Battle of Nivelle

Overview

The Battle of Nivelle took place on 10 November 1813 in front of the river Nivelle near the end of the Peninsular War (1808–1814). After the Allied siege of San Sebastian, Wellington's 80,000 British, Portuguese and Spanish troops were in hot pursuit of Jean-de-Dieu Soult who had 60,000 men to place in a 20-mile perimeter, which presented strong defensive positions. The French troops were overextended and could not have reserves behind them. After the Light Division, the main British army was ordered to attack and the 3rd Division split Soult's army in two. By two o'clock, Soult was in retreat and the British in a strong offensive position. Soult had lost another battle on French soil and had lost 4,500 men to Wellington's 5,500.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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

Forces & casualties

Commanders (3)