Battle of the Bidassoa (1813)
Encyclopedia
In the Battle of the Bidassoa (or the Battle of La Rhune) on 7 October 1813 the Allied army of Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington
wrested a foothold on French soil from Nicolas Soult's French army. The Allied troops overran the French lines behind the Bidassoa River on the coast and along the Pyrenees
crest between the Bidassoa and La Rhune
(Larrun). The nearest towns to the fighting are Irun
on the lower Bidassoa and Bera (Vera) on the middle Bidassoa. The battle occurred during the Peninsular War
, part of the wider Napoleonic Wars
.
Wellington aimed his main assault at the lower Bidassoa, while sending additional troops to attack Soult's center. Believing his coastal sector secure, Soult held the right flank with a relatively weak force while concentrating most of his strength on his left flank in the mountains. However, the British general obtained local intelligence that indicated that water levels on the lower river were much lower than the French suspected. After careful planning, Wellington launched a surprise assault which easily overran the French left flank defenses. In the center, his army also won through the French defenses, though his Spanish allies were repulsed in one attack. At the beginning of the fighting, Soult realized that his left flank was in no danger, but he reacted too late to restore his positions on the right. Some French generals were shocked at how poorly their soldiers fought.
on 31 August and 1 September 1813, Soult's army was repelled in its final bid to advance into Spain. After a costly assault followed by a brutal sack of the city, the Allies also brought the Siege of San Sebastián
to a successful conclusion in early September. Only Pamplona
's French garrison held out and it would not surrender until October 31. Wellington determined to create a bridgehead across the Bidassoa River. If successful, his army would be the first Allied army to establish itself on French soil. The British commander also wanted to capture French positions that overlooked the Allied lines on the west side of the Bidassoa.
Minister of War, Henri Clarke
ordered Marshal
Soult to defend a position as close to the frontier as possible. He had to hold a 48 km (29.8 mi) front in the Pyrenees mountains. The area was highly defensible, but lateral communications were poor.
Deciding that the coastal sector was the strongest part of his line, Soult posted General of Division Honoré Charles Reille
and 10,550 men to defend that sector. Reille's command included General of Division Antoine Louis Popon de Maucune
's 3,996-strong 7th Division and General of Division Pierre François Joseph Boyer's 6,515-strong 9th Division. Maucune held the lower Bidassoa on the Bay of Biscay
, while Boyer defended the stream farther inland. Behind them was the entrenched camp of Bordagain and the port of St-Jean-de-Luz. General of Division Eugene-Casimir Villatte
's 8,018-man Reserve Division held this area.
General of Division Bertrand Clausel held the center with 15,300 men in the divisions Generals of Division Nicolas François Conroux, Jean-Pierre Maransin
, and Eloi Charlemagne Taupin
. On the right, near the Bidassoa, stood the La Bayonette redoubt. Mont La Rhune
(Larrun) rose in the center of Clausel's sector. His left touched the Nivelle River
near Ainhoa
. Conroux's 4th Division numbered 4,962 men; Maransin's 5th Division counted 5,575 troops; Taupin's 8th Division had 4,778 soldiers and held the area just north of Bera. Soult's gunners, sappers, and other troops added up to 2,000 and his total forces numbered 55,088 effectives. His cavalry was stationed in the Nive
valley.
Fearing an allied thrust over the Maya Pass and down the Nivelle River
to the sea, Soult gave General of Division Jean-Baptiste Drouet, Comte d'Erlon
19,200 men to hold his left flank. D'Erlon's corps included the divisions of Generals of Division Maximilien Sebastien Foy
, Jean Barthélemy Darmagnac, Louis Jean Nicolas Abbé, and Augustin Darricau. These troops held a line from Ainhoa
to the mountain fortress of St-Jean-Pied-de-Port, covering the Maya and Roncesvalles Passes. Darricau's 4,092-man 6th Division was deployed between Ainhoa and Sare
; Abbé's 6,051-strong 3rd Division was west of Ainhoa; Darmagnac's 4,447-man 2nd Division held Ainhoa; Foy's 4,654-strong 1st Division held the fortress at the extreme left flank.
Wellington had 64,000 Anglo-Portuguese infantry and artillery, plus 25,000 Spaniards. Since cavalry was of little use in the mountains, the British
commander sent most of his horse regiments to the rear, keeping a few light dragoons for patrolling. In order to gain his bridgehead, Wellington had to force a crossing of the Bidassoa estuary. The river was 910 meters (1000 yards) wide and 6 meters (20 ft) deep at the high water mark below the Île de la Conference. The French never suspected that there was only 1.2 meters of water over the lower fords at certain low tides, a fact that the Allies gleaned from Basque
fishermen. Allied intelligence knew that the next low tide was 7 October.
The crossing was meticulously planned. Near the lower fords, British engineers built a turf wall near the river. This would shelter Major General
(MG) Andrew Hay's 5th Division during the time before it crossed the river. Wellington positioned five field batteries and three 18-pdr siege cannon to provide fire support to the attacking infantry.
(89,000, 24,000 engaged)
Coastal Sector
La Rhune Sector
Note: Only the engaged units are listed.
(Fuenterrabia). It came as a complete surprise to the French, who had deployed only Maucune's 4,000 men to defend six km (four miles) of river. Immediately, Hay's men gained a foothold at the village of Hendaye and swung two brigades to the right to assist the crossing of MG Kenneth Howard
's 1st Division. At 8:00 am, Howard's men, MG Thomas Bradford's independent Portuguese
brigade and MG Lord Aylmer
's independent British brigade forded the river near a destroyed bridge at Béhobie. Three Spanish brigades from LG Manuel Freire
's two divisions (MG Del Barco and MG Barcena) crossed farther to the right. Rapidly, the British overran the Croix des Bouquets position and the Spanish captured Mont Calvaire at 43°20′16"N 1°43′7"W. The entire ridge on the French side of the river fell into Allied hands at the cost of only 400 casualties. With the high ground in his possession, Wellington suspended the attack.
That morning Soult was absorbed in watching Henry Clinton
's 6th Division advancing from the Maya Pass. The division's Portuguese
brigade boldly seized the Urdax ironworks, losing 150 men in the combat. Soult suddenly realized the operation was only a demonstration. He rode off to his coastal sector but he was too late to help Reille.
John Colborne
's brigade of Charles Alten
's Light Division
attacked La Bayonette at 43°18′35"N 1°42′12"W. The French charged downhill and drove back the green-jacketed skirmishers of the 95th Rifles Foot. Suddenly the 1/52nd (Oxfordshire) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry)
Foot appeared out of the trees and quickly turned the tables. Following closely behind the retreating French, the redcoats of the 52nd overran the redoubt with surprising ease.
Meanwhile, MG James Kempt
's other Light Division brigade and Brigadier General
Francisco de Longa
's Spanish division attacked up two spurs of La Rhune to secure some positions. To their right, Lieutenant General
Pedro Girón's
two Andalusian divisions (MG Virues and MG La Torre) attacked the summit of La Rhune. Though the Spanish attacked repeatedly, they were defeated. However, the next day the French abandoned the position to avoid encirclement.
During the follow-up to this victory, Spanish troops seized the Sainte-Barbe Redoubt at 43°18′1"N 1°34′55"W, 1.4 km south of the village of Sare
. On 12 October, Conroux's division recaptured the fort from its garrison of La Torre's division and drove off a five-battalion Spanish counterattack. French casualties are estimated at 300, while the Spanish lost 300 killed and wounded, plus 200 captured. The next engagement was the Battle of Nivelle
on 10 November 1813.
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...
wrested a foothold on French soil from Nicolas Soult's French army. The Allied troops overran the French lines behind the Bidassoa River on the coast and along the Pyrenees
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain...
crest between the Bidassoa and La Rhune
La Rhune
Larrun is a mountain at the western end of the Pyrenees. It is located on the border between France and Spain, where the traditional Basque provinces of Labourd and Navarra meet...
(Larrun). The nearest towns to the fighting are Irun
Irun
Irun is a town of the Bidasoa-Txingudi region in the province of Gipuzkoa in the Basque Autonomous Community, Spain...
on the lower Bidassoa and Bera (Vera) on the middle Bidassoa. The battle occurred during the Peninsular War
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War was a war between France and the allied powers of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars. The war began when French and Spanish armies crossed Spain and invaded Portugal in 1807. Then, in 1808, France turned on its...
, part of the wider Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
.
Wellington aimed his main assault at the lower Bidassoa, while sending additional troops to attack Soult's center. Believing his coastal sector secure, Soult held the right flank with a relatively weak force while concentrating most of his strength on his left flank in the mountains. However, the British general obtained local intelligence that indicated that water levels on the lower river were much lower than the French suspected. After careful planning, Wellington launched a surprise assault which easily overran the French left flank defenses. In the center, his army also won through the French defenses, though his Spanish allies were repulsed in one attack. At the beginning of the fighting, Soult realized that his left flank was in no danger, but he reacted too late to restore his positions on the right. Some French generals were shocked at how poorly their soldiers fought.
Operations
In the Battle of San MarcialBattle of San Marcial
At the Battle of San Marcial, 31 August 1813, the Spanish Army of Galicia under General Freire turned back MarshalNicolas Soult's last major offensive against Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington's allied army.-Background:...
on 31 August and 1 September 1813, Soult's army was repelled in its final bid to advance into Spain. After a costly assault followed by a brutal sack of the city, the Allies also brought the Siege of San Sebastián
Siege of San Sebastian
In the Siege of San Sebastián Allied forces under the command of General Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington captured the city of San Sebastián in northern Spain from its French garrison under Brigadier-General Louis Rey...
to a successful conclusion in early September. Only Pamplona
Pamplona
Pamplona is the historial capital city of Navarre, in Spain, and of the former kingdom of Navarre.The city is famous worldwide for the San Fermín festival, from July 6 to 14, in which the running of the bulls is one of the main attractions...
's French garrison held out and it would not surrender until October 31. Wellington determined to create a bridgehead across the Bidassoa River. If successful, his army would be the first Allied army to establish itself on French soil. The British commander also wanted to capture French positions that overlooked the Allied lines on the west side of the Bidassoa.
Preparations
Because the French troops had begun to plunder their fellow citizens, Emperor Napoleon'sNapoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
Minister of War, Henri Clarke
Henri Jacques Guillaume Clarke
Henri-Jacques-Guillaume Clarke, 1st Count of Hunebourg, 1st Duke of Feltre , born in Landrecies, was a Marshal of France and French politician of Irish descent.Clarke entered the French army in 1782...
ordered Marshal
Marshal of France
The Marshal of France is a military distinction in contemporary France, not a military rank. It is granted to generals for exceptional achievements...
Soult to defend a position as close to the frontier as possible. He had to hold a 48 km (29.8 mi) front in the Pyrenees mountains. The area was highly defensible, but lateral communications were poor.
Honoré Charles Reille
Honoré Charles Michel Joseph Reille was a Marshal of France, born in Antibes.Reille served in the early campaigns of the French Revolutionary Wars under Dumouriez and Masséna, whose daughter Victoire he married. In 1800, Reille was appointed commander of the Italian city of Florence...
and 10,550 men to defend that sector. Reille's command included General of Division Antoine Louis Popon de Maucune
Antoine Louis Popon de Maucune
Antoine Louis Popon de Maucune joined the pioneer corps of the French army in 1786 and was a lieutenant by the time the French Revolutionary Wars broke out. He fought in the north in 1792 and in the Alps in 1793. Afterward he served in Italy through 1801. During this period, he fought at Arcole in...
's 3,996-strong 7th Division and General of Division Pierre François Joseph Boyer's 6,515-strong 9th Division. Maucune held the lower Bidassoa on the Bay of Biscay
Bay of Biscay
The Bay of Biscay is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Brest south to the Spanish border, and the northern coast of Spain west to Cape Ortegal, and is named in English after the province of Biscay, in the Spanish...
, while Boyer defended the stream farther inland. Behind them was the entrenched camp of Bordagain and the port of St-Jean-de-Luz. General of Division Eugene-Casimir Villatte
Eugene-Casimir Villatte
Eugène-Casimir Villatte, Comte d'Oultremont fought in the French army during the Wars of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars. He rose to command a division at many of the important battles in the Peninsular War...
's 8,018-man Reserve Division held this area.
General of Division Bertrand Clausel held the center with 15,300 men in the divisions Generals of Division Nicolas François Conroux, Jean-Pierre Maransin
Jean-Pierre Maransin
Jean-Pierre Maransin was a Général de Division of the First French Empire who saw action during the Peninsular War. He was made Colonel of the 1st Legion du Midi on 27 January 1807 and promoted to Général de Brigade on 8 November 1808. He fought at the Battle of Albuera on 16 May 1811...
, and Eloi Charlemagne Taupin
Eloi Charlemagne Taupin
General Eloi Charlemagne Taupin became a French soldier before the French Revolutionary Wars, rose in rank to command a division in the armies of Napoleon and was killed leading his troops in battle in 1814...
. On the right, near the Bidassoa, stood the La Bayonette redoubt. Mont La Rhune
La Rhune
Larrun is a mountain at the western end of the Pyrenees. It is located on the border between France and Spain, where the traditional Basque provinces of Labourd and Navarra meet...
(Larrun) rose in the center of Clausel's sector. His left touched the Nivelle River
Nivelle river
The Nivelle is a 41 km long river in the Basque Country flowing largely south-east to north-west, with only 7 km of its length being considered navigable...
near Ainhoa
Ainhoa
Ainhoa can refer to:* Ainhoa, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France* Ainhoa, a common name for women in the Basque Country:** Ainhoa is the artistic name of Ainhoa Cantalapiedra, Spanish singer** Ainhoa Arteta, Spanish soprano.** Ainhoa Murúa, Spanish triathlete....
. Conroux's 4th Division numbered 4,962 men; Maransin's 5th Division counted 5,575 troops; Taupin's 8th Division had 4,778 soldiers and held the area just north of Bera. Soult's gunners, sappers, and other troops added up to 2,000 and his total forces numbered 55,088 effectives. His cavalry was stationed in the Nive
Nive
The Nive is a French river that flows through the French Basque Country. It is a left tributary of the river Adour. The river's source in the Pyrenees in Lower Navarre...
valley.
Fearing an allied thrust over the Maya Pass and down the Nivelle River
Nivelle river
The Nivelle is a 41 km long river in the Basque Country flowing largely south-east to north-west, with only 7 km of its length being considered navigable...
to the sea, Soult gave General of Division Jean-Baptiste Drouet, Comte d'Erlon
Jean-Baptiste Drouet, Comte d'Erlon
Jean-Baptiste Drouet, comte d'Erlon was a marshal of France and a soldier in Napoleon's Army. D'Erlon notably commanded the I Corps of the Armée du Nord at the battle of Waterloo....
19,200 men to hold his left flank. D'Erlon's corps included the divisions of Generals of Division Maximilien Sebastien Foy
Maximilien Sebastien Foy
Maximilien Sébastien Foy was a French military leader, statesman and writer.-Revolution:He was born in Ham, Somme, and educated in the military school of La Fere, and made sub-lieutenant of artillery in 1792. He was present at the battles of Valmy and Jemappes, and in 1793 obtained a company, as...
, Jean Barthélemy Darmagnac, Louis Jean Nicolas Abbé, and Augustin Darricau. These troops held a line from Ainhoa
Ainhoa, Pyrénées-Atlantiques
Ainhoa is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in Aquitaine in south-western France. The village is in the traditional Basque province of Labourd...
to the mountain fortress of St-Jean-Pied-de-Port, covering the Maya and Roncesvalles Passes. Darricau's 4,092-man 6th Division was deployed between Ainhoa and Sare
Sare
Sare is a village in the traditional Basque province of Labourd, now a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France....
; Abbé's 6,051-strong 3rd Division was west of Ainhoa; Darmagnac's 4,447-man 2nd Division held Ainhoa; Foy's 4,654-strong 1st Division held the fortress at the extreme left flank.
Wellington had 64,000 Anglo-Portuguese infantry and artillery, plus 25,000 Spaniards. Since cavalry was of little use in the mountains, the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
commander sent most of his horse regiments to the rear, keeping a few light dragoons for patrolling. In order to gain his bridgehead, Wellington had to force a crossing of the Bidassoa estuary. The river was 910 meters (1000 yards) wide and 6 meters (20 ft) deep at the high water mark below the Île de la Conference. The French never suspected that there was only 1.2 meters of water over the lower fords at certain low tides, a fact that the Allies gleaned from Basque
Basque people
The Basques as an ethnic group, primarily inhabit an area traditionally known as the Basque Country , a region that is located around the western end of the Pyrenees on the coast of the Bay of Biscay and straddles parts of north-central Spain and south-western France.The Basques are known in the...
fishermen. Allied intelligence knew that the next low tide was 7 October.
The crossing was meticulously planned. Near the lower fords, British engineers built a turf wall near the river. This would shelter Major General
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
(MG) Andrew Hay's 5th Division during the time before it crossed the river. Wellington positioned five field batteries and three 18-pdr siege cannon to provide fire support to the attacking infantry.
Allied Army
Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of WellingtonArthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...
(89,000, 24,000 engaged)
Coastal Sector
- 1st Division: MG Kenneth HowardKenneth Howard, 1st Earl of EffinghamKenneth Alexander Howard, 1st Earl of Effingham was a British peer.His father, Henry Howard , was a male-line descendant of William Howard, 1st Baron Howard of Effingham. His mother, Maria Mackenzie Kenneth Alexander Howard, 1st Earl of Effingham (29 November 1767 – 13 February 1845) was a...
- 1st Brigade: ColonelColonelColonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
(Col) Peregrine MaitlandPeregrine MaitlandSir Peregrine Maitland, KCB, GCB was a British soldier and colonial administrator who played first-class cricket from 1798 to 1808....
- 1/1st Foot Guards, 3/1st Foot Guards, 1 company (coy) 5/60th Foot
- 2nd Brigade: MG Edward StopfordEdward StopfordSir Edward Stopford GCB , was an Anglo-Irish soldier and politician.Stopford was the second son of James Stopford, 2nd Earl of Courtown, and his wife Mary . James Stopford, 3rd Earl of Courtown, was his elder brother and Admiral the Hon. Sir Robert Stopford his younger brother...
- 2/24th Foot, 1/42nd Foot, 2/58th Foot, 1/79th Foot, 1 coy 5/60th
- 3rd Brigade: MG Heinrich von Hinüber
- 1st, 2nd, and 5th King's German LegionKing's German LegionThe King's German Legion was a British Army unit of expatriate German personnel, 1803–16. The Legion achieved the distinction of being the only German force to fight without interruption against the French during the Napoleonic Wars....
(KGL) Line battalions (bns)
- 1st, 2nd, and 5th King's German Legion
- British Brigade: MG Matthew Whitworth-Aylmer, Lord AylmerMatthew Whitworth-Aylmer, 5th Baron AylmerMatthew Whitworth-Aylmer, 5th Baron Aylmer was a British military officer and colonial administrator.- Napoleonic Wars :...
(attached)- 76th Foot, 2/84th Foot, 85th Foot85th Regiment of Foot (Bucks Volunteers)The 85th Regiment of Foot was a British Army line infantry regiment. During the Childers Reforms it was united with the 53rd Regiment of Foot to form the King's Shropshire Light Infantry.-Service history:...
- 76th Foot, 2/84th Foot, 85th Foot
- Portuguese Brigade: MG Thomas Bradford (attached)
- 13th and 24th Line Regiments (Regts), 5th CaçadoresCaçadoresThe Caçadores were the elite light infantry of the Portuguese Army during the Peninsular War...
bn
- 13th and 24th Line Regiments (Regts), 5th Caçadores
- 1st Brigade: Colonel
- 5th Division: MG Andrew Hay
- 1st Brigade: Col Charles Greville
- 3/1st Foot, 1/9th Foot, 1/38th Foot, 1 coy Brunswick OelsBlack BrunswickersThe Black Brunswickers were a volunteer corps raised by German-born Frederick William, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel to fight in the Napoleonic Wars. The Duke was a harsh opponent of Napoleon Bonaparte's occupation of his native Germany...
- 3/1st Foot, 1/9th Foot, 1/38th Foot, 1 coy Brunswick Oels
- 2nd Brigade: MG Frederick P. RobinsonFrederick Philipse RobinsonSir Frederick Philipse Robinson, GCB was a Virginian soldier, born in the Highlands, near New York, in September, 1763, who fought for Britain during the American War of Independence....
- 1/4th Foot, 2/47th Foot, 2/59th Foot, 1 coy Brunswick Oels
- Portuguese Brigade: BG Luiz de Regoa
- 3rd and 15th Line Regts, 8th Caçadores bn
- 1st Brigade: Col Charles Greville
- Spanish Corps: LG Manuel Alberto Freire de Andrade y ArmijoManuel Alberto Freire de Andrade y ArmijoManuel Alberto Freire de Andrade y Armijo was a Spanish cavalry officer and general officer during the Peninsular War....
- 3rd Division: MG Del Barco
- 4th Division: MG Barcena
La Rhune Sector
- Light Division: MG Charles AltenCharles AltenSir Charles Alten , Hanoverian and British soldier, son of Baron Alten, a member of an old Hanoverian family, entered the service of the elector as a page at the age of twelve. He led a famous Anglo-Portuguese division during the Peninsular War. At the Battle of Waterloo, he commanded a division...
- 1st Brigade: MG James KemptJames KemptGeneral Sir James Kempt, GCB was a British Army officer, who served in Holland, Egypt, Italy, the Peninsula, and British North America during the Napoleonic Wars...
- 1/43rd Foot, 1/95th Rifles, 3/95th Rifles, 3rd Caçadores bn
- 2nd Brigade: Lt-Col John ColborneJohn Colborne, 1st Baron SeatonField Marshal John Colborne, 1st Baron Seaton, GCB, GCMG, GCH, PC was a British field marshal and colonial governor.-Early service:...
- 1/52nd Foot, 2/95th Rifles, 17th Portuguese Line Regt, 1st Caçadores bn
- 1st Brigade: MG James Kempt
- 6th Division: LG Henry ClintonHenry Clinton (Napoleonic Wars)Lieutenant-General Sir Henry Clinton, GCB, GCH was a British Army officer and a general officer during the Napoleonic Wars.He came from a family of soldiers...
- Portuguese Brigade: MG George Allan Madden
- 8th and 12th Line Regts, 8th Caçadores bn
- Portuguese Brigade: MG George Allan Madden
- Reserve of Andalusia: LG Pedro Agustín GirónPedro Agustín GirónPedro Agustín Girón, 4th Marquis de las Amarilas, Duque of Ahumada was a Spanish military officer and politician. The son of a general, he fought against the French during the French Revolutionary Wars. During the Napoleonic Wars he became a general officer and again fought the French...
- 1st Division: MG Virues
- 2nd Division: MG La Torre
- 6th Galician Division: BG Francisco de LongaFrancisco de LongaFrancisco Tomás de Anchia Longa was a Spanish guerrilla He was born April 10, 1783 in the village of Longa Mallabia . A blacksmith by trade, he and 100 men enganged the French in guerilla warfare, attacking the lines of communication around Pancorbo, Orduña and Valdeajos. From these humble...
Note: Only the engaged units are listed.
Bidassoa
At 7:25 am the 5th Division launched its attack from near HondarribiaHondarribia
Hondarribia is a town situated on the west shore of Bidasoa river's mouth, in Gipuzkoa, Basque Country, Spain. The border town is sited on a little promontory facing Hendaye over the Txingudi bay. The town holds an ancient old quarter with walls and a castle...
(Fuenterrabia). It came as a complete surprise to the French, who had deployed only Maucune's 4,000 men to defend six km (four miles) of river. Immediately, Hay's men gained a foothold at the village of Hendaye and swung two brigades to the right to assist the crossing of MG Kenneth Howard
Kenneth Howard, 1st Earl of Effingham
Kenneth Alexander Howard, 1st Earl of Effingham was a British peer.His father, Henry Howard , was a male-line descendant of William Howard, 1st Baron Howard of Effingham. His mother, Maria Mackenzie Kenneth Alexander Howard, 1st Earl of Effingham (29 November 1767 – 13 February 1845) was a...
's 1st Division. At 8:00 am, Howard's men, MG Thomas Bradford's independent Portuguese
Portuguese Army
The Portuguese Army is the ground branch of the Portuguese Armed Forces which, in co-operation with other branches of the Portuguese military, is charged with the defence of Portugal...
brigade and MG Lord Aylmer
Matthew Whitworth-Aylmer, 5th Baron Aylmer
Matthew Whitworth-Aylmer, 5th Baron Aylmer was a British military officer and colonial administrator.- Napoleonic Wars :...
's independent British brigade forded the river near a destroyed bridge at Béhobie. Three Spanish brigades from LG Manuel Freire
Manuel Freire
Manuel Freire is a Portuguese influential left-wing singer and composer, although he also works as a computer technician. Freire was born in Vagos, Aveiro District in 25 April 1942....
's two divisions (MG Del Barco and MG Barcena) crossed farther to the right. Rapidly, the British overran the Croix des Bouquets position and the Spanish captured Mont Calvaire at 43°20′16"N 1°43′7"W. The entire ridge on the French side of the river fell into Allied hands at the cost of only 400 casualties. With the high ground in his possession, Wellington suspended the attack.
That morning Soult was absorbed in watching Henry Clinton
Henry Clinton (Napoleonic Wars)
Lieutenant-General Sir Henry Clinton, GCB, GCH was a British Army officer and a general officer during the Napoleonic Wars.He came from a family of soldiers...
's 6th Division advancing from the Maya Pass. The division's Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
brigade boldly seized the Urdax ironworks, losing 150 men in the combat. Soult suddenly realized the operation was only a demonstration. He rode off to his coastal sector but he was too late to help Reille.
La Rhune
The toughest fighting of the day occurred in Clausel's sector. Lieutenant ColonelLieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
John Colborne
John Colborne, 1st Baron Seaton
Field Marshal John Colborne, 1st Baron Seaton, GCB, GCMG, GCH, PC was a British field marshal and colonial governor.-Early service:...
's brigade of Charles Alten
Charles Alten
Sir Charles Alten , Hanoverian and British soldier, son of Baron Alten, a member of an old Hanoverian family, entered the service of the elector as a page at the age of twelve. He led a famous Anglo-Portuguese division during the Peninsular War. At the Battle of Waterloo, he commanded a division...
's Light Division
Light Division
The Light Division was a light infantry Division of the British Army formed in the early 19th Century. It can trace its origins to the Light Companies which had been formed to move at speed over inhospitable terrain and protect the main forces by skirmishing tactics...
attacked La Bayonette at 43°18′35"N 1°42′12"W. The French charged downhill and drove back the green-jacketed skirmishers of the 95th Rifles Foot. Suddenly the 1/52nd (Oxfordshire) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry)
52nd (Oxfordshire) Regiment of Foot
The 52nd Regiment of Foot was a light infantry regiment of the British Army throughout much of the 18th and 19th centuries. The regiment first saw active service during the American War of Independence, and were posted to India during the Anglo-Mysore Wars...
Foot appeared out of the trees and quickly turned the tables. Following closely behind the retreating French, the redcoats of the 52nd overran the redoubt with surprising ease.
Meanwhile, MG James Kempt
James Kempt
General Sir James Kempt, GCB was a British Army officer, who served in Holland, Egypt, Italy, the Peninsula, and British North America during the Napoleonic Wars...
's other Light Division brigade and Brigadier General
Brigadier General
Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...
Francisco de Longa
Francisco de Longa
Francisco Tomás de Anchia Longa was a Spanish guerrilla He was born April 10, 1783 in the village of Longa Mallabia . A blacksmith by trade, he and 100 men enganged the French in guerilla warfare, attacking the lines of communication around Pancorbo, Orduña and Valdeajos. From these humble...
's Spanish division attacked up two spurs of La Rhune to secure some positions. To their right, Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....
Pedro Girón's
Pedro Agustín Girón
Pedro Agustín Girón, 4th Marquis de las Amarilas, Duque of Ahumada was a Spanish military officer and politician. The son of a general, he fought against the French during the French Revolutionary Wars. During the Napoleonic Wars he became a general officer and again fought the French...
two Andalusian divisions (MG Virues and MG La Torre) attacked the summit of La Rhune. Though the Spanish attacked repeatedly, they were defeated. However, the next day the French abandoned the position to avoid encirclement.
Results
In Reille's sector, the French lost 390 killed and wounded, plus 60 men and eight cannons captured. In Clausel's sector, the French suffered 600 killed and wounded, plus 598 men and nine cannons captured. The British lost 82 killed, 486 wounded, and five missing, or a total of 573. The Portuguese lost 48 killed, 186 wounded, and eight missing, or a total of 242. The Spanish suffered the balance of the 1,600 total Allied casualties. The defeat lowered morale in Soult's army. Except at La Rhune, French troops did not obstinately defend their positions. Villatte commented, "with troops like these we can expect only disgrace." Soult made Maucune the scapegoat, dismissed him from his division, and sent him to the rear. After the battle, some of the Allied troops indulged themselves in the looting of French homes and towns. Wellington came down harshly on British troops caught plundering. He felt sympathetic to the Spanish, who had seen their nation ravaged by French soldiers, but he determined to tolerate no looting for fear of provoking a guerilla war.During the follow-up to this victory, Spanish troops seized the Sainte-Barbe Redoubt at 43°18′1"N 1°34′55"W, 1.4 km south of the village of Sare
Sare
Sare is a village in the traditional Basque province of Labourd, now a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France....
. On 12 October, Conroux's division recaptured the fort from its garrison of La Torre's division and drove off a five-battalion Spanish counterattack. French casualties are estimated at 300, while the Spanish lost 300 killed and wounded, plus 200 captured. The next engagement was the Battle of Nivelle
Battle of Nivelle
The Battle of Nivelle took place in front of the River Nivelle near the end of the Peninsular War . After the Allied siege of San Sebastian, Wellington's 80,000 British, Portuguese and Spanish troops were in hot pursuit of Marshal Soult who only had 60,000 men to place in a 20-mile perimeter...
on 10 November 1813.