FRANCE 659 
the 19th of June, it took up a position in front of Vit- 
toria. On the 20th Lord Wellington’s army halted, 
and his Lordship reconnoitered the French. On the 
21st he attacked them, and gained a most signal and 
glorious victory. The retreat of the French was:so ra- 
pid, that they were unable to draw off their ba; 
and artillery, the whole of which fell into the of 
the victors. The French retreated by the high road to 
country, first to Pampeluna, and on the 25th 
the road of Roncesyalles into France ; a brigade of 
army of Gallicia, under General Castanos, driving 
- them across the Bidassoa, the boundary river, over the 
idge of Irun. 
most importance, the Marshal collected about 20,000, 
and advanced towards it. Sir John Murray, not deem- 
scehliceinelshiatbtatsl aiunecbret tas conduct. 
In the mean time, the main French army 
had actually evacuated the Peninsula, and entered their 
own country, part of their troops still maintained them- 
so cisidainneelteeeipiet ey Cony anu esatvod 
its and strong positi seemed resolve 
to keep possession. inst them, therefore, a detach- 
ment of the British were sent, who succeeded in dis- 
would retire quietly before their conquerors; but Bo- 
purpose i 
greatly distinguished himself in the south of Spain, was 
inted, by an imperial decree, commander in chief 
July,;and on the 24th collected at St Jean the right 
left wings, amounting in all to 30,000 or 40,000 
the French to abandon a y 
ip to be “ one of. the and most diffi- 
cult of access, that he had yet seen oceupied by troops.” 
Spanish frontier was entirely freed from the presence 
and occupation of the French. 
The strong fortresses of Pam and St Sebastian 
August, which cost the British many lives. This, how- 
ever, didnot deter Sir Thomas Graham from renewing 
the attack; but the attempt seemed nearly desperate, History. 
when the assailants having made repeated but fruitless 
exertions to gain an entrance, no man surviving the A.D. 1813. 
attempt to mount the narrow ridge of. the curtain, he 
adopted the eritical and venturous expedient of order- 
ing the guns to be turned against the curtain, the shot of 
which passed only a few feet over the heads of the men 
at the foot of the breach. This manceuvre, joined to 
the success of the Portuguese in another quarter, deci- pay of st 
ded the fate of St Sebastian. But Soult. was too deep- Sebastian. 
ly sensible of its importance to permit it to fall, male 
out making an effort to relieve it. He therefore made 
several desperate attacks on the allied army ; but, 
though several of them were directed against the Spa- 
ni and Portuguese, they repulsed them with great 
bravery and iness; and on the 18th of September 
the castle of St Sebastian surrendered. j 
On the 7th of October, Lord Wellington crossed the Lord Wel 
Bidassoa and entered France; but he did not com- lington en- 
mence offensive operations till the fall of Pampeluna had tts France 
disengaged the right of his army from its blockade. 
Having now all his forces at liberty, he resolved to ex« 
ecute a grand operation against the French. Ever 
since the prs age of August, they had occupied a 
position, with their right upon the sea, in front of 
the town of St Jean de Luz, their centre on a vil- 
lage and the high grounds behind it, and their left 
on a strong height. This position, naturally advan- 
tageous, they had fortified with t skill and care: 
Lord Wellington soon determined on his plan of at- Battle of st 
tack ; but the execution of it he was obliged to defer, Jean de 
in uence of the heavy rains, On the 10th of No. 1.u2. 
vember, however, the weather proving favourable, he 
commenced his attack, the object of which was to force 
the centre of the enemy, and establish the allied army 
in the rear of their right. The various attacks to ac- 
complish these objects began at day light, and it was 
night before the rear of the right of the French army 
was gained. On the next morning they were pursued 
across the Nivelle, and on the following night they re- 
tired to an entrenched camp in the front of Bayonne. 
As, however, they still held posts on the rivers Adour 
and Nive, Lord Wellington caused a series of man- 
ceuvres and operations to take ip on the 9th, 10th, 
11th, 12th, and 13th of December, the result of which 
was, that the French were driven from most of their 
positions, and obliged to confine themselves to the vi- 
cinity of Bayonne. 
In the mean time, Suchet, in the south-east of Spain, 
seemed resolved to maintain himself, notwithstanding 
the retreat of the French main army from the Penin- 
sula, Sir John Murray having been recalled, Lord 
William Bentinck had assumed the command of’ the 
Anglo-Sicilian army. His first operation was to re- 
sume the siege of Tarragona, which Sir John had aban- 
doned on the advance of Suchet. But the Marshal again 
advancing with nearly 25,000, Lord William Bentinek 
was obliged to imitate the example of his predecessor, 
and retreat upon Cambrilly. ' 
By the middle of January 1814, part of the allied Advance of 
army occupied Langres, an ancient and considerable the Allies 
town, 100 miles within the French frontier: till they peNerrrs 
reached it, there was not a single shot fired at them by “*”:?°!*- 
any body but the military. Bonaparte had not yet quit- 
Paris, and had not been able to collect any consider- 
able force. The troops he had mustered were under the 
command of Marshals Victor and Marmont, the former 
of whom advanced into Alsace, to oppose the Bavarians, 
under General Wrede ; but not being able to cope with 
