The campaigns of 1711-1712 on the Northern front of Catalonia during the war of Spanish succession: The blockade of Gerona and Rosas

In the context of the Catalan front during the War of the Spanish Succession, the developments of the years 1711-1712 are of great importance. The war in Catalonia was fought on three fronts, in the South, on the Ebro river, with the main fortification at Tortosa; on the Western front, on the Segre river, with the main fortification at Lérida, and finally on the Northern front, which had its main fortification at Gerona. In the wars of the late seventeenth century, taking Gerona was always an important goal, one which was presumed to precede the taking of Barcelona. In the case of the War of the Spanish Succession the same pattern was followed. Strategists of Archduke Charles of Austria, Emperor of Germany from 1711 (Charles VI), designed a defensive strategy, but with offensive features which consisted of blockading the two main fortifications of an entire war front, Gerona and Rosas, directly threatening Barcelona. This was often carried out with what were inferior forces but remained in place within the conflict in Catalonia until 1713-1714. Bourbon sources, deposited in the National Historical Archive (State Section) in Madrid, along with some Austrian ones, the archives of the Generalitat of Catalonia, and especially the great work of Francesc de Castellví, Narraciones Históricas, have all been consulted.