N & E
Napoléon & Empire

Battle of Somosierra

Date and place

  • November 30th, 1808 at Somosierra canyon, in the Sierra Guadarrama, north of Madrid, Spain.

Involved forces

  • French army (45,000 men), including Polish cavalry from the Duchy of Warsaw, under Emperor Napoleon the First. 
  • Spanish army (13,000 men) under General Benito de San Juan. 

Casualties and losses

  • French army: fifty seven Polish killed or injured (out of one hundred and fifty who took part in the cavalry charge). 
  • Spanish army: from 200 tp 2,000 killing according to different sources, 16 cannons, 10 flags. 

Aerial panorama of Somosierra battlefield


Map of the battle of Somosierra

Napoleonic Battles - Map of the battle of Somosierra

Picture - "Battle of Somosierra". Painted 1810 by Louis-François Lejeune.

Napoleonic Battles - Picture of the battle of Somosierra -

Photos Credits

  Photos by Lionel A. Bouchon.
  Photos by Marie-Albe Grau.
  Photos by Floriane Grau.
  Photos by Michèle Grau-Ghelardi.
  Photos by Didier Grau.
  Photos made by people outside the Napoleon & Empire association.