Count D’Erlon, commanding Foy’s and D’Armagnac’s divisions, was on the left of Reille. He placed the first along a ridge extending towards the road of Peyrehorade, the second in reserve. In rear of this last Villatte’s division and the cavalry wereSoult’s Official Report, MSS. posted above the village of Rontun, that is to say, on the open hills behind the main position. In this situation with the right overlooking the low country beyond St. Boës, and the left extended towards Orthes this division furnished a reserve to both D’Erlon and Reille.
Harispe, whose troops as well as Villatte’s were under Clauzel, occupied Orthes and the bridge, having a regiment near the ford of Souars above the town. Thus the French army extended from St. Boës to Orthes, but the great mass was disposed towards the centre. Twelve guns were attached to general Harispe’s troops, twelve were upon the round hill in the centre, sweeping in their range the ground beyond St. Boës, and sixteen were in reserve on the Dax road.
The 27th at day-break the sixth and light divisions, having passed the Gave near Berenx by the pontoon bridge thrown in the night, wound up a narrow way between high rocks to the great road of Peyrehorade. The third division and lord Edward Somerset’s cavalry were already established there in columns of march with skirmishers pushed forwards to the edge of the wooded height occupied by D’Erlon’s left, and Beresford with the fourth and seventh divisions and Vivian’s cavalry had meanwhile gained the ridge of St. Boës and approached the Dax road beyond. Hill remained with the second British, and Le Cor’s Portuguese divisions menacing the bridge of Orthes and the ford of Souars. Between Beresford and Picton, a distance of a mile and a half, there were no troops; but about half-way, exactly in front of the French centre, was a Roman camp crowning an isolated peering hill of singular appearance and nearly as lofty as the centre of Soult’s position.
On this camp, now covered with vineyards, but then open and grassy with a few trees, lord Wellington, after viewing the country on Beresford’s left, stopped for an hour or more to examine the enemy’s disposition for battle. During this time the two divisions were coming up from the river, but so hemmed in by rocks that only a few men could march abreast, and their point of union with the third division was little more than cannon-shot from the enemy’s position. The moment was critical, Picton did not conceal his disquietude, but Wellington undisturbed as the deep sea continued his observations without seeming to notice the dangerous position of his troops. When they had reached the main road he reinforced Picton with the sixth, and drew the light division by cross roads behind the Roman camp, thus connecting his wings and forming a central reserve. From this point bye-ways led, on the left to the high church of Baïghts and the Dax road, on the right to the Peyrehorade road; and two others led straight across the marsh to the French position.
This marsh, the open hill about which Soult’s guns and reserves were principally gathered, the form and nature of the ridges on the flanks, all combined to forbid an attack in front, and the flanks were scarcely more promising. The extremity of the French left sunk indeed to a gentle undulation in crossing the Peyrehorade road, yet it would have been useless to push troops on that line towards Orthes, between D’Erlon and Caste Tarbe, for the town was strongly occupied by Harispe and was there covered by an ancient wall and the bed of a torrent. It was equally difficult to turn the St. Boës flank because of the low marshy country into which the troops must have descended beyond the Dax road; and the brows of the hills trending backwards from the centre of the French position would have enabled Soult to oppose a new and formidable front at right angles to his actual position. The whole of the allied army must therefore have made a circuitous flank movement within gun-shot and through a most difficult country, or Beresford’s left must have been dangerously extended and the whole line weakened. Nor could the movement be hidden, because the hills although only moderately high were abrupt on that side, affording a full view of the low country, and Soult’s cavalry detachments were in observation on every brow.
It only remained to assail the French flanks along the ridges, making the principal efforts on the side of St. Boës, with intent if successful to overlap the French right beyond, and seize the road of St. Sever while Hill passed the Gave at Souars and cut off the road to Pau, thus enclosing the beaten army in Orthes. This was however no slight affair. On Picton’s side it was easy to obtain a footing on the flank ridge near the high road, but beyond that the ground rose rapidly and the French were gathered thickly with a narrow front and plenty of guns. On Beresford’s side they could only be assailed along the summit of the St. Boës ridge, advancing from the high church of Baïghts and the Dax road. But the village of St. Boës was strongly occupied, the ground immediately behind it was strangled to a narrow pass by the ravine, and the French reserve of sixteen guns, placed on the Dax road, behind the hill in the centre of Soult’s line, and well covered from counter-fire, was in readiness to crush the head of any column which should emerge from the gorge of St. Boës.
BATTLE OF ORTHES.
During the whole morning a slight skirmish with now and then a cannon-shot had been going on with the third division on the right, and the French cavalry at times pushed parties forward on each flank, but at nine o’clock Wellington commenced the real attack. The third and sixth divisions won without difficulty the lower part of the ridges opposed to them, and endeavoured to extend their left along the French front with a sharp fire of musquetry; but the main battle was on the other flank. There general Cole, keeping Anson’s brigade of the fourth division in reserve, assailed St. Boës with Ross’s British brigade and Vasconcellos’ Portuguese; his object was to get on to the open ground beyond it, but fierce and slaughtering was the struggle. Five times breaking through the scattered houses did Ross carry his battle into the wider space beyond; yet ever as the troops issued forth the French guns from the open hill smote them in front, and the reserved battery on the Dax road swept through them with grape from flank to flank. And then Taupin’s supporting masses rushed forwards with a wasting fire, and lapping the flanks with skirmishers, which poured along the ravines on either hand, forced the shattered columns back into the village. It was in vain that with desperate valour the allies time after time broke through the narrow way and struggled to spread a front beyond, Ross fell dangerously wounded, and Taupin, whose troops were clustered thickly and well supported defied their utmost efforts. Nor was Soult less happy on the other side. The nature of the ground would not permit the third and sixth divisions to engage many men at once, so that no progress was made; and one small detachment which Picton extended to his left, having made an attempt to gain the smaller tongue jutting out from the central hill, was suddenly charged, as it neared the summit, by Foy, and driven down again in confusion, losing several prisoners.
When the combat had thus continued with unabated fury on the side of St. Boës for about three hours, lord Wellington sent a caçadore regiment of the light division from the Roman camp to protect the right flank of Ross’s brigade against the French skirmishers; but this was of no avail, for Vasconcellos’ Portuguese, unable to sustain the violence of the enemy any longer, gave way in disorder, and the French pouring on, the British troops retreated through St. Boës with difficulty. As this happened at the moment when the detachment on Picton’s left was repulsed, victory seemed to declare for the French, and Soult, conspicuous on his commanding open hill, the knot of all his combinations, seeing his enemies thus broken and thrown backwards on each side put all his reserves in movement to complete the success. It is said that in the exultation of the moment he smote his thigh exclaiming, “At last I have him.” Whether this be so or not it was no vain-glorious speech, for the moment was most dangerous. There was however a small black cloud rising just beneath him, unheeded at first amidst the thundering din and tumult that now shook the field of battle, but which soon burst with irresistible violence. Wellington seeing that St. Boës was inexpugnable had suddenly changed his plan of battle. Supporting Ross with Anson’s brigade which had not hitherto been engaged, he backed both with the seventh division and Vivian’s cavalry now forming one heavy body towards the Dax road. Then he ordered the third and sixth divisions to be thrown in mass upon Foy’s left flank, and at the same time sent the fifty-second regiment down from the Roman camp with instructions to cross the marsh in front, to mount the French ridge beyond, and to assail the flank and rear of the troops engaged with the fourth division at St. Boës.
Colonel Colborne, so often distinguished in this war, immediately led the fifty-second down and crossed the marsh under fire, the men sinking at every step above the knees, in some places to the middle, but still pressing forwards with that stern resolution and order to be expected from the veterans of the light division, soldiers who had never yet met their match in the field. They soon obtained footing on firm land and ascended the heights in line at the moment that Taupin was pushing vigorously through St. Boës, Foy and D’Armagnac, hitherto more than masters of their positions, being at the same time seriously assailed on the other flank by the third and sixth divisions. With a mighty shout and a rolling fire the fifty-second soldiers dashed forwards between Foy and Taupin, beating down a French battalion in their course and throwing everything before them into disorder. General Bechaud was killed in Taupin’s division, Foy was dangerously wounded, and his troops, discouraged by his fall and by this sudden burst from a quarter where no enemy was expected, for the march of the fifty-second had been hardly perceived save by the skirmishers, got into confusion, and the disorder spreading to Reille’s wingSoult’s Official Reports, MSS. he also was forced to fall back and take a new position to restore his line of battle. The narrow pass behind St. Boës was thus opened, and Wellington seizing the critical moment thrust the fourth and seventh divisions, Vivian’s cavalry, and two batteries of artillery through, and spread a front beyond.