Orders of Battle at the start of the Oriamendi Offensive 1837

A description of the campaign is in the timeline. There is a separate Order of Battle for the battle itself whereas the orders of battle for the whole campaign are below.

Carlist War Poster

Carlist Army of the North

At the end of Feb 1837 the Carlist Army of the North had 31,500 men in arms.

Carlist Army of the North
Composition Feb 1837

  • 30,000 Infantry in 46 Battalions (~ 650 men / battalion)
  • 1,500 Cavalry in 10 squadrons (~ 150 men / squadron)
  • 40 guns

The troops were spread across the northern provinces.

Carlist Army of the North
Deployment Feb 1837

  • Basque Provinces
    • 29 Battalions of which 10 were stationed around Vizcaya
  • Navarra (17 Battalions and all 10 squadrons in seven commands)
    • Don Carlos (at Andoain, near Hernani, 7 km from San Sebastián) with
      • a Halbardier company
      • the Guías de Navarra
    • Don Sebastián (at Iruzan, northwest of Pamplona) with
      • 8 battalions
      • 3 squadrons
      • a battery of mountain guns
    • Five other commands

Cristino Army of the North

On the opening day of the offensive (10 March 1837) the Cristino Army of the North had:

  • 59,000 foot
  • 2,400 horse

In addition the Cristinos had a large number of troops in garrisons:

  • 23,200 foot
  • 300 horse

The field army was divided into three commands under:

  1. Espartero
  2. Saarsfield
  3. Evans

Espartero’s command in Bilbao

Espartero’s Order of Battle

  • 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
      • Cazadores de la Guardia Real
      • 1st Line Cavalry Regiment (Rey)
      • 2nd Line Cavalry Regiment (Reina)

Espartero’s 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

Saarsfield’s Order of Battle

  • 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 mountain guns

Saarsfield’s 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

Evan’s Order of Battle

  • 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)

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