Battle of Montjuïc (1705)

The Battle of Montjuïc took place between 13 and 17 September 1705 during the War of the Spanish Succession.

In the War of the Spanish Succession, a multinational force of the Second Grand Alliance, which supported Archduke Charles of Austria the Habsburg pretender to the Spanish throne, under the command of English general Charles Mordaunt, 3rd Earl of Peterborough landed on the Catalan coast on August 22, 1705,[1] intending to capture Barcelona.

[2] A column under the English second in command, James Stanhope, acted as a diversion to draw the attention and fire of the defenders.

[4] Lord Petersborough brought up the main body of attackers, rallied the men who had retreated and they took the outer defences of the castle, held by the Spanish and Neapolitans who supporting the claim of the French Bourbon Prince, later Philip V of Spain, to the Spanish Crown.

[5] Fighting carried on for several days but on 17 September, the fortress finally fell to the Grand Alliance forces after a mortar shot directed by Dutch Colonel Schellundt blew up the castle's powder magazine, killing the Neapolitan commander, Colonel Carracciolo and several officers.