Somosierra, Battle of, Spain, 1808
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- Work cat.: Niegolewski, Jędrzej. Les polonais à Somo-Sierra en 1808 en Espagne, 1854.
- Farwell, B. The encyclopedia of nineteenth-century land warfare, 2007:p. 771 (Somosierra, Battle of, 30 November 1808, Peninsular War; Napoleon, marching on Madrid, was held up at the Somosierra Pass, 4,757 feet high in the Sierra de Guardarrama in central Spain and the last physical obstacle between him and the capital, by a Spanish force of 15,000 under Benito San Juan)
- Wikipedia WWW site, Dec. 7, 2009(Battle of Somosierra; (La batalla de Somosierra) (November 30, 1808); a heavily outnumbered Spanish force failed to prevent Napoleon from capturing Madrid in the Peninsular War)
The Battle of Somosierra took place on 30 November 1808, during the Peninsular War, when a combined Franco-Napoleonic Spanish-Polish force under the direct command of Napoleon I forced a passage through a Spanish Division stationed at the Sierra de Guadarrama, which shielded Madrid from direct French attack. At the Somosierra mountain pass, 60 miles (97 km) north of Madrid, a heavily outnumbered Spanish detachment of regulars, volunteers and artillery under Benito de San Juan attempted to block Napoleon's advance onto Madrid. Napoleon overwhelmed the Spanish positions in a combined arms attack, sending the Polish Chevau-légers of the Imperial Guard at the Spanish guns while French infantry advanced up the slopes. The victory removed the last obstacle barring the road to Madrid, which fell a few days later.
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