Leaving Sir John Hope to blockade Bayonne, Wellington followed Soult, who took up a position at Orthez, on the right bank of the Gave de Pau. Early on the morning of the 27th February the battle opened by Beresford turning the enemy’s right, but he was driven back, as was Picton, who attacked the enemy’s centre. “Enfin je le tiens!—At last I have him!” exclaimed Soult, but Wellington changed his plan, and at once sent Hill to cross the river by the ford above Souars and cut off the Marshal’s retreat by the great road to Pau. At the same time he ordered two divisions against the right of the enemy’s centre, and Colborne cut off the division which had checkmated Beresford. The French under Reille were driven from the heights, and at first retired, in good order, but Cotton and Lord Edward Somerset charged and spread considerable confusion in the ranks, while Hill marched on Aire and attacked Clausel. The Portuguese were repulsed, but the British drove the enemy from the town with great loss.
Wellington was wounded almost at the end of the battle, which is perhaps one reason why the pursuit was not so rapid as it might otherwise have been. However, Beresford was sent with two divisions to Bordeaux, whose citizens bade them enter, and thereupon proclaimed the Duc d’Angoulême, eldest nephew of Louis XVIII, who was now with the British army, as Prince Regent.
The last battle of the Peninsular War was fought on Easter Sunday, the 10th April 1814, at Toulouse, on which Soult’s army had concentrated.
A mistake on the part of an engineer as to the breadth of the Garonne above Toulouse prevented Wellington from crossing at the spot he had selected because there were not sufficient pontoons. This caused considerable delay and a march to a narrower but more difficult place below the town. Sir George Napier says that he never saw the Commander-in-Chief in such a rage—he was “furious.” On the completion of the gangway, Beresford, with a portion of the army, passed over, drove in the French outposts, and remained in front of the enemy. There they stopped for three days, cut off from the main force and liable to attack any moment. This unexpected situation was brought about by a storm which flooded the river and swept away the pontoons.
Soult is stated to have given this reason for failing to assail Beresford’s force: “You do not know what stuff two British divisions are made of; they would not be conquered as long as there was a man of them left to stand, and I cannot afford to lose men now.”
When the new bridge was available no time was lost in crossing the river, and on the 10th Soult was attacked. An eye-witness thus records the event[78]:
“The 4th, 6th, and a Portuguese division under Marshal Beresford’s orders, attacked the great fort on the right of the French, and here was the brunt of the battle, for the enemy was strongly posted and flanked by works, with trenches in their front, and their best troops opposed to ours. But nothing could damp the courage of this column; the enemy’s guns poured a torrent of fire upon it; still it moved onward, when column upon column appeared, crowning the hill and forming lines in front and on the flanks of our brave fellows who were near the top; and then such a roll of musketry accompanied by peals of cannon and the shouts of the enemy commenced, that our soldiers were fairly forced to give way and were driven down again. This attack was twice renewed, and twice were our gallant fellows forced to retire, when, being got into order again and under a tremendous fire of all arms from the enemy, they once more marched onward determined ‘to do or die’ (for they were nearly all Scotch) and, having gained the summit of the position, they charged with the bayonet, and in spite of every effort of the enemy, drove all before them and entered every redoubt and fort with such a courage as I never saw before. The enemy lay in heaps, dead and dying! few, very few, escaped the slaughter of that day; but ‘victory’ was heard shouted from post to post as that gallant band moved along the crown of the enemy’s position taking every work at the point of the bayonet.
“While the work of death was going on here, the centre of the French position was attacked by the Spanish column of 8000 men, under General Freyre, who had demanded in rather a haughty tone that Lord Wellington should give the Spaniards the post of honour in the battle. He acceded, but took special care to have the Light Division in reserve to support them in case of accidents. Old Freyre placed himself at the head of his column, surrounded by his staff, and marched boldly up the hollow way, or road, which led right up to the enemy, under a heavy and destructive fire of cannon shot, which plunging into the head of his column made great havoc among his men; still they went steadily and boldly on, to my astonishment and delight to see them behave so gallantly, and I could not help expressing my delight to Colonel Colborne. But, alas! he knew them too well, and said to me, ‘Gently, my friend; don’t praise them too soon; look at yonder brigade of French Light Infantry, ready to attack them as soon as the head of their column enters the open ground. One moment more and we shall see the Spaniards fly! Gallop off, you, and throw the 52nd Regiment (which was in line) into open column of companies, and let these fellows pass through, or they will carry the regiment off with them.’ He had scarcely finished the words when a well-directed fire from the French Infantry opened upon the Spanish column, and instantly the words ‘Vive l’Empereur! En avant! en avant!’ accompanied by a charge, put the Spaniards to flight, and down they came upon the 52nd Regiment, and I had but just time to throw it into open column of companies when they rushed through the intervals like a torrent and never stopped till they arrived at the river some miles in the rear. As soon as they had passed, and I had formed the regiment into line again, we moved up and took the Spaniards’ place, driving before us the enemy’s brigade, who, being by this time completely beaten on the right and all his forts and trenches carried by Beresford’s troops, had retreated into the town; so that we found the fort on that part of the position which we attacked quite abandoned, and we entered it without loss.
The French Retreat over the Pyrenees