was tasked with putting down the insurrection in Catalonia, sending help to Marshal Bon-Adrien Jeannot de Moncey in his bid to capture Valencia, and keeping control of Barcelona. In view of the seriousness of the revolt, these orders were completely unrealistic. Duhesme attempted to comply with his instructions by sending Chabran and 3,000 troops to join Moncey and directing Schwarz with another column to seize Lerida. Schwarz left Barcelona on 4 June and immediately ran into trouble. In the first of the Battles of the Bruch swarms of Catalan miquelets (militia) kept his soldiers from crossing the pass. He called for help and Duhesme diverted Chabran to assist him. But the two generals were unable to force their way through the pass on 15 June. After suffering 400 casualties in the second battle, the French, Italians, and Swiss retreated. The Catalan irregulars tried to oppose Chabran's withdrawing force in the plains but were easily driven off. The frustrated French and their allies then brutally plundered every village along their route back to Barcelona. Battle Alarmed at being isolated, Duhesme decided to clear his line of communications back to France. As he headed northeast toward Girona with a division-sized force, he encountered a large force of miquelets at Mataró. There were an estimated 10,000 Catalans with three or four cannons. On 17 June, the miquelets were easily defeated by the 5,963 Imperial soldiers and their eight artillery pieces. The Imperial troops celebrated their triumph by sacking Mataró for an entire day. As the Franco-Italian force continued on its way to Girona, the miquelets reoccupied the countryside and blocked all communication between Duhesme and Barcelona. In the expedition, Duhesme's force included General of Brigade Andrea Milossevich's 2,133-man brigade, Schwarz's 2,163-strong brigade, and 1,517 cavalry. Milossevich commanded the 2nd Battalions of the 2nd and 5th Italian Line Infantry Regiments and the 3rd Battalion of the 4th Italian Line Infantry. Schwarz directed the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 1st Neapolitan Line Infantry Regiment and the 1st Battalion of the Italian Velites. There were 409 troopers in the 3rd Provisional Cuirassier Regiment, 416 sabers in the 3rd Provisional Chasseurs à Cheval Regiment, 504 cavalrymen in the Italian Chasseurs à Cheval, and 388 men in the Neapolitan Chasseurs à Cheval. Girona was divided by the Onyar river into eastern and western portions. The smaller part of the city, called the Mercadal, was on the west