Battle of Saragossa The Battle of Saragossa ( ) took place on 20 August 1710 , between the Spanish - Bourbon army commanded by the Marquis de Bay and a multinational army led by the Austrian commander Guido Starhemberg during the War of the Spanish Succession . Prelude . The 1710 Spanish campaign opened on May 15 when the Spanish Bourbon army commanded by Philip V in person and Francisco Castillo Fajardo , Marquis of Villadarias , took field for an attack upon the town of Balaguer . The imperial general Guido Starhemberg , commander of the Allied forces in Catalonia , collected his army and cut the thrust by preventing the Spanish army from fording the Segre river , a success in which the officers of the British contingent had a foremost role . On June Philip V received reinforcements and made another attempt upon Balaguer with 20 . 000 infantry and 6 . 000 cavalry soldiers . On July 27 , 1710 the Spanish army suffered a sharp defeat in the Battle of Almenara , near Balaguer . The allied troops had taken up a strong defensive position and rejected the Spanish attacks till the British commander , James Stanhope , leading the allied vanguard , broke the Spanish lines . Philip V was forced to leave Catalonia and withdraw to Saragossa , the capital of the Kingdom of Aragon . The Castilian Villadarias was afterwards deprived of his rank , which Philip gave to the French general Alexandre Maître , Marquis de Bay . On August 9 the Spanish army reached Saragossa and the Marquis de Bay positioned his troops between the river Ebro ( on his left ) and the Torrero heights ( on his right ) . On August 15 , an allied cavalry - attack was successfully countered . Five days of skirmishes followed . On August 19 , the allied troops crossed the river Ebro unchallenged and were allowed to deploy their army during the night . Battle . The allied left - wing was composed of Spanish and Dutch troops under the Count of Atalaya . The right - wing was commanded by Stanhope and was composed of British , Portuguese and Austrian troops . Starhemberg was in charge of the center , which was mainly German , Austrian and Spanish infantry . The Allied army consisted , in all , of thirty - seven battalions and forty - three squadrons , while the Spanish - Bourbon army was composed of thirty - eight battalions and fifty - four squadrons . On August 20 at 08 : 00 an artillery - duel started which lasted until noon . General Stanhope began the attack on the Bourbon - Spanish left wing . At first the Spanish and Walloon troops of the Bourbon army seemed to gain the advantage , having defeated a body of 8 Portuguese squadrons , which they chased from the field . This pursuit opened a gap in the Bourbon army lines which gave Stanhope an opportunity of piercing them . The British general put in flight the disorganized Spanish soldiers , while at the center and the right their attacks were repulsed . The battle was more or less a repeat of the Battle of Almenara . The cavalry of the Bourbon army attacked fiercely and were almost successful , but the allied troops stood firm . Then , the Allies counter - attacked with the infantry and the Spanish army was pushed back . In less than three hours of battle the Allied army won a complete victory . All the artillery ( 20 cannons ) of the Bourbon army and all their colours ( 73 flags ) were seized . Between 5 , 000 or 6 , 000 Spanish soldiers were killed or wounded , and another 7 , 000 were made prisoners . The Allied losses were put as 1 , 500 men dead or wounded . Aftermath . Archduke Charles entered Zaragoza the next day . The defeat of the army of Philip V of Spain was severe , the way to Madrid was open . Philip V abandoned Madrid on September 9 , and went to Valladolid . Archduke Charles entered a very hostile and almost empty Madrid on September 28 . Charles commented : " This city is a desert ! " In the winter of 1710 , Archduke Charles and the allied troops had to abandon Madrid , due to the great opposition of the people of Madrid and the dangerous strategic situation . After these , the British army suffered the decisive defeat at the Battle of Brihuega , and the rest of the allied army was defeated at the Battle of Villaviciosa .