Battle of the Nive facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Battle of the Nive |
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| Part of the War of the Sixth Coalition | |||||||
 A map of the 1813 Battle of the Nive |
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 French Empire |
 United Kingdom Portugal Spain |
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Jean-de-Dieu Soult |
Arthur Wellesley Luís do Rego Barreto |
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| Strength | |||||||
| 50,000 | 70,000 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 5,400 killed or wounded 600 captured 16 guns |
4,600 killed or wounded 500 captured |
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The Battles of the Nive were a series of important fights during the Peninsular War. These battles took place from December 9 to 13, 1813. They happened near the city of Bayonne in France.
The British, Portuguese, and Spanish armies were led by Arthur Wellesley, also known as Wellington. They fought against the French army, led by Marshal Jean-de-Dieu Soult. Wellington's forces won these battles on French land.
What was unusual is that Wellington mostly stayed with his reserve troops. He let his main generals, Rowland Hill and John Hope, lead the fighting.
Contents
What Happened Before?
Wellington's army had successfully pushed the French army out of Spain. They crossed the Pyrenees mountains and entered southwestern France. After losing a battle at Nivelle, Marshal Soult moved his army back. He set up defenses south of Bayonne, along the Adour and Nive rivers.
The rivers and the Bay of Biscay (a part of the Atlantic Ocean) formed a shape like the Greek letter Pi (π) around Bayonne. The coast was one side, the Nive River was the other, and the Adour River was the crossbar. Bayonne is where the Nive joins the Adour.
At first, Wellington's army was stuck between the Bay of Biscay and the Nive River. To get more space to move, Wellington needed to get his army onto the east side of the Nive. This was tricky because splitting his army could make it easier for Soult to attack and defeat parts of it. Soult, a clever general, knew this and tried to use it to his advantage. He could move his French army quickly through the fortified city of Bayonne to either side of the Nive River.
The Main Battle Begins
Even with bad weather, General Hill led five divisions of British, Portuguese, and Spanish soldiers. They crossed to the east side of the Nive River near Ustaritz on December 9. These divisions included the 2nd, 3rd, 6th, Portuguese, and Pablo Morillo's Spanish Divisions.
At the same time, the rest of the British forces, led by General Hope, attacked Bayonne. These attacks were meant to distract the French on the west side of the Nive. Hope's forces included the 1st, 5th, and Light Divisions. They also had independent Portuguese brigades and a British brigade. About 630 soldiers were hurt or killed in these first actions.
French Counter-Attack
Marshal Soult launched a big counter-attack with eight divisions against Hope's forces the next day. There was fierce fighting, but the British line held strong. More troops arrived from Saint-Jean-de-Luz to help.
General Hope's right side was held by a brigade from the 7th Division at the Urdains bridge. The Light Division, led by Charles Alten, defended the middle near Bassussary. The left side, led by John Wilson, was held by Portuguese brigades north of Barroilhet. The land was full of ravines, which forced the French to attack in three narrow paths.
The 5th Division was three miles behind, and the 1st Division was ten miles away. Wellington had ordered the lines to be made stronger, but Hope had not done this.
Soult decided to ignore the strong position at Urdains bridge. He sent five divisions to attack Bassussary and three divisions to attack Barroilhet. The four divisions leading the attack were fresh, but the supporting troops were tired from earlier fights.
The Light Division's lookouts quickly spotted the French attack. About 50 of their men were cut off and captured. The French advance soon reached the Arcangues ridge, where there was a chateau and a church. The Light Division, with 4,000 men, easily stopped one attack. After this, the French just fired artillery and tried small attacks against the strong buildings. More British troops arrived around 2 PM.
On Hope's left side, the French quickly overwhelmed the outpost line. About 200 men were captured. Most of the Portuguese soldiers fought bravely, but one unit was broken by French cavalry. The Portuguese fought their way back to Barroilhet and held the village, waiting for help. The 5th Division arrived, but they had very little ammunition due to a mistake.
Soult sent more troops to help the attack on Barroilhet. After many hours of heavy fighting, he ordered one last charge. This attack reached the mayor's house in Barroilhet, and French skirmishers wounded General Hope, almost capturing him. At this point, the 1st Division arrived, and Soult soon called off his attacks.
That night, Soult's army became weaker. Two Nassau battalions and the Frankfurt battalion, who had heard about the Battle of Leipzig (a big defeat for Napoleon), left the French side and joined the Allies. A third battalion from Baden did not join them and was disarmed the next day. This meant 2,000 fewer soldiers for the French army.
Both sides lost about 1,600 soldiers before Soult stopped the attack. Of these, the Allies lost 500 captured, which was the most they lost in one day under Wellington. There were small fights over the next two days, but neither side started a full attack.
Fighting at St. Pierre
On the night of December 12, a temporary bridge over the Nive at Villefranque was washed away by the river. This left Hill's 14,000 men and 10 guns alone on the east side of the river. The French were getting ready for another attack. The closest bridge was far away, meaning help would take a long time to arrive.
Soult quickly moved six divisions and 22 guns to the east side of the Nive. He attacked Hill's isolated forces. Soult's attack against the British positions near Saint-Pierre-d'Irube was very strong. One British officer even ran away with his battalion. Soult had three times more soldiers than Hill's corps.
Hill's Allied corps defended a line between Petit Mouguerre and the Nive. They held on for hours in a very tough fight. General Hill was excellent, using his few reserve troops wisely and encouraging his soldiers.
However, after Wellington and more reinforcements arrived, the French soldiers refused to keep attacking. This near-mutiny forced Soult to retreat back into Bayonne. The French lost 3,000 men, while the British and Portuguese lost 1,750. Wellington rode up to Hill and told him, "Hill, the day's your own."
It was said that on this day, General Hill used strong language, which was very rare for him. When Wellington heard about it, he joked that if Hill was swearing, everyone should be careful!
After the Battles
Bad storms and heavy rain stopped any more fighting for two months. Finally, in late February, Wellington cut off Bayonne by crossing the mouth of the Adour River. He left General Hope to keep the 17,000 French soldiers in Bayonne trapped. Wellington then continued to chase Soult and the rest of his army.
Why No French Guerrillas?
Wellington was worried that French civilians might start fighting against his soldiers. He remembered that after the Battle of Nivelle, Spanish troops had stolen from French people. So, he sent most of his Spanish units back to Spain. He was concerned they would do the same bad things to French civilians that Napoleon's armies had done to Spanish people.
At first, only one Spanish division was kept because they relied on British pay and supplies. Just like in Spain, Wellington severely punished any British soldiers caught stealing.
It turned out that the French soldiers, who were used to stealing from people in other countries, started to steal from their own citizens. The people living south and east of Bayonne were mostly Basque people, not French speakers. Soult tried to stop the looting, even hanging some offenders and shooting a brave captain. But he couldn't stop it. One historian noted that "The civilians soon came to the conclusion that only a swift allied victory could save their countryside." Because of this, Wellington didn't have to worry much about French civilians fighting his army.
Names of the Battles
The fighting from December 9 to 12 is called The Battle of the Nive. Hill's defensive battle on December 13 is known as The Battle of St. Pierre. When people talk about the whole period, they often say The Battles of the Nive.
Some older books, like the Encyclopaedia Britannica (1911), call these events the Battles before Bayonne, or Battles of the Nive, Dec, 10–13, 1813.
