The Battle of Girona on 20 and 21 June 1808 saw an Imperial French division led by Guillaume Philibert Duhesme try to overrun a Spanish garrison commanded by Lieutenant Colonels O'Donovan and O'Daly. The French assault failed and the attackers withdrew. Girona (spelled "Gerona" in Castilian) is located about halfway between the Franco-Spanish border and Barcelona on the Autovía A-7. The action occurred during the Peninsular War, part of the Napoleonic Wars. As part of his plan to overthrow the Spanish ruling family, Emperor Napoleon ordered his soldiers to seize Barcelona in February 1808. The city's fortress was successfully occupied, but a few weeks later the Spanish people rebelled against Imperial French rule. Duhesme and his soldiers soon found themselves in difficulties. Hemmed in by Catalan militia and regular Spanish troops, the French general attempted to capture Girona in order to open up a secure supply line from France to Barcelona. The Franco-Italian force attempted to storm the city but they were repulsed by the city militia and two small battalions of Irish regular infantry in Spanish service. Duhesme fell back to Barcelona, but he returned to mount the Second siege of Girona five weeks later. Background The Spanish conventional warfare started with the Battles of El Bruch. Months before, as part of his plan to seize his ally the Kingdom of Spain in a military coup, Emperor Napoleon ordered several key points, including Barcelona, to be captured in February 1808. On 29 February, General of Division Giuseppe Lechi's troops were moving through Barcelona. Lechi ordered a military review, and, as his soldiers marched past the main gate of the citadel, they suddenly veered left and rushed into the fortress. Without bloodshed, the Imperial troops hustled the stunned Spanish garrison out of the fortifications and occupied the place. Among other strong places, the French also seized San Sebastian, Pamplona and Figueras. In the Dos de Mayo Uprising in Madrid the Spanish people rose in revolt against the French occupiers. By the summer of 1808, a 12,710-man French corps commanded by Guillaume Philibert Duhesme was based at Barcelona. General of Division Joseph Chabran led the 1st Division with 6,050 soldiers in eight battalions, while Lechi commanded the 2nd Division with 4,600 men in six battalions. The 1,700 cavalrymen in nine squadrons were under Generals of Brigade Bertrand Bessières and François Xavier de Schwarz. There were also 360 gunners. This modest-sized force