Siege of Barcelona

The Siege of Barcelona was a battle at the end of the War of Spanish Succession (1701-1714), which pitted Archduke Charles of Austria (backed by Britain and the Netherlands, i.e. the Grand Alliance), against Philip V of Spain, backed by France in a contest for the Spanish crown. During the early part of the war, Barcelona had fallen to the forces of Archduke Charles: his fleet had anchored in the port on 22 August 1705, landing troops which surro... more

The Siege of Barcelona was a battle at the end of the War of Spanish Succession (1701-1714), which pitted Archduke Charles of Austria (backed by Britain and the Netherlands, i.e. the Grand Alliance), against Philip V of Spain, backed by France in a contest for the Spanish crown. During the early part of the war, Barcelona had fallen to the forces of Archduke Charles: his fleet had anchored in the port on 22 August 1705, landing troops which surrounded the city. These troops later captured the fort of Montjuic, and used it to bombard the city into its submission on October 9 of that year. Even though the freshly defeated Catalan court then supported the Archduke against Philip V, the Franco-Spanish forces were not strong enough to attempt a recapture of the city until 1713. By 25 July of that year, the city was surrounded by Bourbon forces, but attacks upon it were unfruitful due to the scarcity of artillery. The Bourbons then waited for a 20,000 man reinforcement force, which arrived... less