Battle of Orthez 1814
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 27 February 1814 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1814 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
| Era | 19th century (1800–1913) | derived from year |
| Location | France | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Campaign in south-west France | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | First French Empire, Kingdom of Portugal, Kingdom of Spain, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 43.5053, -0.7761 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Orthez was fought on 27 February 1814 in the southwest of France near the end of the Peninsular War. An army of British, Spanish and Portuguese troops under Field Marshal Lord Wellington attacked a French army led by Marshal Jean-de-Dieu Soult in southern France. The outnumbered French repelled several Allied assaults on their right flank, but their center and left flank were overcome and Soult was compelled to retreat. At first the withdrawal was conducted in good order, but it eventually ended in a scramble for safety and many French soldiers were taken prisoner.
In mid-February, Wellington's army broke out of its small area of conquered territory near Bayonne. Moving east, the Allies drove the French back from several river lines. After a pause in the campaign, the westernmost Allied corps surrounded and isolated Bayonne. Resuming their eastward drive, the remaining two Allied corps pushed Soult's army back to Orthez where the French marshal offered battle. In subsequent operations, Soult decided to abandon the large western port of Bordeaux and fall back east toward Toulouse. The next action was the Battle of Toulouse.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Orthez (revision 1370271280), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle of Orthez (1569) 1569 · 2 km
- Battle of Garris 1814 · 29 km
- Siege of Tartas 1441 · 36 km
- Battle of Bayonne 1814 · 59 km
- Siege of Bayonne (1130–1131) 1130 · 59 km
- Battle of Nivelle 1813 · 65 km
Other battles of the Campaign in south-west France
- Battle of the Bidassoa 1813
- Battle of Bayonne 1814
- Battle of Garris 1814
- Battle of Toulouse (1814) 1814
All 5 battles of the Campaign in south-west France →
Browse more: battles in France · Europe · 19th century battles