Vic is located 60 kilometres (37 mi) north of Barcelona in the province of Catalonia.

[2] One month after his lieutenant Luis González Torres de Navarra, Marquess of Campoverde scored a victory in the Battle of Mollet, O'Donnell found that Souham's division was isolated at Vic.

He assembled a small army of 7,000 regular infantry and 500 cavalry at Moià and arranged for the miquelets (Catalan militia) to join him in attacking Vic.

On 19 February, 3,500 miquelets led by Francesc Rovira i Sala and Francisco Milans del Bosch began skirmishing with Souham's outposts.

The contest hung in the balance until the 1,500-saber Imperial cavalry contingent overwhelmed O'Donnell's right wing.