Battle of Perpignan ( 1793 ) The Battle of Perpignan or Battle of Niel on 17 July 1793 saw the French Army of the Eastern Pyrenees led by Louis - Charles de Flers defending against an offensive by the Spanish Army of Catalonia commanded by Antonio Ricardos . The French turned back the Spanish attacks and forced their opponents to pull back . Perpignan is now the capital of Pyrénées Orientales department , but in 1793 was the chief city of Rousillon province . The action was fought during the War of the Pyrenees , part of the War of the First Coalition . Background . Captain General Ricardos and his Spanish army defeated the French in a skirmish at Céret on 20 April 1793 . The Spanish beat Louis - Charles de Flers and the Army of the Eastern Pyrenees at the Battle of Mas Deu on 19 May . After this success , Ricardos turned back and invested the Fort de Bellegarde . The Siege of Bellegarde lasted from 23 May until 24 June when the French garrison ' s 1 , 450 survivors capitulated . During the siege , the Spanish army captured the Fort de Bains on 3 June and the Fort de la Garde on 5 June . These were outworks of Bellegarde . While the Spanish reduced Bellegarde , de Flers was busy trying to turn his raw recruits into soldiers . He was able to secure the services of trained coastal gunners to man his artillery . He had a number of field fortifications built to defend the area . Battle . With the fortress captured , Ricardos turned his attention to De Flers ' army which was holding Perpignan . On 17 July 1793 , the Spanish commander split his 15 , 000 available troops into five columns . He intended for the columns to envelop Perpignan on all sides . The first column on the far right was directed to seize Cabestany on the southeast side of Perpignan . The second column , led by Jerónimo Girón - Moctezuma , Marquis de las Amarillas , was ordered to advance via Canohès and Nyls to Orles , southwest of the city . The third column was to move from Thuir and Trouillas to seize Pézilla - la - Rivière on the Têt River . The fourth and fifth columns were instructed to cross the Têt at Millas . From there , the fourth column was to strike east to Saint - Estève . The fifth column under Luis Firmín de Carvajal , Conde de la Unión would thrust northeast to capture a key bridge near Rivesaltes . Initially , all the Spanish columns made progress . The third column seized some important hills near Orles . But the Marquis de las Amarillas ' column got held up and failed to support the third column . De Flers saw an opportunity and fell on the isolated third column in strength , driving it back . Conde de la Unión ' s column turned back to help and was able to stabilize the line for a while . However , the French launched another attack and routed the Spanish soldiers . Result . The French lost 800 killed and wounded out of 12 , 000 men . The Spanish captured one gun . Despite the victory , two National Guard battalions were disbanded for trying to surrender and 600 more soldiers deserted the colors . In the fighting near Nyls , the Spanish lost 31 killed , 131 wounded , and three captured . However , it is estimated that a total of 1 , 000 Spanish troops became casualties during the battle . The Spanish army was defeated because its columns were not within supporting distance of one another . This allowed de Flers to take advantage of the third column ' s isolation .