Battle of Sant Esteve d'en Bas

The Battle of Sant Esteve d'en Bas took place on 10 March 1695 in the Catalan front of the War of the Grand Alliance. It was fought between a column of French regular infantry under Brigadier Urbain Le Clerc de Juigné, governor of the nearby French-occupied Castellfollit de la Roca, and 16 companies of Catalan miquelets along with several armed peasants at the orders of Ramon de Sala i Saçala, the veguer of the town of Vic. Juigné's force was on a punitive expedition to burn the village of Sant Esteve d'en Bas, whose inhabitants had refused to pay war contributions to the French army, when it was attacked by the Catalan militia and nearly destroyed in two separate engagements.

The first and more bloody fight took place in the woods of Malatosquera and on the bridge of Sant Roc, where the French suffered heavy losses. Defeated, Juigné and his remaining troops fled to Olot, where they entrenched themselves in a convent. The Catalans forced the French to surrender by setting the building on fire. This French defeat was followed a month later by the blockade of the French garrisons of Castellfollit and Hostalric by Spanish troops: miquelets and armed peasants. The French command decided to demolish and evacuate the garrisons in July due to the impossibility of keeping both positions.