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Battle of the Bidassoa
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Battle of the Bidassoa
In the Battle of the Bidasoa (or the Battle of Larrun) 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 Bidasoa and La Rhune (Larrun). The nearest towns to the fighting are Irun on the lower Bidassoa and Bera on the middle Bidasoa. The battle occurred during the Peninsular War, part of the wider Napoleonic Wars.
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.
In the Battle of San Marcial 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. A French garrison held out in the Siege of Pamplona which would end in a surrender on 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.[citation needed] The British commander also wanted to capture French positions that overlooked the Allied lines on the west side of the Bidassoa.
Because the French troops had begun to plunder their fellow citizens, Emperor Napoleon's Minister of War, Henri Jacques Guillaume Clarke ordered Marshal Soult 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.
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 Xavier 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 which were held by General of Division Eugene-Casimir Villatte's 8,018-man Reserve Division.
General of Division Bertrand Clausel held the centre with 15,300 men under 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 soldiers 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 Roncevaux 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 Spanish soldiers from the Army of Galicia. 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 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 from Basque fishermen. Allied intelligence knew that the next low tide was 7 October.
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Battle of the Bidassoa
In the Battle of the Bidasoa (or the Battle of Larrun) 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 Bidasoa and La Rhune (Larrun). The nearest towns to the fighting are Irun on the lower Bidassoa and Bera on the middle Bidasoa. The battle occurred during the Peninsular War, part of the wider Napoleonic Wars.
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.
In the Battle of San Marcial 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. A French garrison held out in the Siege of Pamplona which would end in a surrender on 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.[citation needed] The British commander also wanted to capture French positions that overlooked the Allied lines on the west side of the Bidassoa.
Because the French troops had begun to plunder their fellow citizens, Emperor Napoleon's Minister of War, Henri Jacques Guillaume Clarke ordered Marshal Soult 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.
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 Xavier 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 which were held by General of Division Eugene-Casimir Villatte's 8,018-man Reserve Division.
General of Division Bertrand Clausel held the centre with 15,300 men under 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 soldiers 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 Roncevaux 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 Spanish soldiers from the Army of Galicia. 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 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 from Basque fishermen. Allied intelligence knew that the next low tide was 7 October.
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