossed the Ebro at Puente Arenas and Graham's wing crossed at San Martin de Lines. From the 13th until a cavalry encounter on 17 June, the French lost all contact with their adversaries.
caption: Joseph Bonaparte
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