Lafon Blaniac
# Lafon Blaniac

Guillaume Joseph Nicolas de Lafon-Blaniac (1773–1833) was a French military commander.

## Biography

### 1812

Lafon-Blaniac, the governor of Madrid and Captain-General of New Castille, was left in command of the garrison when King Joseph marched from the capital on 21 July, too late to help Marmont's Army of Portugal at Salamanca (22 July).

At the beginning of August, with Wellington's vanguard rapidly approaching, Lafon-Blaniac was given the order to defend the citadel —contrary to Jourdan's advice— rather than withdrawing from the capital. His garrison consisted of some 2,000 men, mainly drafts belonging to the Army of Andalusia. Although they belonged to several different regiments, they were all French troops of the line; there were no juramentados among them.

Although the double enceinte and the star fort in the interior would have been effective against guerrilleros or insurgents, the place could not hold out against siege-guns, and following the Battle of Majadahonda (11 August), fought on the outskirts of the city, on 14 August 1812 Lafon-Blaniac surrendered. Wellington himself had entered the city two days previously; an initial attack on the citadel had forced its defenders into the inner enceinte which, although formidably palisaded, with a ditch twelve feet deep and twenty-four wide, had only one well to supply them. An additional danger was the huge arsenal that was vulnerable to shell-fire.

