History of Spain - The Battle of Fuengirola Castle
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| During the Peninsular War, in 1810 the Costa del Sol was seized by French forces. There was little opposition. After suffering great losses in the interior some Polish units of the Duchy of Warsaw were sent to the area to establish a garrison and to rest. |
Idealspain were at the re-enactment of this battle to mark 200 years. The event in October 2010 can be seen in pictures and video here.
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The Castle of Sohail in Fuengirola was manned by more than 100 Polish soldiers from the 4th Infantry Regiment under the command of Captain Franciszek Młokosiewicz.
Similar small garrisions were placed in nearby towns such as Mijas and Alhaurin. In total there were more than 10,000 men.
In the autumn of 1810, Major General Lord Blaney decided to take an exploratory force from Gibraltar to the port of Malaga and hopefully take it by surprise. He thought the beaches near Sohail Castle to be perfect to land the troops.
It was October 14th 1810 when the British armada landed at Cala Moral Bay, about two miles west of Fuengirola Castle in Andalucia.The British disembarked and were joined by a small number of Spanish partisans.
The British-Spanish expedition numbered around 1,700 men. They landed from two frigates (HMS Topaze and HMS Sparrowhawk), 5 gunboats, sveral brigs and transport sloops. |
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200th year re-enactment
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Blayney led his forces northeast along the shore whilst the fleet sailed parallel with the coast towards Fuengirola. At 2pm they all arrived in front of the castle. Blayney sent an emissary to the Polish commander to try to convince him to surrender. He refused and the British fleet opened fire.
Despite being so out-numbered, the Polish troops defended the castle and even managed to sink one of the British gunboats. The remainder of the British fleet withdrew out of range. Blayney attempted a head-on attack on the castle and Major Grant, commander of 2/89th Regiment of Foot was killed. Lord Blayney then ordered a retreat.
The British troops camped for the night and built two artillery emplacements near the castle. Their intention was to take the castle by force the next day.
During the night the Polish garrision from Mijas sneaked through the British lines and joined the defenders at the castle. |
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On the morning of October 15th 1810 the artillery bombardment was increased and one of the castle towers was destroyed. At 2.00pm, HMS Rodney along with a Spanish warship arrived, delivering another 932 men.
Captain Młokosiewicz decided to attack the artillery positions and left the castle defended mostly by the wounded. He took his remaining 130 men and attacked. Despite being outnumbered by 10:1, they succeeded and chased off the troops defending the artillery positions. They turned the guns on the fleet and began firing. |
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After about 30 minutes, Lord Blayney managed to reorganise his troops on the beach and ordered the assault of the artillery emplacement, now occupied by the Polish forces. The outnumbered defenders blew up the gunpowder supplies and withdrew towards the castle. However, before the British and Spanish forces could push any further, they were attacked on their left flank by the Polish garrison of Alhaurin that had just arrived on the battlefield. Around 200 rested and well-equipped Poles under Bronisz distracted the British long enough to let the withdrawing Captain Młokosiewicz regroup his force and strike the right flank of the British line. This near-simultaneous attack of Polish units, supported by approximately 30 French cavalrymen from the 21st Dragoon Regiment, surprised the enemy infantry, which soon began to fault. After Lord Blayney was taken prisoner by the Poles, his infantry sounded retreat and started a chaotic re-embarcation under the fire of their own guns that had been recaptured once more. |
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This event in history is one of the very few times that Polish forces have been in battle against British forces. The Polish forces, despite all odds, gave an amazing performance. The Battle of Fuengirola is still a subject of debate and is often played down by the British. It is however, one of the proudest moments in Polish history.
Lord Blayney remained in French captivity for four years. In 1814 he surrended. |
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Sohail Castle in Fuengirola as it is today |
See the 2010 re-enactment to mark 200 years since the Battle of Fuengirola |
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