Campaign in south-west France (1814)
In July 1813 Marshal Soult began a counter-offensive that defeated the Allies at the Battle of Maya and the Battle of Roncesvalles. By the 27th of July the Roncesvalles wing of Soult's army was within ten miles of Pamplona but found its way blocked by a substantial allied force posted on a high ridge in between the villages of Sorauren and Zabaldica. The French lost momentum and were repulsed by the Allies at the Battle of Sorauren on 28 and the 30th of July. Reille's right-wing suffered further losses at Yanzi on the 1st of August and during its retreat into France at Echallar and Ivantelly on the 2nd of August. Total losses during this counter-offensive were about 7,000 for the Allies and 10,000 for the French.
British headquarters still had misgivings about the eastern powers in August 1813. Austria had now joined the Allies, but the Allied armies had suffered a significant defeat at the Battle of Dresden. They had recovered somewhat, but the situation remained precarious. Wellington's brother-in-law Edward Pakenham wrote, "I should think that much must depend upon proceedings in the north: I begin to apprehend...that Boney may avail himself of the jealousy of the Allies to the material injury of the cause." It was also uncertain that Wellington could continue to count on Spanish support.
On the 8th of September Wellington accepted the surrender of the French-garrisoned city of San Sebastián under Brigadier-General Louis Emmanuel Rey after two sieges that lasted from 7 to the 25th of July. Wellington departed with sufficient forces to deal with Marshal Soult's counter-offensive while leaving General Graham in command of sufficient forces to prevent sorties from the city. He next determined to throw his left across the river Bidassoa to strengthen his position and secure the port of Fuenterrabia.
At daylight on the 7th of October 1813, Wellington crossed the Bidassoa in seven columns and attacked the entire French position which stretched in two heavily entrenched lines from north of the Irun-Bayonne road along mountain spurs to the Great Rhune high. The decisive movement was a passage in strength near Fuenterrabia to the astonishment of the enemy who had thought the crossing impossible at that point due to the width of the river and shifting sands. The French right was then rolled back and Soult was unable to reinforce his right in time to retrieve the day. His works fell in succession after hard fighting and he withdrew towards the river Nivelle. The losses were about 800 for the Allies and 1,600 for the French.
On the night of the 9th of November 1813 Wellington brought up his right from the Pyrenean passes to the northward of Maya and towards the Nivelle. Marshal Soult's army numbered about 79,000 men in three entrenched lines stretching from the sea in front of Saint-Jean-de-Luz along the commanding ground to Amotz and thence behind the river to Mont Mondarrain near the Nive.
During a heavy cannonade on the 10th of November 1813, Wellington attacked this extended position in five columns so directed that after carrying Soult's advanced works a mass of about 50,000 men converged towards the French centre near Amotz. After hard fighting it swept away the 18,000 of the second line there opposed to it cutting Soult's army in two. The French right then fell back to Saint-Jean-de-Luz while the left moved towards points on the Nive. It was now late and the Allies bivouacked while Soult withdrew in the night to Bayonne. The Allied loss during the Battle of Nivelle was about 2,700 and that of the French 4,000 plus 51 guns.
When operations recommenced in February 1814 the French line extended from Bayonne up the north bank of the Adour to the Pau then bending south along the Bidouze to Saint-Palais with advanced posts on the Joyeuse and at Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. Wellington's left under Hope watched Bayonne while Beresford with Hill observed the Adour and the Joyeuse trending back until it reached Urcuray on the Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port road.
At its mouth the Adour was about wide and its entrance from the sea by small vessels except in the finest weather was a perilous undertaking owing to shifting sands and a dangerous bar. On the other hand the deep sandy soil near its banks made transport of bridging matériel by land laborious and almost certain of discovery. Wellington decided to attempt bridging below Bayonne where no effort would be expected and collected at Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port and Passages a large number of country vessels termed chasse-marées. Hope succeeded in passing 600 men across the river in boats on 22 and the 23rd of February before a flotilla of chasse-marées appeared from Saint-Jean-de-Luz on the 24th of February.
On the 10th of April 1814 Wellington crossed the Garonne and the Hers-Mort and attacked Soult in the battle of Toulouse. The French numbered about 40,000 exclusive of local National Guards with 80 guns while the Allies under 52,000 had 64 guns. Soult's position to the north and east of the city consisted of the Canal du Midi some fortified suburbs and the commanding ridge of Mont Rave which crowned redoubts and earthworks.
Wellington's columns under Beresford were called upon to make a flank march of some two miles under artillery and occasionally musketry fire while threatened also by cavalry. Then while Spanish troops assaulted the north of the ridge they wheeled up to mount the eastern slope and carry the works. The Spaniards were repulsed but Beresford's forces took Mont Rave and Soult fell back behind the canal. On the 12th of April Wellington advanced to invade Toulouse from the south but Soult retreated towards Villefranque on the night of the 11th of April allowing Wellington to enter the city. The Allied loss was about 5,000 and the French 3,000.
On the 13th of April 1814 officers arrived with the announcement to both armies of the capture of Paris and the abdication of Napoleon on the 4th of April. A convention including Suchet's force was entered into between Wellington and Soult on the 18th of April after receiving word of the deposition of Napoleon as Emperor of the French and ratification of a general armistice known as the Treaty of Fontainebleau signed on the 11th of April.
Unfortunately after Toulouse had fallen the Allies and French in a sortie from Bayonne on the 14th of April each lost about 1,000 men so that some 10,000 men fell after peace had virtually been made. The Peace of Paris was formally signed on the 30th of May 1814. The campaign ended when opposing commanders signed a local armistice on the 17th of April 1814 following receipt of news regarding Napoleon's deposition.
At the end of the campaign British troops were partly sent to England and partly embarked at Bordeaux for America for service in the final months of the American War of 1812. The Portuguese and Spanish recrossed the Pyrenees while the French army dispersed throughout France.
Louis XVIII was restored to the French throne and Napoleon was permitted to reside on the island of Elba sovereignty of which had been conceded to him by allied powers. Suchet's forces remained on the Spanish side of the Pyrenees yet were included in the armistice agreement reached between Wellington and Soult. Some besieged fortresses like Barcelona under command of General Pierre-Joseph Habert held out until eventually surrendering on the 25th of April.
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Common questions
What happened during the Campaign in south-west France 1814 counter-offensive?
Marshal Soult began a counter-offensive in July 1813 that defeated the Allies at the Battle of Maya and the Battle of Roncesvalles. The French lost momentum and were repulsed by the Allies at the Battle of Sorauren on 28 and the 30th of July.
When did Wellington cross the river Bidassoa during the Campaign in south-west France 1814?
At daylight on the 7th of October 1813, Wellington crossed the Bidassoa in seven columns and attacked the entire French position which stretched from north of the Irun-Bayonne road along mountain spurs to the Great Rhune high. The decisive movement was a passage in strength near Fuenterrabia to the astonishment of the enemy who had thought the crossing impossible at that point due to the width of the river and shifting sands.
How many men fought in the Battle of Nivelle during the Campaign in south-west France 1814?
During a heavy cannonade on the 10th of November 1813, Wellington attacked this extended position in five columns so directed that after carrying Soult's advanced works a mass of about 50,000 men converged towards the French centre near Amotz. The Allied loss during the Battle of Nivelle was about 2,700 and that of the French 4,000 plus 51 guns.
Why did Wellington decide to bridge below Bayonne during the Campaign in south-west France 1814?
Wellington decided to attempt bridging below Bayonne where no effort would be expected because the deep sandy soil near its banks made transport of bridging matériel by land laborious and almost certain of discovery. Hope succeeded in passing 600 men across the river in boats on 22 and the 23rd of February before a flotilla of chasse-marées appeared from Saint-Jean-de-Luz on the 24th of February.
What occurred at the end of the Campaign in south-west France 1814 regarding Napoleon?
On the 13th of April 1814 officers arrived with the announcement to both armies of the capture of Paris and the abdication of Napoleon on the 4th of April. Louis XVIII was restored to the French throne and Napoleon was permitted to reside on the island of Elba sovereignty of which had been conceded to him by allied powers.