page_title: Battle of Ordal
section_title: Battle
hierarchical_section_title: Battle of Ordal / Battle
caption_attribution_description: English: Lord William Henry Cavendish-Bentinck (* 14. September 1774; † 17. Juni 1839 in Paris), britischer General und Staatsmann.
context_page_description: The Battle of Ordal on 12 and 13 September 1813 saw a First French Empire corps led by Marshal Louis Gabriel Suchet make a night assault on a position held by Lieutenant General Lord William Bentinck's smaller Anglo-Allied and Spanish advance guard. The Allies, under the tactical direction of Colonel Frederick Adam, were defeated and driven from a strong position at the Ordal defile largely because they failed to post adequate pickets. In an action the next morning at Vilafranca del Penedès, the Allied cavalry clashed with the pursuing French horsemen. The actions occurred during the Peninsular War, part of the Napoleonic Wars. Ordal and El Lledoner are located on Highway N-340 between Molins de Rei and Vilafranca.
  Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington's triumph at the Battle of Vitoria made Suchet's positions in Valencia and Aragon untenable. Accordingly, the marshal withdrew his soldiers from those two places and concentrated them near Barcelona. As the French withdrew, they were followed up by Bentinck's army of 28,000 Spanish, British, Germans, and Italians.
context_section_description: Holding 10,500 troops at Vilafranca, Bentinck accompanied Frederick Adam's 1,500-man Advanced Guard east to the Ordal Cross heights early on 12 September. This position, which blocked a good road, was well known for its defensive strength. The Spanish army built some field works there, which were largely demolished in 1810.  Moving southeast from Sant Sadurni d'Anoia, Colonel Torres arrived at the Ordal heights with 2,300 Spanish troops from General Pedro Sarsfield's division. A cavalry patrol was sent 5 miles (8 km) east and found no Frenchmen. Before riding back to Vilafranca, Bentinck assured Adam that the position was secure.  
  Adam's unit consisted of the 2nd battalion of the 27th Foot, one rifle company each from De Roll's Swiss Regiment and the 4th Line Infantry Battalion of the King's German Legion, one battalion of the Calabrian Free Corps, and four pieces of artillery. Torres commanded the Badajoz, the Tiradores de Cadiz, and Volunteers of Aragon Infantry Regiments. Another source substitutes the Grenadiers of Ultonia for the Badajoz and notes that each Spanish unit had only one battalion each.
  Adam posted the Calabrian Free Corps on his left flank. Four guns were placed across the highway and supported by the two rifle companies and two companies of the 27th Foot. Torres deployed his men in line to the right of the guns. At the far right, Adam placed the remaining eight companies of the 27th Foot. A group of 150 horsemen waited in the rear; these were from the Brunswick Hussar Regiment. As evening came on, Adam had his men sleep in their battle positions. He neglected his local security by not sending out patrols or picketing the Lledoner bridge, which spanned a deep ravine only 0.75 miles (1.21 km) in front of the Ordal heights.
  That evening Suchet started west from Molins de Rei with 12,000 troops in the 2nd Division of Harispe, the 3rd Division of General of Division Pierre-Joseph Habert, and cavalry. Harispe's division was made up of two battalions each of the 7th, 44th, and 116th Line Infantry Regiments. Habert's division comprised two battalions each of the 14th, 16th, and 117th Line Infantry Regiments. Suchet's 1,750-strong cavalry contingent included four squadrons each of the 4th Hussar, 13th Cuirassier, and Westphalian Chevau-léger Regiments, plus three squadrons of the 24th Dragoon Regiment. Historian Digby Smith listed General of Division André Joseph Boussart as the cavalry division commander and General of Brigade "Meyers" as his second in command, probably Bernard Meinrad Fridalin Meyer de Schauensee. However, another source states that Boussart died one month earlier. Other evidence suggests that General of Brigade Jacques-Antoine-Adrien Delort led Suchet's cavalry at this time. 
  A second French column under General of Division Charles Mathieu Isidore Decaen that numbered 7,000 men started from Martorell and marched southwest. Like Suchet's column, its goal was to attack Bentinck's force at Vilafranca. The sources do not give the composition of Decaen's force. 
  Suchet left Molins de Rei in the early evening. Marching rapidly, his troops arrived in front of the Ordal position at 11:00 PM. To his amazement, he found that the Allies failed to post any pickets. Suchet hustled his troops across the unguarded bridge and moved them uphill toward the drowsy Allies. As the French troops moved forward, telltale noises aroused the interest of a Spanish cavalry patrol, which trotted forward to see what was happening. These horsemen were greeted by a blast of musketry, which awakened Adam's men. At the front of Harispe's division, General of Brigade Jean Mesclop led the 7th Line to the attack. Halfway up the hill, the 7th Line bumped into an entrenchment held by four Spanish infantry companies. The defenders fell back to a second field work higher up the hillside. After being joined by more Spaniards, these soldiers mounted a counterattack, which briefly pushed back the 7th Line.
  Joined by the 44th Line, the 7th Line attacked again and rolled over the Spanish redoubt, killing many of its defenders. Suchet f
caption: Lord William Bentinck
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