General of Division
Divisional general is a general officer rank who commands an army division. The rank originates from the French (Revolutionary) System, and is used by a number of countries. The rank is above a brigade general, and normally below an army corp ...
Pierre Thouvenot
Pierre Thouvenot (9 March 1757 – 21 July 1817) was a French Army officer who served with distinction in the American Revolutionary War. He fled from France during the revolution but returned under an amnesty and went on to serve in Napoleonic W ...
launch a
sortie
A sortie (from the French word meaning ''exit'' or from Latin root ''surgere'' meaning to "rise up") is a deployment or dispatch of one military unit, be it an aircraft, ship, or troops, from a strongpoint. The term originated in siege warfare. ...
against a besieging force of British, Portuguese, and Spanish troops commanded by
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
John Hope. The fighting marked the last major battle of the
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...
and occurred after unofficial news of
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
's 4 April
abdication
Abdication is the act of formally relinquishing monarchical authority. Abdications have played various roles in the succession procedures of monarchies. While some cultures have viewed abdication as an extreme abandonment of duty, in other societ ...
reached the opposing forces. Thouvenot's reasons for initiating the sortie are not clear because there was apparently nothing for the French to gain by fighting. After the French enjoyed initial success, Allied forces drove them back inside Bayonne with heavy losses on both sides.
The Allies initiated the Siege of Bayonne by mounting a complex land-sea operation that bridged the
Adour
The Adour (; eu, Aturri; oc, Ador) is a river in southwestern France. It rises in High-Bigorre (Pyrenees), in the commune of Aspin-Aure, and flows into the Atlantic Ocean (Bay of Biscay) near Bayonne. It is long, of which the uppermost ca. i ...
estuary downstream from Bayonne. Allied positions already faced the south side of Bayonne, so crossing the Adour allowed Hope's troops to also close off the north side of Bayonne, completely investing the city. Once Bayonne was surrounded, the siege was pursued lethargically on both sides. The fighting of 14 April involved heavy
hand-to-hand combat
Hand-to-hand combat (sometimes abbreviated as HTH or H2H) is a physical confrontation between two or more persons at short range (grappling distance or within the physical reach of a handheld weapon) that does not involve the use of weapons.Huns ...
. The siege continued and on 17 April, the French field army under
Marshal
Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated o ...
Jean-de-Dieu Soult
Marshal General Jean-de-Dieu Soult, 1st Duke of Dalmatia, (; 29 March 1769 – 26 November 1851) was a French general and statesman, named Marshal of the Empire in 1804 and often called Marshal Soult. Soult was one of only six officers in Fren ...
signed an armistice with
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister o ...
. Thouvenot continued to resist until direct orders from Soult compelled him to observe the
ceasefire
A ceasefire (also known as a truce or armistice), also spelled cease fire (the antonym of 'open fire'), is a temporary stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions. Ceasefires may be between state act ...
.
Background
Operations
A week after the
Battle of the Nive
The Battles of the Nive (9–13 December 1813) were fought towards the end of the Peninsular War. Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington's Anglo-Portuguese and Spanish army defeated Marshal Nicolas Soult's French army on French soil in ...
ended on 14 December 1813, heavy rains began in the region around Bayonne. Though the outposts of each army around Bayonne were in close proximity to one another, neither army attempted any operations. Though urged by his Russian ally to continue the campaign, the Duke of Wellington refused to do so as long as the bad weather persisted. He pointed out that ordering his army to march in heavy rains would be "a useless waste of men". The static situation continued until mid-February 1814. Obeying orders from Emperor
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
, Marshal Soult sent two infantry divisions and half his cavalry to the campaign in northeast France. Soult tried to motivate the local French civilians to start
guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants, such as paramilitary personnel, armed civilians, or Irregular military, irregulars, use military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, Raid (military), raids ...
against the Allied army. This effort failed and Allied troops moved about in relative security within occupied French territory.
Soult anticipated that Wellington might try to besiege Bayonne by crossing the
Adour
The Adour (; eu, Aturri; oc, Ador) is a river in southwestern France. It rises in High-Bigorre (Pyrenees), in the commune of Aspin-Aure, and flows into the Atlantic Ocean (Bay of Biscay) near Bayonne. It is long, of which the uppermost ca. i ...
River upstream (east) of the city. To prevent this move, the French marshal posted three divisions on the north bank of the Adour between Bayonne and
Port-de-Lanne
Port-de-Lanne (; oc, Lanas) is a commune in the Landes department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France.
Population
See also
*Communes of the Landes department
The following is a list of the 327 communes of the Landes department ...
. With four additional divisions, Soult held the line of the Joyeuse River, which runs south to north. A line of cavalry outposts connected the divisions on the Joyeuse to the French-held fortress of
Peyrehorade
Peyrehorade (; oc, Pèirahorada) is a commune in the Landes department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. Peyrehorade station has rail connections to Bayonne, Pau and Tarbes.
Population
See also
*Communes of the Landes department
...
. In fact, Wellington had no intention of crossing the Adour upstream from Bayonne. Instead, he planned to move two corps to the east in order to draw Soult away from Bayonne. With Soult's main army out of the way, the corps of John Hope would lay siege to Bayonne. Wellington began moving his cavalry regiments from their winter pastures in Spain to the front.
By 14 February 1814, the weather cleared and Wellington's troops began moving east, prompting the French to fall back behind the
Rowland Hill
Sir Rowland Hill, KCB, FRS (3 December 1795 – 27 August 1879) was an English teacher, inventor and social reformer. He campaigned for a comprehensive reform of the postal system, based on the concept of Uniform Penny Post and his soluti ...
's corps defeated a French division at the
Battle of Garris
The Battle of Garris (Basque ''Garrüze'') or Battle of Saint-Palais (15 February 1814) saw an Allied force under the direct command of General Arthur Wellesley, Marquess Wellington attack General of Division Jean Harispe's French divisi ...
to see how the plans for his next operation were proceeding.
Investment of Bayonne
By 18 February, Soult's field army had been pushed back behind the
Gave d'Oloron
The Gave d'Oloron is a river of south-western France near the border with Spain. It takes its name from the city Oloron-Sainte-Marie, where it is formed from the rivers Gave d'Aspe and Gave d'Ossau. It joins the Gave de Pau in Peyrehorade to form ...
River where both armies would remain immobile on 19–23 February. This was far enough east so that the French army could not easily interfere with Allied operations against Bayonne. Wellington planned for Hope's corps to cross the Adour near its mouth—that is, downstream from Bayonne—and invest the city. Over 50
lugger
A lugger is a sailing vessel defined by its rig, using the lug sail on all of its one or several masts. They were widely used as working craft, particularly off the coasts of France, England, Ireland and Scotland. Luggers varied extensively i ...
Charles Colville
General Sir Charles Colville (7 August 1770 – 27 March 1843) was a British Army officer who served during the Napoleonic Wars. He was an ensign in 1781. He served in the West Indies from 1791 to 1797 and while serving there was promoted to li ...
's 5th British Divisions,Smith's order of battle listed Andrew Hay's brigade of 5th Division, but omitted Colville's other two brigades and Vandeleur's cavalry.Matthew Whitworth-Aylmer's Independent British Brigade (1,900), the Portuguese brigades of
Thomas Bradford
General (United Kingdom), General Sir Thomas Bradford (1 December 1777 – 28 November 1853) was a British Army officer.
Military career
Bradford was commissioned as an ensign (rank), ensign in the King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster), 4th (Th ...
(1,600) and
Archibald Campbell Archibald Campbell may refer to:
Peerage
* Archibald Campbell of Lochawe (died before 1394), Scottish peer
* Archibald Campbell, 2nd Earl of Argyll (died 1513), Lord Chancellor of Scotland
* Archibald Campbell, 4th Earl of Argyll (c. 1507–1558) ...
Ormsby Vandeleur
General Sir John Ormsby Vandeleur (1763 – 10 December 1849) was a British Army officer who fought in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars.
Biography
Vandeleur, born in 1763, was the son of Richard Vandeleur (died 1772) and Elinor, da ...
's light cavalry brigade. Hope's corps was soon joined by
Manuel Freire de Andrade
Manuel Alberto Freire de Andrade y Armijo (4 November 1767 – 7 March 1835) was a Spanish cavalry officer and general officer during the Peninsular War, and later Defense Minister.
Freire (also known as Freyre) was born in Carmona, Spain ...
's 10,000 Spanish troops; these soldiers were later sent away to join Wellington's army in time to fight at the Battle of Toulouse on 10 April. The Spanish troops at Bayonne were distributed as follows. From Freire's 4th Army, España's 2nd Division (3,963) was at Bayonne; half of Del Barco's 3rd Division (4,991) was at Bayonne and half was at Toulouse; half of Porlier's 5th Division (3,729) was at Bayonne and half was at Toulouse; artillery and sappers (965) were at Bayonne except for 200 at Toulouse. From
Pedro AgustÃn Girón
Pedro AgustÃn Girón y de Las Casas, 1st Duke of Ahumada, 4th Marquess of the Amarillas (1778–1842) was a Spanish military officer and politician. The son of a general, he fought against the French during the French Revolutionary Wars. Dur ...
's Army of the Reserve of Andalusia, Virue's 1st Division (5,008) and Juan Creagh's 2nd Division (4,286) were ordered to march to Bayonne in late February.
On the afternoon of 22 February, the wind moderated and the luggers left the port of Saint-Jean-de-Luz, bound for the mouth of the Adour. At midnight, the 1st Division began marching to the rendezvous point. Dawn on 23 February found the troops of the 1st Division at the selected crossing place on the south bank of the Adour. However, the luggers were nowhere in sight, having been blown out to sea by a contrary wind. Anxious that the French would discover his plans, Hope ordered Aylmer's and Campbell's brigades and España's division to launch probing attacks along Bayonne's southern front. These demonstrations completely fooled Thouvenot, who believed he was about to undergo a major assault. Meanwhile,
18-pounder long gun
The 18-pounder long gun was an intermediary calibre piece of naval artillery mounted on warships of the Age of Sail. They were used as main guns on the most typical frigates of the early 19th century, on the second deck of third-rate ships of the ...
s were mounted in the masked battery and when they opened fire, they drove off the French
corvette
A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the slo ...
''Sapho'' and several gunboats. At 11:00 am, Hope boldly began sending his troops across the Adour, using five small boats. Securing a hawser to both banks, the British were able to send soldiers across in 50-man rafts. By 5:00 pm, five companies of British Guards and two companies of riflemen of the 5th/
60th Foot
The King's Royal Rifle Corps was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army that was originally raised in British North America as the Royal American Regiment during the phase of the Seven Years' War in North America known in the United St ...
were on the north bank with their brigade commander Edward Stopford. The French had 2,700 soldiers in Bayonne's
citadel
A citadel is the core fortified area of a town or city. It may be a castle, fortress, or fortified center. The term is a diminutive of "city", meaning "little city", because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core.
In ...
, but incredibly, Thouvenot made no serious attempt to wipe out the 500 British troops on the north bank. Instead, the citadel commander sent about 700 infantry to
reconnoiter
In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities.
Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmishers, ...
at dusk; these troops were hit by an accurate salvo of
Congreve rocket
The Congreve rocket was a type of rocket artillery designed by British inventor Sir William Congreve in 1808.
The design was based upon the rockets deployed by the Kingdom of Mysore against the East India Company during the Second, Third, an ...
s and retreated.
By dawn of 24 February, more Anglo-Allied soldiers made it across to the north bank and the flotilla of luggers and several
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
warships were visible outside the mouth of the Adour. Ship's boats soon discovered a channel across the bar at the mouth of the river, but by this time the tide was ebbing and it was impossible for the luggers to enter the river. By late afternoon, the tide turned and 34 luggers entered the Adour, with the loss of one lugger and two ship's boats wrecked and about 35 sailors drowned. Meanwhile, the buildup of the north bank bridgehead continued, using rafts and rowboats, so that 3,000 men were across by noon. By nightfall, the entire 1st Division was across the Adour plus a portion of Campbell's Portuguese brigade, a total of 8,000 troops entrenched. The bridgehead was now secure against anything the French could throw at it.
Construction of the bridge started on 25 February and lasted until afternoon of the next day. There were 26 luggers anchored side-by-side with their bows pointing upstream in a place where the Adour was only wide. The vessels were lashed together and secured by five cables to capstans on one bank and to heavy cannon barrels on the other. The besieging force was rearranged so that the British 1st Division, Bradford's and Campbell's Portuguese brigades, España's Spanish division, and two squadrons of Vandeleur's cavalry brigade were on the north bank, a total of 15,000 men. The 16,000-strong south bank force included the British 5th Division, Aylmer's British brigade, and the three newly-arrived Spanish divisions. Though the French remained surprisingly passive while Hope reinforced his bridgehead, when the Allies tried to seize the Saint-Étienne suburb, they had a bitter fight on their hands costing almost 400 casualties. On 27 February, the Allies on the north bank captured Saint-Étienne in house-to-house fighting. The British Guards and the Portuguese had minor losses, but three
King's German Legion
The King's German Legion (KGL; german: Des Königs Deutsche Legion, semantically erroneous obsolete German variations are , , ) was a British Army unit of mostly expatriated German personnel during the period 1803–16. The legion achieved th ...
(KGL) battalions sustained 328 casualties in the struggle, while the French lost 55 killed, 103 wounded, and 30–40 captured. Also on 27 February, Wellington's army defeated Soult's army at the
Battle of Orthez
The Battle of Orthez (27 February 1814) saw the Anglo-Spanish-Portuguese Army under Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington attack an Imperial French army led by Marshal Nicolas Soult in southern France. The outnumbered Fr ...
.
Except for a weak sortie on 1 March, Thouvenot left the Allied siege lines undisturbed. Hope's engineers built a barrier upstream from the new bridge; this was intended to catch any fire ships launched to destroy the bridge. Yet, the French never attempted any such thing. Wellington wanted to use the Adour estuary as a supply port, but merchant vessels proved unable to get across the bar at the mouth of the river. At the beginning of March, the Allied line of communication ran from the port of Saint-Jean-de-Luz north and across the new bridge. From there, the line turned east, passed around the besieged fortress of Bayonne, and followed the north bank of the Adour to Port-de-Lanne.
Peregrine Maitland
General Sir Peregrine Maitland, GCB (6 July 1777 – 30 May 1854) was a British soldier and colonial administrator. He also was a first-class cricketer from 1798 to 1808 and an early advocate for the establishment of what would become the Canadi ...
's Guards brigade at the hamlet of Saint-Bernard on the river below Bayonne. Most of Andrew Hay's brigade of the 5th Division was posted to the west at Le Boucau, to defend the bridge of boats. However, the pickets of Hay's brigade were deployed at Saint-Étienne, between the brigades of Stopford and Hinuber, and Hay was general officer of the day.
The attack was delivered in mass at 3:00 am on a moonless night. A feint attack was made against
pickets were taken by surprise and soon overwhelmed. The eastern-most column from Saint-Esprit assaulted the village of Saint-Étienne. The French captured the barricaded houses one by one and Hay was killed vainly defending the village church. Saint-Étienne was rapidly seized except one building where soldiers from the
38th Foot
The 38th (1st Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1705. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 80th Regiment of Foot (Staffordshire Volunteers) to form the South Staffordshire Regim ...
held out and the walled Jewish cemetery on the
Bordeaux
Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...
road. The two columns from the citadel overran Stopford's picket line, capturing many men, and drove the Guards brigade to the north. When Hope and his staff galloped from Le Boucau toward Saint-Étienne, they unwittingly took a route that the French troops had just seized. Hope and two of his staff officers were wounded and captured. French guns mounted in the citadel shelled the area indiscriminately and ineffectually. Meanwhile, French sappers began demolishing barricades and loopholed buildings.
With Hope a prisoner, the task of organizing resistance fell to subordinates. Warned by the French deserter, Hinuber had placed his five KGL battalions on high alert that night. Hinuber, who acted on his own initiative, rallied the troops and launched a counter-attack with the support of two Portuguese battalions. These drove the French out and recaptured Saint-Étienne. At the same time the left-hand French column, supported by gunboats on the river, attacked Saint-Bernard. Maitland's 1st Guards Brigade occupied the heights around the village and the convent. With a destructive fire from the Guards, the French were repulsed and Maitland ordered a counter attack. After finding Maitland's defenses intact, Howard rallied some of Stopford's troops and counterattacked the French near the Jewish cemetery. Hit by Stopford's men on one side and by Hinuber's KGL on the other, the French troops recoiled.
The Allied counterattack soon intensified and the French bridgehead north of the citadel was now under attack from both east and west. Men of Howard's 1st Division with the bayonet began to dislodge the French from emplacements along the crossroads near Saint-Étienne. At this point, Thouvenot ordered his troops to withdraw. As the Allies pursued their antagonists, in a few places the French became jammed together in the dark and made an easy target for Allied musketry. Thouvenot later claimed his troops withdrew in good order, but the French suffered heavy casualties. By 8:00 am the Allies had recovered all lost territory with minimal damage to fortifications as the siege guns had not been deployed in the battery positions. The commander of the British 5th Division, Colville assumed command of Hope's corps for the remainder of the siege.
Aftermath
The Allies lost 838 men, 150 of whom were killed, including
Major General
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
Hay, 455 wounded and 233 captured including Hope. Historian
Charles Oman
Sir Charles William Chadwick Oman, (12 January 1860 – 23 June 1946) was a British Military history, military historian. His reconstructions of medieval battles from the fragmentary and distorted accounts left by chroniclers were pioneering. ...
suggested that the Allies' unusual 1:3 killed-to-wounded ratio can be explained by the fact that most of the 233 missing were wounded and captured when the picket lines were overrun. The French reported losing 11 officers and 100 men killed, 42 officers and 736 men wounded, and 16 men missing, a total of 905 casualties. Total losses in the siege, including the battle on 14 April, were 1,600 French killed and wounded, plus 400 captured. The Allies lost a total of 1,700 killed and wounded, and 300 captured. Gaston Bodart gave losses for the battle and siege as 2,000 on each side. According to Bodart, the Allies employed 25,000 troops during the siege while the French defenders numbered 14,000.
Digby Smith
Digby Smith (born 1 January 1935) is a British military historian. The son of a British career soldier, he was born in Hampshire, England, but spent several years in India and Pakistan as a child and youth. As a "boy soldier", he entered train ...
credited Hope's corps with 29,500 troops but Oman wrote that Hope had 31,000 at the end of February.
Late on 12 April 1814, two officers, one French and one British, arrived at Wellington's headquarters at
Toulouse
Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...
to inform him that Napoleon had been deposed. The envoys were sent to Soult's headquarters where they arrived the following day and presented official documents. However, Soult refused to accept the legitimacy of the papers, but asked for an armistice from Wellington which was refused. Meanwhile, the French officer proceeded to Marshal
's headquarters where the documents were immediately accepted as legitimate; Suchet submitted to the new government and requested an armistice from Wellington. On 17 April, after Soult received a message from Marshal
Louis-Alexandre Berthier
Louis-Alexandre Berthier (20 November 1753 – 1 June 1815), Prince of Neuchâtel and Valangin, Prince of Wagram, was a French Marshal of the Empire who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was twice Minister ...
that Napoleon had abdicated, Soult submitted and signed an armistice with Wellington.
After the 14 April battle, Colville sent Thouvenot some
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
newspapers announcing that Napoleon was deposed. Thouvenot refused to accept the news and congratulated his troops on their sortie in the name of Emperor Napoleon. He refused to end the fighting unless he received a direct order from a superior. On 27 April, Thouvenot finally received Soult's copy of the 17 April armistice and the message that Soult submitted to the new government. This compelled Thouvenot to hand the fortress of Bayonne over to the British.
In fact, the Battle of Bayonne was not the last fighting of the Peninsular War.
Pierre-Joseph Habert
Pierre-Joseph Habert (22 December 1773 – 19 May 1825) enlisted in the French army at the beginning of the French Revolutionary Wars and led a division during the Napoleonic Wars. After serving in the army from 1792 to 1797, he fought in Ir ...
and a French garrison continued to defend
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
. On 16 April, Habert sent a column to forage for supplies in
Grà cia
Grà cia () is a district of the city of Barcelona, Spain. It comprises the neighborhoods of Vila de Grà cia, Vallcarca i els Penitents, El Coll, La Salut and Camp d'en Grassot i Grà cia Nova. Grà cia is bordered by the districts of Eixample to th ...
. This expedition met strong resistance and suffered 200 casualties including 30 men captured. On 19 April, a spy brought Habert news of Napoleon's abdication. Nevertheless, Habert made his soldiers swear an oath to serve Napoleon. On 25 April a French colonel arrived at Barcelona bringing official news that Napoleon was deposed. At this, Habert became so enraged at the colonel that his staff had to restrain him. It took him two more days before he calmed down enough to discuss the terms of evacuation.
Commentary
While Habert was unaware that the war was over when he launched his expedition on 16 April, Thouvenot had no such excuse. He was responsible for causing over 1,700 pointless casualties in a war that he knew was lost. Wellington called Thouvenot a "blackguard" because he believed the Frenchman knew that war was over and deliberately attacked when the Allies had relaxed their guard. Colville thought Thouvenot was "well intentioned" but influenced by fanatical subordinates. After agreeing to the armistice, Thouvenot announced, "I will not have the English treated like demi-gods, as they have been at
Bordeaux
Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...
, and I have put a stop to the foolish demonstrations which might have taken place here".
Oman considered that there are four situations in which the governor of a besieged fortress might justifiably attack the besiegers. (1) If the commander sees that surrender is inevitable, but there is a chance for the garrison to escape. This was successfully carried out by
Blockade of Almeida
In the Blockade of Almeida (14 April – 10 May 1811) a French garrison under Antoine François Brenier de Montmorand was surrounded by approximately 13,000 Anglo-Allied soldiers led by Generals Sir Alexander Campbell, 1st Baronet and Sir ...
in 1811. (2) When the commander believes that an attack will drive away the besiegers. This was successfully done by the Spanish garrison at the
Second siege of Girona
The second siege of Girona was the second unsuccessful French attempt to capture the city of Girona (spelled "Gerona" in Castilian) during the Peninsular War, part of the Napoleonic Wars. Girona is located halfway between the Franco-Spanish ...
in 1808. (3) If the commander sees that the besieging force is making progress, he can launch a sortie for the purpose of wrecking the siege works and damaging the artillery. This was done by
Louis Emmanuel Rey
Louis Emmanuel Rey (born 22 September 1768, Grenoble – died 18 June 1846, Paris) was a French soldier. He joined the French royal army and won rapid promotion to general officer during the French Revolutionary Wars. He continued to serve ...
's French garrison during the
Siege of San Sebastián
In the siege of San Sebastián (7 July – 8 September 1813), part of the Peninsular War, Allied forces under the command of Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington failed to capture the city in a siege. However in a second siege the Alli ...
in 1813. (4) When the commander believes that terrain that was not part of the original fortress can be seized and fortified. According to Oman, none of the four situations applied to the Bayonne sortie. Thouvenot was not attempting to break out, nor did he have any chance of driving away Hope's corps. Thouvenot could not try to damage the siege works because no batteries were armed with cannons. Finally, Thouvenot did not intend to hold any ground outside the fortress. The sortie was a pointless but costly exercise.
Battle of Bayonne
The Battle of Bayonne (14 April 1814) saw the French garrison of Bayonne led by General of Division Pierre Thouvenot launch a sortie against a besieging force of British, Portuguese, and Spanish troops commanded by Lieutenant General John ...
Battle of Bayonne
The Battle of Bayonne (14 April 1814) saw the French garrison of Bayonne led by General of Division Pierre Thouvenot launch a sortie against a besieging force of British, Portuguese, and Spanish troops commanded by Lieutenant General John ...