Orders of Battle during the Oriamendi Offensive
A description of the campaign is in the chronology, whereas the Orders of Battle are below.
Preparations
Carlist Army of the North at the end of February 1837
Composition:
· 30,000 Infantry in 46 Battalions (~ 650 men / battalion)
· 1,500 Cavalry in 10 squadrons (~ 150 men / squadron)
· 40 guns
Deployment:
Basque Provinces:
·
29 Battalions of which 10
were stationed around Vizcaya.
Navarra:
·
17 Battalions and all 10 squadrons in
seven commands, including:
· Don Carlos (at Andoain, near Hernani, 7 km from San Sebastián) with a Halbardier company and the Guías de Navarra
· Don Sebastián (at Iruzan, northwest of Pamplona) with 8 battalions, 3 squadrons and a battery of mountain guns.
Cristino Army of the North on 10 March 1837 - the opening day of the offensive
Total field composition
·
59,000 foot
·
2,400 horse
Total garrisons
·
23,200 foot
·
300 horse
Espartero’s command in Bilbao
Commander: General Bartolomeo Espartero, Commander in Chief of Cristino Army of the North.
| Foot | |
| Spanish | 28 Battalions (making around 18,000 if approximately 650 men / battalion). |
| Horse | |
| Spanish | Lanceros de la Guardia Real |
| Artillery | |
His command included a “Royal Guard Division” so, in addition to the Guard Cavalry mentioned, must have included infantry of the Guards, and perhaps artillery also.
Espartero was probably facing 10 battalions of Carlists.
Saarsfield’s command in Pamplona
Commander: General Saarsfield, Captain General of Navarre
| Foot | 10,300 men |
| French Foreign Legion | The French infantry were approximately 2000 strong so probably comprised 3 battalions. |
| Spanish | Approximately 8,300 Spanish, which equates to about 13 Battalions. |
| Spanish Sappers | 2 companies of sappers |
| Horse | 400 men |
| French Foreign Legion | Lancers (these must have been the majority, given only a squadron of the 5th were present). |
| Spanish | Squadron of 5th Line Cavalry Regiment (Borbón) 50 troopers from unspecified units |
| Artillery | 8 guns |
| 8 mountain guns |
Order of March
1.
Vanguard of Light Troops
2.
Independent Brigade
3.
Cavalry. 350 Horse made up
of
·
French Foreign Legion Lancers
·
Squadron of 5th Line Cavalry
Regiment (Borbón)
4.
4th Division (6 Battalions)
5.
French Foreign Legion (~ 2000 strong)
Saarsfield was probably facing 4 battalions of Carlists, plus some cavalry.
Evans’s command in San Sebastián
Commander: Lieutenant-General George De Lacy Evans
| Foot | 22 Battalions |
| British Auxiliary Legion | 1st, 4th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, Rifles |
| British Royal Marines | Battalion (450 men) |
| Spanish Volunteers | Chapelgorris (1 battalion) |
| Spanish |
Several thousand Spanish, including 5,340 who arrived on 7 Feb. Probably 15 Battalions given 13 were at Oriamendi, and Evan’s left one and a half Battalions to garrison positions during his advance. |
| Horse | 1 Regiment |
| British Auxiliary Legion | 1st Lancers (Reina Isabel) |
| Artillery | 16 guns + rockets |
| British Auxiliary Legion | Artillery (4 guns??), Rocket Troop |
| British Royal Artillery | Battery (4 guns??) |
| British Royal Marine Artillery | Battery (4 guns??) |
| Uncertain nationality but probably Spanish | Battery of mountain guns (4 guns) |
Battle of Oriamendi - 16 March 1837
Cristino Order of Battle
General-in-Chief: Lieutenant-General George de lacy Evans
Composition
12,000 men and 16 guns
British (9 Battalions, 1 regiment of
lancers, and artillery)
Spanish (13 battalions plus artillery)
| Foot | 22 Battalions |
| British Auxiliary Legion | 1st, 4th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, Rifles |
| British Royal Marines | Battalion (450 men) |
| Spanish Line | 4th
Line Infantry Regiment (Princesa) (3 battalions) |
| Spanish Light | 2nd Light Regiment (Voluntarios de Aragon) (2 Battalions) |
| Spanish Provincial Regiments | Oviedo Provincial Regiment (1 battalion; 250
men) Segovia Provincial Regiment (1 battalion; 280 men) Jaén Provincial Regiment (1 battalion) |
| Spanish Marine Infantry | Marine Infantry (1 battalion; 550 men) |
| Spanish Volunteers | Chapelgorris (1 battalion) |
| Horse | 1 Regiment |
| British Auxiliary Legion | 1st Lancers Reina Isabel |
| Artillery | 16 guns + rockets |
| British Auxiliary Legion | Artillery (4 guns??), Rocket Troop |
| British Royal Artillery | Battery (4 guns??) |
| British Royal Marine Artillery | Battery (4 guns??) |
| Uncertain nationality but probably Spanish | Battery of mountain guns (4 guns) |
Organisation and Deployment
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing | ||
Fitzgerald’s Brigade (Brigadier Fitzgerald)
|
Vanguard Division (Brigadier Rendón)
Definitely including:
|
5th Division (Brigadier Jáuregui)
Definitely including these units at the battle:
|
||
Chichester’s Brigade (Brigadier Chichester)
|
Godfrey’s Brigade
(Brigadier Godfrey)
|
British right supporting
Jáuregui
|
These Spanish units were present but I don’t have deployment information for them.
- 12th Line Regiment (Zaragoza) (1 battalion)
- Segovia Provincial Regiment (1 battalion; 280 men)
- Jaén Provincial Regiment (1 battalion)
- Marine Infantry (1 battalion; 550 men)
2 of these battalions would have been with Rendón and 2 - 2 ½ of these battalions would have been with Jáuregui (possibly in the 1 ½ battalion garrisons at Ametzagaña and Passajes).
Carlist Order of Battle
General-in-Chief: Infante Don Sebastián
Gabriel de Borbón
Chief of Staff: Teniente General Don
Vincente González Moreno
Composition
10,000 Infantry, 450 horse, and 11 guns.
| Foot | 18 or 19 Battalions |
| Guipúzcoa | 1st - 8th |
| Vizcaya | 3rd, 5th (or 6th) |
| Navarra | Guías de Navarra ( possibly present), 1st |
| Alava | 1st, 3rd, 4th, and one other |
| Castilla | Granaderos del Ejército, 1st |
| Aragon | 1st, 2nd (possibly present) |
| Horse | 3 squadrons |
| Navarra | 3 squadrons of Lancers |
| Artillery | 11 guns |
|
7 guns in redoubts. |
Organisation and Deployment
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|
Brigadier Qúilez |
Teniente General Villareal (2nd-in-command) |
Brigadier Iturriza |
| Brigadier Iturriaga · 1st Guipúzcoa · 5th Guipúzcoa (Los Chapelzuris) or might have been the 2nd |
Colonel Alzá (in support of
Villareal) · 3 from Guipúzcoa |
Brigadier Sopelana · 3rd Alava · 4th Alava · plus 1 more from Alava |
| Brigadier Goiri (in support) · 3rd Vizcaya · 5th Vizcaya (or 6th) |
Brigadier de las Vacas (reserve) · 1st Navarra · 1st Castilla |
|
| 7 guns in redoubts in and
around Hernani Battery of 4 mountain guns |
These units were present but I don’t
have deployment information for them
Infantry:
·
2nd Guipúzcoa
·
3rd Guipúzcoa
·
4th Guipúzcoa
·
7th Guipúzcoa
·
8th Guipúzcoa
·
Guías de Navarra
3 squadrons of Navarrese Lancers - although these were probably in the centre or
Carlist left as they attacked the Chapelgorris early in the morning in the
Centre and then attacked the 6th Regiment on the right before being seen off by musketry
and the Marine Artillery howitzers.
Don Sebastián's flying column, who arrived on the morning of the battle included