After the battle of the Nivelle Soult brought general Paris’s division from St. Jean Pied de Port to Lahoussoa close under the Ursouia mountain, where it was in connection with Foy’s left, communicating by the great road to St. Jean Pied de Port which ran in a parallel direction to the river.
The Nive, the Adour, and the Gave de Pau which falls into the latter many miles above Bayonne, were all navigable, the first as far as Ustaritz, the second to Dax, the third to Peyrehorade, and the great French magazines were collected at the two latter places. But the army was fed with difficulty, and hence to restrain Soult from the country beyond the Nive, to intercept his communications with St. Jean Pied de Port, to bring a powerful cavalry into activity, and to obtain secret intelligence from the interior of Spain were Wellington’s inducements to force a passage over the Nive. Yet to place the troops on both sides of a navigable river with communications bad at all times and subject to entire interruptions from rain; to do this in face of an army possessing short communications good roads and entrenched camps for retreat, was a delicate and dangerous operation.
On the 7th orders were issued for forcing the passage on the 9th. On that day sir John Hope and Charles Alten, with the first, fifth, and light divisions, the unattached brigades of infantry, Vandeleur’sOriginal States, MSS. cavalry and twelve guns, in all about twenty-four thousand combatants, were to drive back the French advanced posts along the whole front of the entrenched camp between the Nive and the sea. This movement was partly to examine the course of the Lower Adour with a view to subsequent operations, but principally to make Soult discover his dispositions of defence on that side, and to keep his troops in check while Beresford and Hill crossed the Nive. To support this double operation the fourth and seventh divisions were secretly brought up from Ascain and Espelette on the 8th, the latter to the hill of St. Barbe, from whence it detached one brigade to relieve the posts of the third division. There remained the second the third and the sixth divisions, Hamilton’s Portuguese, and Morillo’s Spaniards, for the passage. Beresford leading the third and sixth reinforced with six guns and a squadron of cavalry, was to cross at Ustaritz with pontoons, Hill having the second division, Hamilton’s Portuguese, Vivian’s and Victor Alten’s cavalry, and fourteen guns, was to ford the river at Cambo and Larressore. Both generals were then to repair the bridges at these respective points with materials prepared beforehand; and to cover Hill’s movement on the right and protect the valley of the Nive from Paris, who being at Lahoussoa might have penetrated to the rear of the army during the operations, Morillo’s Spaniards were to cross at Itzassu. At this time Foy’s division was extended from Halzou in front of Larressore, to the fords above Cambo, the Ursouia mountain being between his left and Paris. The rest of D’Erlon’s troops remained on the heights of Moguerre in front of Mousserolles.
PASSAGE OF THE NIVE
AND
BATTLES IN FRONT OF BAYONNE.
At Ustaritz the French had broken both bridges, but the island connecting them was in possession of the British. Beresford laid his pontoons down onPlans 7 and 8. the hither side in the night of the 8th and in the morning of the 9th a beacon lighted on the heights above Cambo gave the signal of attack. The passage was immediately forced under the fire of the artillery, the second bridge was laid, and D’Armagnac’s brigade was driven back by the sixth division; but the swampy nature of the country between the river and the high road retarded the allies’ march and gave the French time to retreat with little loss. At the same time Hill’s troops, also covered by the fire of artillery, forced the passage in three columns above and below Cambo with slight resistance, though the fords were so deep that several horsemen were drowned, and the French strongly posted, especially at Halzou where there was a deep and strong mill-race to cross as well as the river.
Foy seeing, by the direction of Beresford’s fire, that his retreat was endangered, retired hastily with his left leaving his right wing under general Berlier at Halzou without orders. Hence when general Pringle attacked the latter from Larressore, the sixth division was already on the high road between Foy and Berlier, who escaped by cross roads towards Hasparen, but did not rejoin his division until two o’clock in the afternoon. Meanwhile Morillo crossed at Itzassu, and Paris retired to Hellette where he was joined by a regiment of light cavalry belonging to Pierre Soult who was then on the Bidouse river. Morillo followed, and in one village near Hellette his troops killed fifteen peasants, amongst them several women and children.
General Hill having won the passage, placed a brigade of infantry at Urcurray to cover the bridge of Cambo, and to support the cavalry which he despatched to scour the roads towards Lahoussoa, St. Jean Pied de Port, and Hasparen, and to observe Paris and Pierre Soult. With the rest of his troops he marched to the heights of Lormenthoa in front of the hills of Moguerre and Villefranque, and was there joined by the sixth division, the third remaining to cover the bridge of Ustaritz. It was now about one o’clock, and Soult, coming hastily from Bayonne, approved of the disposition made by D’Erlon, and offered battle, his line being extended so as to bar the high road. D’Armagnac’s brigade which had retired from Ustaritz was now in advance at Villefranque and a heavy cannonade and skirmish ensued along the front, but no general attack was made because the deep roads had retarded the rear of Hill’s columns. However the Portuguese of the sixth division, descending from Lormenthoa about three o’clock, drove D’Armagnac’s brigade with sharp fighting and after one repulse out of Villefranque. A brigade of the second division was then established in advance connecting Hill’s corps with the troops in Villefranque. Thus three divisions of infantry, wanting the brigade left at Urcurray, hemmed up four French divisions; and as the latter, notwithstanding their superiority of numbers, made no advantage of the broken movements of the allies caused by the deep roads, the passage of the Nive may be judged a surprize. Wellington thus far overreached his able adversary, yet he had not trusted to this uncertain chance alone.
The French masses falling upon the heads of his columns at Lormenthoa while the rear was still labouring in the deep roads, might have caused some disorder, but could not have driven either Hill or Beresford over the river again, because the third division was close at hand to reinforce the sixth, and the brigade of the seventh, left at San Barbe, could have followed by the bridge of Ustaritz, thus giving the allies the superiority of numbers. The greatest danger was, that Paris, reinforced by Pierre Soult’s cavalry, should have returned and fallen either upon Morillo or the brigade left at Urcurray in the rear, while Soult, reinforcing D’Erlon with fresh divisions brought from the other side of the Nive, attacked Hill and Beresford in front. It was to prevent this that Hope and Alten whose operations are now to be related pressed the enemy on the left bank.
The first-named general having twelve miles to march from St. Jean de Luz before he could reach the French works, put his troops in motion during the night, and about eight o’clock passed between the tanks in front of Barrouilhet with his right, while his left descended from the platform of Bidart and crossed the valley towards Biaritz. The French outposts retired fighting, and Hope sweeping with a half circle to his right, and being preceded by the fire of his guns and many skirmishers, arrived in front of the entrenched camp about one o’clock. His left then rested on the Lower Adour, his centre menaced a very strong advanced work on the ridge of Beyris beyond Anglet, and his right was in communication with Alten. That general having a shorter distance to move, halted about Bussussary and Arcangues until Hope’s fiery crescent was closing on the French camp, and then he also advanced, but with the exception of a slight skirmish at the fortified house there was no resistance. Three divisions, some cavalry, and the unattached brigades, equal to a fourth division, sufficed therefore to keep six French divisions in check on this side.
When evening closed the allies fell back towards their original positions, but under heavy rain, and with great fatigue to Hope’s wing, for even the royal road was knee-deep of mud and his troops were twenty-four hours under arms. The whole day’s fighting cost about eight hundred men for each side, the loss of the allies being rather greater on the left bank of the Nive than on the right.