The Battle of Uclés (13 January 1809) saw an Imperial French corps led by Marshal Claude Perrin Victor attack a Spanish force under Francisco Javier Venegas. The French easily crushed their outnumbered foes, capturing over half of the Spanish infantry. Uclés is located in the province of Cuenca east of Tarancón and southeast of Madrid. The action occurred during what is called the Peninsular War in English-speaking countries and the Spanish War of Independence in Spain. The war was part of a larger struggle known as the Napoleonic Wars.
Emperor Napoleon invaded Spain with a huge army in late 1808, scattered the Spanish forces, and seized Madrid. However, the appearance of a British army commanded by John Moore caused the French emperor to order his army to pursue the British into northwest Spain. With their enemies spread thin, the Spanish armies began to revive. In late December 1808, the Army of the Center led by Pedro de Alcántara Álvarez de Toledo, 13th Duke of the Infantado advanced slowly toward Madrid, causing alarm among the scanty French forces guarding the capital. The cautious Infantado sent his lieutenant Venegas with a strong vanguard to annoy the French. After Venegas won a minor action at Tarancón, Victor concentrated his corps and marched against him in mid-January 1809. Without instructions or support from Infantado, Venegas unwisely tried to hold a strong position at Uclés. Victor overwhelmed the Spanish defenders with one division and herded many of them into the arms of his second division which had marched around their flank. Gathering up Venegas' survivors, Infantado led his crippled army into the mountains but not before losing much of his artillery. Blamed for the fiasco, Infantado was relieved of command. The next action in the area was the Battle of Ciudad Real in March.
Background
The guerilla war proceeded till the end of the Peninsular war. The Spanish conventional warfare proceeded till the end of the Peninsular war. The British intervention proceeded till the end of the Peninsular war. Napoleon had ended his invasion of Spain with the occupation of Madrid. The Corunna campaign had ended with the withdrawal of the British army from Spain. The Spanish campaign in early 1809 started with the battle of Uclés.
Prelude
After the Dos de Mayo Uprising and the subsequent disaster at the Battle of Bailén, the French occupying armies in Spain were forced to pull back behind the Ebro River in the northeast. Shocked and enraged at the turn of events, Napoleon ordered 130,000 veteran soldiers to march into Spain. The French emperor planned to unite the reinforcements with the troops already there and lead them to conquer Spain and Portugal once and for all. Meanwhile, the Spanish people had been deceived by their relatively easy successes and believed that the struggle was almost over. The Spanish generals and politicians began to squabble among themselves. By 10 October 1808, Napoleon had 244,125 soldiers massed in eight army corps, the cavalry reserve, the Imperial Guard, and other formations for the purpose of conquering Spain. In November 1808, the Napoleonic armies struck with crushing force and the Spanish defenses unraveled in battles at Burgos, Espinosa, Tudela, and Somosierra. On 1 December, Madrid meekly capitulated to Napoleon. The French emperor reinstalled his brother Joseph Bonaparte as king and began rewriting the laws. He intended to send armies to seize Seville in the south and reconquer Portugal at the first opportunity. However, a new enemy appeared on the scene to upset Napoleon's plans.
On 11 December 1808, General John Moore led a British army numbering 22,500 foot soldiers, 2,500 horsemen, and 66 artillery pieces northeast from Salamanca. Moore had written to a fellow general, "if the bubble bursts and Madrid falls, we shall have to run for it." Soon after, Moore learned that Napoleon had seized Madrid and that over 200,000 Imperial French troops were in the field. Nevertheless, the British general decided to strike at Marshal Nicolas Soult's isolated II Corps in the north of Spain. When the British cavalry routed Soult's horsemen at Sahagún on 21 December, the French general was completely surprised. Meanwhile, Napoleon found out what was going on and ordered 80,000 troops to march north to annihilate the British.