 It was a duché grand-fief, a rare, nominal, but hereditary honor (extinguished in 1856) in Napoleon's own Kingdom of Italy.With the outbreak of the Peninsular War, Marshal Bessières had his first opportunity of an independent command.He did well against the Spaniards, scoring a crushing victory in the Battle of Medina del Rio Seco (1808), but proved slow and hesitant in command of a large all-arms force.