Bayonne

Today we left for Bayonne. On the way, driving down the valley of the Nive, which by the way, was a very beautiful drive, we went through a number of villages mentioned in dispatches as sites of fierce engagements. The land is so broken up and the rivers are so fierce (remember that the fighting in this area was in winter), that there wasn’t a “battle”, with both armies drawn up opposing each other.

We stopped at the Croix de Mouguerre, erected in memory of Soult’s defence of France and the soldiers who died. It’s to honour Soult “who with inferior forces, foot by foot, defended this country for seven months against the army of Wellington.”

The Soult memorial

In fact the numbers were pretty equal overall. Wellington had to send home his Spanish troops. The Spanish were too inefficient to supply their men, who sometimes actually starved; this meant that they were driven to looting, the one thing Wellington was extremely anxious to avoid. He did not want the population driven to guerrilla action as the Spanish had been.  In fact, the French civilians, far from finishing off British stragglers or the wounded, took care of them, knowing they would be compensated for their trouble. But Soult certainly made life difficult for Wellington's army. 

There’s a nice story about Wellington talking to the rather garrulous mayor of an occupied French town, and inviting him to dinner. The mayor couldn’t believe Wellington’s courtesy, and contrasted it with the behaviour of the French generals, who had treated him “like a dog.”  

Anyway the Croix de Mouguerre marks the site of an extremely sharp engagement , St Pierre, when the French tried to drive off the British army investing Bayonne.  The British army was widely spread, and one of the two pontoon bridges which had been put across the Nive was swept away, making troop movements very slow. The British around St Pierre were commanded by General Hill, and were outnumbered three to one, so there were some very ticklish hours before Wellington was able to bring up the 6^th division.  Wellington did not take over, however, commenting “My dear Hill, the day’s your own.”

The hills on which the action of St Pierre was fought. 

There were a number of incidents which bear telling – the colonel of the Gloucesters, announcing “Dead or alive, we must hold our ground”; General Stewart, who had lost his entire staff, remarking “A shell, sir. Very animating”, as one fell at his feet; the ADC sent to order a brigade to attack, who ended up leading the attack himself, because all the senior officers were dead.

But there was also a shaming incident. The new commanding officer of the 71^st Highlanders, Colonel Peacock, lost his nerve and ordered them to abandon their positions. Hill himself found them, and Stewart personally formed the Highlanders up and led them into the battle.  Peacock’s behaviour caused Hill to swear for what is believed to be only the second time in the whole war! (As far as I can make out, Picton never stopped swearing.)

Bayonne is a really pretty town, with loads of attractive houses. Building outside the fortification was forbidden until the beginning of the twentieth century, so it’s very well preserved. It’s on the confluence of the Nive and the Adour, which is a really big river, and the old walls and some of the towers are turned into old houses. The gateways are still there. But outside the old walls are the modern fortifications (Vauban again).

Wellington didn’t attempt to take it by storm – much too costly – but kept it blockaded, like Pamplona.

Unfortunately, the governor of Bayonne, General Thouvenot, decided, after he had heard about Napoleon’s abdication, to launch a sortie. The British seemed to have relaxed, believing the war to be over. After being driven back, and in some considerable confusion, they were saved by the Coldstream Guards under Colonel Maitland (later to behave heroically at Waterloo) and the King’s German Legion. Thouvenot withdrew his men. The British losses were over 800, and the French over 900, and all for some laughable idea of “honour”.  The British officers, who had been slogging their way right from Lisbon, for five years, were seriously shocked by the waste.

The 1st Foot Guards (Coldstream) cemetery

There are a couple of cemeteries for the British Guardsmen, and we visited one. Most of the memorials are for officers, but there was one for a company sergeant, who had served in the Coldstream Guards for twenty years.  It’s like being killed on November 12^th 1918.