Spanish Lead Painting

Miniatures for a XVIIc. besieged city

Hi guys, 

When we recreate the defenders of Girona (or whatever besieged city in this period) on the tabletop, we are not representing a formal army so much as an entire community under arms. The men who held the city’s walls in the 17th century were merchants and craftsmen, hunters and farmers, friars and servants; citizens united by the simple fact that the enemy was at their doorstep. This makes a siege a wonderfully rich setting for miniatures and full of character.

Of course, the following categories are common to most territories of Europe in general, and the Hispanic Monarchy in particular during most of XVII c.

These are the categories I have found.

1) Urban Militias: Girona’s Armed Citizens

The urban militia was composed of the city’s own neighbours: artisans, guild officers, shopkeepers, notaries, apprentices, and even a few minor nobles who commanded small companies. They were civilians, not professional soldiers, serving under Governor Francisco de Taberner with one motivation above all—the defence of their city and their families.

Their equipment reflected this civilian nature. Many carried old matchlock muskets or shotguns; others relied on short pikes, halberds, or arquebuses. Uniforms were rare. Most defenders wore their work clothes or a simple doublet, sometimes with a red cross sewn on the chest to mark their allegiance. Despite their lack of formality, they played a crucial tactical role. They garrisoned the walls, towers, and gates; manned guard posts day and night; supported the artillery by carrying powder, sand, and shot; repaired damaged parapets after bombardments; and rushed to extinguish fires in the aftermath of French shells.

Contemporary testimonies show the determination of these defenders. One chronicler wrote:

“The city, though small in neighbours and with walls not very strong, found itself encouraged by the courage of its inhabitants.”

Another account describes their resilience under bombardment:

“Some neighbours died, and several roofs and warehouses burned; but the spirit of all was so constant that no one showed fear or discouragement.”

2) Rural Militias, Migueletes and Somatén

Beyond the city walls operated a very different kind of force. The rural militias—migueletes and somatenes—were made up of mountain folk from the Ampurdán, Sant Daniel, Amer, Hostalric and the surrounding valleys. These were former soldiers, hunters and labourers, accustomed to the rugged landscape and skilled with firearms. They were officially recognised as auxiliaries by the viceroy but operated with considerable independence under local chiefs and minor lords.

Girona could mobilise several hundred men in the countryside, while within the city itself up to 600 or 800 men could be deemed fit for arms, with around 300 more available in emergencies. The municipality carried out censuses prior to expected attacks—in 1637, 1667, 1675, and 1684—to determine who could serve. Even the cathedral chapter, the bishop, and the religious orders contributed armed companies during the worst sieges.

The migueletes and somatenes excelled in irregular warfare. They ambushed French convoys, destroyed baggage trains, cut communications, and fired from natural cover before vanishing into the hills. A contemporary account states:

“The migueletes and somatenes of the mountains caused constant losses to the French detachments, taking baggage and prisoners every day.”

Their clothing was equally distinctive and ideal for miniature painters: brown or grey woollen coats, linen shirts, red sashes, barretinas, and sturdy shoes or espadrilles. They often carried long flintlock escopetas, knives, and small leather pouches. Another source gives a vivid image of their appearance:

“The migueletes from Amer and Hostalric arrived wearing brown or grey clothing, low hats, red sashes, and a leather cartridge-box over the shoulder; armed with musket or blunderbuss. Some wore short checkered mountain capes.” I painted several Migueletes a few years ago, featured in this post: 

https://spanishleadpainting.blogspot.com/search/label/Miquelets?updated-max=2021-01-09T12:18:00%2B01:00&max-results=20&start=2&by-date=false

Some of them were led by D. Josep de Trinchería, and later during the 9 Years War, by his son, D.Blas de Trinchería.

A detailed description of D. Josep de Trinchería has survived until today:

"He wears his hair long, following the custom of the time, and a waxed mustache curled upward in keeping with the family portrait. A mid-thigh coat (the habit), with open sleeves revealing the shirt beneath, trimmed along the edges and seams. It is buttoned at the front. Around his waist he carries a belt serving the dual purpose of ornament and support for his weapons. Draped over his left shoulder is a cape which, in the fashion of the era, wraps around his right hand, with which he holds the French-style hat (chapeau). He wears tight-fitting breeches of the same cloth, fastened with ribbons, and tall boots with gaiters. The boots include the gaiter that holds the spur used when riding on horseback.

He is armed with a cup-hilt sword hanging from a leather strap, a flintlock of three palmos and another shorter one, along with its corresponding pouch for stones and bullets, as well as a flask with a measure for carrying gunpowder."

                                                                D.Josep de Trinchería 

3) Clergy and Non-Combatants

The city’s defence was not limited to armed men. Secular priests and members of the mendicant orders—Dominicans, Franciscans, Capuchins—were present on the walls, tending the wounded and encouraging the defenders. Women, servants, children and the elderly played essential roles as well, carrying water, soil and stones for the artillery and helping repair damage after bombardments. Public prayers and religious processions were organised to keep morale high.

A contemporary testimony describes their presence vividly:

“The friars of the mendicant orders assisted on the walls, encouraging the people with the word of God and aiding the wounded.”

4) Civic Officers and Command Figures

At the top of Girona’s civic defence stood the "Jurat en Cap" and the colonel of the militia. They added a rare note of splendour amid the city’s improvised forces. One account describes them as wearing crimson coats trimmed with gold during public ceremonies, and donning light cuirasses or breastplates over their doublets in battle. Their swords, it says, had gilt hilts with shell-shaped guards:

“The chief jurat and the colonel of the militia of Girona wore crimson coats with golden braid in public acts, and in combat covered themselves with a light cuirass or breastplate over the doublet. Their sword had a gilded hilt with a shell-shaped guard.”

Painting Girona’s defenders offers an extraordinary palette of textures and personalities—ragged walls, improvised weapons, bright red sashes, guild banners, mountain cloaks, friars with bandages, servants rushing powder barrels. 

In future posts I will prepare siege workers and engineers for 30 Years War and also late XVII c.

The miniatures I am using for these chaps are: 

-Priests : Perry miniatures 28mm Napoleonic/Carlists wars Spanish priest, I bought several of these, but I will only use those whose attire fit in XVII c. in classic friar appearance. 

-Miquelets or Miguelets, I have already several of these, but I want another company of these skirmishers, I really like Front Rank Monmouth rebels with some conversions, I will also use the new Perry Napoleonic guerrilla fighter sprue in plastic, for pieces and headgear like the Catalan cap, the barretina, mixed with Front Rank or  Northstar 1672 bodies.

-For civilians and urban militias I am using several miniatures from Anno Domini 1666 miniatures, a Polish company of great quality, also Bloody Miniatures 28mm ECW and TYW figures are stunning, and some of them are suitable for later periods, specially civilians.

I hope you like it!

Cheers

Hello guys, this is the same blog entry I have done for Helion & Company blog

 This post is some kind of review of Bruno Mugnai's excellent book : WARS AND SOLDIERS IN THE EARLY REIGN OF LOUIS XIV VOLUME 4 The Armies of Spain 1659-1688

you can buy it here: 

https://www.helion.co.uk/military-history-books/wars-and-soldiers-in-the-early-reign-of-louis-xiv-volume-4-the-armies-of-spain-1659-1688.php?sid=748f5d4ace837638de79a074ca583d56 

If you are interested in military of XVII c.  This books is definitely for you, Helion has produced for the first time in the world, a book dealing with the last Tercios of Habsburg Spain, and it does not disappoint!

Bruno has done (as he usually does) a fantastic job with this volume, it is a long book, with more than 360 pages, full of maps, pictures, paintings, color plates, flags, orders of battle...

It is structured as follows,

1. Spain, or ‘the Resiliance’ 

With the structure of the Spanish Monarchy,  territories, economy, personalities, politics,  military situation...

2. Soldados del Rey 

The different armies, nations of the Spanish empire, types of troops.

3. Spanish Warfare 

Strategies, battles, campaigns, etc.

4. Uniforms, Equipment and Flags 

Well, The most complete description of this subject in English :)

Appendix I: Spain Orders of Battle

Appendix II: List of Tercios, Trozos and Regiments, 1659–1688 

The Spanish Army of Charles II Habsburg “The Bewitched” (1665-1700) was not the army that had dominated the European battlefields in the first decades of the century… Decades of uninterrupted war, famines, bankruptcy and diseases had decreased Spain’s ability to field and train soldiers in the same numbers of Philip IV, but despite the evident decadency,  The Spanish tercios, with the inestimable aid of his allies, mostly held their ground in the face of a much stronger French army during 30 years of almost permanent aggression, at the cost of some territories and cities in Flanders and the loss of Franche Comté, but The Spanish Empire survived almost intact until the next dynasty and War of Spanish Succession.

This army (or theatre of operations) have been neglected in our wargaming world until very recent times,  even in Spain, but thanks to the effort of several publishers and historians including the the new book on this subject by Helion Publishing and Bruno Mugnai, the interest in late XVII century and particularly Spain in this era, is increasing.

(Tercio of Toledo, "Old Blues")

(Spanish Marquis of Castel Rodrigo, 1668, Flanders. conversion)

(Spanish Standard Bearer 1660', Foundry conversion)

                    (Front Rank officer and flag bearer, also a couple of individually sculpted soldiers)

        

(Front Rank and North Star conversions of Officer and rodelero)

                (Front Rank Spanish Dragoons of Tercio of Vanderpit/Valanzart in 1696, Flanders)

                                                (North Star Spanish Officer in Flanders, 1670')

                                                

                                    

(mixture of figures; Firelock games Spanish officer with Front Rank converted miniatures) 

Spain had in these times three (four If we include the Army of Extremadura until 1668) standing armies, the Army of Flanders, the Army of Milan and the Army of Catalonia, apart from smaller armies and garrisons in African “presidios” ,  Naples, Sicily, Sardinia and the Americas.

The most professional and trained army was the veteran Army of Flanders,  active from 1567, it numbered 62.500 men in 1668, at the end of the War of Devolution, 48.000 men in 1675 during Franco Dutch War, and even during the League of Augsburg War, the Spanish army of Flanders fielded 25.000 men in 1690 and 15.000 in 1695.

We can conclude that the French would have overran the Dutch Republic in 1673 without the aid of the Army of Flanders. 

In Milan, the Spanish maintained between 10.000 and 20.000 (at its peak) during the last quarter of the century, and was the backbone of the allied army during the League of Augsburg War,  aiding the Duke of Savoy, along the expeditionary forces of the Holy Roman Empire.  Moreover, the army of Milan provided most of the artillery to the allies during that conflict.

In Catalonia the Spanish had the weakest of the three field armies, composed by only 5 veteran tercios … and some cavalry trozos (regiment equivalent), the rest of the army was of lesser quality recruits, and their performance in battle was worse than in Flanders and Italy. That was because of the secondary role of that front during all the wars, considered secondary by both, the French and the Spaniards.

I think this army has been mistreated by historiography until very recent times, in part thanks the “new“ (and current) Bourbon dynasty in Spain, who wanted to present themselves as the modernizers of an outdated and inefficient Habsburg military structure, but this claim was not true, despite the propaganda, which lasted until the last century. 

Although most field battles were won by the French in all  late XVII century wars, the allies and the Spanish in particular had successes too  in all these wars, we can just mention a few like:

-Battle of Dendermonde 1667

-Siege of Bellegarde 1673

-Battle of Maureillas/Morellás 1673

-Battle of Saint Dennis (draw) 1678

-Reconquer of Sicily 1678

-Siege of Gerona 1684

-sieges of Ceuta, Melilla, Oran… against the Moors and Algerians

-French invasion of Catalonia 1689

-Siege of Casale 1695

                                

                            (North Star 1672 musketeer, Foundry engineer with Warhammer head)

Apart from that, the Spanish role in the Allied war effort was inmense, and often neglected. As Flanders was the main front of all the conflicts, both French and Spanish invested there their best units, but also had to withdraw thousands of men and resources in order to assist fronts in Catalonia and Italy thus relieving pressure on the Netherlands. Moreover, several German regiments and auxiliaries were paid by the Spanish crown. 

In terms of logistics and artillery, The Spanish army of Milan supplied the Allies in Savoy with the vast majority of the artillery train in the different campaigns during the League of Augsburg War, especially during the siege of Casale Monferrato in 1695. 

In Flanders, the Spanish supplied the English Expeditionary army in 1678 with hundreds of charts and artillery, as the English had no logistical system available to that campaign.

Spanish cavalry was highly regarded by both , friends and enemies, in general terms it was superior to French cavalry, and during Franco Dutch war and League of Augsburg War, always fought in the right wing of the Allied army, as this was the place of honour in the battle line. William III and Waldeck made continuous requests for help in terms of cavalry units to the Army of Flanders, in order to relieve his relative weakness in that field, in exchange of Dutch infantry to man the Flemish frontier’s fortresses.

                            

                            

(Tercio of Cavalry of Vaudemont, Flanders, League of Augsburg War  and Trozo of Extremadura, same conflict, Catalonia, all Front Rank miniatures)

As you can see, this army is very interesting to paint and play, because you can use it in several conflicts and several locations, Flanders, Alsace and Rhine, Savoy, Sicily, North Africa, and Catalonia.  You also can field Spanish tercios in your Allied armies of Franco Dutch War and League of Augsburg War along Dutch, English, German, Austrian or Italian regiments.

In my opinion is one of the most colourful armies of the period, with uniforms of almost every colour possible (even purple!) also the flags are interesting too, they usually carry the classic Burgundy cross in different backgrounds, from plain white, to intricated geometric forms.

Talking about the miniatures, I have been using a lot of different manufacturers since I started collecting  some years ago (more or less in 2013) When I saw for the first time an advertisement of Barry Hilton's Warfare Miniatures and ex Copplestone North Star 1672.

I found out that there were no proper Spanish miniatures in the market a few years ago, except for the short lived "Phoenix Miniatures" XVII Spanish range, which was part of North Star, sadly that range was not complete and was withdrawn...  but now North Star 1672 has launched a new range of Spanish troops with their typical long coat with high cuffs and front lapels.

Talking about uniform colours, in Bruno Mugnai's book, you have the DEFINITIVE guide about painting them, because there is an appendix with virtually all of the known Tercios and their uniform if there are records of them.

In general terms,  Spanish troops in Spain were the most colorful, with a motley collection of colors available. In Flanders it was common to see Spanish troops dressed in grey with red facings, also blue. In Milan, Tercios had a tendency to be dressed in red and yellow.  Neapolitans and Aragonese usually wore blue... So there was no fixed parameter, but there were some local trends

                                    

(Tercio “Old Yellows”, one of the 5 veteran infantry tercios in Catalonia, Phoenix Miniatures, some conversions and some custom sculpted miniatures )

Those miniatures are suitable roughly from the War of the Devolution 1667-68, until the League of Augsburg War. But you can also use Front Rank miniatures and Warfare Miniatures for the League of Augsburg  War.    Also Dixon’s  Miniatures and Wargames Foundry are suitable, although smaller in size.

I can't tell what is the BEST range... It depends on the exact conflict you are playing and painting...

If you want to play Portuguese Restoration War and War of Devolution (mid to late 1660') I would go for a mixture of 30 Years War/English Civil War minis and 1670' miniatures like for example, the brand new Bloody Miniatures, Bicorne Miniatures with some Reiver Castings new range of 1670' miniatures, and of course North Star 1672 !!

If you go for Franco Dutch War, my choice would be North Star 1672 and Reiver Castings new range on that conflict. Also Front Rank miniatures to add some variety and officers.

                                  

(Front Rank, Warlord games (converted), Northstar/Phoenix Miniatures... Franco Dutch War, Spanish troops in Flanders)

If your choice is League of Augsburg, then go for Warfare Miniatures and Front Rank, they are my favourite for 1690' uniforms. Also some miniatures from War of Spanish Succession would be useful here, for instance Ebor Miniatures, which produces very nice miniatures that fits perfectly in 1690's like their Imperial Cuirassiers, Saxon cavalry, French Dragoons, or Spanish Grenadiers!

                                

                                                   (Warfare Miniatures' Officers)

Dixon's Miniatures and Foundry Miniatures are smaller than the previous ranges, and I like bigger figures BUT they are super nice and full of character, some of their miniature show their age ,but I am always happy to mix them in my units or making small dioramas and scenes with them.

I am sorry If I have forgotten some miniature ranges here, but with some conversion, you can use

                                

(Spanish militia unit in Catalonia, mixture of Warfare Miniatures, Warlord Games, Dixon’s…)

                                  

                                                    (Tercio of Barcelona,  1696)

                                    

       (Migueletes, Catalan irregulars, caused the majority of French causalities during the Catalonian campaign of 1695-96)

With all those great ranges, and flags from the internet, books and manufacturers like Adolfo Ramos, Flags of War and such, you can perfectly field a small contingent of Spanish allies to your Dutch or English army.

I hope you have found this little approach to the late Spanish tercios somehow interesting.

Finally, I would like to thank Helion Publishing, Charles Singleton, Bruno Mugnai and Barry Hilton amongst many others who, with their work and research, help to increase people's interest in this exciting period of history and this hobby.

Jose Maria Cagiga Mata

Bibligraphy:

- Bruno Mugnai : WARS AND SOLDIERS IN THE EARLY REIGN OF LOUIS XIV VOLUME 4 The Armies of Spain 1659-1688 (HELION)

-Maffi, Davide. Los últimos tercios. El Ejército de Carlos II. 2020

- (various) Desperta Ferro magazine: Los Tercios (VI). 1660-1704. 2019

-Espino López, Antonio. Las Guerras de Cataluña 1652-1700. 2014

- Giancarlo Boeri, Jose Luis Mirecki, Jose Palau, Robert Hall .Spanish Armies in the War of the League of Augsburg, 1688-1697. 2011

- Lynn, John A. The Wars of Louis XIV, 1667-1714. 1999

Hello friends,

for this year 2021 I have started a very ambitious project, a 28mm campaign, using actual period characters as leaders for my armies, perhaps introducing role-playing elements in skirmish-type games (like Donnybrook, Pikeman's lament or Encamisada) and also other games in traditional wargame field battles with rule sets such as Beneath the Lily Baners or Pike & Shotte.

The campaign/battle I have chosen is the siege of Gerona in 1684, a Spanish defensive success against a numerically superior French army, in the context of the War of the Reunions 1683-84. 

I have a lot of painted miniatures for this period, but I will paint several units and miniatures specifically for this project, as I will show you in future blog entries.

I have chosen this period because it was a brief conflict but with interesting battles, in the years between Franco Dutch War and League of Augsburg War. And I have chosen this campaign because,  fortunately, a lot of stories from the protagonists who fought in that battle have reached our days intact. And reading those documents, inmediatelly caught my attention. I have been following Mr. Sidney Roundwood  blog with his project "Laarden 1688" a semi historical account of the battles fought in Flanders in the early League of Augsburg War. His blog is a real gem, I strongly recommend it!  So I thought about doing a similar one :)

I will keep using miniatures from Northstar 1672, Front Rank, Warfare Miniatures, Wargames Foundry, Dixons Miniatures and Warlord Games, with all those, I hope to get the most complete combination of 28mm minis for a 1684 battle.

I will update the list of "Dramatis Personae" for the different actions, the generals, the captains, but also the commoners... the unknown heroes and leaders of both armies.

Now some context. This short but bloody war, saw Louis XIV, despite peace established by the 1678 Treaty of Nijmegen, seizing the Imperial city of Strasbourg in 1681 and in 1682 occupied the Principality of Orange, then a possession of William of Orange... but formal war began in 1683, When France attacked Spain in Luxembourg and Catalonia, appart from a "terror" bombing of the Republic of Genoa, a traditional ally of Spain.

The French succeded in Luxembourg, defended by 4000 troops (Spanish, Flemish, German...) who managed to inflict 8000 casualities to the French army, which numbered 20.000 men, lead by Marshall François de Créquy and the military genius, Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, the best siege expert of its time...

But our campaign is set in the south, in a beautiful place just south of the Pyrenees, in the Spanish city of Gerona (Girona in Catalan), where the French were less succesful than in Luxembourg.

THE CAMPAIGN OF SUMMER 1684, GERONA, SPAIN

After a few years in which tension with France was common, and in which Alejandro Bournonville, viceroy of Catalonia, was especially concerned about the defenselessness of the Principality of Catalonia, the official start of the war in November 1683 meant that the viceroy had to face the most difficult moments of his long political and military trajectory. The situation of the French preparations contrasted with that of the Spanish army of Catalonia. The viceroy claimed to have no money, grain, or carriages for field artillery and could not oppose such a powerful enemy in a field battle.

On May the 1st, the French army crossed the border through La Junquera pass. Viceroy Bournonville galantly marched with his troops towards Hostalric ,in order to face some 10,500 French infantrymen and 4,500 horsemen; presumably these were heading towards Gerona, where the French would expect their  navy to make an incursion to divert the Viceroy's troops to the coast and force the Spaniards to properly garrison Barcelona.

The next day, 2nd of May, Domingo Pignatelli (or Piñateli), general of the artillery of the Spanish army, arrived to Gerona. He gathered all the forces and took charge of the defense of the city.

Bournonville's dilemma was to stop the enemy in Gerona, bringing part of his troops into that city, or to return to Barcelona and defend it against a potential direct attack. The events showed that, despite the arrival of 1,500 men from the" Tercio of  Granada city" and "Tercio of the Coast of Granada" , the numerical inferiority of the Hispanic hosts made it impossible to stop the rival in the open field.

Bournonville, upon learning that French commander in chief, Marshall Bellefonds had set up his camp in Báscara, 5 km from Gerona, ordered the removal of two  Tercios and two cavalry squadrons from the mountain garrisons to take them to Gerona.

On May 12th, the viceroy of Catalonia arrived in the city offering to support them with part of the Spanish army, and, in effect, with the darkness of night, he left for Hostalrich to meet the French and try to blockade them and cause damage to their numerically superior army before they reach the walls of Gerona.

When the French army moved, Viceroy Bournonville tried to stop them by fortifying a pass of the river Ter in Pont-Major, raising an artillery postion and some trenches , placing a battery, while the cavalry was in charge of closing the nearby mountain passes. Bournonville had 3,000 infantry and 2,000 horsemen to stop their enemy (roughly 15.000 or 16.000 men), holding the position during several attempts to cross the river by the French. The Spaniards sent musketeer mangas (wings) and dismounted dragoons that shot with sharpshooter precission...  1000 French cavalrymen, with some infantrymen also mounted, tried to cross the bridge, and many tried swimming ! but they could not, so they French went to a different position in order to outflank the fortified Spanish troops. 

Finally the French only succeeded at crossing the river at night,  but without preventing the orderly withdrawal of the Spanish troops to Gerona, including all the guns, thanks to a valiant defense by troops of the Tercio de Barcelona, whose Sargento Mayor, Montaner, with selected musketeers, protected the artillery trayne back to Gerona, without losing a single cannon, leaving  Pont Major pass to the French.

So Bellefonds finally seized Pont-Major at night at the cost of some 1,000 casualties against 150 Spanish, and he fortified it, and formally initiating the siege of Gerona by placing detachments at all the passes. 

With the arrival of artillery and reinforcements, Bellefonds' forces numbered between 16,000 and 17,000 troops. 

So Bournonville faced with the imminence of the assault on Gerona, asked Barcelona for a reinforcement of a Tercio of relief. The city responded by raising a new Tercio of 600 men, plus a company of 60 to cover the losses of the Tercio de Barcelona. The new group left Barcelona on May 25th , 6 days after Bournonville's request. Barcelona agreed to pay for Gerona's defense to try to prevent herself from reaching the same situation.

The Viceroy left a garrison in Gerona of a little more than 3,400 men, not counting the citizens and peasants of Gerona, who defended their city and others who had come from Ampurdán. For their part, according to a report dated May 22, the French had a total of 13,920 men, including infantry and cavalry, which, with the migueletes and the Somatén from Roussillon, reached more than 16,000 troops.

So in Gerona, there were at least:

-Tercio de sevilla  "Old Purples"- D. Tomas Arias Pacheco

-Two German Regiments: Christian Baron Bek and other.

-Tercio of Gerona (town militia) colonel Dr. Juan Vilar

-Tercio de Barcelona 

-Tercio de la Diputación

-Tercio de Granada -Antonio Serrano

-Tercio de la costa de Granada

-Tercio de Toledo "old blues"- D. Manrique de Noroña

-300 dragones led by Sargento general de batalla D. Jose de Agulló 

-Cavalry mounted and dismounted of several Trozos (regiments)

-various militia( of priests ! of the different guilds, students...)

On May 20th, the French began their siege and artillery settlement works. In the early morning of the 22nd the wall canvas began to be beaten between the half moons of "Santa Clara" and the "half moon of the Governor", continuing the bombardment until the 24th, firing between 1,500 and 2,000 gunshots of 20 to 36 pounds of field balls. It was considered a miracle of Saint Narcissus that only one soldier and one citizen died during the 3 days bombardment!

Just before the bombardment, some mangas of Spanish musketeers and 40 cavalry men, made a sortie and killed some siege workers and guards, but the French cavalry charged the "storm group" from the city, with little success, because they managed to come back to the city despite some casualities.

 after the bombardment, two breaches were made, one 20 feet (6 m) wide and an even larger one easily climbed by fallen rubble. To prevent the assault, the besieged raised a fortified barricade from the Santa Clara bastion to  the Governor's crescent, pulling people from both crescents to place them in defense of the barricades. This was protected by the 2,000 best musketeers in the garrison.

In the 2 breaches of the walls, the aformentioned barricades were built, with fascines and gabions, and the Spanish put 8 guns aiming to the wide breaches, the Germans of Von Bek, did a great job in those works. The Bishop of Gerona sent the troops good food and wine, because they did a good job during the bombardment days, building defensive works.

At dusk of May 24th, a French drummer appeared on behalf of Marshal Bellefonds demanding the surrender of the city. otherwise there would be no mercy except for women and children sheltered in churches...Faced with the lack of response, another French drummer arrived, both finally marching with a refusal to such a request.

The Spaniards prepared for an assault, the different Tercios were intermixed in the walls and the barricades (where the walls were breached), in the main barricade, fortified with gabions and fascines there were the main protagonists; General of Artillery Domingo Pignatelli,  and the Governor of the city, D. Carlos de Sucre, along Baron Christian Von Bek, and some of the maestros de campo (colonels) of the main Spanish tercios inside the city (Tercio de Sevilla, Tercio de Barcelona, Tercio de Toledo...).

There were other fortified places where the enemy were expected to attack, but it is not possible to describe all of them, but there were even a company of armed priests with the Tercios.

Within an hour of the Spanish refusal of surrender,  the French advance took place with 9 regiments with 5,000 or 6,000  men attacking the breaches!

 In the successive onslaughts, the Governor's and Santa Clara's crescent moons/bastions fell; the first taken by a Swiss regiment, saw its defenders massacred; the second bastion, conquered by a French German regiment, had better luck in giving these men mercy and taking them prisoner.

the Swiss at Governor's bastion tried to entrench themselves ther with fascines and dead bodies, but the Spaniards threw them grenades, powder charges, musket fire and other fire weapons with shrapnel shots, and finally the Swiss gave up their recently conquered position.

 They were repelled from the wall several times with musket shots and gunpowder charges, but they took cover with bodies and demolished materials and resisted. The main breach held up to four enemy advances, entering once up to 200 men, although they were repulsed. After that, some Spanish detachments attacked the crescents firing from the wall and managed to dislodge the enemy.

The Germans in French service who took Santa Clara's bastion, were inmediately counterattacked by a student company from the walls, and regular troops, using a bronze cannon with musket balls, inflicting the Germans great damage. That bastion was near a fountain with a statue of Saint Narcissus, the protector of Gerona, so the Spanish, according to contemporary documents, started to shout "fight the heretics!, Viva España, Viva San Narciso! Victoriaaaa!" and charged the confused Germans, who finally lost their position and run away without their weapons.

In the meantime, as these flank bastions fell and were recovered,  the main assault took place in the central fortified barricade, where the main leaders were.

The French assault was at follows; hundreds of "Enfants Perdús" or Forlorn hopes were formed, armed the first line or row with helmets, cuirasses, pikes and half pikes, also roundshiers or swordsmen with round shields! second and third lines there were the grenadiers with granadoes and axes, and after those "storm troops" 5000 men.

French attacks were brave, they reached the barricade, but the fire was so intense that non of the broke through the defenses,  cannons with musket balls, arquebuss and musket fire and also grenades and hand to hand combat followed... the killing was terrible. The French tried 3 times, in some points even 5 times, but all of them failed.

The French lost their most veteran troops. Nine French flags were taken from them, including the flag of regiment Furstemberg, called the invincible in those times,  and they had 3,000 casualties. On the Spanish side, the casualties were estimated at 100 dead and about 500 wounded. 

Possibly the French marshal had lost since the beginning of the campaign about a third of his men, about 5,000. Many Germans from the French army deserted and Bellefonds had to confine all his people in Santa Eugenia to avoid escapes between May 26 and 30, hanging two German captains as an example to the others.

Bellefonds needed several days to bury their dead and take all their wounded to Figueras and Bàscara, where they had their hospitals, while the Spanish peasants and the troops dedicated themselves to the dispossession of the corpses. The marshal even commented that “if the King of Spain had this type of vassals in Flanders, so many towns would not be lost…”.

Gerona as it looked in 1684... but today ;)

Despite this French defeat at the gates of Gerona, the situation of the campaign did not improve ostensibly for the Spanish, since Bellefonds remained in the Ampurdán with 11,000 men and the possibility of an attack by the French navy on Barcelona caused panic in the city. On the other hand, after a short siege, Cadaqués surrendered on June 26. The councilors of Barcelona, wrote worriedly to the Court asking for more money and men to prevent the fall of Rosas and Camprodon, places without which the whole of northern Catalonia would be irreversibly lost. Tensions between Catalan authorities and the Viceroy soon began, as the former accused the latter of inaction. However, the reality was that lack of means completely limited any offensive action on Bournonville's part. But Bournonville followed the French army at a prudential distance, and limited Spanish reinforcements arrived to Catalonia, from Valencia, Mallorca, Italian possessions and Andalucia.

Finally at this point, the truce came, and soon peace was signed, although war would start again in 1688 between the Grand Alliance and France...

French Order of Battle (in Spanish,  copy of a contemporary document)

Well, as you can see, a long post... most of it just history, but I hope you found it useful!

Luckily part of the Order of Battle is already available in my collection, here some examples...

more in the blog in the future.