Battle of Sorauren

The Battle of Sorauren was part of a series of engagements in late July 1813 called the Battle of the Pyrenees in which a combined British and Portuguese force under Sir Arthur Wellesley held off Marshal Soult's French forces attempting to relieve Pamplona.

Battle of Sorauren
Part of Peninsular War

Battle of the Pyrenees, July 28th 1813 by Thomas Sutherland
Date28 July – 1 August 1813
Location
Sorauren, Navarre, Spain
42.8758°N 1.6189°W / 42.8758; -1.6189
Result Allied victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom United Kingdom
Portugal
Spain Spain		 France French Empire
Commanders and leaders
United Kingdom Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington France Jean-de-Dieu Soult
Strength
24,000 men 30,000 men
Casualties and losses
2,600 dead or wounded 4,000 dead or wounded
Peninsular War
Vitoria and the Pyrenees, 1813–1814
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Prelude

With sizable Anglo-Portuguese forces tied up in assaulting San Sebastián and besieging Pamplona, the new French commander Marshal Soult launched a counterattack with the Armée d'Espagne through Maya and Roncesvalles. Although the French initially enjoyed local superiority, the tough terrain combined with stubborn British and Portuguese resistance slowed the French advance to a crawl.

Battle
A map of the battle

The main French column of about 40,000 men under Clausel and Reille marched to attack Sorauren. On the 27 July the heavily outnumbered British forces there were drawn up on the Oricain Ridge. Wellesley made a dramatic ride along the ridge in front of the cheering British and Portuguese troops and Soult postponed the attack until the next day. By the time the French attack was launched, reinforcements had arrived, bringing the total allied force to about 24,000 men.

On the 28th the fighting at the top of the ridge was bitter and bloody, but the defenders held the French off. About midday, the 6th Division arrived and Wellesley sent them to assault the French right flank. More fresh units reached the field and Soult soon ordered a withdrawal. The French suffered 4,000 casualties, while Wellesley's army lost 1,500 British, 1,000 Portuguese and 1000 Spaniards.

On the 30 July the retreat from Sorauren cost the French 3,500 casualties, as they tried to get between Wellesley's army and San Sebastián. At Beunza, 5100 Portuguese and 4000 British fended off another attempt.

Aftermath
A Sorauren land's painting eleven years after (1824) by Edward Hawke Locker, published in the work Views in Spain

With his momentum lost, Soult withdrew into France to prepare his defence against the imminent Allied offensive.

Sources
  • Oman, Charles (1922). "Section XXXVIII: Chapter V: Soult's Retreat, July 30–31. The second battle of Sorauren". History of the Peninsular War. Vol. VI. Oxford: Clarendon Press. pp. 681–706.
  • Napier, Sir William Francis Patrick (1879). "Second Battle of Sorauren". English battles and sieges in the Peninsula. London: J. Murray. pp. 315–317.
  • Weller, Jac (1992). Wellington in the Peninsula.
Preceded by
Battle of the Pyrenees		 Napoleonic Wars
Battle of the Sorauren		 Succeeded by
Battle of Großbeeren
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