Battle of the Nive
Unusually, for most of the battle, Wellington remained with the Reserve delegating command to his senior Lieutenant-Generals Rowland Hill and John Hope.After his defeat at Nivelle, Marshal Soult fell back to a defensive line south of the town of Bayonne along the Adour and Nive rivers.[2] Soult launched a counter-attack with eight divisions against Hope the following day, and despite several fierce actions the British line held until reinforced by more troops coming up from Saint-Jean-de-Luz.The left, under John Wilson, was held by Bradford and Campbell's independent Portuguese brigades north of Barroilhet.The Light Division's outpost line alertly detected the coming attack, though 50 men were cut off and captured.The picket line on Hope's left flank was quickly gobbled up by Reille's attack and 200 men captured.Seizing his opportunity, Soult rapidly switched six divisions and 22 guns to the east bank of the Nive and attacked Hill.Defending a line between Petit Mouguerre (Elizaberry) and the Nive, the Allied corps held on for hours in a bitter fight.The French near-mutiny forced Soult to reluctantly retreat into Bayonne, having lost 3,000 men against Anglo-Portuguese losses of 1,750.[b] Leaving Hope to seal up the 17,000-strong French garrison, Wellington relentlessly pursued Soult and the rest of his army.Accordingly, he took pains to send most of his Spanish units back to their home country, rightly concerned that they would inflict the same atrocities on French civilians that their own had suffered from Napoleon's armies.As it happened, the French troops, hardened by years of plundering foreign civilians, began to despoil their own citizens.
Peninsular WarWar of the Sixth CoalitionBayonneFrench EmpireCoalitionUnited KingdomPortugalJean-de-Dieu SoultArthur WellesleyLuís do RegoMoralesSan MillanVitoriaTolosaPamplonaSan SebastiánPyreneesRoncesvallesSoraurenSan MarcialBidassoaNivelleGarrisOrthezToulouseCampaign in north-east France1st Bar-sur-Aube1st Saint-DizierBrienneLa RothièreLesmontSix Days' CampaignChampaubertMontmirail Château-ThierryVauchampsMormantMontereau2nd Bar-sur-AubeGué-à-TresmesSaint-JulienLaubresselBerry-au-BacCraonneMâconLimonestArcis-sur-AubeFère-Champenoise2nd Saint-DizierCampaign in south-west FranceFrench Revolutionary and Napoleonic WarsWar of the PyreneesBoulouSant Llorenç de la MugaVillelongueCapmanyBascaraMediterranean campaign of 1798War of the OrangesFirst invasion of PortugalPadrões de TeixeiraÉvoraRoliçaVimeiroSecond invasion of PortugalChaves1st PortoGrijó2nd PortoRiver Côa1st AlmeidaBussacoCoimbraSobralPombalRedinhaCasal NovoFoz de ArouceSabugal2nd AlmeidaFuentes de OñoroBarrosa1st BadajozUsagreEl BodónArroyo dos MolinosCiudad Rodrigo2nd BadajozAlmaraz1st Salamanca2nd SalamancaMajadahondaBurgosTordesillasFrench GuianaBanda OrientalArthur Wellesley, Marquess of WellingtonAnglo-PortugueseSpanishNicolas SoultRowland HillJohn HopeCampaign in south-west France (1814)defeat in detailUstaritzLight DivisionsPortugueseLord AylmerBritish7th DivisionSaint-Jean-de-LuzCharles AltenLight DivisionBertrand ClauselHonoré Charles ReilleFrenchEugene-Casimir VillatteBattle of LeipzigSaint-Pierre-d'IrubeprofanityBattle of NivelleNapoleonBasque peopleChâteau d'UrdainCongreve rocketsChisholm, Hugh