Battle of Orthez
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Orthez (February 27, 1814) saw the Anglo-Portuguese Army
Anglo-Portuguese Army
The Anglo-Portuguese Army was the combined British and Portuguese army that won the Peninsular War, under the command of Arthur Wellesley. The Army is also referred to as the British-Portuguese Army and, in Portuguese, as the Exército Anglo-Luso or the Exército Anglo-Português.The Anglo-Portuguese...

 under Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington
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...

 defeat a French
First French Empire
The First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...

 army led by Marshal Nicolas Soult
Nicolas Jean de Dieu Soult
Nicolas Jean-de-Dieu Soult, 1st Duke of Dalmatia , the Hand of Iron, was a French general and statesman, named Marshal of the Empire in 1804. He was one of only six officers in French history to receive the distinction of Marshal General of France...

 in southern France near the end of 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...

.

Preliminaries

After failing to defeat Wellington in the Battle of the Nive
Battle of the Nive
The Battles of the Nive were fought towards the end of the Peninsular War. Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington's Anglo-Portuguese and Spanish army defeated Marshal Nicolas Soult's French army in a series of battles near the city of Bayonne.Unusually, for most of the battle, Wellington...

, Soult tried to confine the Anglo-Allied army in the extreme southwest corner of France. On the north side of the allied-occupied area, the French 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...

 kept a strong garrison in the fortress of Bayonne
Bayonne
Bayonne is a city and commune in south-western France at the confluence of the Nive and Adour rivers, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, of which it is a sub-prefecture...

 and held the line of the Adour River to Port-de-Lanne
Port-de-Lanne
Port-de-Lanne is a commune in the Landes department in Aquitaine in south-western France.-See also:*Communes of the Landes department...

 with three divisions. On the east side, Soult strung out four divisions behind the Joyeuse River
Joyeuse River
The Joyeuse, is a left tributary of the Bidouze, in the French Basque Country , in the Southwest of France.- Name :Its name Joyeuse, that applies also to the Aran River and one of its tributaries, is the name of the sword of Charlemagne. It was attributed after the battle of Roncevaux...

, with his cavalry forming a cordon as far south as the fortress of Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port
Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port
Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France close to Ostabat in the Pyrenean foothills....

 in the Pyrenees.

From December 1813 through January 1814, heavy rains brought operations to a standstill. Finally, on February 14, Wellington launched his offensive. On the right flank, Lieutenant General Rowland Hill
Rowland Hill, 1st Viscount Hill
General Rowland Hill, 1st Viscount Hill of Almaraz GCB, GCH served in the Napoleonic Wars as a trusted brigade, division and corps commander under the command of the Duke of Wellington. He became Commander-in-Chief of the British Army in 1829.-Early career:Educated at a school in Chester, Hill was...

 quickly breached the line of the Joyeuse. The following day, Hill's forces crossed the Bidouze River
Bidouze
The Bidouze, is a left tributary of the Adour, in the French Basque Country , in the Southwest of France.- Geography :The Bidouze rises at the base of Eltzarreko Ordokia in the Arbailles massif....

 after winning the Battle of Garris
Battle of Garris
In the Battle of Garris on February 15, 1814, an Allied force under the direct command of Arthur Wellesley, Marquess Wellington defeated General of Division Jean Harispe's French division during the Peninsular War.-Background:...

. By now, Wellington's left flank corps, under William Beresford
William Beresford, 1st Viscount Beresford
General William Carr Beresford, 1st Viscount Beresford, 1st Marquis of Campo Maior, GCB, GCH, GCTE, PC , was a British soldier and politician...

 was in motion. Sending the division of Louis Abbé to help defend Bayonne, Soult assembled his remaining six divisions and his reserve behind the Gave d'Oloron River
Gave d'Oloron
The Gave d'Oloron is a river of south-western France near the border with Spain. It takes its name from the city Oloron-Sainte-Marie, where it is formed from the rivers Gave d'Aspe and Gave d'Ossau.It joins the Gave de Pau in Peyrehorade...

. The weather broke again on February 18, causing another pause in operations.

On February 24, John Hope
John Hope, 4th Earl of Hopetoun
Lieutenant General John Hope, 4th Earl of Hopetoun PC KB , known as the Honourable John Hope from 1781 to 1814 and as the Lord Niddry from 1809 to 1816, was a Scottish soldier and politician.-Military career:...

's corps crossed the Adour to isolate the city of Bayonne on the Bay of Biscay. That day, Wellington quickly manoeuvred the French army out of its position on the Gave d'Oloron. Soult pulled back to Orthez on the Gave de Pau River
Gave de Pau
The Gave de Pau is a river of south-western France and a left tributary of the Adour. It takes its name from the city Pau, through which it flows. The river is in length, and its source is at the Cirque de Gavarnie in the Pyrenees mountains....

.

Dispositions

At Orthez, the Gave de Pau runs from southeast to the northwest. About two miles north of the Gave de Pau, there is a ridge running roughly parallel to the stream.

Soult held Orthez with the 5,100 men of Jean Harispe
Jean Isidore Harispe
Jean Isidore Harispe, 1st Comte Harispe was a distinguished French soldier of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, as well as a of the following period. Harispe was created a Marshal of France in 1851.-Early life:...

's 8th Division. The 2,700 cavalry under his brother, Pierre Soult watched the river line upstream (east) from the town. Holding the ridge, from west to east were Eloi 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...

's 4th (5,500), Claude Rouget's 5th (3,700), Jean Darmagnac's 2nd (5,000), Maximilien 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...

's 1st (3,800) and 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 6th (4,600) Divisions. The 1st Division was north of Orthez. Paris's brigade from the 8th Division was attached to Taupin's command. Jean-Pierre Travot
Jean-Pierre Travot
Jean Pierre Travot was a French general and nobleman, the son of Philibert Travot and Catherine Guodefin.-Life:...

's conscripts (7,300) waited in reserve.

Honoré Reille
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...

 commanded the units under Taupin, Paris and Rouget on the right flank. Jean Baptiste Drouet d'Erlon led D'Armagnac and Foy in the centre. Bertrand Clausel supervised Harispe and Villatte on the left flank. Soult had 36,000 men and 48 artillery pieces.

William Beresford's Corps had already crossed to the north side of the Gave de Pau. Wellington planned to send Lowry Cole's 4th
4th Infantry Division (United Kingdom)
The 4th Infantry Division is a regular British Army division with a long history having been present at the Peninsular War the Crimean War , the First World War , and during the Second World War.- Napoleonic Wars :...

 (6,000) and George Townshend Walker's 7th (5,600) Divisions to attack the western end of the ridge, under the direction of Beresford. Thomas Picton
Thomas Picton
Lieutenant General Sir Thomas Picton GCB was a Welsh British Army officer who fought in a number of campaigns for Britain, and rose to the rank of lieutenant general...

 would lead his own 3rd (6,600) and 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 (5,600) Divisions in pinning the French centre. 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...

 (3,500) stayed in reserve. Wellington ordered Rowland Hill
Rowland Hill, 1st Viscount Hill
General Rowland Hill, 1st Viscount Hill of Almaraz GCB, GCH served in the Napoleonic Wars as a trusted brigade, division and corps commander under the command of the Duke of Wellington. He became Commander-in-Chief of the British Army in 1829.-Early career:Educated at a school in Chester, Hill was...

 to lead William Stewart
William Stewart (1774-1827)
Lieutenant-General Sir William Stewart, GCB was a British military officer who was the first Commanding Officer of the Rifle Corps, a Division Commander in the Peninsula and a Scottish Member of Parliament in the British Parliament...

's 2nd (7,800) and Francisco Le Cor's Portuguese (4,500) Divisions across the Gave de Pau above Orthez and turn the French left.

Wellington also had three cavalry brigades under the overall direction of Stapleton Cotton. There were 1,600 mounted men under Lord Edward Somerset
Lord Edward Somerset
General Lord Robert Edward Henry Somerset GCB was a British soldier.He was the third son of the 5th duke of Beaufort, and elder brother of Lord Raglan....

 (7th, 10th and 15th Hussars), 1,000 horsemen led by Hussey Vivian
Hussey Vivian, 1st Baron Vivian
Lieutenant General Richard Hussey Vivian, 1st Baron Vivian GCB, GCH, PC , known as Sir Hussey Vivian from 1815 to 1828 and Sir Hussey Vivian, Bt from 1828 to 1841, was a British cavalry leader who came of a Cornish family.-Early career:Educated at Harrow and Exeter College, Oxford, Vivian entered...

 (18th and 1st KGL Hussars) and 800 troopers under Henry Fane
Henry Fane (general)
General Sir Henry Fane GCB commanded brigades under Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington during several battles during the Peninsular War, and served both as a member of Parliament and Commander-in-Chief of India....

 (13th
13th Light Dragoons
The 13th Hussars was a cavalry regiment of the British Army whose battle honours include Waterloo and The Charge of the Light Brigade. 1n 1922, the regiment was amalgamated with the 18th Royal Hussars, to form the 13th/18th Hussars.-Regimental history:British light dragoons were first raised in...

 and 14th Light Dragoons). All told, Wellington commanded 44,000 men, including 17,600 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...

, and 54 cannons.

Battle

To open the battle, Beresford's divisions attacked Taupin's and Paris's men near the church and village of St-Boes. They captured the church but were unable to force their way into St-Boes. The French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 right-wing commander, Reille launched a counterattack that drove the British out of the church as well.

Watching this reverse from his command post near an ancient Roman camp, Wellington changed his plans. His holding attack with the 3rd and 6th Division would be converted into a head on assault. Meanwhile, he committed the 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...

 between Beresford's effort against the French right and Picton's attack against the French center. Led by the 1/52nd Foot
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...

, the Light Division advanced up the narrow spur from the Roman camp. This move drove a wedge between Reille's right wing and D'Erlon's two center divisions. Hill's men crossed the river and started to envelop the French left. Picton's force fought his way onto the ridge in the centre.

At his command post, Wellington was unhorsed and badly bruised when a canister shot hit his sword hilt. Soult, seeing his defences compromised, ordered a retreat. This was conducted in good order at first, though menaced by the British cavalry. With the terrain too rough for most mounted operations, only the 7th Hussars made an effective charge, capturing 200 Frenchmen. That evening, the French escaped across the Luy de Béarn River
Luy de Béarn
- Geography :The source of the Luy de Béarn is at the base of the plateau of Ger, east of Pau. It flows north-west through the Chalosse region and joins the Luy de France to form the Luy below the castle of Gaujacq.- Départements and towns :...

 at Sault-de-Navailles
Sault-de-Navailles
Sault-de-Navailles is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France.-References:*...

 in some disorder, blowing up the bridge behind them.

Results

Soult lost 6 cannons and 3,985 men including 542 killed, 2,077 wounded and 1,366 prisoners. Foy was wounded. The Anglo-Portuguese lost 367 killed, 1,727 wounded and 80 captured for a total of 2,174. Walker was wounded and sent back to England. Soult continued his retreat. The next battle would be fought at Toulouse
Battle of Toulouse (1814)
The Battle of Toulouse was one of the final battles of the Napoleonic Wars, four days after Napoleon's surrender of the French Empire to the nations of the Sixth Coalition...

.
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