Francisco Espoz y Mina

Francisco Espoz y Mina Ilundáin (1781–1836) was a Spanish guerrilla leader and general. Espoz y Mina is considered the most important guerrillero of the Peninsular War for three reasons: by positioning himself so close to the French forces and their lines of communication he was able to harass them continuously; the direct outcome of his field of operations, which limited the resources the French army could deploy elsewhere; and because, unlike many other guerrilleros, he did not resort to plundering the villages within his domain. Rather, he set up a civil administration with which he was able to finance, arm and feed his considerable forces, as well as using the booty he obtained from French convoys he captured. He even demanded a tax on French goods entering the country and the French custom-house at Irun paid his delegates 100 gold ounces per month. Marshal Drouet, Comte d'Erlon deployed a whole division from his IX Corps to hunt him down during the autumn of 1810, resulting in the non-appearance of the Corps at Ciudad Rodrigo and Salamanca, when Marshal Masséna was anxiously awaiting its arrival. In all, during the months of September, October, and November 38,000 men under Drouet, Roguet, Dumoustier, and Reille were prevented by Espoz y Mina's actions from doing anything to help Masséna. He was born in Idocin in Navarre. His father, Juan Esteban Espoz y Mina, and his mother, Maria Teresa Hundain y Ardaiz, were yeomen, rural smallholders, and Francisco Espoz worked on the small family farm until 1808. Espoz enlisted in Doyle's regiment at Jaca in February 1809, and when Jaca was taken the following month, he managed to escape and joined the guerrilla group commanded by his nephew Francisco Javier Mina. When the latter was captured on 21 March 1810, six or seven men of the group chose to follow Francisco Espoz, and on 1 April 1810 the Junta of Aragon gave him the command of the guerrilleros of Navarre. The following July, at Estella, he captured and shot Echevarria, who, under pretence of being a guerrillero, was in fact a brigand.