Battle of the Bidassoa 1813
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 7 October 1813 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1813 | 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 | 43.3097, -1.7033 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of the Bidasoa (also known the Battle of Larrun) was fought on 7 October 1813. The Allied army of Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington wrested a foothold on French soil from General Jean-de-Dieu Soult's army. The Allied troops overran the French lines behind the Bidassoa River on the coast and along the Pyrenees crest between the Bidasoa and La Rhune (Larrun). The nearest towns to the fighting are Irun on the lower Bidassoa and Bera on the middle Bidasoa. The battle occurred during the Peninsular War, part of the wider Napoleonic Wars.
Wellington aimed his main assault at the lower Bidasoa, while sending additional troops to attack Soult's centre. Believing his coastal sector secure, Soult held the right flank with a relatively weak force while concentrating most of his strength on his left flank in the mountains. However, the British general obtained local intelligence that indicated that water levels on the lower river were much lower than the French suspected. After careful planning, Wellington launched a surprise assault which easily overran the French left flank defences. In the centre, his army also won through the French defenses, though his Spanish allies were repulsed in one attack.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of the Bidassoa (revision 1370277611), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle of San Marcial 1813 · 5 km
- Battle of Sans Culottes Camp 1794 · 6 km
- Battle of Irún (1837) 1837 · 7 km
- Battle of Irún 1936 · 7 km
- Siege of Fuenterrabía (1523–1524) 1523 · 9 km
- Siege of Fuenterrabía (1638) 1638 · 10 km
Other battles of the Campaign in south-west France
- Battle of Bayonne 1814
- Battle of Garris 1814
- Battle of Orthez 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