Skip to content
The War AtlasThe · War · Atlas

BATTLE // November 10, 1813

Battle of Nivelle

LOADING MAP TELEMETRY…

Source · Wikipedia

Significance

The Battle of Nivelle followed the Allied siege of San Sebastian and marked a further deterioration of French defensive capacity on French soil. Wellington's pursuit of Soult after San Sebastian forced the French into a 20-mile perimeter along the river Nivelle — a frontage too wide for Soult's 60,000 troops to hold with any depth or meaningful reserves. The resulting defeat, in which the 3rd Division split Soult's army in two and drove him into retreat by mid-afternoon, confirmed the pattern of French reversal in the Pyrenean theater. Soult's continued inability to check the Allied advance underscored the strategic exhaustion of French forces in the Peninsula as the war entered its final phase.

Tactics

Wellington deployed against Soult's overextended 20-mile defensive perimeter along the river Nivelle. Because Soult lacked the troop density to maintain reserves across that frontage, the Allied attack led by the Light opened the assault, after which the main British army was committed. The 3rd Division drove into the seam of the French line and split Soult's army in two, collapsing the defensive position and forcing a general French retreat by two o'clock in the afternoon.

Forces & casualties

Troop strength

  • United Kingdom90,000
    medium
  • France50,000
    medium

United Kingdom fielded a 1.8 : 1 numerical advantage

Casualties

  • United Kingdom5,300
    medium6% loss rate
  • France3,200
    medium6% loss rate
Order of battle →Casualties in detail →

Commanders (3)

France

United Kingdom

Compare with sibling battle

6 options

Pick a battle to compare side-by-side

Related

6 sibling battles · 3 factions

Last verified June 2026
Cite this page →Suggest a correction →