CHAPTER XI.

1813.

Soult re-appointed to the Command-Disasters of Sir John Murray -Position of the Allies-Battles of the Spanish Pyrenees-Deiscription of San Sebastian-Siege-Attempt to storm-Suspension of the Siege-Deficiency of Naval Force-Siege of San Sebastian resumed-Storming of the Town-Spanish Libels-Wellington's Opinions of the Press-Siege of the Castle-General Rey capitulates-Battles of the Spanish Pyrenees.

AMIDST all his triumphs, the situation of Wellington was sufficiently critical. He had two points to cover, sixty miles distant from each other, and though the different positions occupied by his troops were strong, the communication between them was slow and difficult from the nature of the country. He had now, too, a general opposed to him, very different from the king or Jourdan, and one who was not likely, by neglect or ignorance, to afford him any advantage. Soult had been despatched from Germany by the emperor to retrieve the fortunes of the French in the Peninsula, and it cannot be denied that in him Wellington found, not, indeed, his equal, but an adversary who called for the exertion of all his genius. The French marshal was abundantly supplied with every species of material to repair the losses sustained at Vittoria. A new conscription speedily filled the ranks that had been so fearfully thinned; the remains of the three armies were united under the name of the army of Spain, and even the cavalry was increased, though of no use amongst the Pyrenees, with the idea of carrying the war once again beyond the Ebro. Thus was fresh courage in

228

POSITION OF THE ALLIES.

fused into the disheartened French masses, who, confident in their leader, expected nothing less than to drive back the allies upon Lisbon,

The disaster of Sir John Murray at Tarragona, with its probable consequences, determined the English general to change his intended siege of Pamplona into a blockade; besides which he now discovered that the siege of this place would have required operations of five or six weeks' duration, the employment of from fifteen to twenty thousand of his best troops, and a larger equipment of heavy ordnance than he had immediately at command. Blockading Pamplona therefore, with the Spanish troops, under the Condé de la Bisbal, he laid siege to San Sebastian, for which purpose he considered his train to be sufficient, and at the same time disposed of the rest of his troops, so as to interdict, as far as might be, the various passes in the mountains. The right wing of his army covered the direct approaches to Pamplona from St. Jean Pied-de-Port; in front, Major-General Byng's brigade guarded the passes of Roncesvalles and Orbaicete, a division of Spanish infantry, under Morillo, being in support at the latter post, while the fourth division, under General Cole, was in second line at Biscarret, in rear of the former, and the third division, under Picton, formed a reserve at Olaque. The right of the centre, commanded by Sir Rowland Hill, occupied the valley of Baztan and guarded the passes near Maya, about twenty miles from that of Roncesvalles; the left of the centre consisted of the seventh and light divisions; the first, under Lord Dalhousie, defended the pass of Echelar; the second, under Baron Alten, was posted on the mountain of Santa Barbara and in the town of

BATTLES OF THE SPANISH PYRENEES.

229

Bera; and Pack, with the sixth division, occupied St. Estevan, forming the reserve of the centre, and ready to support the troops at Maya or Echelar as occasion might require. The left wing, commanded by Sir Thomas Graham, was engaged in the siege of San Sebastian; it consisted of the first and fifth divisions, and was protected in its operations by a force on the Bidassoa, composed of Lord Aylmer's brigade and the Spanish corps of General Freyre. The corps of Longa formed a chain between the extreme left and the left of the centre.

Judicious as were these arrangements, it was obvious that all the advantage of situation was with the enemy. His communications being short and easy, he could bring an overwhelming force to bear upon any one of the passes, and then, by pushing forward on the flank and rear of the troops that defended the others, he might reasonably hope to force his way to Pamplona. Nor was Soult slow to perceive his own advantage, and, his first object being to relieve that town, he placed his reserve, under General Villatte, in the camp of Urogne to guard the line of the Bidassoa, while he withdrew his right wing to the neighbourhood of St. Jean Piedde-Port; there, being united with his left and a part of the centre, it formed his main body, which he led early in the morning against Byng's post at Roncesvalles. General Cole then moved up to the support of the latter, and though opposed to between thirty and forty thousand French, the allies maintained their post throughout the day, and could still have held it, but that in the evening Cole, finding his flank turned, deemed it prudent to retreat upon Zubiri,

230

BATTLES OF THE SPANISH PYRENEES.

In the latter part of the same day, the pass of Maya was attacked by twelve or thirteen thousand of the enemy, under Dronet. General Stewart, who held the command of that part of Hill's corps, knowing that Soult had marched in the morning to St. Jean Pied-de-Port and had fallen upon Sir Lowry Cole, considered that no attempt would be made on his own position, in which belief he sent half his troops to their camp, a league in the rear, and ordered the whole to cook, while he himself went to Elissondo. The brunt of the action thus fell upon two brigades of the second division, who were at first obliged to give way, until, being supported by General Barnes' brigade, they regained the key of their position, which in consequence they might have resumed, had not the retreat of Sir Lowry Cole made it expedient for them to withdraw to Irurita, with their left upon the Bidassoa. They had, however, lost about fourteen hundred men and four guns, this being the only occasion upon which the troops had experienced the loss of artillery when forming part of an army under the command of Wellington himself. It was late at night before he heard of the affair, being at the time at Lesaca, and few events in the whole course of the campaign seem to have more thoroughly excited his indignation.

For the two following days the allies continued to retreat, but slowly, and not without contesting every inch of the ground. The French were now within five miles of Pamplona; Abisbal was preparing to raise the blockade, and had even spiked some of his guns; and the garrison, elated by this near prospect of relief, sallied and took fourteen pieces of cannon before Carlos de España could repulse them. In the

BATTLES OF THE SPANISH PYRENEES.

231

midst of these retrograde movements, Wellington fortunately came up, about two minutes before the high-way to Ostiz was occupied by the enemy, and just as Cole and Picton were taking up a post that covered the roads from Elissondo and Roncesvalles to Pamplona, their right being in front of the village of Huarte and extending to the hills beyond Olaz, while their left rested on the heights in front of Villalba, and the left again of this flank was at a chapel behind Sorauren. The sixth, seventh, and light divisions were ordered to pass the mountains of Lanz, and form on the left of the fourth, and Hill was directed to retire behind the Lizasso, to check Drouet, if he should advance upon Pamplona by the lateral road from Irantsum and Berisplano. A body of Spaniards formed the reserve, and the cavalry under Cotton were placed on the right near Huarte, being the only ground upon which it was possible for them to act. In the valley to the left of the allies flowed the river Lanz, beyond which was another range of mountains, connected with Lizasso and Marcalain; by these places it was now necessary to communicate with the rest of the army.

Scarcely had the allies taken up this position, than Soult directed an attack on a hill projecting from the right of the fourth division; it was occupied by a Portuguese battalion and a Spanish regiment, who maintained their ground, driving back the enemy at the point of the bayonet; but the post being important, Lord Wellington reinforced them with the fortieth and another Spanish regiment, and though the French made several subsequent attempts they were all as fruitless as the first. They took possession, however, of Sorauren, which they occupied in force