Transferred to Spain, he fought in Domenico Pino's division at Roses, Cardadeu, Molins de Rei, Valls and Gerona and was promoted general of brigade in 1809.

In October, Palombini led a 170-man Roman battalion in Domenico Pino's division during the invasion of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.

With the division under Pino's leadership, the two dragoon regiments joined the besieging force until 20 August when the Swedes evacuated Stralsund.

[1] After Guillaume Philibert Duhesme's Imperial French army abandoned the Second Siege of Gerona in mid-August 1808, it was clear to Emperor Napoleon that he needed to send more troops to Catalonia.

Since he planned to take his 15,000 infantry and 1,500 cavalry across the hills on footpaths, Saint-Cyr took no artillery pieces and only what food and extra ammunition could be carried on mules.

In this crisis, Saint-Cyr directed Souham's division to angle to the left and ordered Pino's second brigade forward, six battalions strong.

[12] Saint-Cyr ordered Joseph Chabran's French division to make a false attack on the Spanish left flank.

Hearing of this move, Saint-Cyr blocked both roads that his adversary might use, establishing Souham's division at Valls and Pino's at Pla d'Urgell.

After a night march, Reding's army appeared before Souham's division on the morning of 25 February and the Battle of Valls began.

During the morning, Reding's superior numbers forced Souham back and the Spanish army had a clear road to Tarragona.

Thinking that the Imperials were heavily reinforced, Reding pulled his tired soldiers back to high ground behind the Francolí River.

Reding's soldiers fired a great volley at 100 yards (91 m) range, but when the Imperials were seen advancing through the smoke, the Spanish lines disintegrated.

One authority wrote that the Spanish garrison lost 5,122 men killed and 4,248 captured, while Imperial fatalities numbered 15,000, half from disease.

[20] On 10 July, a Spanish relieving column was ambushed and destroyed by Pino's division, losing 40 officers and 878 men captured.

[29] No longer needed as a covering force, MacDonald with 12,000 men started back to Lleida (Lérida) by a roundabout march past Tarragona.

When Francesco Orsatelli (called Eugenio) detected Pedro Sarsfield's Spanish division nearby, he recklessly attacked with his 2,500 foot soldiers and 30 horsemen.

[33] During the final assault on 28 June, Juan de Courten and 3,000 Spanish troops tried to escape from the east side of Tarragona, but were blocked by the Italians.

Some escaped to the Royal Navy warships offshore, a handful scattered into the hills, many others were cut down by Imperial cavalry on the beach, but most were captured.

[1] On 15 July 1811, the III Corps was renamed the Army of Aragon with Luigi Gaspare Peyri in command of the Italian division.

[46] Blake's right wing troops put up a good fight and 1,100 Spanish cavalry drove off three French squadrons in the center.

Saint Paul's brigade drove off the remaining enemy cavalry and crashed into the exposed flank of a Spanish infantry division, forcing it into retreat.

By the late afternoon, Harispe on Suchet's right flank joined hands with Habert on the left, trapping Blake and 17,000 Spanish soldiers within Valencia.

[53] Palombini began sending out small anti-guerilla columns around Teruel, but on 5 and 28 March his troops suffered defeats.

[54] Early in July, King Joseph Bonaparte tried to assemble a force to help Marshal Auguste de Marmont's army.

[58] That month Palombini's division marched to join the Army of the North in order to replace a Young Guard brigade that was recalled to France.

Palombini set up headquarters in Poza de la Sal and sent out foraging columns to find food.

[60] On 24 March near Castro Urdiales, Gabriel de Mendizábal Iraeta's 3,000–4,000 Spanish troops tried to surround Palombini's division, but were driven off.

[62] On 25 April, Maximilien Sébastien Foy set out with 11,000 soldiers including his own, Jacques Thomas Sarrut's and Palombini's divisions.

[1] The division, reduced to a 1,500-man brigade, was led by Saint Paul during a short campaign that included the Battle of Tolosa on 26 June.

At nightfall, the Austrians finally retreated, having sustained 112 casualties and three dismounted cannons out of a total of 2,000 men and four guns.