Second Battle of Boulou

Second Battle of Boulou
Part of the War of the Pyrenees
Battle of Boulou, by Jacques Gamelin
Date 29 April – 1 May 1794 Location Le Boulou, Pyrénées-Orientales, France 42°30′0″N 2°49′12″E / 42.50000°N 2.82000°E / 42.50000; 2.82000 Result French victory
Belligerents
France	Spain Portugal
Commanders and leaders
Jacques Dugommier Pierre Augereau	Luis Fermín de Carvajal, Conde de la Unión John Forbes
Strength
16,000	15,000
Casualties and losses
20 killed, 300 wounded	2,000 killed or wounded, 1,500 captured
class=notpageimage| Location within Europe

The Second Battle of Boulou (29 April to 1 May 1794) took place during the War of the Pyrenees, part of the French Revolutionary Wars. This battle saw the French Army of the Eastern Pyrenees led by General of Division (GD) Jacques François Dugommier attack the joint Spanish-Portuguese Army of Catalonia under Lieutenant General (LG) Luis Fermín de Carvajal, Conde de la Unión. Dugommier's decisive victory resulted in the French regaining nearly all the land they lost to the Kingdom of Spain in 1793.

The town of Le Boulou is on the Tech River 22 kilometres (14 mi) south of the department capital at Perpignan and north of the France–Spain border.^[1]

The spring of 1794 found the Spanish army holding a slice of French territory south of the Tech River and north of the Pyrenees. The Spanish right wing on the Mediterranean coast was separated from the center and left wing by a mountainous gap. First, Dugommier mounted a successful feint with his right wing that drew Spanish troops away from the center. Then, he launched powerful French forces into the gap. These forces circled behind the Spanish center and forced their adversaries to retreat across a difficult mountain pass. The Spanish suffered heavy losses of troops and abandoned their wagon trains and all their artillery.