Battle of Nivelle The Battle of Nivelle ( 10 November 1813 ) took place 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 ( 20 , 000 of the Spaniards were untried in battle ) were in hot pursuit of Marshal Soult who only had 60 , 000 men to place in a 20 - mile perimeter . After the Light Division , the main British army was ordered to attack and the 3rd Division split Soult ' s army into two . By 2 o ' clock , Soult was in retreat and the British in a strong offensive position . Soult had lost 4 , 351 men to Wellington ' s 2 , 450 . Background . In the Siege of San Sebastian , the Anglo - Portuguese stormed and captured the port at the beginning of September 1813 . In the Battle of San Marcial on 31 August , Soult failed to break through the Spanish defences in his final attempt to relieve the siege . The French army then fell back to defend the Bidassoa River , which forms the French - Spanish frontier near the coast . At dawn on 7 October the Anglo - Allied army overran the French river defences in the Battle of the Bidassoa in a surprise crossing . During this action , the allies also captured several fortified positions in the area of La Rhune mountain . Both sides lost about 1 , 600 men in these actions . Disposition . Arrayed in front of the course of the River Nivelle , whose route was marked by a series of hills on which the French had built strong defensive positions or redoubts , was the French army under Marshal Soult . Soult ' s lines stretched from the shores of the Atlantic on the French right flank to the snow - covered pass of Roncesvalles on the left , a perimeter of about 20 miles . With only 60 , 000 men , Soult was stretched to an almost impossible point . This also means that he could not hold troops back as reserves , something which may have turned the tide of the battle . As Soult moved back to his base at Bayonne , his position strengthened but he was not quick enough and Wellington caught him up . The French position was dominated by the Greater Rhune , a gorse - covered , craggy mountain nearly 3 , 000 feet high . Separated from the Greater Rhune by a ravine , roughly 700 yards below it , is the Lesser Rhune along the precipitous crest of which the French had constructed three defensive positions . If the French defences on La Rhune could be taken Soult ' s position would become very dangerous as it would open him to attack from all elements of the British three point pincer plan . Wellington ' s plan was to distribute troops along the whole of Soult ' s line but make his main attack in the centre . Any breakthrough in the centre or the French left flank would enable the British to cut off the French right Flank . So , Wellington ordered that the British left ( attacking the French right ) would be led by Sir John Hope and would involve the 1st and 5th Divisions as well as Freire ' s Spaniards . Beresford would lead the main Allied attack against the French centre with the 3rd , 4th , 7th and Light Division s , while on the British right ( attacking the French left ) Hill would attack with the 2nd and 6th Divisions , supported by Morillo ' s Spaniards and Hamilton ' s Portuguese . Wellington decided to attack on the 10th of November . Battle . The battle started just before dawn as the Light Division headed towards the plateau on the summit of the Greater Rhune ( the summit had been garrisoned by French troops but they had fled after the skirmish on the River Bidassoa , fearing to be cut off from their own army ) . The objective of the division was to sweep the three defensive forts the French had constructed out of the battle . They moved down into the ravine in front of the Lesser Rhune and were ordered to lie down and await the order to attack . After the signal from a battery of cannon , the offensive began . It started with the men of the 43rd , 52nd and 95th - with the 17th Portuguese Caçadores in support - storming the redoubts on the crest of the Rhune . Despite this being a risky move and the men being almost exhausted , the surprise and boldness of the British sent the French fleeing towards other forts on other hills . While the 43rd and 95th were dealing with the French on the Rhune , there still remained one very strong star - shaped fort below on the Mouiz plateau which reached out towards the coast . This was attacked by Colborne ' s 52nd Light Infantry , supported by riflemen from the 95th . Once again , the French were surprised and the British succeeded . They had , in the French eyes , appeared from the ground at which point , in danger of being cut off , the French soldiers quickly fled leaving Colborne in possession of the fort and other trenches without loss of a single fatal casualty . Shortly , the main British assault began with the nine divisions fanning out over a five mile front . When the 3rd division took the bridge at Amotz , all French resistance broke as any communication between the two halves of Soult ' s army was now impossible . The French resistance melted away and soon they were in full retreat ( by 2 o ' clock they were streaming across the Nivelle ) having lost 4351 men to Wellington ' s 2450 . Aftermath . The British success against Soult allowed them to march deep inside France before they met any serious resistance . The French peasants acted kindly towards the British because they paid them for their food , whereas the French raided their own towns and villages . Moreover , the Basque people , besides largely opposing the ideas ensuing the French Revolution and sticking to old customs , didn ' t even speak or understand French for the most part .