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Battle of the Bidassoa

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In theBattle of the Bidasoa(or theBattle of Larrun) on 7 October 1813 the Allied army ofArthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellingtonwrested a foothold on French soil fromNicolas Soult's French army. The Allied troops overran the French lines behind theBidassoaRiver on the coast and along thePyreneescrest between the Bidasoa andLa Rhune(Larrun). The nearest towns to the fighting areIrunon the lower Bidassoa andBeraon the middle Bidasoa. The battle occurred during thePeninsular War,part of the widerNapoleonic Wars.

Battle of the Bidassoa (1813)
Part ofWar of the Sixth Coalition
Color print showing soldiers under British flags in the foreground attacking French troops with a backdrop of mountains.
Battle of the Bidassoa, 9 October 1813.
Date7 October 1813
Location
NearHendaye,FranceandLa Rhune
43°20′16″N1°43′7″W/ 43.33778°N 1.71861°W/43.33778; -1.71861(Mont Calvaire)
Result Allied victory
Belligerents
First French EmpireFrench Empire United Kingdom of Great Britain and IrelandUnited Kingdom
Kingdom of PortugalPortugal
SpainSpain
Commanders and leaders
First French EmpireNicolas Soult United Kingdom of Great Britain and IrelandDuke of Wellington
Strength
62,000[1] 89,000[2]
Casualties and losses
1,676[3]
17 cannons[4]		 825[5]–1,600[6]
Battle of the Bidassoa is located in Europe
Battle of the Bidassoa
class=notpageimage|
Location within Europe
Peninsular War:
Campaign in south-west France
Map
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50km
30miles
Bayonne
7
Battle of Bayonne at Bayonne, on 14 April 1814
Toulouse
6
Battle of Toulouse (1814) at Toulouse, on 10 April 1814
5
Battle of Orthez at Orthez, on 27 February 1814
4
Battle of Garris at Garris, on 15 February 1814
3
Battle of the Nive at River Nive, from 9 to 13 December 1813
2
Battle of Nivelle at River Nivelle, on 10 November 1813
Bidassoa
1
current battle

Wellington aimed his main assault at the lower Bidasoa, while sending additional troops to attack Soult's centre. 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 defences. In the centre, his army also won through the French defenses, though his Spanish allies were repulsed in one attack. At the beginning of the fighting, Soult realised that his left flank was in no danger, but it was too late to reinforce his positions on the right. Some French generals were shocked at how poorly their soldiers fought.

Background

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Operations

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In theBattle of San Marcialon 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 theSiege of San Sebastiánto a successful conclusion in early September. A French garrison held out in theSiege of Pamplonawhich would end in a surrender on October 31.Wellington determined to create a bridgehead across theBidassoaRiver. If successful, his army would be the first Allied army to establish itself on French soil.[citation needed]The British commander also wanted to capture French positions that overlooked the Allied lines on the west side of the Bidassoa.[7]

Preparations

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Because the French troops had begun to plunder their fellow citizens,Emperor Napoleon'sMinister of War,Henri Jacques Guillaume ClarkeorderedMarshalSoult to defend a position as close to the frontier as possible. He had to hold a 48 km (30 mi) front in the Pyrenees mountains. The area was highly defensible, but lateral communications were poor.[7]

Marshal Jean-de-Dieu Soult

Deciding that the coastal sector was the strongest part of his line, Soult postedGeneral of DivisionHonoré Charles Reilleand 10,550 men to defend that sector.[8]Reille's command included General of DivisionAntoine Louis Popon de Maucune's 3,996-strong 7th Division and General of DivisionPierre François Xavier Boyer's 6,515-strong 9th Division. Maucune held the lower Bidassoa on theBay of Biscay,while Boyer defended the stream farther inland.[9]Behind them was the entrenched camp of Bordagain and the port ofSt-Jean-de-Luz[8]which were held by General of DivisionEugene-Casimir Villatte's 8,018-man Reserve Division.[9]

General of DivisionBertrand Clauselheld the centre with 15,300 men under Generals of DivisionNicolas François Conroux,Jean-Pierre Maransin,andEloi Charlemagne Taupin.On the right, near the Bidassoa, stood theLa Bayonetteredoubt. MontLa Rhune(Larrun) rose in the center of Clausel's sector. His left touched theNivelle RivernearAinhoa.[8]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 theNivevalley.[9]

Fearing an allied thrust over the Maya Pass and down theNivelle Riverto the sea, Soult gave General of DivisionJean-Baptiste Drouet, Comte d'Erlon19,200 men to hold his left flank. D'Erlon's corps included the soldiers of Generals of DivisionMaximilien Sebastien Foy,Jean Barthélemy Darmagnac,Louis Jean Nicolas Abbé,andAugustin Darricau.These troops held a line fromAinhoato the mountain fortress ofSt-Jean-Pied-de-Port,covering the Maya andRoncevaux Passes.[8]Darricau's 4,092-man 6th Division was deployed between Ainhoa andSare;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.[9]

The Guards entering France, 7th Oct. 1813byRobert Batty.

Wellington had 64,000 Anglo-Portuguese infantry and artillery, plus 25,000 Spanish soldiers from the Army of Galicia. Since cavalry was of little use in the mountains, theBritishcommander 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 metres (1,000 yards) wide and 6 metres (20 feet) deep at the high-water mark below the Île de la Conference. The French never suspected that there was only 4 feet (1.2 m) of water over the lower fords at certain low tides, a fact that the Allies gleaned fromBasquefishermen. Allied intelligence knew that the next low tide was 7 October.[2]

The crossing was meticulously planned. Near the lower fords, British engineers built a turf wall near the river. This would shelterAndrew Hay's5th Divisionduring the time before it crossed the river. Wellington positioned five field batteries and three 18-pound siege cannon to provide fire support to the attacking infantry.[10]

Battle

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Allied Army

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Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington(89,000, 24,000 engaged)[11]

Coastal Sector[a] La Rhune Sector[a]

French Army

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Soult's Army defending the Bidassoa River in October 1813[9]
Corps Division Battalions Strength
Right
General of Division Honoré Charles Reille 		7th Division: General of Division Antoine Louis Popon de Maucune 8 3,996
9th Division: General of Division Pierre François Joseph Boyer 12 6,515
Center
General of Division Bertrand Clausel 		4th Division: General of Division Nicolas François Conroux 9 4,962
5th Division: General of Division Jean-Pierre Maransin 9 5,575
8th Division: General of Division Eloi Charlemagne Taupin 10 4,778
Left
General of Division Jean-Baptiste Drouet, Comte d'Erlon 		1st Division: General of Division Maximilien Sebastien Foy 8 4,654
2nd Division: General of Division Jean Barthélemy Darmagnac 9 4,447
3rd Division: General of Division Louis Jean Nicolas Abbé 8 6,051
6th Division: General of Division Augustin Darricau 7 4,092
Reserve
General of Division Eugene-Casimir Villatte 		8th Division: General of Division Eugene-Casimir Villatte 18 8,018
Artillery: - 2,000

Bidassoa

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At 7:25 am the 5th Division launched its attack from nearHondarribia(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 ofKenneth Howard's 1st Division. At 8:00 am, Howard's men, Thomas Bradford's independentPortuguesebrigade andLord Aylmer's independent British brigade forded the river near a destroyed bridge at Béhobie. Three Spanish brigades fromManuel Freire's two divisions (Del Barco and Barcena) crossed farther to the right. Rapidly, the British overran theCroix des Bouquetsposition and the Spanish captured Mont Calvaire at43°20′16″N1°43′7″W/ 43.33778°N 1.71861°W/43.33778; -1.71861(Mont Calvaire).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.[12]

That morning Soult was absorbed in watchingHenry Clinton's6th Divisionadvancing from the Maya Pass. The division'sPortuguesebrigade boldly seized theUrdaxironworks, losing 150 men in the combat. Soult suddenly realised the operation was only a demonstration. He rode off to his coastal sector but he was too late to help Reille.[2]

La Rhune

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La Rhune,where the French repelled a Spanish attack.

The toughest fighting of the day occurred in Clausel's sector.John Colborne's brigade ofCharles Alten'sLight DivisionattackedLa Bayonetteat43°18′35″N1°42′12″W/ 43.30972°N 1.70333°W/43.30972; -1.70333(Le Bayonette Redoute).The French charged downhill and drove back the green-jacketed skirmishers of the95th RiflesFoot. Suddenly the 1/52nd (Oxfordshire) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry)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.[13]

Meanwhile,James Kempt's other Light Division brigade andFrancisco de Longa's Spanish division attacked up two spurs of La Rhune to secure some positions. To their right,Pedro Girón'stwo Andalusian divisions (Virues and 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.[14][15][16]

Results

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The Allies were victorious for the first time on French soil. 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.[4]The Spanish suffered the balance of the 1,600 total Allied casualties.[14]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".[17]Soult made Maucune the scapegoat, dismissed him from his division, and sent him to the rear.[12]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.[18]

During the follow-up to this victory, Spanish troops seized the Sainte-Barbe Redoubt at43°18′1″N1°34′55″W/ 43.30028°N 1.58194°W/43.30028; -1.58194(Sainte-Barbe Redoute),1.4 kilometres (0.9 mi) south of the village ofSare.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.[19]The next engagement was theBattle of Nivelleon 10 November 1813.[20]

Explanatory notes

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  1. ^abOnly the engaged units are listed in the order of battle.

Notes

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  1. ^Glover's text states 61,000, but his order of battle footnote adds up to 62,170 (Glover 2001,p. 281).
  2. ^abcGlover 2001,p. 283.
  3. ^Oman 1930,p. 536.
  4. ^abSmith 1998,pp. 459–460.
  5. ^Oman 1930,p. 535.
  6. ^Bodart 1908,p. 460.
  7. ^abGlover 2001,p. 280.
  8. ^abcdGlover 2001,p. 281.
  9. ^abcdeGates 2002,p. 523.
  10. ^Glover 2001,pp. 283–284.
  11. ^Glover's Nivelle order of battle was used (Glover 2001,pp. 385–387).
  12. ^abGlover 2001,p. 285.
  13. ^Glover 2001,pp. 285–286.
  14. ^abGlover 2001,p. 286.
  15. ^Smith specified Girón as the Spanish commander (Smith 1998,p. 460).
  16. ^Although Glover does not mention Girón in his account of the La Rhune attacks (Glover 2001,p. 386); Girón's division commanders are inferred from the Nivelle order of battle.
  17. ^Glover 2001,p. 287.
  18. ^Glover 2001,pp. 286–287.
  19. ^Smith 1998,p. 460.
  20. ^Smith 1998,p. 476.

References

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  • Gates, David (2002),The Spanish Ulcer: A History of the Peninsular War,London: Pimlico,ISBN0-7126-9730-6
  • Glover, Michael (2001),The Peninsular War 1807-1814,London: Penguin,ISBN0-14-139041-7
  • Oman, Sir Charles William Chadwick (1930).A History of the Peninsular War: August 1813 – April 14, 1814.Vol. VII. Oxford: Clarendon Press.Retrieved1 June2021.
  • Smith, Digby (1998),The Napoleonic Wars Data Book,London: Greenhill,ISBN1-85367-276-9
  • Bodart, Gaston (1908).Militär-historisches Kriegs-Lexikon (1618-1905).Retrieved8 June2023.
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Preceded by
Battle of Wartenburg 		Napoleonic Wars
Battle of the Bidassoa 		Succeeded by
Battle of Leipzig
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