Roncesvalles

I have always found it difficult to visualize the battlefields of the Pyrenees. The area is so large, and the accounts make it sound so wild and extensive. Furthermore many of the battle’s themselves were confused and affected by the quickly changing weather conditions you find there. So as well as recounting our visit there, I hope to explain the area a little. This map is a good place to start. It shows the main battlefields in relation to each other and gives some idea of what a large and difficult area it is.

Its about 90 miles from Vitoria to Roncesvalles, and it pretty well covers the same route that the French did during their retreat following the battle of Vitoria. However it now be completed in about two hours, though most of the journey is on very boring modern roads. The last few miles from Pamplona to Roncesvalles are more interesting.

The village of Roncesvalles is worth visiting for the 13^th century Augustinian abbey and the 12^th century chapel. It also has two small restaurants, and we broke our journey for a welcome cup of coffee at one of them.

This second map shows the five main areas of fighting. Bottom right marked XIV is Roncesvalles which was the scene of the first French attack in the Pyrenees, which was to raise the siege of Pamplona. Above and left marked XV is Maya, attacked at the same time as Roncesvalles. Bottom marked XVI is Sourauren where Wellington stopped the French just in front of Pamplona. Centre left marked XVII is Vera where the French launched their second attack to raise the siege of San Sebastian. Finally top marked XVIII is the area around Bayonne the scene of the last French attack in the Pyrenees

One mile beyond the village of Roncesvalles is the Pass. This was the scene of the famous last stand by Roland who died here in 778 commanding the rearguard of Charlemagne’s army against the Basque army. The monument is to Roland, not to the deeds of 1813. However there is a convenient car park and extensive views both ahead into France and behind to Spain. Although the roads have changed since 1813 it is easy to identify the original paths.

This is the view from the Pass of Roncesvalles looking south, or back into Spain. The road leads to Pamplona and was used by the British during their retreat in 1813. It gives a good idea of what the terrain is like in this area. In addition to the unfriendly terrain the weather is also very changeable here and a clear summer day with extensive views can quickly be replaced with a thick mist when it is difficult to see 20 feet.


The path behind the car is the Roman road over the mountains. In 1813 this was the main road from St Jean Pied de Port in France to Pamplona in Spain. Wellington positioned Sir Lowry Cole with 13,000 men. On the morning of 25 July 1813 he was attacked by 40,000 Frenchmen.

This map shows the two pronged French attack. Clausel commanded the main attack on the right. This was then the main road, and is now part of the pilgrim way to Santiago de Compostela. Reille led the attack on the left. This was along minor paths, even by 1813 standards, and he experienced much delay due to the condition of the paths. The main battle was fought on the right at Redoubt de Chateau Rignon and Altobiscar.

We walked a short distance from the monument and found a spot near the Roman road to sit and read. Once again Jac Weller provided the tale of this desperate and very confused battle.

Although it was mid June when we visited, it was bitterly cold on the Pass. Having spent a couple of summer holidays walking in Scotland we had come prepared. We were fortunate that on this visit we had clear weather, we would not be so lucky on a subsequent visit.

This simplified diagram shows the two French columns. It is much less clear on the ground, but this diagram helps to make the terrain clear. The new road runs right through Val Carlos to join the old road at the chapel (also the site of the monument). We tried to follow the path towards the Altobiscar mountain, but quickly lost the path. There are a lot of forestry tracks in this area, and it is easy to take the wrong one. On our later visit we joined the path in France and walked towards the Pass, which is much easier to follow.

Leaving the car behind we walked along the Roman road. The section nearest to the pass is easy to follow, but the path is more difficult to follow when it enters a wooded area.. We did find a path which seemed to go in the right direction, but it turned out to be a forestry track which did not relate to the battle. By the time we discovered our mistake we had walked a couple of miles to the north west when we should have gone north. After a busy day we were too tired to make any further efforts. Present day maps are not much use in this area, and this knowledge convinced us to start in France on our next visit, and we found all of the locations with ease.

This is the roman road from the Pass of Roncesvalles. This is the road used by general Clausel and his 20,000 strong corps. Byng's brigade of 2,000 held them up for four hours, aided by the terrain which is well suited for defence.

Vitoria

The battle of Vitoria

On 21 June 1813 Wellington defeated King Joseph at Vitoria and drove the French from Spain.

King Joseph has been forced to abandon three strong positions and finally concentrated his army of 66,000 men at Vitoria. This is a large battlefield, 8 miles by 10 miles. The French expect Wellington to attack from the west and are deployed in three lines of defence, Gazan, D’Erlon and Reille, all facing west. In addition there is a reserve, part of Reille’s command, to the north of the city.

Wellington has divided his 79,000 army into four columns. Hill would attack on the allied right and take the Heights of Puebla. Wellington would command the centre and would attack Arinez from Nanclares. Dalhousie would attack the French right flank through Mendoza. Finally Graham would attack the French rear at Durana. However these four columns were widely separated and would be difficult to coordinate over such a wide distance.

The battlefield from the Heights of Puebla

The village in the centre at the foot of the heights is Subjiana and the road running left to right is the main road to Vitoria. To the north of the road, on the left of the picture, is the wooded area which hid the Light Division prior to the battle. The village to the right of this area is Villodas and Tres Puentes is just visible beyond that. The hill of Arinez is on the right of the picture to the north of the road, with the village of Arinez itself on the extreme right edge of the photo.

Wellington’s command post in front of Nanclares

There have been a lot of changes to the battlefield since 1813, and it is very difficult to orientate yourself with either a historical map or indeed a modern one. In particular the new road makes it difficult to travel around the field by car. However it is relatively easy to find the first viewpoint – Wellington’s command post. It is on a small knoll just to the left of the main Burgos to Vitoria road and offers an excellent view of the hill of Arinez which was the location of the French first defence line.

Tres Puentes bridge over the river Zadorra

As the battle started a Spanish peasant informed Wellington that his bridge was not only unguarded, but was also out of sight of the main French position due to a tall slope between it and Arinez. Wellington immediately ordered Kempt’s light brigade to cross the river and take up position on the French side. They crossed with little trouble, only two cannon shots being fired at them. However one of them killed the unfortunate peasant who brought the vital intelligence to Wellington

Tres Puentes bridge

Standing on the bridge with Tres Puentes in the background. We crossed the bridge and explored the far (French) side. We climbed a steep hill and could clearly see the hill of Arinez, which was where the first French line was posted.

Tres Puentes bridge

This photo is taken from the French side. We followed the road for a short distance on the French side towards Villodas. However the road soon turned away from the river and we were unable to follow the river bank any further.

Tres Puentes bridge

Vandeleur's brigade of the light division cross the bridge in support of Kempt’s brigade

Tres Puentes picnic site

There is a picnic site, with convenient parking, just beside the bridge. As well as a snack, we also read the appropriate chapter from Jac Weller’s “Wellington in the Peninsula”.

Nanclares from Arinez hill

This would have been the view from the French first line and Joseph’s command post. The French expected Wellington to attack in this area. His main advance would be over this area. Hill would attack the Pubela heights to the left. Graham would attack the French right. Dalhousie well behind the French right north of Vitoria. The road on the left is the main road from Burgos to Vitoria. The river Zadorra is on the right . The bridge of Tres Puentes is to out of the photograph to the right.

Arinez village from the hill

King Joseph commanded the French army from the hill of Arinez. This was the centre of the first French line, and the scene of the most decisive fighting of the battle. We could find the village quite easily, but not the nearby hill on which the French had deployed. The new road goes between the two, and we could not find anyway to reach the hill. Eventually a local gave us directions to a farm track, which led to the top of the hill. The deep cutting of the new road can clearly be seen on this photo taken from the hill looking towards the village.

Arinez hill

The commanding views of the surrounding area make it clear why this was such an important position for the French, and why King Joseph set up his command post here. There are excellent views towards the Heights of Puebla and Nanclares.

Arinez hill

The battlefield seen from the hill looking north east. From here Joseph Bonaparte could survey the entire battlefield whilst if he had peered to the west he would have been able to see Wellington himself at his command post in front of Nanclares. In the photo are the villages of St Margarita and La Hermandad whilst the course of the river Zadorra is indicated by the line of trees from left to right. It was from the direction of the hills in the distance that Dalhousie approached the battlefield with the 3rd and 7th divisions. Although large areas remain untouched there has been much building upon it as well as a main road and a motorway that cross it.

Arinez hill

We spent an hour here plotting the course of the battle and reading about it. We did not see anyone else during this time, perhaps because it is so difficult to find the path. Unlike Waterloo it is very difficult to find your way around this battlefield, and no attempt has been made to make it easy for visitors. Throughout our day here I did not see one single memorial or sign relating to the battle.

Heights of Puebla from Arinez hill

The village of Subijana is dwarfed by the Heights of Pubela. At 8am on 21 June the battle opened when Hill’s corps advanced along these heights from right to left to attack the left flank of the French under Gazan, gradually pushing them back and causing the French to draw much needed troops from the centre to support the flank. Morillo’s Spanish division performed particularly well during this part of the battle.

Subijana de Alava

The village was attacked by O’Callaghan’s brigade of the 2^nd British division and was the scene of fierce, if brief, fighting. This attack protected Hill’s advance along the heights behind. The village is little changed since 1813.

Subijana de Alava and the heights behind from the Subijana to Arinez road

We tried to explore the northern area of the battlefield between Gamara Mayor and Durana, but could not find anywhere suitable to part to explore the extensive area of fighting which took place there. We used Julian Padget’s “Wellington’s Peninsular War – battles and battlefields”, which is the best practical guide I could find to the battlefields. It covers Vitoria in some details, and greatly helped us to find many of the best viewpoints. However it does not recommend a viewpoint for the northern area. Whether this is because there is not a suitable one or not I do not know. We did drive around the area, but it seemed to be very overdeveloped and we could not find a suitable view point.