The French thus caught in the midst of their dispositions for retreat, threw out a prodigious number of skirmishers, and fifty pieces of artillery played with astonishing activity. To answer this fire Wellington brought over several brigades of British guns, and both sides were shrouded by a dense cloud of smoke and dust, under cover of which the French retired by degrees to the second range of heights, in front of Gomecha, on which their reserve had been posted, but they still held the village of Arinez on the main road. Picton’s troops headed by the riflemen, plunged into that village amidst a heavy fire of muskets and artillery, and in an instant three guns were captured; but the post was important, fresh French troops came down, and for some time the smoke and dust and clamour, the flashing of the fire-arms, and the shouts and cries of the combatants, mixed with the thundering of the guns, were terrible, yet finally the British troops issued forth victorious on the other side. During this conflict the seventh division, reinforced by Vandeleur’s brigade of the light division, was heavily raked by a battery at the village of Margarita, until the fifty-second regiment, led by colonel Gibbs, with an impetuous charge drove the French guns away and carried the village, and at the same time the eighty-seventh under colonel Gough won the village of Hermandad. Then the whole advanced fighting on the left of Picton’s attack, and on the right hand of that general the fourth division also made way, though more slowly because of the rugged ground.
When Picton and Kempt’s brigades had carried the village of Arinez and gained the main road, the French troops near Subijana de Alava were turned, and being hard-pressed on their front, and on their left flank by the troops on the summit of the mountain, fell back for two miles in a disordered mass, striving to regain the great line of retreat to Vittoria. It was thought that some cavalry launched against them at the moment would have totally disorganized the whole French battle and secured several thousand prisoners, but this was not done, the confused multitude shooting ahead of the advancing British lines recovered order, and as the ground was exceedingly diversified, being in some places wooded, in others open, here covered with high corn, there broken by ditches vineyards and hamlets, the action for six miles resolved itself into a running fight and cannonade, the dust and smoke and tumult of which filled all the basin, passing onwards towards Vittoria.
Many guns were taken as the army advanced, and at six o’clock the French reached the last defensible height, one mile in front of Vittoria. Behind them was the plain in which the city stood, and beyond the city, thousands of carriages and animals and non-combatants, men women and children, were crowding together, in all the madness of terror, and as the English shot went booming over head the vast crowd started and swerved with a convulsive movement, while a dull and horrid sound of distress arose; but there was no hope, no stay for army or multitude. It was the wreck of a nation. However the courage of the French soldier was not yet quelled, Reille on whom every thing now depended, maintained his post on the Upper Zadora, and the armies of the south and centre drawing up on their last heights, between the villages of Ali and Armentia, made their muskets flash like lightning, while more than eighty pieces of artillery, massed together, pealed with such a horrid uproar, that the hills laboured and shook, and streamed with fire and smoke, amidst which the dark figures of the French gunners were seen, bounding with a frantic energy.
This terrible cannonade and musketry kept the allies in check, and scarcely could the third division, which was still the foremost and bore the brunt of this storm, maintain its advanced position. Again the battle became stationary, and the French generals had commenced drawing off their infantry in succession from the right wing, when suddenly the fourth division rushing forward carried the hill on the French left, and the heights were at once abandoned. It was at this very moment that Joseph, finding the royal road so completely blocked by carriages that the artillery could not pass, indicated the road of Salvatierra as the line of retreat, and the army went off in a confused yet compact body on that side, leaving Vittoria on its left. The British infantry followed hard, and the light cavalry galloped through the town to intercept the new line of retreat, which was through a marsh, but this road also was choked with carriages and fugitive people, while on each side there were deep drains. Thus all became disorder and mischief, the guns were left on the edge of the marsh, the artillery-men and drivers fled with the horses, and, breaking through the miserable multitude, the vanquished troops went off by Metauco towards Salvatierra; however their cavalry still covered the retreat with some vigour, and many of those generous horsemen were seen taking up children and women to carry off from the dreadful scene.
The result of the last attack had placed Reille, of whose battle it is now time to treat, in great danger. His advanced troops under Sarrut had been placed at the village of Aranguis, and they also occupied some heights on their right which covered both the bridges of Ariaga and Gamara Mayor, but they had been driven from both the village and the height a little after twelve o’clock, by general Oswald, who commanded the head of Graham’s column, consisting of the fifth division, Longa’s Spaniards, and Pack’s Portuguese. Longa then seized Gamara Menor on the Durango road, while another detachment gained the royal road still further on the left, and forced the Franco-Spaniards to retire from Durana. Thus the first blow on this side had deprived the king of his best line of retreat and confined him to the road of Pampeluna. However Sarrut recrossed the river in good order and a new disposition was made by Reille. One of Sarrut’s brigades defended the bridge of Ariaga and the village of Abechuco beyond it; the other was in reserve, equally supporting Sarrut and La Martiniere who defended the bridge of Gamara Mayor and the village of that name beyond the river. Digeon’s dragoons were formed behind the village of Ariaga, and Reille’s own dragoons being called up from Hermandad and Zuazo, took post behind the bridge of Gamara; a brigade of light cavalry was placed on the extreme right to sustain the Franco-Spanish troops, which were now on the Upper Zadora in front of Betonio, and the remainder of the light cavalry under general Curto was on the French left extending down the Zadora between Ariaga and Govea.
Oswald commenced the attack at Gamara with some guns and Robinson’s brigade of the fifth division. Longa’s Spaniards were to have led and at an early hour when Gamara was feebly occupied, but they did not stir, and the village was meanwhile reinforced. However Robinson’s brigade being formed in three columns made the assault at a running pace. At first the fire of artillery and musketry was so heavy that the British troops stopped and commenced firing also, and the three columns got intermixed, yet encouraged by their officers, and especially by the example of general Robinson an inexperienced man but of a high and daring spirit, they renewed the charge, broke through the village and even crossed the bridge. One gun was captured, and the passage seemed to be won, when Reille suddenly turned twelve pieces upon the village, and La Martiniere rallying his division under cover of this cannonade, retook the bridge; it was with difficulty the allied troops could even hold the village until they were reinforced. Then a second British brigade came down, and, the royals leading, the bridge was again carried, but again these new troops were driven back in the same manner as the others had been. Thus the bridge remained forbidden ground. Graham had meanwhile attacked the village of Abechuco which covered the bridge of Ariaga, and it was carried at once by colonel Halkett’s Germans, who were supported by Bradford’s Portuguese and by the fire of twelve guns; yet here as at Gamara the French maintained the bridge, and at both places the troops on each side remained stationary under a reciprocal fire of artillery and small arms.
Reille, though considerably inferior in numbers, continued to interdict the passage of the river, until the tumult of Wellington’s battle, coming up the Zadora, reached Vittoria itself, and a part of the British horsemen rode out of that city upon Sarrut’s rear. Digeon’s dragoons kept this cavalry in check for the moment, and some time before, Reille, seeing the retrograde movement of the king, had formed a reserve of infantry under general Fririon at Betonia which now proved his safety. For Sarrut was killed at the bridge of Ariaga, and general Menne the next in command, could scarcely draw off his troops while Digeon’s dragoons held the British cavalry at point, but with the aid of Fririon’s reserve Reille covered the movement and rallied all his troops at Betonio. He had now to make head on several sides, because the allies were coming down from Ariaga from Durana and from Vittoria, yet he fought his way to Metauco on the Salvatierra road covering the general retreat with some degree of order. Vehemently and closely did the British pursue, and neither the resolute demeanour of the French cavalry, which was covered on the flanks by some light troops and made several vigorous charges, nor the night, which now fell, could stop their victorious career until the flying masses of the enemy had cleared all obstacles, and passing Metauco got beyond the reach of further injury. Thus ended the battle of Vittoria; the French escaped indeed with comparatively little loss of men, but to use Gazan’s words, “they lost all their equipages, all their guns, all their treasure, all their stores, all their papers, so that no man could prove how much pay was due to him; generals and subordinate officers alike were reduced to the clothes on their backs, and most of them were barefooted.”
Never was an army more hardly used by its commander, for the soldiers were not half beaten, and never was a victory more complete. The trophies were innumerable. The French carried off but two pieces of artillery from the battle. Jourdan’s baton of command, a stand of colours, one hundred and forty-three brass pieces, one hundred of which had been used in the fight, all the parcs and dépôts from Madrid, Valladolid, and Burgos, carriages, ammunition, treasure, every thing fell into the hands of the victors. The loss in men did not however exceed six thousand, exclusive of some hundreds of prisoners; the loss of the allies was nearly as great, the gross numbers being five thousand one hundred and seventy-six, killed wounded and missing. Of these one thousand and forty-nine were Portuguese and five hundred and fifty-three were Spanish; hence the loss of the English was more than double that of the Portuguese and Spaniards together, and yet both fought well, and especially the Portuguese, but British troops are the soldiers of battle. Marshal Jourdan’s baton was taken by the eighty-seventh regiment, and the spoil was immense; but to such extent was plunder carried principally by the followers and non-combatants, for with some exceptions the fighting troops may be said to have marched upon gold and silver without stooping to pick it up, that of five millions and a half of dollars indicated by the French accounts to be in the money-chests, not one dollar came to the public, and Wellington sent fifteen officers with power to stop and examine all loaded animals passing the Ebro and the Duero in hopes to recover the sums so shamefully carried off. Neither was this disgraceful conduct confined to ignorant and vulgar people. Some officers were seen mixed up with the mob and contending for the disgraceful gain.
On the 22d the allies followed the retreating enemy, and Giron and Longa entered Guipuscoa, by the royal road, in pursuit of the convoy which had moved under Maucune on the morning of the battle; the heavy cavalry and D’Urban’s Portuguese remained at Vittoria, and general Pakenham with the sixth division came up from Medina Pomar; the remainder of the army pursued Joseph towards Pampeluna, for he had continued his retreat up the Borundia and Araquil valleys all night. The weather was rainy, the roads heavy, and the French rear-guard having neither time nor materials to destroy the bridges set fire to the villages behind them to delay the pursuit. At five o’clock in the morning of the 22d Reille had rallied his two divisions and all his cavalry in front of Salvatierra, where he halted until he was assured that all the French had passed, and then continued his march to Huerta in the valley of Araquil, thirty miles from the field of battle. Joseph was that day at Yrursun, a town, situated behind one of the sources of the Arga, and from which roads branched off to Pampeluna on one side, and to Tolosa and St. Esteban on the other. At this place he remained all the 23d sending orders to different points on the French frontier to prepare provisions and succours for his suffering army, and he directed Reille to proceed rapidly by St. Estevan to the Bidassoa with the infantry, six hundred select cavalry, the artillery-men and horses of the army of Portugal; meanwhile Gazan’s and D’Erlon’s army marched upon Pampeluna intending to cross the frontier at St. Jean Pied de Port. Joseph reached Pampeluna the 24th, but the army bivouacked on the glacis of the fortress, and in such a state of destitution and insubordination that the governor would not suffer them to enter the town. The magazines were indeed reduced very low by Mina’s longJones’s Sieges. blockade, and some writers assert that it was even proposed to blow up the works and abandon the place; however by great exertions additional provisions were obtained from the vicinity, the garrison was encreased to three thousand men, and the army marched towards France leaving a rear-guard at a strong pass about two leagues off.
The 23d Wellington having detached Graham’s corps to Guipuscoa by the pass of Adrian, left the fifth division at Salvatierra, and pursued the king with the rest of the army.