Third siege of Girona

Siege of Girona
	Part of the Peninsular War
	; Ramon Martí Alsina: El gran dia de Girona
Date	6 May – 12 December 1809
Location	Girona, Spain41.99361°N 2.83167°E
Result	French victory
Belligerents
France; Kingdom of Westphalia	Spain
Commanders and leaders
Laurent de Gouvion St-Cyr; Pierre Augereau	Mariano Álvarez de Castro
Strength
17,000 siege regulars; 15,000 covering army	5,700 regulars and militia; 3,600 reinforcements; 1100 citizens and clerics
Casualties and losses
14,000 dead, wounded, or ill	5,000 dead; 1,200 wounded; 3,000 captured
	Girona Girona is located in Catalonia, Spain, 70 km south of the border with France.

The third siege of Girona occurred in northern Catalonia, Spain from 6 May to 12 December 1809, during the Napoleonic Wars. A significant event of the Peninsular War, France's Grande Armée lay siege to the town of Girona for seven months. Girona was strategically important because it controlled the main road between France and Spain.

Peninsular war: Aragón Catalonia

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current battle

Some 32,000 French and Westphalian troops besieged the town. General Laurent de Gouvion Saint-Cyr was in command of the French during much of the siege. Marshal Pierre Augereau took command after 12 October. The Girona defense was under General Mariano Álvarez de Castro, with about 9,000 regular troops and militiamen. Girona held out until disease and famine compelled it to capitulate.

Though badly outnumbered, the Spanish defenders forced a lengthy siege, and a large French army was pinned down for an entire campaigning season. The battle became legendary over the course of Spain's War of Independence, and Álvarez became a national hero.

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