Battle of Almonacid The Battle of Almonacid was fought on 11 August 1809 during the Peninsular War between Sébastiani ' s IV Corps of the French Peninsular Army , which had withdrawn from the Battle of Talavera to defend Madrid , and the Spanish Army of La Mancha under General Venegas . After the decisive charges of Polish uhlan s , the battle resulted in a French victory . Preparation . After the battle of Aranjuez , General Venegas was encouraged by the small advantage he had gained . Assuming that the French did not have more than 14 , 000 men , he led the La Mancha army towards Toledo , combining all the forces on 10 August at Almonacid . The army consisted of 22 , 000 infantry , more than 3 , 000 horses and 29 pieces of artillery , and was organized in five divisions commanded respectively by Luis Lacy , Gaspar de Vigodet , Pedro Agustín Girón , Francisco González de Castejón and Tomás de Zeraín . Miguel de los Ríos and the Marquess of Gelo served as Majors General of the cavalry and the infantry , while Brigadier s Antonio de la Cruz and Juan Bouligni were Commanders - in - chief of Artillery and Engineers . They were so confident of victory that they disregarded all the established rules for camping out during times of military conflict , especially being so close to the enemy , who , the previous day , had crossed the Tagus River at Toledo and the Añover de Tajo fords , settling that same day , 10 August , in the nearby town of Nambroca , a league away from Almonacid . Background . The Spanish commander , after hearing the opinion of the other generals , who agreed with him despite being aware of the retreat of the allied army from Talavera de la Reina towards Extremadura , had decided to attack the French on 12 August in order to rest his troops . The French army anticipated this and appeared in front of the Spanish positions at half past five in the morning of 11 August , with 14 , 000 troops of the IV Corps commanded by Sebastiani , who attacked the Spanish immediately without waiting for the reserve under the command of Dessolles and King Joseph Bonaparte in person to come up . The La Mancha army hastily positioned itself in front of Almonacid and on both sides in the following formation : Vigodet ' s division , a little behind , on the far right , with much of the cavalry ; continuing to the left , Castejón ' s division was established on the Utrera hill , Zerain ' s division beside it covering the Santo hill , and Lacy ' s division closer at the Guazalate stream ; the 3rd division , Girón ' s , acting as reserve , was spread between the heights of Cerrojones , on the extreme left and the key to the entire line of battle , and the Cerro de la Cruz or Castillo hill , named for the castle ruins on its summit . First attacks . After intense artillery fire , returned in kind by the Spaniards , Jean François Leval with Polish and German - Dutch divisions attacked the Spanish left wing . The Bailén and Jaén battalions of the 3rd Division twice repelled the Poles , but received no reinforcement from the reserve . With the Polish division encouraged by the Germans coming up to their left , the French army was able to storm the vital position of the Cerrojones , even though at great cost ( the three Polish regiments making up the division lost 47 officers ) . The French right was supported by a large body of troops advancing over the level ground at the foot of that hill , carrying out an envelopment on the extreme left , not stopped by a cavalry charge by the horsemen of Fernando VII and Granada , led by Colonel Antonio Zea and Commander Nicolás Chacón ( Captain Francisco Soto died in this charge ) . The 1st division , in order to confront the Germans , had to withdraw somewhat and to reposition itself diagonally to the rearguard . However , as the centre and right were now retreating as well , under attack by the remaining enemy forces supported by the reserve which had just arrived under Dessolles and Joseph Bonaparte , this division was itself forced to take refuge on the Castillo hill . Start of the battle . The 4th division was heavily attacked by numerous enemy artillery and could only respond with one horsedrawn battery . Their chief Lieutenant - Colonel , captain of the Artillery , Jose Chacón , soon fell mortally wounded and died from these injuries on 13 August in Tembleque . Lieutenant - Colonel Alvaro Chacón from this same Corps also died on the battlefield . The regiments of Jerez de la Frontera , Córdoba and the Spanish Guards distinguished themselves through their calmness and courage , the second under the command of its colonel Brigadier Francisco Carvajal . The cavalry on the right did not pursue the charge launched to contain the French , and thus the French were able to press their attack with continued vigour . The 5th division also yielded the field in a similar manner and it was not long before the enemy also occupied the town and the Castillo hill . There , the Spanish troops were unable to resist the terrible rain of projectiles that the French artillery aimed at them from all sides . Vigodet ' s division intervened in time to prevent an immediate and disastrous defeat , speedily and skilfully carrying out a change of front , protected by lively fire from the Spanish guns . This manoeuvre contained the pursuit of the disorganised forces of the centre and also restored order on the left , where the Polish and German divisions threatened to surround the line completely and to cut off its retreat . There the 2nd division mounted renewed resistance to the advance of the victors , who then tried everywhere to break through this unexpected obstacle that was preventing them making the most of their victory . A large mass of Milhaud ' s much - feared dragoons charged towards the left , and in that last period of the battle the troops of Vigodet covered themselves in glory . All fought with courage and self - sacrifice : the artillery , firing during withdrawal , covering with shrapnel the heads of the imperial columns ; the cavalry , formed by riders of different Corps that went about reuniting the dispersed troops , its steadfastness impressing the very top ranks of the enemy ; and the infantry remaining imperturbable amidst the intense fire and the prevailing confusion and disorder . A squad of grenadiers of the Provincial of Ronda sent by Lieutenant Antonio Espinosa , approaching the enemy horsemen with fixed bayonets , was able to stop them and even to pull away a cannon , which was spiked by their leader . The second lieutenant of artillery , Juan Montenegro , also managed to save a gun of his battery , sacrificing himself for his comrades - in - arms . Only the unfortunate accident of an explosion among the ammunition carts , frightening the horses , produced some disorder of which the enemy took advantage , harassing and hounding more closely on the final ascents , to stab a few soldiers and to take some of the guns . End of the battle . The French had already taken 2 , 500 losses and did not continue active pursuit beyond Mora . The defeated Spanish army was able to take the Andalusia highway and arrive in good order at Manzanares . However , on arriving there , false rumours that enemy forces were in Valdepeñas ( Ciudad Real ) caused many of the Spanish to disperse , not stopping until they got to the Sierra Morena . Spanish losses did not exceed 4 , 000 men , including those who were killed , wounded and imprisoned . However , among the dead was the commander of the infantry regiment of the first division , Colonel Vicente Martínez , and among the wounded was the colonel of the Granada dragoons , Diego Ballesteros , who remained a prisoner . To commemorate this military feat , a royal decree of 30 May 1816 created a military medal with the following inscription in the centre : " " From Fernando VII " " , and around the edge : " " In Almonacid , 11th August 1809 " " ) .