Division of the North

This article is about the 19th-century Spanish unit. For the Mexican revolutionary army, see División del Norte.

Division of the North
Active	March – November 1808
Country	Spain
Allegiance	Ferdinand VII of Spain
Branch	Army
Type	Infantry
Role	Garrison, subsequently front-line
Size	15,000
Garrison/HQ	Denmark (until May 1808)
Engagements	Battle of Valmaseda, Battle of Espinosa
Disbanded	November 1808 (destroyed)
Commanders
Notable commanders	Marquis of La Romana, Joaquín Blake y Joyes

The Division of the North (Spanish: División del Norte) was a 19th century Spanish division.

The division was composed of 15,000 men, and commanded by Pedro Caro y Sureda.^[1] Spain being an ally of France, the unit spent 1807 and 1808 performing garrison duties in Hamburg under Marshal Bernadotte. In March 1808, along with a Franco-Belgian unit of approximately the same size, it was sent to Denmark with the goal of protecting the country, another ally of Napoleon. It was also hoped that it be used in a planned invasion of Sweden.

While in Denmark, the Peninsular War broke out (May 2, 1808). Once he learnt about the new alliances, Caro y Sureda made plans with the British to repatriate his men to Spain. At least 9,000 men of the 15,000-strong division were immediately able to board British ships on August 27 and escape to Spain.^[2] Their defection reduced Bernadotte's "Hanseatic Army" to a string of glorified coastal garrisons, severely sapping Napoleon's left (north) wing in the contest with Austria for mastery over Central Europe in 1809.

Notes

1. ^ Gates (1986), p. 479
2. ^ Gates (1986), p. 83

References

• Chandler, David G. The Campaigns of Napoleon. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1995. ISBN 0-02-523660-1
• Chartrand, René (1999). The Spanish Army of the Napoleonic Wars. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 9781855327658. 
• Gates, David. The Spanish Ulcer: A History of the Peninsular War. Da Capo Press 2001. ISBN 0-306-81083-2