Qualla: Siege of Astorga https://qualla.com/siege-of-astorga en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:18 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/e/z/e/9/siege-of-astorga-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: Siege of Astorga https://qualla.com/siege-of-astorga Siege of Astorga: Introduction https://qualla.com/siege-of-astorga/ Photo credit Rodelar, CC BY-SA 3.0. Captain John Allen's company drummer boy had lost both legs in the assault on the breach and was lying in the rubble of Astorga's city wall. He kept beating the charge. For this, the French awarded him the Legion of Honor -- an extraordinary distinction from the army that had just spent a month trying to take the city he was defending against. The siege of Astorga in the spring of 1810 was a small action in the vast machinery of the Peninsular War, but it contained enough drama, endurance, and improbable courage for a conflict ten times its size.

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Image: Rodelar | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/e/z/e/9/siege-of-astorga-wp/eze9-siege-of-astorga-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Siege of Astorga: A City on the Flank https://qualla.com/siege-of-astorga/ Photo credit Rodelar, CC BY-SA 3.0. Astorga sits on a hill in Leon province in northwestern Spain, built into the slopes of the Manzanal mountains with natural defenses that have attracted fortification since Roman times. In 1810, the city occupied a strategically awkward position on the flank of the French army's ...

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]]> Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/e/z/e/9/siege-of-astorga-wp/eze9-siege-of-astorga-a-city-on-the-flank.mp3 0:06 2 full Siege of Astorga: Weeks Without Guns https://qualla.com/siege-of-astorga/ Photo credit Rodelar, CC BY-SA 3.0. When General Loison first approached Astorga in February 1810, he found defenses far stronger than he expected and was forced to retreat. Jean-Andoche Junot arrived on 21 March with Napoleon's 8th Corps -- 12,000 men including 1,200 cavalry -- but had brought no siege artillery. ...

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]]> Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/e/z/e/9/siege-of-astorga-wp/eze9-siege-of-astorga-weeks-without-guns.mp3 0:06 3 full Siege of Astorga: Breach and Storm https://qualla.com/siege-of-astorga/ Photo credit Rodelar, CC BY-SA 3.0. On 15 April, Junot's 18 siege guns finally arrived from Valladolid, hauled across the meseta by teams of horses and oxen. Within five days the bombardment had opened a breach in Astorga's ancient walls. Junot ordered the assault on the evening of 21 April. The Irish Legion, fight...

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]]> Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/e/z/e/9/siege-of-astorga-wp/eze9-siege-of-astorga-breach-and-storm.mp3 0:06 4 full Siege of Astorga: Thirty Rounds and a Surrender https://qualla.com/siege-of-astorga/ Photo credit Rodelar, CC BY-SA 3.0. The arithmetic of the surrender tells the story of the defense. Santocildes handed over 2,500 prisoners, but his garrison had lost only 51 dead and 109 wounded. The French, despite their overwhelming numbers, suffered 160 killed and 400 wounded -- most of them in the final assaul...

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]]> Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/e/z/e/9/siege-of-astorga-wp/eze9-siege-of-astorga-thirty-rounds-and-a-surrender.mp3 0:06 5 full Siege of Astorga: An Inscription on the Arc de Triomphe https://qualla.com/siege-of-astorga/ Photo credit Rodelar, CC BY-SA 3.0. The siege of Astorga is inscribed on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, one of the battles the French considered significant enough to carve into their monument to Napoleonic glory. For the Spanish, the significance is different. Santocildes and his garrison held a small walled city a...

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]]> Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/e/z/e/9/siege-of-astorga-wp/eze9-siege-of-astorga-an-inscription-on-the-arc-de-triomphe.mp3 0:06 6 full