Battle of Ocaña

Battle of Ocaña
	Part of the Peninsular War
	; Battle of Ocaña by Adolphe Roehn
Date	19 November 1809
Location	Ocaña, near Madrid, Spain39°57′N 3°30′W / 39.950°N 3.500°W
Result	French victory
Belligerents
France	Spain
Commanders and leaders
Joseph Bonaparte; Jean-de-Dieu Soult	Juan Carlos de Aréizaga
Strength
24,000–27,000 infantry; 5,000–6,000 cavalry; 50 guns	44,000–45,000 infantry; 6,000–7,000 cavalry; 60 guns
Casualties and losses
1,700–2,000 killed or wounded	4,000–5,000 killed or wounded; 14,000–26,000 captured; 45 guns captured

Peninsular War: Castile & Andalusia

110km
68miles

12

Tormes

11

Ocaña

10

Tamames

9

8

7

Talavera

6

Alcántara

5

Medellín

4

Ciudad Real

3

2

1

Uclés

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current battle

The Battle of Ocaña was fought on 19 November 1809 between French forces under Marshal Jean-de-Dieu Soult against the Spanish army under General Juan Carlos de Aréizaga, which suffered its greatest single defeat in the Peninsular War.

General Aréizaga's Spanish army of 51,000 troops lost nearly 19,000 men killed, wounded, prisoners and deserters, mostly due to the French use of their cavalry. Tactically, the battle was a Cannae-like encirclement of the Spanish army, and the worst defeat ever suffered by a Spanish army on home soil. The strategic consequences were also devastating, as it destroyed the only force capable of defending southern Spain.