- Siege of Gaeta (1806)
Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Battle of Campo Tenese
partof=theWar of the Third Coalition
caption=
date=26 February ,1806 –18 July ,1806
place=Gaeta , present-dayItaly
result=French victory
combatant1=flagicon|FranceFirst French Empire
*flagicon|Napoleonic Italy Kingdom of Italy
*flagicon|Napoleonic Italy|etruriaKingdom of Etruria
*flagicon|Poland|state Polish Legions
*flagicon|SwitzerlandSwitzerland
combatant2=flagicon|Two Sicilies Kingdoms of Naples and Sicily
commander1=flagicon|FranceAndré Masséna
commander2=flagicon|Two Sicilies ?
strength1=12,000
strength2=7,000
casualties1=1,000 killed or wounded
casualties2=1,000 killed or wounded
6,000 capturedThe Siege of Gaeta of 1806 was a siege of the fortress city ofGaeta by French forces underAndré Masséna , which began in late February during theWar of the Third Coalition . The garrison put up fierce resistance and Masséna had the greater part of his "Army of Naples" tied up in the siege for nearly five months. This prevented Masséna from sending reinforcements to quell an uprising that had started inCalabria as well as allowing the British to land an expedition force and score a victory at theBattle of Maida . However, the British failed to either capitalise on this victory or send support to the garrison of Gaeta and the city was finally captured onJuly 18 ,1806 after French artillery finally broke through the city's defences.Gaeta was then turned into a
duché grand-fief in theNapoleonic Kingdom of Naples with the French name of "Gaete", for finance ministerMartin-Michel-Charles Gaudin in 1809. Gaeta was the last city in Italy to remain loyal to Napoleon – it was not until a further siege by an Anglo-Austrian force, the last action of theNeapolitan War , that the city was finally retaken.
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