BATTLE OF VITTORIA. 21st. June, 1813.
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On the night of the 19th. of June, 1813, the French troops, commanded by Joseph Buonaparte, having Marshal Jourdan as the Major-General of the army, took up a position in front of Vittoria, the left resting upon the heights which end at La Puebla de Arganzon, and extending thence across the valley of the Zadorra, in front of the village of Arinez. The Marquis of Wellington reconnoitred the enemy’s position on the 20th., with design of giving him battle on the following morning, if he should still remain in it, and accordingly on the 21st. of June ordered an attack to be made on three separate points—Lieutenant-General Sir Rowland Hill, with the second division, was to assail the French left at La Puebla; with Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Graham, with the first and fifth divisions, was to make a wide detour to the left, and crossing the Zadorra at Vittoria, to attack their right, and to cut off their retreat by the great road to Bayonne. The centre, consisting of the fourth and light divisions, (under Lord Wellington himself,) on the right, and the third and seventh, (under Lieutenant-General Lord Dalhousie,) on the left, was to pass the bridges in front, and attack as soon as the movements on the flanks should be executed. The troops moved from the camp on the Bayas at daybreak; and the operations of the day commenced by Lieutenant-General Sir Rowland Hill obtaining possession of the heights of La Puebla. The enemy soon discovered the importance of these heights, and reinforced their troops to such an extent, that the Lieutenant-General was obliged to detach first the 71st. regiment and the light infantry battalion of Major-General Walker’s brigade, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel the Honourable Henry Cadogan, and successively other troops to the same point. The allies not only gained, 148but maintained possession of these important heights throughout their operations, notwithstanding the strenuous efforts made by the enemy to retake them. Lieutenant-Colonel Cadogan was here mortally wounded. The contest was thus at first chiefly on the extreme right and left, because, on account of the rugged nature of the ridges they had to pass, the left centre column, (third and seventh divisions,) did not reach the Zadorra until nearly one o’clock; the fourth and light divisions crossed the Zadorra immediately after Sir Rowland Hill had obtained possession of Subijana de Alava, the former at the bridge of Nanclares, and the latter at the bridge of Tres Puentes. The right brigade of the third division, followed by the seventh division, under the Earl of Dalhousie, then crossed the bridge of Mendoza, the other brigades of the third division fording higher up the river.
The seventh division and the centre brigade of the third division attacked the French right centre, in front of the villages of Margarita and Hermandad, and the Marquis of Wellington, seeing the hill in front of the village of Arinez weakly occupied by the enemy, ordered the right brigade of the third division, under Lieutenant-General Picton, in close columns of battalions across the front of both armies to that central point. The hill was carried immediately, and the French withdrew under cover of a cannonade from fifty pieces of artillery and a crowd of skirmishers, to the second range of heights, on which their reserve had been posted; they, however, still held Arinez on the great road leading to Vittoria. The brigade then advanced to the attack of the village of Arinez; the three right companies of the 74th., under Captain Mc Queen, with the companies of the 60th., immediately dashed forward and charged through it, drove out the enemy, and captured three guns; these companies were then halted under cover of some houses until the remainder of the regiment and brigade should come up, as the French were again advancing upon the post with increased numbers, keeping up a terrific fire of artillery and musketry. Finally they were driven back in confusion at the point of the bayonet.
By the capture of the village the great road was gained, 149and the French extreme left was turned, while they were hard pressed by Sir Rowland Hill’s attack on their front. They retreated on Vittoria, and the British continued the advance in admirable order, notwithstanding the difficulty of the ground. For six miles the action became a running fight and cannonade. When within a mile of Vittoria, the enemy made a stand, and the third division, being the foremost, bore the brunt of a heavy fire, until a hill on the French left was carried by the fourth division, which caused them to abandon the position.
Meanwhile Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Graham, with his divisions, had attacked the French right. The village of Gamarra Mayor was most gallantly stormed and carried by Brigadier-General Robinson’s brigade of the fifth division, which advanced in columns of battalions under a very heavy fire of artillery and musketry, without firing a shot, assisted by two guns of Major Lawson’s brigade of artillery. The French suffered severely, and three pieces of cannon were captured. Sir Thomas then proceeded to attack the village of Abechuco with the first division. These two villages were strongly occupied by the enemy as têtes-de-pont to the bridges over the Zadorra at these places. During the operations at Abechuco, which was carried, the light battalions having charged and taken three guns and a howitzer on the bridge, the greatest efforts were made to recover Gamarra Mayor, which were gallantly repulsed by the troops of the fifth division, under Major-General Oswald. Two divisions of the French were in reserve on the heights upon the left of the Zadorra, and it was not possible to cross by the bridges until the troops, which had moved upon the centre and left, had driven them through Vittoria. The whole then co-operated in the pursuit, which was continued by all till after dark.
The movement of the troops under Sir Thomas Graham, and their possession of Gamarra and Abechucho, intercepted the enemy’s retreat by the high road to France. They were then obliged to turn to the road towards Pampeluna, but were unable to hold any position for a sufficient length of time to allow the baggage and artillery to be drawn off. The whole, therefore, of the latter which had not been already captured 150by the troops, in their attack of the successive positions taken up by the French in their retreat from their first position on Arinez, and on the Zadorra, together with all their ammunition and baggage, fell into the hands of the British close to Vittoria. Only one gun and howitzer were carried off by the enemy.
Count Gazan, the Chief of the French Staff, in his report, shewed the state of destitution to which the officers were reduced.—“To such an extent are they stripped, that no one can account for what he has, or what is due to him. Several of the generals and officers have nothing in the world but the coats on their backs, and most of them are barefooted.” The French occupation of the Peninsula was virtually settled by this day’s success.
Although the nature of the ground did not admit of the cavalry regiments being generally engaged, they were kept close to the infantry to support them, and were most active in the pursuit. The court equipage of King Joseph was taken, and his carriage being taken, and his carriage being seized, he had barely time to escape on horseback. The defeat was the most complete that had been experienced in Spain.
Marshal Jourdan’s bâton[51] was taken, and sent to the Prince Regent, who in the name and on behalf of His Majesty, appointed the Marquis of Wellington a Field-Marshal. In a most flattering letter, the Prince Regent thus conferred the honour:—“You have sent me among the trophies of your unrivalled fame, the staff of a French Marshal, and I send you in return that of England.” This bâton was taken by the 87th., Royal Irish Fusiliers, under Lieutenant-Colonel (afterwards Viscount) Gough. The colours of the fourth battalion of the 100th. regiment were also among the trophies, and a hundred and forty-three brass guns were captured on the field.
Both armies were nearly equal in numbers, consisting of about seventy thousand men each. The French loss was stated by themselves at six thousand, and the casualties of the allies amounted to nearly five thousand men.
The following regiments were present at the battle of Yittoria:—The 3rd. and 5th. Dragoon Guards; 3rd., 4th., 14th., 15th., and 16th., Light Dragoons; 1st., 2nd., 4th., 5th., 6th., 7th., 9th., 20th., 23rd., 24th., 27th., 28th., 31st., 34th., 38th., 39th., 40th., 43rd., 45th., 47th., 48th., 50th., 51st., 52nd., 53rd., 57th., 58th., 59th., 60th., 66th., 68th., 71st., 74th., 82nd., 83rd., 87th., 88th., 92nd., and Rifle Brigade.
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