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.