In the summer and fall of 1808, an Imperial French corps under Guillaume Philibert Duhesme was isolated in Barcelona by a 24,000-man Spanish army led by Juan Miguel de Vives y Feliu.

Although assisted by a bombardment of the French lines by several British warships commanded by Captain Robert Hallowell, and a strong defence of the castle by Catalan regulars and militia with men of the 38-gun frigate HMS Imperieuse commanded by Thomas Cochrane, the garrison was unable to prevent the advance of the Franco-Italian siege lines tightening its grip around the citadel.

[1] On 29 February, General of Division Giuseppe Lechi's Imperial French troops were marching through Barcelona, ostensibly to help fight Portugal.

Without spilling a drop of blood, the Imperial troops herded the baffled Spanish garrison out of the fortifications and occupied the place.

Generals of Brigade Bertrand Bessières and François Xavier de Schwarz led 1,700 cavalrymen in nine squadrons, and there were 360 artillerists.

[4] The French authorities in Madrid confidently expected that Duhesme's corps would quickly stamp out the rebellion in Catalonia, but they grossly underestimated its seriousness.

The troops were of low quality and scattered throughout southern France, but Reille quickly cobbled together a fraction of this force and successfully relieved the French garrison of Figueres.

The defenders were given a boost when the British warship HMS Montagu (74), under Captain Robert Otway, appeared off the port and landed her marines to help.

Meanwhile, 5,000 Spanish regular troops[6] from the Balearic Islands commanded by the Marquis Del Palacio landed at Tarragona.

Appointed Captain General of Catalonia, Del Palacio joined his regulars with a large mass of Catalan irregulars to start a blockade of Barcelona on 1 August 1808.

Among a large population that threatened to revolt at any moment, Lechi began sending alarming reports to Duhesme after being compelled to abandon his outposts, such as the castle of Mongat.

When his siege lines were attacked from the rear by a force under the Conde de Caldagues, Duhesme gave up and ordered a withdrawal.

After throwing eight field guns into the sea and leaving behind their baggage train, Duhesme's men struck out into the mountains and finally reached Barcelona on 20 August.

In October, Napoleon appointed General of Division Laurent Gouvion Saint-Cyr and a new corps to relieve Barcelona.

[12] Bottled up in Barcelona, Duhesme's 10,000 remaining troops were in a vulnerable situation, but Del Palacio did not press operations with vigor.

Instead, he ordered Caldagues to hold a line 15 miles (24 km) long with 2,000 regulars and 4,000 to 5,000 miquelets while remaining at Tarragona, far from the action.

Finally, on 28 October, the Catalan Junta replaced Del Palacio with Captain General Juan Miguel de Vives y Feliu.

After this, the Spanish remained quiescent until 26 November when de Vives' offensive forced the French to take refuge behind the walls of Barcelona.

Brigadier General Mariano Álvarez de Castro led the Vanguard with 5,500 infantry in 10 battalions and 100 cavalry in one squadron.

Mariscal de Campo Caldagues commanded the 1st Division with 4,528 foot soldiers in seven battalions, 400 horsemen in four squadrons, and six guns served by 70 artillerists.

Mariscal de Campo Gregorio Laguna directed the 2nd Division with 2,076 soldiers in five battalions, 200 cavalry in two squadrons, and seven artillery pieces served by 84 gunners.

[18] On 8 November a thick fog settled on the land and a force of miquelets took the opportunity to attack Gouvion Saint-Cyr's corps while O'Daly's garrison moved against Reille's encampment.

At noon on the day of the capitulation, after the Catalan and Spanish colours were lowered, Cochrane abandoned the castle, destroying its landward bastion and tower with gunpowder from the Imperieuse, and embarked its 180 defenders.

[16] Having lost an entire month in reducing Roses, it was imperative that the Imperial corps get through to Duhesme, whose supply situation was becoming critical.

Hoping to convince de Vives that he wanted to besiege Girona, the French general arrived in front of that city with 15,000 infantry and 1,500 cavalry.