Episode 1 of 3

First Siege of Zaragoza

When: 15 June-14 August 1808
Where: Zaragoza
Part of: Summer 1808 turning points: First Siege of Zaragoza, Battle of Bailén, and the British landing near Porto

French forces besieged Zaragoza in summer 1808, facing resistance from Palafox's troops despite defeats at Alagon and Épila.

French armies under Lefebvre-Desnouettes and Verdier besieged Zaragoza. Palafox's forces were defeated at Alagon on 14 June and Épila on 23-24 June. Continuous artillery fire began on 30 June. French assaults failed, and Verdier withdrew on 14 August.

Sources

Siege of Zaragoza (1808) Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-22

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.